The Last Bastion of Civilization is a scenario analysis in the form of a series of letters and essays from various intellectuals and leading figures written in 2041. Extrapolating from present day events, it chronicles the rise of Japan as the leading superpower of the world by examining relevant economic, cultural, and technological advancements. Coupled with the rise of Japan is the fall of Western society in the wake of massive riots, depressions, and an overall decline in the quality of life. Widespread unemployment, rising illegitimacy, and moral and spiritual decline have led the formerly great United States into a period of extreme mob-driven violence. Europe meets a similar fate, coupled with a decline in the euro and the defaulting of banks. As a work of speculative fiction, The Last Bastion of Civilization offers a critically insightful look at a possible future, a future that will not seem far off from the truth.
In The Great Enterprise, Henry H. Em examines how the project of national sovereignty shaped the work of Korean historians and their representations of Korea's past. The goal of Korea attaining validity and equal standing among sovereign nations, Em shows, was foundational to modern Korean politics in that it served a pedagogical function for Japanese and Western imperialisms, as well as for Korean nationalism. Sovereignty thus functioned as police power and political power in shaping Korea's modernity, including anticolonial and postcolonial movements toward a radically democratic politics. Surveying historical works written over the course of the twentieth century, Em elucidates the influence of Christian missionaries, as well as the role that Japan's colonial policy played in determining the narrative framework for defining Korea's national past. Em goes on to analyze postcolonial works in which South Korean historians promoted national narratives appropriate for South Korea's place in the U.S.-led Cold War system. Throughout, Em highlights equal sovereignty's creative and productive potential to generate oppositional subjectivities and vital political alternatives.
Television shows and movies emphasize gruesome rituals and violent warfare, but what was life really like in pre-Columbian cultures? This book presents a holistic view of Mayan and Amazonian civilizations and includes maps, stunning full-color photographs, and engaging sidebars about key figures. The book separates fact from fiction and demonstrates the rich history of the Americas.
This book discusses the nature and process of change in human society over the past two million years. The author draws on economic, historical and biological concepts to examine the driving forces of change and looks to likely developments in the future. This analysis produces some very thought-provoking and controversial conclusions.
The Yugoslav War of Succession had untold ramifications for those living in the embattled region. What often goes overlooked, however, is the impact that the war had on people from the former Yugoslavia who were living abroad. We are Now a Nation considers the effect that the war and the independence of Croatia had on Croatian diaspora-homeland relations. In doing so, it confronts complex questions of ideology, nostalgia, social suffering, nationalism, and identity politics as manifested in the relationship between diaspora and homeland Croats. Daphne Winland draws upon extensive, multi-sited ethnographic research in both Toronto and Croatia from 1992 to the present, exploring the problematic nature of Croatian identity. The occasion of Croatian independence, she suggests, resulted in the emergence of a politics of 'desire' and 'disdain,' which further complicated efforts to define 'Croatness' (Hrvatstvo) both at home and abroad. The idea of the Croatian homeland has become, therefore, an ambiguous space of identification, a source of either conflict and tension or unity and pride, a place to remember, to forget, or to return to. The first book-length examination of North American Croatian diaspora responses to war and independence, We are Now a Nation highlights the contradictions and paradoxes of contemporary debates about identity, politics, and place.
"Investigating the late sixteenth through the nineteenth century, this work looks at the shifting boundaries between the Chosŏn state and the adherents of Confucianism, Buddhism, Christianity, and popular religions. Seeking to define the meaning and constitutive elements of the hegemonic group and a particular marginalized community in this Confucian state, the contributors argue that the power of each group and the space it occupied were determined by a dynamic interaction of ideology, governmental policies, and the group’s self-perceptions. Collectively, the volume counters the static view of the Korean Confucian state, elucidates its relationship to the wider Confucian community and religious groups, and suggests new views of the complex way in which each negotiated and adjusted its ideology and practices in response to the state’s activities."
The Byzantine Empire dates back to Constantine the Great, the first Christian ruler of the Roman Empire, who, in 330 AD, moved the imperial capital from Rome to a port city in modern-day Turkey, which he then renamed Constantinople in his honor. From its founding, the Byzantine Empire was a major anchor of east-west trade, and culture, art, architecture, and the economy all prospered in the newly Christian empire. As Byzantium moved into the middle and late period, Greek became the official language of both church and state and the Empire’s cultural and religious influence extended well beyond its boundaries. In the mid-15th century, the Ottoman Turks put an end to 1,100 years of Byzantine history by capturing Constantinople, but the Empire’s legacy in art, culture, and religion endured long after its fall. In this revised and updated second edition of the Historical Dictionary of Byzantium, author John H. Rosser introduces both the general reader and the researcher to the history of the Byzantine Empire. This comprehensive dictionary includes detailed, alphabetical entries on key figures, ideas, places, and themes related to Byzantine art, history, and religion, and the second edition contains numerous additional entries on broad topics such as transportation and gender, which were less prominent in the previous edition. An expanded introduction introduces the reader to Byzantium and a guide to further sources and suggested readings can be found in the extensive bibliography that follows the entries. A basic chronology and various maps and illustrations are also included in the dictionary. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Byzantium.
Equally important to our understanding of history and humanity are the great works of literature. The Nobel Prize for literature recognises modern classics and the efforts of authors to bridge gaps between different cultures, time-periods and styles; the prizewinners between 1968 and 1995 are from four continents. These volumes are collections of the Nobel lectures delivered by the prizewinners, together with their biographies, portraits and presentation speeches for the period 1968 - 1995. Each Nobel lecture is based on the work that won the laureate his prize. New biographical data of the laureates, since they were awarded the Nobel prize, are also included. These volumes of inspiring lectures by outstanding individuals should be on everyone's bookshelf. Literature: (1981) E Canetti -- for writings marked by a broad outlook, a wealth of ideas and artistic power; (1982) G G Marquez -- for his novels and short stories, in which the fantastic and the realistic are combined in a richly composedworld of imagination, reflecting a continent's life and conflicts; (1983) W Golding -- for his novels which, with the perspicuity of realistic narrative art and the diversity and universality of myth, illuminate the human condition in the world of today; (1984) J Seifert -- for his poetry which endowed with freshness, sensuality and rich inventiveness provides a liberating image of the indomitable spirit and versatility of man; (1985) C Simon -- who in his novel combines the poet's and the painter's creativeness with a deepened awareness of time in the depiction of the human condition; (1986) W Soyinka -- who in a wide cultural perspective and with poetic overtones fashions the drama ofexistence; (1987) J Brodsky -- for an all-embracing authorship imbued with clarity of thought and poetic intensity; (1988) N Mahfouz -- who, through works rich in nuance -- now clearsightedly realistic, now evocatively ambiguous --
"Detailed and mysterious, a place to explore and relish. Empire of Exiles is highly recommended!”—R.A. Salvatore, author or “The Legend of Drizzt” and the DemonWars novels The Imperial Archives holds the treasures of the ten nations that fled the collapse of the world to settle in Semilla behind a wall of salt and iron. When Quill, an apprentice scribe, arrives to request the loan of several artifacts for a client, he’s hoping for a tour and maybe a glimpse of some of the rarer relics the archives’ sorcerous caretakers are rumored to protect. Instead, Quill finds himself a witness to a ghastly murder tangled in present-day politics and the history of the empire—worse, the accused killer is his own shy and scholarly best friend, a very unlikely assassin. Quill’s amateur investigations run afoul of an archivist dodging questions about her buried past, an investigator eyeing Quill’s motives too closely, and threads that lead back to a long-dead usurper—nothing makes sense, and Quill doesn’t know who to trust. But if he can’t find allies, the next victim may be the empire of Semilla itself. This edition includes a brand-new illustrated guide to the peoples of the empire. Praise for Empire of Exiles: "Readers will be drawn in by the memorable cast, vibrantly drawn fantasy cultures, and vivid prose. Epic fantasy fans will be eager to see where the series goes."—Publishers Weekly "An excellent new fantasy series by Evans (The Devil You Know), perfect for fans of Katherine Addison or those who enjoy slow-burning and complex court intrigue."—Library Journal "From the rich world building as these remnants of humanity hide from changelings behind a Salt Wall, to the interesting culture, a unique magic system, and a variety of humanoids, readers will be delighted that nothing is predictable in this intriguing story."—Booklist "Empire of Exiles by Erin M. Evans is a triumph of fantasy, murder mystery, and political thriller that handles grief, PTSD, panic, and anxiety disorder with tact.... I cannot wait to read what Evans has cooking up for the follow-up."—Geekly Inc “Empire of Exiles has it all: characters I love, intertwined compelling mysteries in the past and present, plot twists that keep coming, and a unique and fascinating world and magic system! One of my favorite books of the year!"—Melissa Caruso, author of the Swords and Fire Trilogy
Based on the author’s long experience in academic life and the public realm, especially in foreign policy, this book argues that a single categoric classification of cities is inadequate, and that cities have had different and varied impacts and positions throughout the history of civilization. The author examines how the formation, transformation, destruction or reestablishment of many civilizational cities reveals a clearer picture of the cornerstones of the course of human history. These cities, which play a decisive and pivotal role in the direction of the flow of history as well as providing us with a compass to guide our efforts to understand and interpret this flow, are conceptualized by the author as civilizations’ "pivot cities". This innovative book explores the role of great cities in political historical change, presenting an alternative view of these pivot cities from a culturalist perspective. Within this framework, the role played by pivot cities in the history of civilization may be considered under seven distinct headings: pioneering cities which founded civilizations; cities which were founded by civilizations; cities which were transplanted during the formation of civilizations; "ghost cities" which lost their importance through shifts in political power and civilizational transformation; "lost cities" which were destroyed by civilizations; cities on lines of geocultural/geoeconomic interaction; and cities which combine, transform or are transformed by different civilizations. The author’s concept of pivot cities explores the interplay between vital cities and civilizations, which bears on the future of globalization at a time of instability, as projected continuing de-Westernization becomes a theme in studies of global history. This book provides highly productive discussions relevant to the literature on city-civilization relationships and the historicity of pivot cities. Its clear language, rich content, deep and original perspective, interdisciplinary approach and rich bibliography will ensure that it appeals to students and scholars in a variety of disciplines, including cultural studies, political science, comparative urban studies, anthropology, history and civilizational studies.
