Laura Miller – författare

THE MAGICIAN'S BOOK is the story of one reader's long, tumultuous relationship with C.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia. Enchanted by its fantastic world as a child, prominent critic Laura Miller returns to the series as an adult to uncover the source of these small books' mysterious power by looking at their creator, Clive Staples Lewis. What she discovers is not the familiar, idealized image of the author, but a more interesting and ambiguous truth: Lewis's tragic and troubled childhood, his unconventional love life, and his intense but ultimately doomed friendship with J.R.R. Tolkien.Finally reclaiming Narnia 'for the rest of us', Miller casts the Chronicles as a profoundly literary creation, and the portal to a life-long adventure in books, art and the imagination.

This engaging introduction to Japan's burgeoning beauty culture investigates a wide range of phenomenon - aesthetic salons, dieting products, male beauty activities, and beauty language - to find out why Japanese women and men are paying so much attention to their bodies. Laura Miller uses social science and popular culture sources to connect breast enhancements, eyelid surgery, body hair removal, nipple bleaching, and other beauty work to larger issues of gender ideology, the culturally-constructed nature of beauty ideals, and the globalization of beauty technologies and standards. Her sophisticated treatment of this timely topic suggests that new body aesthetics are not forms of "deracializiation" but rather innovative experimentation with identity management. While recognizing that these beauty activities are potentially a form of resistance, Miller also considers the commodification of beauty, exploring how new ideals and technologies are tying consumers even more firmly to an ever-expanding beauty industry. By considering beauty in a Japanese context, Miller challenges widespread assumptions about the universality and naturalness of beauty standards.

Offering a concise, entertaining snapshot of Japanese society, "Manners and Mischief" examines etiquette guides, advice literature, and other such instruction for behavior from the early modern period to the present day and discovers how manners do in fact make the nation. Eleven accessibly written essays consider a spectrum of cases, from the geisha party to gay bar cool, executive grooming, and good manners for subway travel. Together, they show that etiquette is much more than fussy rules for behavior. In fact the idiom of manners, packaged in conduct literature, reveals much about gender and class difference, notions of national identity, the dynamics of subversion and conformity, and more. This richly detailed work reveals how manners give meaning to everyday life and extraordinary occasions, and how they can illuminate larger social and cultural transformations.

Diva Nation explores the constructed nature of female iconicity in Japan. From ancient goddesses and queens to modern singers and writers, this edited volume critically reconsiders the female icon, tracing how she has been offered up for emulation, debate or censure. The research in this book culminates from curiosity over the insistent presence of Japanese female figures who have refused to sit quietly on the sidelines of history. The contributors move beyond archival portraits to consider historically and culturally informed diva imagery and diva lore. The diva is ripe for expansion, fantasy, eroticization, and playful reinvention, while simultaneously presenting a challenge to patriarchal culture. Diva Nation asks how the diva disrupts or bolsters ideas about nationhood, morality, and aesthetics.

Diva Nation explores the constructed nature of female iconicity in Japan. From ancient goddesses and queens to modern singers and writers, this edited volume critically reconsiders the female icon, tracing how she has been offered up for emulation, debate or censure. The research in this book culminates from curiosity over the insistent presence of Japanese female figures who have refused to sit quietly on the sidelines of history. The contributors move beyond archival portraits to consider historically and culturally informed diva imagery and diva lore. The diva is ripe for expansion, fantasy, eroticization, and playful reinvention, while simultaneously presenting a challenge to patriarchal culture. Diva Nation asks how the diva disrupts or bolsters ideas about nationhood, morality, and aesthetics.

This spirited and engaging multidisciplinary volume pins its focus on the lived experiences and cultural depictions of women's mobility and labor in Japan. The theme of "modern girls" continues to offer a captivating window into the changes that women's roles have undergone during the course of the last century.Here we encounter Japanese women inhabiting the most modern of spaces, in newly created professions, moving upward and outward, claiming the public life as their own: shop girls, elevator girls, dance hall dancers, tour bus guides, airline stewardesses, international beauty queens, overseas teachers, corporate soccer players, and even female members of the Self-Defense Forces. Directly linking gender, mobility, and labor in 20th and 21st century Japan, this collection brings to life the ways in which these modern girls—historically and contemporaneously—have influenced social roles, patterns of daily life, and Japan's global image. It is an ideal guidebook for students, scholars, and general readers alike.

This spirited and engaging multidisciplinary volume pins its focus on the lived experiences and cultural depictions of women's mobility and labor in Japan. The theme of "modern girls" continues to offer a captivating window into the changes that women's roles have undergone during the course of the last century.Here we encounter Japanese women inhabiting the most modern of spaces, in newly created professions, moving upward and outward, claiming the public life as their own: shop girls, elevator girls, dance hall dancers, tour bus guides, airline stewardesses, international beauty queens, overseas teachers, corporate soccer players, and even female members of the Self-Defense Forces. Directly linking gender, mobility, and labor in 20th and 21st century Japan, this collection brings to life the ways in which these modern girls—historically and contemporaneously—have influenced social roles, patterns of daily life, and Japan's global image. It is an ideal guidebook for students, scholars, and general readers alike.

Sir Isaac Newton’s publications, and those he inspired, were among the most significant works published during the long eighteenth century in Britain. Concepts such as attraction and extrapolation—detailed in his landmark monograph Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica—found their way into both scientific and cultural discourse. Understanding the trajectory of Newton’s diverse critical and popular reception in print demands consideration of how his ideas were disseminated in a marketplace comprised of readers with varying levels of interest and expertise.Reading Popular Newtonianism focuses on the reception of Newton's works in a context framed by authorship, print, editorial practices, and reading. Informed by sustained archival work and multiple critical approaches, Laura Miller asserts that print facilitated the mainstreaming of Newton's ideas. In addition to his reading habits and his manipulation of print conventions in the Principia, Miller analyzes the implied readership of various ""popularizations"" as well as readers traced through the New York Society Library's borrowing records. Many of the works considered—including encyclopedias, poems, and a work written ""for the ladies""—are not scientifically innovative but are essential to eighteenth-century readers’ engagement with Newtonian ideas. Revising the timeline in which Newton’s scientific ideas entered eighteenth-century culture, Reading Popular Newtonianism is the first book to interrogate at length the importance of print to his consequential career.

Spreading the news of scientific breakthroughs in the eighteenth centuryHistories of Science shows how different forms of media communicated scientific breakthroughs during the long eighteenth century, bringing together eighteen humanities scholars to discuss the representation, reception, and application of natural philosophy in the Atlantic world. In particular, the authors focus on descriptions of scientific discoveries in popular print, with essays on topics as varied as placebo pills, irrigation systems, and navigational technology. And while each contributor advances a discrete argument, the collection coheres in its shared questions of methodology, historicity, and ethics. Histories of Science expands our record of the past, our understanding of the present, and our ability to imagine the future.

Spreading the news of scientific breakthroughs in the eighteenth centuryHistories of Science shows how different forms of media communicated scientific breakthroughs during the long eighteenth century, bringing together eighteen humanities scholars to discuss the representation, reception, and application of natural philosophy in the Atlantic world. In particular, the authors focus on descriptions of scientific discoveries in popular print, with essays on topics as varied as placebo pills, irrigation systems, and navigational technology. And while each contributor advances a discrete argument, the collection coheres in its shared questions of methodology, historicity, and ethics. Histories of Science expands our record of the past, our understanding of the present, and our ability to imagine the future.

In Japan today, women are the primary drivers of religious re-enchantment, and they are exerting pressure on shrines, temples, and the media industries to accommodate their interests and aesthetic tastes. Employing a semantically broad meaning of "occult" to include the mysterious or supernatural, Laura Miller examines how it manifests to offer avenues of self-exploration and spiritual capital that fundamentally appeal to women. Female seekers have had a major impact on the fashioning and marketing of spiritual sites, texts, and objects, often through encoding the kawaii, or cute, aesthetic. Miller makes the case that the gendered nature of occult hunting has been neglected in research and that greater attention to gendered perspectives reveals significant facets of sociality and recreation.Written from an interdisciplinary cultural studies perspective, Occult Hunting and Supernatural Play in Japan interlaces history, art, literature, religion, media studies, and anthropology to explore ubiquitous yet understudied activities such as having one’s fortune told; visiting "power spots," locations thought to hold exceptional supernatural energy; and playing with new types of tarot decks. Book chapters also focus on material religion, including objects like good luck amulets and votive plaques, Taoist paper talismans, pilgrim stamps, and ancient curved beads called magatama. Tracing their histories and transformations, Miller insists that these forms of visual and material religion and their related activities are neither trivial nor simply commercial gambits. Rather, they provide insights into the realms of creative exploration, pleasure, and spiritual development in the lives of girls and young women.

In Japan today, women are the primary drivers of religious re-enchantment, and they are exerting pressure on shrines, temples, and the media industries to accommodate their interests and aesthetic tastes. Employing a semantically broad meaning of "occult" to include the mysterious or supernatural, Laura Miller examines how it manifests to offer avenues of self-exploration and spiritual capital that fundamentally appeal to women. Female seekers have had a major impact on the fashioning and marketing of spiritual sites, texts, and objects, often through encoding the kawaii, or cute, aesthetic. Miller makes the case that the gendered nature of occult hunting has been neglected in research and that greater attention to gendered perspectives reveals significant facets of sociality and recreation.Written from an interdisciplinary cultural studies perspective, Occult Hunting and Supernatural Play in Japan interlaces history, art, literature, religion, media studies, and anthropology to explore ubiquitous yet understudied activities such as having one’s fortune told; visiting "power spots," locations thought to hold exceptional supernatural energy; and playing with new types of tarot decks. Book chapters also focus on material religion, including objects like good luck amulets and votive plaques, Taoist paper talismans, pilgrim stamps, and ancient curved beads called magatama. Tracing their histories and transformations, Miller insists that these forms of visual and material religion and their related activities are neither trivial nor simply commercial gambits. Rather, they provide insights into the realms of creative exploration, pleasure, and spiritual development in the lives of girls and young women.

For courses in Forensic Accounting As a result of increased litigation and regulatory enforcement, the demand for forensic accountants has never been higher. This area of specialty is considered the top niche market in the accounting profession. The new Forensic Accounting is the first text of its kind to provide a comprehensive view of what forensic accountants actually do and how they do it. With experience as both practitioners and educators, authors Robert Rufus, Laura Miller, and William Hahn offer a unique perspective that bridges the gap between theory and practice. They present concepts in the context of a scientific approach, emphasising critical thinking, reasoning, and problem solving—skills that are useful in a wide variety of academic and professional environments. And because its content is consistent with the AICPA curriculum for the Certified in Financial Forensics (CFF) credential, this text gives your students a head start on the path toward career advancement. Forensic Accounting facilitates an outstanding teaching and learning experience—for you and your students. It will help you to:

Introduce the requisite forensic accounting skills: The text identifies a three-layer skill set and provides students instruction in the key areas of forensic accounting expertise. Offer an inside view into forensic accounting practice: Integrated case studies and sample documents give students a glimpse into the actual practice of forensic accounting. Highlight the importance of a scientific approach: The authors explain the benefits of utilising a scientific approach and provide opportunities for students to practice its application. Foster thorough understanding via learning aids: Various tools, throughout the text and at the end of each chapter, support students as they learn and review.

Welcome to Poptropica English, a six level primary English series that engages young learners like never before.  The unique combination of beautiful in-class materials and fun-filled online activities, songs and games, creates a world of excitement and adventure that kids won't want to leave.

Welcome to Poptropica English, a six level primary English series that engages young learners like never before.  The unique combination of beautiful in-class materials and fun-filled online activities, songs and games, creates a world of excitement and adventure that kids won't want to leave.

Welcome to Poptropica English, a six level primary English series that engages young learners like never before.  The unique combination of beautiful in-class materials and fun-filled online activities, songs and games, creates a world of excitement and adventure that kids won't want to leave.

The Teacher's Edition provides step-by-step lesson plans covering all the Student Book material. Tips and guidance throughout make the most of the course.

 

Each lesson is clearly structured into 3 stages:

"Warm up" activities Step-by-step lesson plans Pop Quiz Lesson notes are designed to be flexible support for all teachers, including those who may lack time for planning or who have limited access to resources. Clear explanation as to how the Poptropica English World can be best integrated with the print materials.

Photocopiable materials can be found in the Teacher's Edition:

Story cards Activity sheets Tests

Welcome to Poptropica English, a six level primary English series that engages young learners like never before.  The unique combination of beautiful in-class materials and fun-filled online activities, songs and games, creates a world of excitement and adventure that kids won't want to leave.

The Teacher's Edition provides step-by-step lesson plans covering all the Student Book material. Tips and guidance throughout make the most of the course.

 

Each lesson is clearly structured into 3 stages:

"Warm up" activities Step-by-step lesson plans Pop Quiz Lesson notes are designed to be flexible support for all teachers, including those who may lack time for planning or who have limited access to resources. Clear explanation as to how the Poptropica English World can be best integrated with the print materials.

Photocopiable materials can be found in the Teacher's Edition:

Story cards Activity sheets Tests

Poptropica English makes learning English an unforgettable adventure!

 

Welcome to Poptropica English, a six level primary English series that engages young learners like never before. The unique combination of beautiful in-class materials and fun-filled online activities, songs and games, creates a world of excitement and adventure that kids won't want to leave.

 

Find out more at english.com/poptropica