Open University Press – förlag

* What is the relationship of popular cinema to the concept of 'modernity'?* What now are the key areas of debate which focus the study of cinema and its audiences?* How can we understand the relationship of cinema to both the pleasures of consumerism and the inequalities addressed by critical politics?Cinema and Cultural Modernity carves a lucid path through the central debates of film and cinema studies and explores these in their social and political contexts. The book includes histories of the ways in which we view Hollywood's global dominance, up to the development of late modernity and the declaration of 'postmodernity'. In an accessible fashion, it discusses changing theorizations of the economics, audiences, and fascinations of cinema, addressing concepts such as agency, negotiation and identification, and global 'popularity' within contemporary cultures of celebrity, consumption and the visual. Gill Branston outlines the need for cinema study that is both sensitive to the formal 'textiness' of films, but also less anxious about arguing for its position within broad agendas of representation. At the same time, the author links such areas to both the pleasures of consumption, which cinema so often evokes and embodies, and to the need for a new, critical politics to address the persistent inequalities of modernity, inequalities which still fuel lively interest in questions of representation. The result is an incisive text for undergraduate courses and an essential reference for researchers.

Seeks to correct some of the distortions propagated about Northern Ireland by the media's emphasis on violence and division within the province. The book examines various aspects of life in Northern Ireland, and especially the role of the arts in transcending sectarian barriers.

This book examines ways in which beliefs and values interact with science and science teaching. It looks at some of the spiritual, moral, social and cultural contexts within which science has developed and considers how these factors can affect the choice of scientific theory. Various historical sections provide resource material for showing pupils the role of the history of science in the study of science. Interactions between science and religious belief are also analysed to clarify the nature, strengths and limitations of science as well as its place in the total curriculum.Publication of this book is particularly timely as contributions to pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development are currently receiving emphasis across the whole curriculum.