Peter Lang Publishing Inc – förlag

Originally published in Norwegian in 1941, this is the magnum opus of one of Norway’s most celebrated philosophers, now made available in English for the first time. It examines the concept of the tragic and attempts to construct a more precise and useful definition on the basis of a "biosophical" look at the situation of organisms in their environment and their attempt to realize interests on multiple fronts through abilities they possess in a variety of degrees. This is a theory of genius, and of the dangers that frequently accompany it, and a sober account of the perils of consciousness for the human species. The robust and thorough treatment includes in-depth analysis of the relationship between real-world tragedies and those portrayed in theater and literature.The English translation of On the Tragic by the Norwegian philosopher, writer, and environmentalist Peter Wessel Zapffe is a major achievement that for the first time introduces this classic text to Anglophone readers. On the one hand, the text is highly relevant to contemporary debates on the meaning of life and anti-natalism (the view that birth and life have negative value); on the other, it is a major text in 20th century Existentialism and Pessimism that develops an original theory of the human condition (as being characterized by meaninglessness and injustice). Finally, the text is known for its high literary level, vivid descriptions, and black humor.—Roe Fremstedal, Professor of Philosophy, Norwegian University of Science and TechnologyThe translation of Zapffe’s Om det tragiske into English is a major event that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Zapffe argues that human consciousness mutated accidentally from nature as an error of overdevelopment, producing needs earthly life can never satisfy. The disillusioning insights that follow are formulated in a sophisticated everyday language and with an abundance of humor.—Jørgen Haave, Zapffe biographer and Senior Curator at the Henrik Ibsen Museum, Skien, NorwayIn this first English translation of Peter Wessel Zapffe’s On the Tragic, Dr. Ryan Showler has performed an extraordinary service to philosophy and, indeed, to the liberal arts and humanities. The Anglophone world can now appreciate the intensely original thinking of this remarkable scholar. In consequence, Zapffe will hereafter be recognized as among the most lucid and thoughtful advocates of philosophical pessimism.—Todd K. Shackelford, Distinguished Professor and Chair of Psychology, Oakland University and Founding Director of the Center for Evolutionary Psychological Science

This book presents the results of Heide Goettner-Abendroth’s pioneering research in the field of modern matriarchal studies, based on a new definition of «matriarchy» as true gender-egalitarian societies. Accordingly, matriarchal societies should not be regarded as mirror images of patriarchal ones, as they have never needed patriarchy’s hierarchical structures of domination. On the contrary, matriarchal patterns are socially egalitarian, economically balanced, and politically based on consensus decisions. They have been created by women and are founded on maternal values. This new perspective on matriarchal societies is developed step by step by the analysis of extant indigenous cultures in Asia, Africa, and the Americas.

Tact and the Pedagogical Relation focuses on two topics of increasing interest both in teacher education and research. It shows how questions of sensitive and attuned action as well as educators’ relations with children and the young are special—uniquely different from other relations and attunements. This collection introduces readers to both classical and contemporary texts, offering many of these in translation for the first time. These illuminate the struggles and rewards of teaching, showing teaching to be an art, simultaneously a personal and professional calling.

This book is about re-writing the history of cultures from a non-patriarchal perspective, bringing the forgotten matriarchal epoch to light again. It is based on Heide Goettner-Abendroth’s pioneering anthropological research on still extant matriarchal societies worldwide, which provided her with a new definition of "matriarchy" as true gender-egalitarian societies. According to modern Matriarchal Studies, matriarchies have never needed patriarchy’s hierarchical structures of domination, as they are socially egalitarian, economically balanced, and politically based on consensus decisions.This is the author’s background for re-examining the history of cultures. She criticizes the patriarchal prejudices which abound in archaeological interpretations, and their blindness to the great variety of human social forms. By going deeper into this material she is able to develop a completely different picture of the earliest cultural epochs, which were decisively formed by women, motherhood and maternal values. Additionally, she gives a logical and detailed explanation for the rise of patriarchy, which is based on archaeological finds and not on speculation and, therefore, has a high degree of validity. The range of the book includes the development in West Asia and Europe from the Palaeolithic via the Neolithic to the Bronze Age. In this wide field, the author creates revolutionary new insights, which are relevant for all social and historical sciences. "Dr. Heide Goettner-Abendroth, mother of the discipline of Modern Matriarchal Studies, has produced a long-awaited, groundbreaking study which not only addresses the origins of patriarchy, but more importantly, the long period of human history which preceded it. Covering the period from the Paleolithic to the Iron Age, she takes us on a journey from the earliest mother-centered societies of the Paleolithic, to the matriarchal societies of the Neolithic, and finally to the period when all that remains are matriarchal elements within patriarchal surroundings. Along the way she debunks many cultural myths, including the myth of eternal warfare."—Dr. Joan Cichon, Independent Scholar, Author and Co-director of the Association of Women and Mythology"In this time of planetary crisis that many of us believe has been caused by the toxic mix of Patriarchy and Capitalism, this book is an answer to the urgent question, 'Where did Patriarchy come from?' Dr. Goettner-Abendroth's profound research and deep alternative perspective bring to light the roots of our present dis-ease and give hope that by knowing the truth of the past we can find a way to heal the future. This book should be required reading for feminists and social change activists everywhere."—Genevieve Vaughan, Philosopher, Author of Many Books and Founder of International Feminists for a Gift Economy

What does it mean to be white in a society that proclaims race meaningless, yet is deeply divided by race? In the face of pervasive racial inequality and segregation, most white people cannot answer that question. In the second edition of this seminal text, Robin DiAngelo reveals the factors that make this question so difficult: mis-education about what racism is; ideologies such as individualism and colorblindness; segregation; and the belief that to be complicit in racism is to be an immoral person. These factors contribute to what she terms white racial illiteracy. Speaking as a white person to other white people, DiAngelo clearly and compellingly takes readers through an analysis of white socialization. Weaving research, analysis, stories, images, and familiar examples, she provides the framework needed to develop white racial literacy. She describes how race shapes the lives of white people, explains what makes racism so hard to see, identifies common white racial patterns, and speaks back to popular narratives that work to deny racism. Written as an accessible overview on white identity from an anti-racist framework, What Does It Mean to Be White? is an invaluable resource for members of diversity and anti-racism programs and study groups, and students of sociology, psychology, education, and other disciplines. This revised edition features two new chapters, including one on DiAngelo’s influential concept of white fragility. Written to be accessible both within and without academia, this revised edition also features discussion questions, an index, and a glossary.

With the increasing interdependence and harmonization of educational systems and achievement expectations, the necessity to cooperate across national borders and differences is becoming more evident. A serious problem that has not received sufficient attention arises from different concepts of the planning and implementation of teaching. Two basic models predominate internationally: the Anglo-Saxon tradition of curriculum and the Continental European tradition of Didaktik. Didaktik and/or Curriculum presents core issues of an international dialogue aiming at a comparative analysis of both traditions as an indispensable precondition for mutual understanding and successful cooperation.

This volume represents a unique contribution to the area of language attitudes research with its focus on how languages, dialects and accents induce us to form social judgments about people who use these forms.The essays attend to evaluations of speech styles across nations. No previous work has embraced this comparative perspective globally, but such a volume that situates language and attitude research in the 21st century is long overdue.The content is culturally diverse and showcases the work of eminent scholars across the globe. Each chapter brings its own theoretical interpretation to this field of study, and the book provides the reader with a plethora of models that extend our understanding of language attitudes.It is fitting that Cindy Gallois, who has incisively contributed to research on language attitudes over the past 30 years, provides an epilogue on the current state of language attitudes research.

Public relations experts and crisis management personnel have done an excellent job over the years of drawing attention to the grand scope of risks associated with crisis. Particularly in the present challenging economic conditions, organizations have become aware of the costs of crises and are willing to put forth effort and resources in crisis prevention. In this book, the editors and contributors offer significant insight into the critical considerations of crisis preparation as well as the importance of anticipation and pre-crisis planning.Pre-crisis planning has been a part of crisis management ever since scholars and practitioners began researching it. This book presents some of the most detailed and thorough insights published to date and serves as an example of where future research can go.

This edited volume, which elaborates on the idea and concept of sustainable journalism, is the result of a perceived lack of integral research approaches to journalism and sustainable development. Thirty years ago, in 1987, the Brundtland Report pointed out economic growth, social equality and environmental protection as the three main pillars of a sustainable development. These pillars are intertwined, interdependent, and need to be reconciled. However, usually, scholars interested in the business crisis of the media industry tend to leave the social and environmental dimensions of journalism aside, and vice versa. What Is Sustainable Journalism? is the first book that discusses and examines the economic, social and environmental challenges of professional journalism simultaneously. This unique book and fresh contribution to the discussion of the future of journalism assembles international expertise in all three fields, arguing for the necessity of integral research perspectives and for sustainable journalism as the key to long-term survival of professional journalism. The book is relevant for scholars and master’s students in media economy, media and communication, and environmental communication.

As demographics change and the southern American region grows more multicultural, clashes between mentalities and contemporary population realties increase. Somalis in the Neo-South: African Immigration, Politics and Race offers a balanced and insightful look at Somalis in the southern United States. Politically centered, it is a thought-provoking book that presents an essential and positive alternative to the familiar portrayal of Somalis in the United States as terrorists. It explains the U.S. resettlement process and illuminates the civic engagement and entrepreneurship of Somalis in Clarkston, Georgia, and Nashville, Tennessee.

Grounded in path-breaking research but written in an accessible, engaging style Moral Talk Across the Lifespan explores how our most fundamental moral commitments are shaped by crucial conversations with family members, romantic partners, and friends. Taking a lifespan approach, the authors demonstrate that moral growth is a continual process, one stimulated by transitions (e.g., leaving home for university) and disruptive events (serious illness). With chapters penned by leading relationship scholars, the volume contributes original thinking, data, and innovative theoretical pathways for researchers. For instructors it explores pressing moral questions encountered by students in their own relationships with romantic partners, friends, parents, and other family members. When is revealing a secret the right thing to do? Is revenge ever a worthy response to an insult or sleight? Why are young adults persuaded to accept some of their parents’ values but not others? Is there a right (or wrong) way to support a parent facing a terminal illness? Moral Talk Across the Lifespan offers a stimulating blend of social science research and moral reflection. It is a key text for courses in Relational Communication, Family Communication, Interpersonal Communication, and Communication Ethics.

In the 1910s, the American woman suffrage movement became a modern mass movement by using visual culture to transform consciousness and gain adherents. As part of this transformation, suffrage organizations produced several films and related cinematic projects, including four full-length, nationally distributed feature productions. This activist use was one of the first instances in the United States that a social movement recognized and harnessed the power of cinema to transform consciousness and, in turn, the social order. Suffrage and the Silver Screen discusses how the suffrage movement accomplished this formidable goal through analysis of the local and national uses of cinema by the movement. Amy Shore argues that these works must be considered as part of a political filmmaking tradition among feminists. The book contextualizes the films within the politics and practices of the suffrage organizations that produced them in order to understand and assess the strategic role of these films. By examining these works, the history of both suffrage and cinema is necessarily reconsidered and expanded. Suffrage and the Silver Screen is an essential resource for those studying early cinema, women and cinema, the woman suffrage movement, and the use of visual media in social movements.

"You changed my life" – this is the gist of the fan mail Patricia Nell Warren received following the publication of her New York Times bestseller The Front Runner (1974). This book looks at her life, her Ukrainian poetry and translation of a national epic, her sequels to The Front Runner and the most famous gay movie never made, her other novels, and her many contributions to gay and straight magazines. Homosexuality and sports, Catholic morality, right-wing politics, AIDS, queer families, Native American pride, stewardship of our planet, the conflict between Ukraine and Russia – all those issues remain timely, even several years after the death of a woman who changed so many lives."This groundbreaking book provides a comprehensive exposition, insightful analysis, and discussion of the impact of Patricia Nell Warren’s life, experiences as well as both her literary fiction and non-fiction. Dr. Endres has written the only book that adequately covers the life and work of Patricia Nell Warren, an author who played a key role in the development and showcasing of the modern gay movement. Without a doubt, this is the definitive book on Patricia Nell Warren. Having known Patricia well for over twenty years, I am aware of her respect for Nikolai Endres and his work and also how pleased and honored she would be with this outstanding volume about her."—John Selig, LGBTQ+ podcaster, activist, photographer, and friend of Patricia Nell Warren

What is the role of literature in the Transtasman region? Brigid Magner shows us the richness and variety of the Transtasman literary region, which extends between Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, including lutruwita/Tasmania. She draws attention to the region’s quiet persistence despite its apparent fragmentation across national borders. By performing close readings of contemporary texts in which the shared boundary of Te Tai-o-Rēhua/Tasman Sea features powerfully, Magner illuminates what these works of fiction ‘know’ about life in this cross-border zone, with topics ranging from deportation and abortion, to coercive control and shearing. The featured authors treat Transtasman mobility as textually meaningful and gesture towards a literary world that is hidden in plain sight. The literary forms they employ both reflect and in some cases create connections that move beyond their nations of origin. This book offers new understandings of the ways in which Transtasman literary works may be downplayed, ignored, or claimed by one nation, instead of being seen from a more generative transnational perspective.In The Transtasman Literary Region Brigid Magner re-imagines, through lenses provided by a close reading of a dozen literary texts, the sea boundary between Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia as permeable, indeed porous, ambiguous, and sometimes dangerous too. It is a ground-breaking work which introduces us to something more fluid, generative and unpredictable than the brittle pieties of nation states with their borders and their bureaucracies: a living membrane through which people, books and ideas pass and repass, exchanging intelligence - Martin Edmond, New Zealand writer and independent scholar

Rock Criticism from the Beginning is a wide-ranging exploration of the rise and development of rock criticism in Britain and the United States from the 1960s to the present. It chronicles the evolution of a new form of journalism, and the course by which writing on rock was transformed into a respected field of cultural production. The authors explore the establishment of magazines from Crawdaddy! and Rolling Stone to The Source, and from Melody Maker and New Musical Express to The Wire, while investigating the careers of well-known music critics like Robert Christgau, Greil Marcus, and Lester Bangs in the U.S., and Nik Cohn, Paul Morley, and Jon Savage in the U.K., to name just a few. While much has been written on the history of rock, this Bourdieu-inspired book is the first to offer a look at the coming of age of rock journalism, and the critics that opened up a whole new kind of discourse on popular music.

In times of extreme cascading global crises facing humanity, all responsible humans need to re-evaluate the dominant worldview that has brought us to this point of facing extinction. As a species we need to relearn the "good" ways from our greatest allies in Nature and from Indigenous cultures that lived in relative harmony with Nature. Equally, we need to learn the best ways to think critically and act on the holistic understanding that may guide us beyond our individual and collective trance and illusions cast forth like chains upon modern societies through elites who manipulate fear.Fearless Engagement of Four Arrows offers a unique strong "medicine" for the reconstruction of a healthy, sane, and sustainable future for all. Utilizing the form of an intellectual biography of Four Arrows (aka Dr. Don Trent Jacobs) and his daring activist life and true teaching stories, the author creates a powerful adventure into the firey philosophy, activism, and emancipatory inspirations of one of the world’s great visionary prophetic educators and social transformers. Through a number of unique experiences, including firefighting, white-water kayaking, wild horse training, world-class athletic competitions, and counter-cultural activism, Four Arrows has become a connoisseur of fear and courage. This book shows how he walks a universal ethical path of Fearlessness at a time when too many remain trapped by their fears.Among other readers, high school teachers and post-secondary teachers across diverse disciplines will find great ideas, eliciting dialogues and study questions for students, who now face a globalizing world where they can take charge of the future via fearless engagement.

With current surging polarities of perspectives, dangerous culture wars and immanent threats to the human social and ecological fabric, it is a good time to rediscover the true meaning of fear through the eyes of a creative and endearingly outrageous educator who taught ‘Fear is not the enemy.’ Through a combination of fi ction and non-fiction, this book offers a fi rst documentation of the philosophy and story of Samuel Nathan Gillian Jr. (1939-2006), an African-American educator-activist from the Bronx, New York. Fisher takes readers on a journey of growth and development with a protagonist named Deana, a sophomore college student, as she comes to understand the radical importance of her Uncle Sammy’s life and work. Embellished with the intellectual rigor of a biography of a wise man, Fisher tracks his own relationship and those who knew and loved Samuel as the tension grows to a pitch in the story. Yet, the real brilliance lies in the psychological, philosophical and spiritual twists Sam Gillian brought forward in two stunning books on fear (2002, 2005) that this book revives. Fisher, who has studied fear systematically since 1989, has never met a unique thinker like Sam Gillian. Through Fisher’s eyes, the special signifi cance of Gillian’s work is brought to the general and well-educated reading public. An essential book for post-secondary education on fear management, a resource guide for school teachers, parents, psychologists, policy makers and anyone who seeks to help humanity establish a sustainable, moral and healthy relationship with fear.

Media and Transnational Climate Justice captures the intriguing nexus of globalization, crisis, justice, activism and news communication, at a time when radical measures are increasingly demanded to address one of the most pressing global issues: climate change. Anna Roosvall and Matthew Tegelberg take a unique approach to climate justice by focusing on transnational rather than international aspects, thereby contributing to the development of theories of justice for a global age, as well as in relation to media studies. The book specifically explores the roles, situations and activism of indigenous peoples who do not have full representation at UN climate summits despite being among those most exposed to injustices pertaining to climate change, as well as to injustices relating to politics and media coverage. This book thus scrutinizes political and ideological dimensions of the global phenomenon of climate change through interviews and observations with indigenous activists at UN climate summits, in combination with extensive empirical research conducted on legacy and social media coverage of climate change and indigenous peoples. The authors conclude by discussing transnational solidarity and suggest a solidarian mode of communication as a response to both the global crisis of climate change and the broader issues of injustice faced by indigenous peoples regarding redistribution, recognition and political representation.

An invitation to write, to play, to be affected, to be permissive in taking note: all these gestures of freedom compose Novel Education. Britzman opens the crypt of research to and finds the perils and pleasures of narrating life in the human professions. It is at once an introduction to psychoanalytic theories of everyday education and a guide to perplexed learning. Each chapter considers the situation of pedagogy through the dream of education and analyzes learning through its emotional experiences and passions. New attention is given to aesthetic conflicts made from trying to know intersubjective life. Topics include studies of inhibition, sexuality, aggression and depression, the problems of sexual enlightenement, the uses of free association and the transference, and the play between creativity and anxiety.The second edition includes a new opening note on the problems of experience and case writing for the human sciences. A concluding chapter, "Writing on the Mind" joins a theory of group psychology to new formulations on creativity for students, teachers, parents, analysts, and children. This thought-provoking book is essential reading for undergraduates and graduates students, those teaching and learning in professional education in the fields of counseling, social work, education, and psychotherapy and anyone involved in the learning lives of others. An invitation to write, to play, to be affected, to be permissive in our note taking: All these gestures of freedom compose the play of novel education.

This powerful intersectional social justice book examines animal, disability, and environmental oppression and justice. Located in disability studies, sociology, environmental justice, food justice, and critical animal studies, this book engages the reader in an intersectional ecological manner for an inclusive interdependent global community. This outstanding collection of original articles by scholars from around the world discusses the need to acknowledge the relationships among nonhuman animals, those with disabilities, and the environment. Adaptive sports from mountain biking to rock climbing is saving the lives of those with disabilities from extreme depression and suicide at the same time those with disabilities are becoming some of the most loyal advocates for defending the environment from human destruction. Those with disabilities are being welcomed into the animal rights movement and also introduced to nonhuman animals not as merely service animals, but as friends, allies, and companions.

Marshall McLuhan made many predictions in his seminal 1964 publication, Understanding Media: Extensions of Man. Among them were his predictions that the Internet would become a «global village,» making us more interconnected than television; the closing of the gap between consumers and producers; the elimination of space and time as barriers to communication; and the melting of national borders. He is also famously remembered for coining the expression «the medium is the message.» These predictions form the genesis of this updated volume by Robert K. Logan, a friend and colleague who worked with McLuhan. In this second edition of Understanding New Media Logan expertly updates McLuhan’s Understanding Media to analyze the «new media» McLuhan foreshadowed and yet was never able to analyze or experience. The book is designed to reach a new generation of readers as well as appealing to scholars and students who are familiar with Understanding Media.

Christine L. Nystrom’s provocative work offers up a fresh approach to ongoing—and increasingly urgent—questions about the role of symbols and technology in shaping human experience. In lucid, lively, and always-accessible prose, she examines an eclectic range of topics—from Hopi grammar to the etiquette of beach-going to the primal allure of the horror film—to uncover the principles that structure the way we make meaning of our world. A cross-disciplinary tour de force, The Genes of Culture integrates insights from philosophy, the physical sciences, social psychology, and cultural criticism to pose challenging questions for today’s students of media. This book is an exemplary foundation reader for graduates or undergraduates in communication and media studies.

The purpose of this book is to understand the nature of social media and the impact they are having on almost all aspects of modern-day existence from family life and social interactions to education and commerce. Just as fish are unaware of the water they swim in and we humans are unaware of the air that we breathe so it is that the users of social media are unaware of the effects of these media and take their existence as a natural part of their environment. The authors make use of Marshall McLuhan’s media ecology approach to understanding media in order to reveal the effects of social media on their users, how they are changing the nature of our social interactions and how we through our interaction with social media have become actual extensions of our social media, the reverse of McLuhan’s notion that media are extensions of mankind. The authors analyze the major social media apps including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Reddit, Tinder, YouTube, TikTok, Twitter and blogs as well as examining the Splinternet and the social media scene in Russia, China, North Korea, Vietnam and the Islamic world. Understanding Social Media studies the impacts of social media monopolies, the nature of advertising and branding in social media apps and the social media front in cyberwarfare and concludes with an analysis of the social media counter revolution waged by players who actually helped to create social media.

This book compares ways in which children’s rights in, to, and through education, formal and informal, are viewed and implemented in a variety of social and political contexts, aiming to shed light on how policies and practices can improve equal access to high quality education in an environment which is respectful of children’s rights. Chapters focus on understanding the opportunities for and challenges of addressing children’s rights to participation and to inclusion. Authors draw from a variety of disciplines, including critical and cultural studies of childhood, and bring internationally comparative policy perspectives to share nuanced and contrasting examples of ways in which a rights-based approach to education might empower children and youth. The book deepens and complicates research on children’s education rights, and will contribute to courses in comparative education, childhood studies, education policy, and children’s rights.

In Stalin’s Soviet Monastery Russian scholar Jim Curtis integrates innovative work in linguistics, anthropology, and media theory to develop a holistic analysis of Russian society that includes a theoretically based rationale for ignoring ideology in favor of cultural dynamics. While the young Iosif Djugashvili, later known as Joseph Stalin, was studying to be a priest in an Orthodox seminary, he took on the role that defined his political career, that of a sadistic elder who imposed fiendish vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience on hapless Soviet citizens. As an exercise in historical anthropology, Stalin’s Soviet Monastery emphasizes the role of myth and ritual in Russia, a society with strong residual orality. The imitation of Christ is called passion-suffering, a practice that helps to explain the widespread acquiescence to Stalin’s practices. Stalin was intensely interested in literature, and his favorite author was Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Some passages in Dostoyevsky’s work anticipate key features of Stalinism. An Afterword discusses the development of Russian society after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Intersectionality of Critical Animal Studies: A Historical Collection represents the very best that the internationally scholarly Journal for Critical Animal Studies (JCAS) has published in terms of articles that are written by public critical scholar-activists-organizers for public critical scholar-activists-organizers. This move toward publishing pieces about engaging social change, rather than high-theoretical detached analysis of nonhuman animals in society, is to regain focus for liberation at all costs. The essays in this collection focus on intersectionality scholarship within the realm of Critical Animal Studies, and discuss issues related to race, gender, disability, class, and queerness. Not only are these articles historically significant within the field of Critical Animal Studies, but they are integral to the overall social justice movement. Intersectionality of Critical Animal Studies: A Historical Collection should be read by anyone interested in the Critical Animal Studies field, as we consider them to be classic writings that should be respected as foundational texts. There are many interesting and innovative texts, but these are historical, not only because they were published in JCAS, but because they were among the first to publish on a particular intersectional issue.

This work attempts to show that the Qur'an is a manual granted by a just and loving Creator to humanity so that it would recognize its primordially divine-oriented nature and the moral implications thereof. Taleghani holds that a proper understanding of that primordial nature could reawaken humankind's capacity for responsible thinking and action, leading people to become critical of bad forms of capitalism, biased thinking against their fellow human beings and the environment, and corrupt politics. Calling for an Islamic ethics of care, Taleghani weaves through selected surahs in the Qur'an to warn people against turning their back on the divine, demonstrating with penetrating hermeneutical insights that the divine wisdom in the Qur'an guides humankind toward a just, fair, and morally balanced world. Taleghani's method in A Ray of the Qur'an mirrors his belief that this work should not be described as an interpretation, an explanation, or an explication of the Qur'an but, rather, as an effort to allow glimpses of divine guidance to shine on some minds and hearts. His vast grasp of scientific, philosophical, theological, ethical, and historical insights give his hermeneutical outlook a tone not easily found in similar works on the Qur'an. The work contains valuable insights not only to students and scholars of Islam and the Qur'an but also to those engaged in comparative religious studies, theology, ethics, and the study of Arabic.“And We have certainly presented for the people in this Qur’ān from every [kind of] example that they might remember.” —The Qur’ān, Az-Zumar/39:27“Whatever is written about the āyāt, and from the point of view of guidance by the Holy Qur’ān,…should not be counted as the final intent of the Holy Qur’an. Thus, I found the title and name ‘A Ray of the Qur’ān’ suitable for it.” —Sayyed Mahmoud Taleghani“Taleghani chose his addressees among university students from various areas of studies of science instead of seminary students. Speaking with the language of the time—the language of the new sciences and new ways of learning— he tried to bring the Qur’ān to the scene of action and living, making it the guide to both the individual and societal lives of people.” —Abdolali Bazargan“This is a very original and important book, and a welcome addition to the contemporary scholarship in the field of Islamic Studies in general and Qur’ānic Studies in particular… by one of the most eminent religious scholars…who was also a relentless… advocate for justice and…freedom.” —Mohammad H. FaghfooryIt is not possible to overstate the importance of this translation of the invaluable, awe-inspiring and cogent contribution to understanding the causes of and solutions to the problems of human societies.” —Abbas Mirakhor

Who Speaks for Writing confronts a range of current debates about stewardship in writing studies in the 21st century.In recent years, writing studies has become more and more institutionalized in departments, programs, and majors. Specializations within the discipline have proliferated as have moments of collaboration. These circumstances make an exploration and understanding of the stakes in this burgeoning field important.The authors represent a broad range of expertise and specialization in the field, and they seek to answer questions not only about the current ownership of writing studies but also about the theoretical and practical applications of this ownership. Their chapters offer new directions for composition theorists, teachers, and administrators for the 21st century.

Simone Weil, a brilliant young teacher, philosopher, and social activist, wrote the essay, The ‘Iliad’ or the Poem of Force at France at the beginning of World War II. Her profound meditation on the nature of violence provides a remarkably vivid and accessible testament of the Greek epic’s continuing relevance to our lives. This celebrated work appears here for the first time in a bilingual version, based on the text of the authoritative edition of the author’s complete writings. An introduction discusses the significance of the essay both in the evolution of Weil’s thought and as a distinctively iconoclastic contribution to Homeric studies. The commentary draws on recent interpretations of the Iliad and examines the parallels between Weil’s vision of Homer’s warriors and the experiences of modern soldiers.