Shortcuts – serie

Not so long ago zombies rarely shuffled out of B-grade horror movies and cult comic books, but today they are everywhere. Zombies are proliferating, demonstrating an extraordinary capacity to transport fluidly from genre to genre, from the apocalyptic future to the already survived past, and in and out of fictional form. Today they can be found in just about any genre or discourse and as they move sinuously across the cultural landscape they keep morphing; taking on ever new and ever more bizarre associations. Zombies would appear to be unthinkable, the ultimate nightmare of a world devoured by the dead, and yet more and more often this horror-scape provides a form of figurative capture for the way things are. This book explores why.Zombies explores the recent transformation of zombie from cult genre to a figure that pervades western culture. Rutherford examines the zombie as a powerful metaphor for a constellation of social forces that define contemporary reality. This is an ideal introduction to all that is social about zombies, for students and general readers alike.Extracts from Zombies, were recently published in Australian newspapers, The Age, The Canberra Times and the Sydney Morning Herald. Available now to read online: www.theage.com.au/entertainment/books/dead-right-20130620-2olqr.html

Not so long ago zombies rarely shuffled out of B-grade horror movies and cult comic books, but today they are everywhere. Zombies are proliferating, demonstrating an extraordinary capacity to transport fluidly from genre to genre, from the apocalyptic future to the already survived past, and in and out of fictional form. Today they can be found in just about any genre or discourse and as they move sinuously across the cultural landscape they keep morphing; taking on ever new and ever more bizarre associations. Zombies would appear to be unthinkable, the ultimate nightmare of a world devoured by the dead, and yet more and more often this horror-scape provides a form of figurative capture for the way things are. This book explores why.Zombies explores the recent transformation of zombie from cult genre to a figure that pervades western culture. Rutherford examines the zombie as a powerful metaphor for a constellation of social forces that define contemporary reality. This is an ideal introduction to all that is social about zombies, for students and general readers alike.Extracts from Zombies, were recently published in Australian newspapers, The Age, The Canberra Times and the Sydney Morning Herald. Available now to read online: www.theage.com.au/entertainment/books/dead-right-20130620-2olqr.html

Everyone talks about their feelings, but what exactly are they? What are the distinguishing features of feelings, and how do they differ from emotions and affects? How do our feelings influence the kinds of people we are, and the sorts of communities and societies in which we live? In this wonderful short book, acclaimed author Stephen Frosh interrogates the terrain of feelings and asks how this ‘hidden’ dimension of the self helps shape our worlds. The book provides an accessible and thought-provoking introduction to the major debates around feelings in the modern world.Feelings is an accessible and engaging resource for students, academics, and indeed anyone with an interest in gaining a better understanding of this fundamental area of life.

Everyone talks about their feelings, but what exactly are they? What are the distinguishing features of feelings, and how do they differ from emotions and affects? How do our feelings influence the kinds of people we are, and the sorts of communities and societies in which we live? In this wonderful short book, acclaimed author Stephen Frosh interrogates the terrain of feelings and asks how this ‘hidden’ dimension of the self helps shape our worlds. The book provides an accessible and thought-provoking introduction to the major debates around feelings in the modern world.Feelings is an accessible and engaging resource for students, academics, and indeed anyone with an interest in gaining a better understanding of this fundamental area of life.

What are the manifest and likely future consequences of climate change? How will the world respond to the challenges of climate change in the twenty-first century? How should people think about confronting the politics of climate change?In this highly accessible introduction to the predicted global impacts of climate change, Constance Lever-Tracy provides an authoritative guide to one of the most controversial issues facing the future of our planet. Discussing how the social and natural sciences must work together more effectively in confronting climate change, Lever-Tracy provides a sober, critical assessment of the politics of global warming and climate change.By combining sociology, environmental studies and politics, Confronting Climate Change will serve as an introduction that will appeal to students and general readers alike.

What are the manifest and likely future consequences of climate change? How will the world respond to the challenges of climate change in the twenty-first century? How should people think about confronting the politics of climate change?In this highly accessible introduction to the predicted global impacts of climate change, Constance Lever-Tracy provides an authoritative guide to one of the most controversial issues facing the future of our planet. Discussing how the social and natural sciences must work together more effectively in confronting climate change, Lever-Tracy provides a sober, critical assessment of the politics of global warming and climate change.By combining sociology, environmental studies and politics, Confronting Climate Change will serve as an introduction that will appeal to students and general readers alike.

In an age when the Western world is preoccupied with worries about weapons of mass destruction in terrorist hands, terrorists across many parts of the globe are using a more basic device as a weapon – life itself. Suicide bombing has become a weapon of choice among terrorist groups because of its lethality and unrivalled ability to cause mayhem and fear, but what is the real driving force behind these attacks? For the first time, Suicide Bombings analyzes concrete data from The Suicide Terrorism Database at Flinders University, Australia, to explain what motivates the perpetrators. The results serve to largely discredit common wisdom that religion and an impressionable personality are the principal causes, and show rather that a cocktail of motivations fuel these attacks which include politics, humiliation, revenge, retaliation, and altruism.Suicide Bombings provides a short but incisive insight into this much publicized form of terrorism, and as such is an informative and engaging resource for students, academics, and indeed anyone with an interest in this topic.

In an age when the Western world is preoccupied with worries about weapons of mass destruction in terrorist hands, terrorists across many parts of the globe are using a more basic device as a weapon – life itself. Suicide bombing has become a weapon of choice among terrorist groups because of its lethality and unrivalled ability to cause mayhem and fear, but what is the real driving force behind these attacks? For the first time, Suicide Bombings analyzes concrete data from The Suicide Terrorism Database at Flinders University, Australia, to explain what motivates the perpetrators. The results serve to largely discredit common wisdom that religion and an impressionable personality are the principal causes, and show rather that a cocktail of motivations fuel these attacks which include politics, humiliation, revenge, retaliation, and altruism.Suicide Bombings provides a short but incisive insight into this much publicized form of terrorism, and as such is an informative and engaging resource for students, academics, and indeed anyone with an interest in this topic.

Written under the shadow of the global financial crisis, this book charts the current shape of global finance and tries to explain why the crisis arose – and what can be done about it. Economics alone cannot fully explain how global finance operates, and why it is so crisis prone. Global Finance offers a wider approach in three key ways, by:setting markets and financial market failure in a historical contextbringing politics and culture back into the analysis of global financedrawing on the latest thinking by sociologists of economic life.With a convincing argument for better regulation of markets, Robert Holton provides a fascinating insight into the volatile and often misunderstood world of global finance. This is a key text for undergraduate students of sociology, economics, business, and politics, as well as being an incisive, informative read for anyone with an interest in this topical issue.

Written under the shadow of the global financial crisis, this book charts the current shape of global finance and tries to explain why the crisis arose – and what can be done about it. Economics alone cannot fully explain how global finance operates, and why it is so crisis prone. Global Finance offers a wider approach in three key ways, by:setting markets and financial market failure in a historical contextbringing politics and culture back into the analysis of global financedrawing on the latest thinking by sociologists of economic life.With a convincing argument for better regulation of markets, Robert Holton provides a fascinating insight into the volatile and often misunderstood world of global finance. This is a key text for undergraduate students of sociology, economics, business, and politics, as well as being an incisive, informative read for anyone with an interest in this topical issue.

Impending environmental catastrophe, threat of terrorism, viruses both biological and virtual, disease: there seem to be so many reasons to panic today. But what is panic and why does it happen?This book uses a range of literature from sociology, cultural studies and popular psychology to develop an original analysis of panic in contemporary social life. Bringing together academic literature from a range of disciplines, films, novels and current affairs, it encourages thought about why and how we panic – both individually and collectively. Keith Tester explores how cataclysmic events and smaller-scale episodes expose the fragility of our relationships, institutions and expectations. He shows how thinking about panic reveals key aspects of contemporary social, cultural and personal relationships.Panic is a highly readable and incisive introduction to the subject for students, scholars and all those who want to know what panic means and why it is important.

Impending environmental catastrophe, threat of terrorism, viruses both biological and virtual, disease: there seem to be so many reasons to panic today. But what is panic and why does it happen?This book uses a range of literature from sociology, cultural studies and popular psychology to develop an original analysis of panic in contemporary social life. Bringing together academic literature from a range of disciplines, films, novels and current affairs, it encourages thought about why and how we panic – both individually and collectively. Keith Tester explores how cataclysmic events and smaller-scale episodes expose the fragility of our relationships, institutions and expectations. He shows how thinking about panic reveals key aspects of contemporary social, cultural and personal relationships.Panic is a highly readable and incisive introduction to the subject for students, scholars and all those who want to know what panic means and why it is important.

Freedom is commonly recognized as the struggle for basic liberties, societies based upon open dialogue, human rights and democracy. The idea of freedom is central to western ideas of modernity, but this engaging, accessible book argues that if we look back at the history of the idea of freedom, then what we mean by it is far more contested than we might think. To what extent does freedom have a ‘social’ component, and how is it being reshaped by our dominant consumer society? This book represents a wake-up call to all those who thought our basic ideas of freedom were settled.Today, the West sees itself as having a crucial role to play in exporting freedom into the far regions of the world – but our own freedom seems more under threat than ever. Linking ideas of public and personal freedom, Stevenson explores complaints about ‘big brother’, the arrival of the business society and the erosion of democracy to show how our freedoms are far from secure. Seeking to affirm the importance of freedom, this book provides a compelling argument for linking it to other values such as equality and responsibility. Drawing upon a range of critical thinkers and perspectives, Stevenson asks what freedom will come to mean in the future, in a world that seems increasingly fragile, uncertain and insecure.

Freedom is commonly recognized as the struggle for basic liberties, societies based upon open dialogue, human rights and democracy. The idea of freedom is central to western ideas of modernity, but this engaging, accessible book argues that if we look back at the history of the idea of freedom, then what we mean by it is far more contested than we might think. To what extent does freedom have a ‘social’ component, and how is it being reshaped by our dominant consumer society? This book represents a wake-up call to all those who thought our basic ideas of freedom were settled.Today, the West sees itself as having a crucial role to play in exporting freedom into the far regions of the world – but our own freedom seems more under threat than ever. Linking ideas of public and personal freedom, Stevenson explores complaints about ‘big brother’, the arrival of the business society and the erosion of democracy to show how our freedoms are far from secure. Seeking to affirm the importance of freedom, this book provides a compelling argument for linking it to other values such as equality and responsibility. Drawing upon a range of critical thinkers and perspectives, Stevenson asks what freedom will come to mean in the future, in a world that seems increasingly fragile, uncertain and insecure.

Sport generates some of the most intense feelings and levels of commitment. It is big business globally, but also the source of the most powerful personal identifications and individual and collective pleasures. Sporting events are routine and embodied, whether in the gym, on the field or at the training ground, and they are also spectacular, for example in mega events at the stadium or, for followers at a distance, through the media of television, radio and the Internet. Large numbers of people are caught up in personal and collective investment and public engagement with sport. Why does it matter so much?In this book, Woodward demonstrates why sport matters and how, arguing that we should take sport seriously, and explore what is social about it. Sport is not just another domain to which social theories can be applied; it is also distinctive and generates new ways of thinking about social issues and debates. Sport is affected by the global economy and social, political and cultural processes – but it also shapes the wider social terrain of which it is part. Sport reproduces inequalities as well as offering opportunities. It is not always a level playing field. Sport is more than play.Planet Sport is an engaging and concise introduction to some of the big issues in contemporary debates about sport in globalised societies, and will appeal to students, academics and general readers alike.

Sport generates some of the most intense feelings and levels of commitment. It is big business globally, but also the source of the most powerful personal identifications and individual and collective pleasures. Sporting events are routine and embodied, whether in the gym, on the field or at the training ground, and they are also spectacular, for example in mega events at the stadium or, for followers at a distance, through the media of television, radio and the Internet. Large numbers of people are caught up in personal and collective investment and public engagement with sport. Why does it matter so much?In this book, Woodward demonstrates why sport matters and how, arguing that we should take sport seriously, and explore what is social about it. Sport is not just another domain to which social theories can be applied; it is also distinctive and generates new ways of thinking about social issues and debates. Sport is affected by the global economy and social, political and cultural processes – but it also shapes the wider social terrain of which it is part. Sport reproduces inequalities as well as offering opportunities. It is not always a level playing field. Sport is more than play.Planet Sport is an engaging and concise introduction to some of the big issues in contemporary debates about sport in globalised societies, and will appeal to students, academics and general readers alike.

Love is a dominant theme in Western popular culture. It has become central to the meaning of everyday life, propagated through the media and the market. Being in love has become idealised. With the demise of institutional religion in the West, romantic love has become the dominant form of inner-worldly salvation. In Foucault’s terms, it has become a key component in the ‘arts of existence’ and the care of self. In this highly accessible introduction to love of all kinds, Tom Inglis gives a clear, concise picture of how love shapes, and is shaped by, society. How is romantic love linked to capitalism? What is the difference between romantic love and loving? How is love connected to separation, loss and grief? Inglis addresses all these questions, and looks at how today’s changing circumstances – globalisation, mobile lives and a new rugged individualism – have changed our perceptions of love and relationships.Love is an engaging, thoughtful introduction to the subject for students, academics and general readers alike.

Love is a dominant theme in Western popular culture. It has become central to the meaning of everyday life, propagated through the media and the market. Being in love has become idealised. With the demise of institutional religion in the West, romantic love has become the dominant form of inner-worldly salvation. In Foucault’s terms, it has become a key component in the ‘arts of existence’ and the care of self. In this highly accessible introduction to love of all kinds, Tom Inglis gives a clear, concise picture of how love shapes, and is shaped by, society. How is romantic love linked to capitalism? What is the difference between romantic love and loving? How is love connected to separation, loss and grief? Inglis addresses all these questions, and looks at how today’s changing circumstances – globalisation, mobile lives and a new rugged individualism – have changed our perceptions of love and relationships.Love is an engaging, thoughtful introduction to the subject for students, academics and general readers alike.

Web 2.0 is a highly accessible introductory text examining all the crucial discussions and issues which surround the changing nature of the World Wide Web. It not only contextualises the Web 2.0 within the history of the Web, but also goes on to explore its position within the broader dispositif of emerging media technologies.The book uncovers the connections between diverse media technologies including mobile smart phones, hand-held multimedia players, "netbooks" and electronic book readers such as the Amazon Kindle, all of which are made possible only by the Web 2.0. In addition, Web 2.0 makes a valuable contribution towards understanding the new developments in mobile computing as it integrates various aspects of social networking, whilst also tackling head-on the recent controversial debates that have arisen in a backlash to the Web 2.0.Providing valuable insight into this emerging area of the World Wide Web, Web 2.0 is a key supplementary text for undergraduate students of media studies, sociology, philosophy and other related disciplines, as well as being an informative read for anyone with an interest in this key contemporary issue.

Web 2.0 is a highly accessible introductory text examining all the crucial discussions and issues which surround the changing nature of the World Wide Web. It not only contextualises the Web 2.0 within the history of the Web, but also goes on to explore its position within the broader dispositif of emerging media technologies.The book uncovers the connections between diverse media technologies including mobile smart phones, hand-held multimedia players, "netbooks" and electronic book readers such as the Amazon Kindle, all of which are made possible only by the Web 2.0. In addition, Web 2.0 makes a valuable contribution towards understanding the new developments in mobile computing as it integrates various aspects of social networking, whilst also tackling head-on the recent controversial debates that have arisen in a backlash to the Web 2.0.Providing valuable insight into this emerging area of the World Wide Web, Web 2.0 is a key supplementary text for undergraduate students of media studies, sociology, philosophy and other related disciplines, as well as being an informative read for anyone with an interest in this key contemporary issue.

In Food, John Coveney examines ‘food as … ’ identity, politics, industry, regulation, the environment, justice and gastronomy. He explores how food helps us understand what it means to be human.The centrality of food in life, and the importance of food as life, is undeniable. As a source of biological substrates, personal pleasure and political power, food is and has been an enduring requirement of human biological, social and cultural existence. In recent years, interest in food has increased across the academic, public and popular spheres, fuelled by popular media’s constant play on the role of food and body size, and food and cooking, as a mass spectacle for TV audiences. Through food, we construct our social identities, our families and communities. However, Coveney also highlights the tensions between the industrialisation of food, the environment, and the iniquitous distribution of food. He also considers how the food industries, on which most of us must rely, have also had direct effects on our bodies through diet, and the development of illness and diseases.This accessible primer is for students and general readers alike, indeed, for anyone with an interest in food. It questions the idea that food is merely something inert on the plate. Instead, it shows how influential, symbolic, powerful and transformative food has come to be.

In Food, John Coveney examines ‘food as … ’ identity, politics, industry, regulation, the environment, justice and gastronomy. He explores how food helps us understand what it means to be human.The centrality of food in life, and the importance of food as life, is undeniable. As a source of biological substrates, personal pleasure and political power, food is and has been an enduring requirement of human biological, social and cultural existence. In recent years, interest in food has increased across the academic, public and popular spheres, fuelled by popular media’s constant play on the role of food and body size, and food and cooking, as a mass spectacle for TV audiences. Through food, we construct our social identities, our families and communities. However, Coveney also highlights the tensions between the industrialisation of food, the environment, and the iniquitous distribution of food. He also considers how the food industries, on which most of us must rely, have also had direct effects on our bodies through diet, and the development of illness and diseases.This accessible primer is for students and general readers alike, indeed, for anyone with an interest in food. It questions the idea that food is merely something inert on the plate. Instead, it shows how influential, symbolic, powerful and transformative food has come to be.

The second edition of Freedom recovers the concept as a fundamental aspect of modern Western ideas and explores its history and how controversial its meaning can be. To what extent does freedom have a ‘social’ component, and how is it being reshaped by our dominant consumer society?Today, the West sees itself as having a crucial role to play in exporting freedom into the far regions of the world – but our own freedom seems more under threat than ever. Linking ideas of public and personal freedom, Stevenson explores complaints about ‘big brother’, the arrival of the business society and the erosion of democracy to show how our freedoms are far from secure. Through the analysis of several distinctive philosophical traditions that have raised concerns about freedom, as well as a range of critical thinkers and perspectives, Stevenson seeks to affirm the importance of freedom, providing a compelling argument for linking it to other values such as equality and responsibility, and raise the question about what freedom will come to mean in the future, in a world that seems increasingly fragile, uncertain, and insecure.Drawing upon a range of critical thinkers and perspectives, this book represents a wake-up call to all those who thought our basic ideas of freedom were settled.

The second edition of Freedom recovers the concept as a fundamental aspect of modern Western ideas and explores its history and how controversial its meaning can be. To what extent does freedom have a ‘social’ component, and how is it being reshaped by our dominant consumer society?Today, the West sees itself as having a crucial role to play in exporting freedom into the far regions of the world – but our own freedom seems more under threat than ever. Linking ideas of public and personal freedom, Stevenson explores complaints about ‘big brother’, the arrival of the business society and the erosion of democracy to show how our freedoms are far from secure. Through the analysis of several distinctive philosophical traditions that have raised concerns about freedom, as well as a range of critical thinkers and perspectives, Stevenson seeks to affirm the importance of freedom, providing a compelling argument for linking it to other values such as equality and responsibility, and raise the question about what freedom will come to mean in the future, in a world that seems increasingly fragile, uncertain, and insecure.Drawing upon a range of critical thinkers and perspectives, this book represents a wake-up call to all those who thought our basic ideas of freedom were settled.

What is evil and how can it be understood? What is the real evil, if it exists? This concise book provides a map to understanding the complex phenomenon of evil. It brings together perspectives on evil as a social construction and a reality, and examines popular views of evil emerging from exorcism, occultism, and conspiracy theories. By expert author Adam Possamai, Evil connects deep philosophical and theological theories with our everyday life experience, both mainstream and at the margins of our society. It outlines evil in philosophy and theology, and explores the idea that there is evil in all of us. Key topics covered include: Biological and psychiatric factors discussed in the literature behind serial killing, serial rape, torture, and mass murders; how labelling people or groups as evil has been used as a tool for social control, from the labelling of women as witches to claims about public figures on social media; popular culture as a way to provide a safe and vicarious experience with evil; and evil as a source of power, aestheticism and playfulness for counter-cultural groups and artists. Evil is an essential introduction for those studying the problem of evil and suffering on a wide range of courses in sociology, philosophy, theology, anthropology, and psychology. It also provides insight for cultural studies and English literature courses on the gothic and popular culture, as well as all those fascinated by good, evil and morality.

What is evil and how can it be understood? What is the real evil, if it exists? This concise book provides a map to understanding the complex phenomenon of evil. It brings together perspectives on evil as a social construction and a reality, and examines popular views of evil emerging from exorcism, occultism, and conspiracy theories. By expert author Adam Possamai, Evil connects deep philosophical and theological theories with our everyday life experience, both mainstream and at the margins of our society. It outlines evil in philosophy and theology, and explores the idea that there is evil in all of us. Key topics covered include: Biological and psychiatric factors discussed in the literature behind serial killing, serial rape, torture, and mass murders; how labelling people or groups as evil has been used as a tool for social control, from the labelling of women as witches to claims about public figures on social media; popular culture as a way to provide a safe and vicarious experience with evil; and evil as a source of power, aestheticism and playfulness for counter-cultural groups and artists. Evil is an essential introduction for those studying the problem of evil and suffering on a wide range of courses in sociology, philosophy, theology, anthropology, and psychology. It also provides insight for cultural studies and English literature courses on the gothic and popular culture, as well as all those fascinated by good, evil and morality.

David Chandler’s Hope offers a compelling exploration of the politics of hope against the backdrop of a broken world grappling with global crises, from political disillusionment to catastrophic climate change, where alternative futures seem difficult to imagine in positive terms.Examining hope as an ethicopolitical praxis, Chandler offers a highly readable analysis of how hope can sustain alternative futures amidst widespread uncertainty and disillusionment, critically engaging with hope’s transformative potential, and challenging conventional political approaches and envisioning new ways of thinking about trust, care and relational politics. It traces the concept of hope through diverse critical traditions, including the Frankfurt School, Black Radical Tradition, Queer Utopianism, Critical Indigenous Studies and contemporary Critical Black Studies, and delves into the social and historical contexts of hope, analysing its role in communities of survivance, struggle and experimentation. Crucially, and uniquely, the author emphasises the human subject’s centrality to hope, exploring how unconscious desires and liberated imaginations can foster new political imaginaries and connecting theoretical insights with practical applications for navigating today’s critical challenges.A thought-provoking examination of how struggles to keep futural possibilities alive in the present strive to move beyond a politics that can only reproduce more of the same, Hope is essential reading for students and scholars of environmental humanities, politics and the social sciences.

David Chandler’s Hope offers a compelling exploration of the politics of hope against the backdrop of a broken world grappling with global crises, from political disillusionment to catastrophic climate change, where alternative futures seem difficult to imagine in positive terms.Examining hope as an ethicopolitical praxis, Chandler offers a highly readable analysis of how hope can sustain alternative futures amidst widespread uncertainty and disillusionment, critically engaging with hope’s transformative potential, and challenging conventional political approaches and envisioning new ways of thinking about trust, care and relational politics. It traces the concept of hope through diverse critical traditions, including the Frankfurt School, Black Radical Tradition, Queer Utopianism, Critical Indigenous Studies and contemporary Critical Black Studies, and delves into the social and historical contexts of hope, analysing its role in communities of survivance, struggle and experimentation. Crucially, and uniquely, the author emphasises the human subject’s centrality to hope, exploring how unconscious desires and liberated imaginations can foster new political imaginaries and connecting theoretical insights with practical applications for navigating today’s critical challenges.A thought-provoking examination of how struggles to keep futural possibilities alive in the present strive to move beyond a politics that can only reproduce more of the same, Hope is essential reading for students and scholars of environmental humanities, politics and the social sciences.

Tackling the critical issue of the growing skepticism toward science, this volume explores the complex forces driving the anti-science movement. It dissects the phenomenon of increasing anti-science advocates using academic research boosted by lived experiences fighting online disinformation.The book focuses on the alarming erosion of trust in scientific authority. It highlights how misinformation, the politicization of scientific issues, an epistemic revolution of knowledge hierarchies, and a cultural shift toward prioritizing personal beliefs over facts have contributed to this trend. It explores the implications of a society increasingly skeptical of scientific expertise, driven by the rapid spread of misinformation on digital platforms and a deepening distrust in traditional institutions. Illuminating the path that led us here, the author advocates for the importance of critical thinking and digital literacy as tools to combat misinformation. This volume is not just an analysis of the current state of skepticism toward science; it is a call to action, encouraging a recommitment to the values of scientific inquiry and evidence-based decision-making in an age marked by doubt.Both theoretically informed and accessibly written, the book will appeal to students, academics, and general readers, alike.