The history of the banjo is as haunting as its music. Made popular in minstrel shows of the nineteenth century, the “banjar” derives from the stringed gourd instrument African slaves brought with them
The culmination of five decades of research, this monumental work of descriptive bibliography, containing entries for more than 1,300 editions, assembles by date of printing the corpus of poetry compo
"Analyzes the politics of neoliberal health sector reform and its effects in Peru. Focuses on the intersecting dynamics of race, class, and gender in the developing world"--Provided by publisher.
Cult of the Will is the first comprehensive study of modernitys preoccupation with willpower. From Nietzsches will to power to the fantasy of a triumph of the will under Nazism, the willits pathologie
In this original, provocative, well-reasoned, and thoroughly documented book, Frank Klaassen proposes that two principal genres of illicit learned magic occur in late medieval manuscripts: image magic
Avodah: Ancient Poems for Yom Kippur is the first major translation of one of the most important genres of the lost literature of the ancient synagogue. Known as the Avodah piyyutim, this liturgical p
One of the central questions of the French Revolution is what happened to the country from the time the monarchy collapsed in the summer of 1792, when the prospects for popular democracy seemed bright
For many people, Pennsylvania's contribution to the Civil War goes little beyond the battle of Gettysburg. The North in general has received far less attention than the Confederacy in the historiograp
Owen Wister is known to most Americans as the creator of the heroic cowboy in The Virginian (1902). Despite his success as a Western novelist, Wister's failure to write about his native city of Philad
In 1566 a flamboyant Frenchman who called himself Dionisio Gallo mesmerized crowds of onlookers as he preached in the courtyard of the ducal palace in Venice. Believing he had been anointed by the Vir
"Maps the current distribution of all of Pennsylvania's 190 breeding birds and documents the changes in climate, habitat, and distribution since the first edition of this work. Includes habitat analys
"Examines the role of confession in American culture. Argues that the genre of confession has profoundly shaped (and been shaped by) six of America's most intractable cultural issues: sexuality, class
"Examines photo essays from Weimar Germany's many social crises. Traces photography's emergence as a new language that German photographers used to intervene in modernity's key political and philosoph
"A collection of essays examining the place of animals in history and culture and their influence on life and art, from the Renaissance to the present"--Provided by publisher.
"A collection of essays examining citizenship as a discursive phenomenon, in the sense that important civic functions take place in deliberation among citizens and that discourse is not prefatory to r
This book examines the evolution of medieval gossip, with respect to its social, psychological, and literary functions. Professor Phillips teaches at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL.
This study looks at how cartoonists treated the new technology, as well as at how photographers used humor in their pictures, from photography's early years in the 1830s, to the 1920s. Some 250 carto
This is the first comprehensive study of Michael Oakeshott as a philosopher rather than a political theorist, which is how most commentators have regarded him. Indeed, the careful reading of his publi
Brings together materials relevant to the story's publication and reception, along with documents that shed light on Gilman's attitudes toward authorship. Intended to allow readers to draw their own c
Since 9/11, America has presented itself to the world as a Christianist culture, no less antimodern and nostalgic for an idealized past than its Islamist foes. The master-narrative both sides share mi
