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This book applies some of the procedures of modern critical theory (in particular reception-theory, deconstruction, theories of dialogue and the hermeneutics associated with the German philosopher Gadamer) to the interpretation of Latin poetry. Charles Martindale argues that we neither can nor should attempt to return to an 'original' meaning for ancient poems, free from later accretions and the processes of appropriation; more traditional approaches to literary enquiry conceal a metaphysics which has been put in question by various anti-foundationalist accounts of the nature of meaning and the relationship between language and what it describes. From this perspective the author examines different readings of the poetry of Virgil, Ovid, Horace and Lucan, in order to suggest alternative ways in which those texts might more profitably be read. Finally he focuses on a key term for such study 'translation' and examines the epistemological questions it raises and seeks to circumvent.

The 1936 Olympic Games played a key role in the development of both Hitler’s Third Reich and international sporting competition. The Nazi Olympics gathers essays by modern scholars from prominent participating countries and lays out the issues--sporting as well as political--surrounding the involvement of individual nations. The volume opens with an analysis of Germany’s preparations for the Games and the attempts by the Nazi regime to allay the international concerns about Hitler’s racist ideals and expansionist ambitions. Essays follow on the United States, Great Britain, and France--top-tier Olympian nations with misgivings about participation--as well as Germany's future Axis partners Italy and Japan. Other contributions examine the issues involved for Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and the Netherlands. Throughout, the authors reveal the high political stakes surrounding the Games and how the Nazi Olympics distilled critical geopolitical issues of the time into a spectacle of sport.

From the vernacular engineering of Latino car design to environmental analysis among rural women to the production of indigenous herbal cures-groups outside the centers of scientific power persistently defy the notion that they are merely passive recipients of technological products and scientific knowledge. This is the first study of how such "outsiders" reinvent consumer products-often in ways that embody critique, resistance, or outright revolt.Contributors: Richard M. Benjamin, Miami U; Hank Bromley, SUNY, Buffalo; Massimiano Bucchi, U of Trento, Italy; Carmen M. Concepcin, U of Puerto Rico; Virginia Eubanks, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Lisa Gitelman, Catholic U; David Albert Mhadi Goldberg, California College of Arts and Crafts; Samuel M. Hampton; Michael K. Heiman, Dickinson College; Linda Price King; Valerie Kuletz; Lisa Jean Moore, College of Staten Island, CUNY; Brian Martin Murphy, Niagra U; Paul Rosen, U of York; Michael Scarce, Peter Taylor, U of Massachusetts, Boston; Turtle Heart.Ron Eglash is assistant professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Jennifer Croissant is associate professor at the University of California. Giovanna Di Chiro is assistant professor at Allegheny College. Rayvon Fouch is assistant professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

A rich and exciting set of case studies and first-hand accounts from industry professionals bring key debates on the theory and practice of collaboration in contemporary craft up-to-date.

There currently exists an abundance of materials selection advice for designers suited to solving technical product requirements. In contrast, a stark gap can be found in current literature that articulates the very real personal, social, cultural and economic connections between materials and the design of the material world. In Materials Experience: Fundamentals of Materials and Design, thirty-four of the leading academicians and experts, alongside 8 professional designers, have come together for the first time to offer their expertise and insights on a number of topics common to materials and product design. The result is a very readable and varied panorama on the world of materials and product design as it currently stands. - Contributions by many of the most prominent materials experts and designers in the field today, with a foreword by Mike Ashby - The book is organized into 4 main themes: sustainability, user interaction, technology and selection - Between chapters, you will find the results of interviews conducted with internationally known designers - These 'designer perspectives' will provide a 'time out' from the academic articles, with emphasis placed on fascinating insights, product examples and visuals

In early modern Spain the monarchy's universal policy to convert all of its subjects to Christianity did not end distinctions among ethnic religious groups, but rather made relations between them more contentious. Old Christians, those whose families had always been Christian, defined themselves in opposition to forcibly baptized Muslims (moriscos) and Jews (conversos). Here historian Benjamin Ehlers studies the relations between Christians and moriscos in Valencia by analyzing the ideas and policies of archbishop Juan de Ribera. Juan de Ribera, a young reformer appointed to the diocese of Valencia in 1568, arrived at his new post to find a congregation deeply divided between Christians and moriscos. He gradually overcame the distrust of his Christian parishioners by intertwining Tridentine themes such as the Eucharist with local devotions and holy figures. Over time Ribera came to identify closely with the interests of his Christian flock, and his hagiographers subsequently celebrated him as a Valencian saint. Ribera did not engage in a similarly reciprocal exchange with the moriscos; after failing to effect their true conversion through preaching and parish reform, he devised a covert campaign to persuade the king to banish them. His portrayal of the moriscos as traitors and heretics ultimately justified the Expulsion of 1609–1614, which Ribera considered the triumphant culmination of the Reconquest. Ehler's sophisticated yet accessible study of the pluralist diocese of Valencia is a valuable contribution to the study of Catholic reform, moriscos, Christian-Muslim relations in early modern Spain, and early modern Europe.

Explores the many different ways in which Herodotus' Histories were read and understood during a momentous period of world history.

"Two thousand five hundred years ago, Herodotus singlehandedly created the concept of Western Civilisation. Fortunately, because he found the world an inexhaustible source of fascination and delight, he is himself an inexhaustibly fascinating man. The father of history displayed all the modern techniques now associated with analytical journalism, television interviewing, film travelogues and historical research. Indeed, it is precisely his creation of these techniques which makes him our eternal contemporary. The distinguishing qualities of western civilised man--our constant wonder at the world, our insatiable thirst for understanding it, our passion for heritage and cultural origins and their preservation--all derive from Herodotus. We are direct heirs to his optimism and his fundamental belief that the marvellous multiplicity and diversity of all phenomena are subject to and worthy of human understanding. Herodotus travelled throughout the known world and beyond in his unceasing quest for primary sources to substantiate his history of Western Civilisation. Richard Lister has retraced Herodotus' footsteps through the ancient marvels of Persia and Babylon, Egypt and North Africa, Turkey, Russia, Greece and Italy, ad at each halting place proves how amazingly accurate, thorough and professional were Herodotus' observations and research. Wherever Herodotus travelled, he gathered information about local customs, religion, architecture, diet, medical practises, flora and fauna, politics. His observations were meticulous and his descriptions were made the more vivid by his friendly habit of interviewing everyone, from prostitutes to sailors, nomads and merchants, to scholars and priests, tyrants and princes. Richard lister has written a fascinating biography which stands as an account of how our Western Civilisation was formed by a single congenial genius." -- Book jacket