Waste is a key category for understanding cultural value. It is not just the 'bad stuff' we dispose of; it is material we constantly struggle to redeem. Cultures seem to spend as much energy reclassifying negativity as they do on establishing the negative itself. The huge tertiary sector devoted to waste management converts garbage into money, while ecological movements continue to stress human values and 'the natural.' But the problems waste poses are never simply economic or environmenta...

“Interpretation” is a term that encompasses both the most esoteric and the most fundamental activities of our lives, from analyzing medical images to the million ways we perceive other people’s actions. Today, we also leave interpretation to the likes of web cookies, social media algorithms, and automated markets. But as John Frow shows in this thoughtfully argued book, there is much yet to do in clarifying how we understand the social organization of interpretation.On Interpre...

On Value and Valuation asks whether the category of economic value remains theoretically viable, how value is formed, and how it should be understood. It explores the interlinkages between economic value and social and cultural values.On the one hand, the book draws on anthropological and sociological accounts of the evaluative frameworks within which things take on their social meanings; on the other, it explores and critiques the Marxist account of the formation of value...

"A genuine one-stop reference point for the many, many differing strands of cultural analysis. This isn′t just one contender among many for the title of ′best multidisciplinary overview′; this is a true heavyweight."- Matt Hills, Cardiff University"An achievement and a delight - both compelling and useful."- Beverley Skeggs, Goldsmiths, University of LondonWith the ′cultural turn′, the concept of culture has ...

Three charming comedy series starring the dear ladies of a musical bent, Dr Evadne Hinge and Dame Hilda BracketMeet Hinge and Bracket, the delightful double act brought to sublime life by George Logan and Patrick Fyffe. Lifelong companions and musical collaborators, they enjoy nothing more than performing around the piano together, and trading light-hearted banter spiced with comic innuendo and a double entendre or two.Coll...

If you want to know what anthropology is, look at what anthropologists do. This Very Short Introduction to Social and Cultural Anthropology combines an accessible account of some of the disciplines guiding principles and methodology with abundant examples and illustrations of anthropologists at work. Peter Just and John Monaghan begin by discussing anthropologys most important contributions to modern thought: its investigation of culture as a distinctively human character...

Ideology is one of the most controversial terms in the political vocabulary, exciting both revulsion and inspiration. This book examines the reasons for those views, and explains why ideologies deserve respect as a major form of political thinking. It investigates the centrality of ideology both as a political phenomenon and as an organizing framework of political thought and action. It explores the changing understandings of ideology as a concept, and the arguments of the main ideologies....

Ecocriticism explores the ways in which we imagine and portray the relationship between humans and the environment in all areas of cultural production, from Wordsworth and Thoreau through to Google Earth, J.M. Coetzee and Werner Herzog’s Grizzly Man.Greg Garrard’s animated and accessible volume traces the development of the movement and explores its key concepts, including:pollutionwildernessapocalypsedwellinga...

This book gives a clear and readable overview of the philosophical work of Jürgen Habermas, the most influential German philosopher alive today, who has commented widely on subjects such as Marxism, the importance and effectiveness of communication, the reunification of Germany, and the European Union. Gordon Finlayson provides readers with a clear and readable overview of Habermas's forbiddingly complex philosophy using concrete examples and accessible language. He then goes on to analyse...

A controversial, timely reassessment of the environmentalist agenda by outstanding historians, scientists, and critics.In a lead essay that powerfully states the broad argument of the book, William Cronon writes that the environmentalist goal of wilderness preservation is conceptually and politically wrongheaded. Among the ironies and entanglements resulting from this goal are the sale of nature in our malls through the Nature Company, and the disputes between working people and en...

Stanley R. Barrett's Anthropology has long been a premiere sourcebook for students, providing a comprehensive overview of both theory and method in the discipline. In this updated second edition, Barrett's discussion of the origins and evolution of anthropology remains, augmented by sections addressing recent changes and ongoing questions in the field.The second edition of Anthropology adds important new material on questions of culture versus power, Max Weber's t...

The modern university can trace its roots to Kant's call for enlightened self-determination, with education aiming to produce an informed and responsible body of citizens. As the university evolved, specialized areas of investigation emerged, enabling ever more precise research and increasingly nuanced arguments. In recent decades, however, challenges to the hegemony of disciplines have arisen, partly in response to a perceived need for the university to focus greater energy on its public ...