All philosophy is a footnote to Plato. No other person so shaped the Western world and the way we think about it.Plato's questions remain as real for us today as they were 2500 years ago and as human beings we can not avoid their presence nor shirk our responsibility to attempt to answer them:•What is Justice?•What is Truth?•What is Beauty?•What kind of society should we build?•How do we know what we know?Plato For Beginners introduces the reader to Socrates Plato's mentor whose martyrdom ...

With all the talk about "democracy" these days it's surprising how little time is spent concentrating on the concept of democracy itself its history and justification as a form of political governance. Democracy for Beginners looks at democracy's rich evolution in its varied forms and at some of the challenges democracies face today.Beginning with the rise of democracy in fifth-century Athens and ending with an exploration of what the future might hold — for example the notion of "e-democr...

A 96 page guide to the background, program, uses for and contact time needed with the CD-ROM A Right to Die? The Dax Cowart Case. This guide is supplied free with every multi-user copy of the CD-ROM, and will prove invaluable for all those planning to use the program in a classroom setting. This guide is not available to purchase separately.

"A groundbreaking exploration of bisexual politics by a revolutionary thinker" (Publishers Weekly) provides the missing piece of the puzzle for readers who identify as bisexualDepicted as duplicitous, traitorous, and promiscuous, bisexuality has long been suspected, marginalized, and rejected by both straight and gay communities alike.Bi takes a long overdue, comprehensive look at bisexual politics, from the issues surrounding biphobia/mon...

In Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes, Robert M. Emerson, Rachel I. Fretz, and Linda L. Shaw present a series of guidelines, suggestions, and practical advice for creating useful fieldnotes in a variety of settings, demystifying a process that is often assumed to be intuitive and impossible to teach. Using actual unfinished notes as examples, the authors illustrate options for composing, reviewing, and working fieldnotes into finished texts. They discuss different organizational and ...

Law underlies our society - it protects our rights, imposes duties on each of us, and establishes a framework for the conduct of almost every social, political, and economic activity. The punishment of crime, compensation of the injured, and the enforcement of contracts are merely some of the tasks of a modern legal system. It also strives to achieve justice, promote freedom, and protect our security. The result is a system that, while it touches all of our daily lives, is properly underst...

John Rawls is a giant of modern political and democratic thought, but much of his important work is buried deep in weighty tomes, or hidden behind academic jargon that few people have the strength of will to decipher. This book is a concise and clearly written article length guide that covers important concepts in Rawls's democratic theory, including the idea of public reason and the politicized public sphere.

Originally published in 2004, Queer Theory, Gender Theory: An Instant Primer is a classic of LGBTQ+ literature and is taught in most gender studies programs throughout the United States. It was the first book to offer a one-stop, no-nonsense introduction to the core of postmodern theory, particularly its impact on queer and gender studies and is still powerfully relevant today.Nationally-known gender activist Riki Wilchins combines straightforward prose with concrete examples from ...

From its beginnings in Twilight fan-fiction to its record-breaking sales as an e-book and paperback, the story of the erotic romance novel Fifty Shades of Grey and its two sequels is both unusual and fascinating. Having sold over seventy million copies worldwide since 2011, E. L. James's lurid series about a sexual ingénue and the powerful young entrepreneur who introduces her to BDSM sex has ingrained itself in our collective consciousness. But why have these particular ...

Understand Political Philosophy is an in-depth guide to the philosophers and political ideas who have shaped our society. Quickly and easily get to grips with the key thinkers and theories, from Aristotle to Wollstonecraft, from capitalism to utilitarianism. With exploration of contemporary issues and current debates, this book will put political philosophy in the context of the world we live in today.NOT GOT MUCH TIME?One, five and ten-minute introductions to key principle...

All over the world democratic reforms have brought power to the people-but under conditions where the people have little opportunity to think about the power that they exercise. Do we want a democracy inspired by Madison or by Madison Avenue? A democracy animated by deliberation or by manipulation? This book examines each of the principal democratic theories and makes the case for a democracy in which the people offer informed judgments about politics or policy. It then goes on toshow how ...

Techniques of Pleasure is a vivid portrayal of the San Francisco Bay Area’s pansexual BDSM (SM) community. Margot Weiss conducted ethnographic research at dungeon play parties and at workshops on bondage, role play, and flogging, and she interviewed more than sixty SM practitioners. She describes a scene devoted to a form of erotic play organized around technique, rules and regulations, consumerism, and self-mastery. Challenging the notion that SM is inherently transgressive, Weis...