Americans live in a liberal democracy. Yet, although democracy is widely touted today, liberalism is scorned by both the right and the left. The United States stands poised between its liberal democratic tradition and the illiberal alternatives of liberalism’s critics. John McGowan argues that Americans should think twice before jettisoning the liberalism that guided American politics from James Madison to the New Deal and the Great Society.In an engaging and informative discussion...

The adoption and management of the common currency has led the Eurozone to a critical point. This book analyzes in an interdisciplinary way the fundamental causes of distress, making sure to relate economic issues to the social and political aspects of the problem. The book explores the reasons why the Eurozone has fallen into a policy trap, as well as what Europe did and should do to exit the crisis, and why this is proving to be so difficult. The book also considers what role the United ...

How do American intellectuals try to achieve their political and social goals? By what means do they articulate their hopes for change? John McGowan seeks to identify the goals and strategies of contemporary humanistic intellectuals who strive to shape the politics and culture of their time. In a lively mix of personal reflection and shrewd analysis, McGowan visits the sites of intellectual activity (scholarly publications, professional conferences, the classroom, and the ...

The financial and economic crisis in Europe is not over, and the radically opposing strategies on how to proceed has only increased the complexity of problems in the region, revealing the shortcomings of the EU’s architecture. The European Union, perhaps for the first time in its history of more than seventy years, is being perceived as a threat to the financial and monetary stability of the world.A Global Perspective on the European Economic Crisis explores the connection between ...

The Latin American Songbook in the Twentieth Century: From Folklore to Militancy takes an unprecedented comparative analysis approach to the complex relationship between popular music and culture, society, and politics in Latin America as it relates to representations of national identity. Tânia da Costa Garcia analyzes archival research in Chile, Brazil and Argentina, which have very similar cultural and political processes. This book is divided into two different parts: the first focuses...

Many in higher education fear that the humanities are facing a crisis. But even if the rhetoric about “crisis” is overblown, humanities departments do face increasing pressure from administrators, politicians, parents, and students. In A New Deal for the Humanities, Gordon Hutner and Feisal G. Mohamed bring together twelve prominent scholars who address the history, the present state, and the future direction of the humanities. These scholars keep the focus on public high...

FROM STRUGGLING ARTIST TO ILLUMINATI PRINCEHow did counter-culture pop artist Alex Kazemi, a self-described “kid from the suburbs,” get Taylor Swift to invite him backstage, Marilyn Manson to tweet about his directorial debut, Selena Gomez and Petra Collins to collaborate with him on a magazine piece, and Madonna to express excitement over a magazine cover he created? Magick!MAGICK IS REALTalent is great if you have it and luck is f...

Welcome to the North Pole***-a magical place full of happiness, friendship and love-home to a rag doll named***Eleanor****.Surrounded by Santa, Mrs. Claus, Clara and the elves, Eleanor understands the importance of family and home which is why she has a very merry Christmas wish of her own.With the help of all of her North Pole family, Eleanor learns that wishing alone is simply not enough to truly make...

Welcome to the world's worst pub!Deep in London's East End, Garry and Barry run a pub, and they're not very good at it. Things usually go from bad to worse when their mate, Dodgy Phil, comes up with increasingly hair-brained ideas to reinvent the local - often with explosive results.Could they make this the world's first environmentally friendly bar? Build the world's biggest pub named after the Titanic (but is it undrinkable)? What about booking Chas and D...

Social worker. You're a helping hand, a rock in the tempest, a friendly face through the hard times, and a catalyst for change. But what about you? How do you keep going when the pressure just keeps rising?In this no-nonsense handbook, Neil Thompson and John McGowan distil years of social work expertise into key strategies to overcome the challenges that come with the profession. Each chapter is full of clear, practical advice on staying resilient in the face of tough situations, w...

A story about four animals; a Gorilla, a leopard, a hyena and a mouse; and their quest for a cure for the Princess of the village Onee.Through their trials and difficulties; one small mouse would make a difference by teaching the others to work together in co-operation to retrieve the Golden coconut from the Mighty elephants of Tiaba.

Death and rebirth was of vital importance to early Christians in late antiquity. In late antiquity, death was all encompassing. Mortality rates were high, plague and disease in urban areas struck at will, and one lived on the knife’s edge regarding one’s health. Religion filled a crucial role in this environment, offering an option for those who sought cure and comfort. Following death, the inhumed were memorialized, providing solace to family members through sculpture, painting, and epigr...