OTHER REVIEWS - Sowing the word: the cultural impact of the British and Foreign Bible Society. Edited by S. Batalden, K. Cann, and J. Dean. Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2004. Pp. xii+380. ISBN 1-90504-808-4. £60.00.

This is the first book to examine in depth the intellectual and cultural impact of the oracles of pagan antiquity on modern European thought. The book shows how the study of the oracles influenced, and was influenced by, some of the most significant developments in early modernity, such as the Christian humanist recovery of ancient religion, confessional polemics, Deist and libertine challenges to religion, antiquarianism and early archaeology, Romantic historiography, and spiritualism. The book examines the different views of the oracles since the Renaissance—that they were the work of the devil, or natural causes, or the fraud of priests, or finally an organic element of ancient Greek society. The range of discussion on the subject, as he demonstrates, is considerably more complex than has been realized before: hundreds of scholars, theologians, and critics commented on the oracles, drawing on a huge variety of intellectual contexts to frame their beliefs. A central chapter interrogates the landmark dispute on the oracles between Bernard de Fontenelle and Jean-François Baltus, challenging Whiggish assumptions about the mechanics of debate on the cusp of the Enlightenment. With erudition and an eye for detail, the book argues that, on both sides of the controversy, to speak of the ancient oracles in early modernity was to speak of one's own historical identity as a Christian.

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The Influence of the Infomercial in New Zealand

Back Story Journal of New Zealand Art, Media & Design History ◽

10.24135/backstory.vi1.13 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 67-80

Author(s):

Rosser Johnson

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Primary Sources ◽

Cultural Impact ◽

Cultural Importance ◽

The Usa ◽

The 1950S ◽

As If

New Zealand television networks introduced infomercials (30 minute advertisements designed to appear as if they are programmes) in late 1993. Although infomercials date from the 1950s in the USA, they were unknown in this country and quickly came to be seen as a peculiarly “intense” form of hyper-commercial broadcasting. This article aims to sketch out the cultural importance of the infomercial by analysing historical published primary sources (from the specialist and general press) as they reflect the views and opinions that resulted from the introduction of the infomercial. Specifically, it outlines the three main areas where that cultural importance was located. It concludes by analysing the significance of the cultural impact of the infomercial, both within broadcasting and within wider society.

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Culturally-Sensitive E-Learning Practices for Library Education

Proceedings of the Annual Conference of CAIS / Actes du congrès annuel de l'ACSI ◽

10.29173/cais361 ◽

2013 ◽

Author(s):

Leslie Farmer

Keyword(s):

Online Learning ◽

Learning Environments ◽

Culturally Sensitive ◽

Cultural Dimensions ◽

Educational Model ◽

Cultural Impact ◽

Online Learning Environments ◽

Library Education ◽

Learning Practices ◽

E Learning

With globalization, library educators should address culturally-sensitive instruction design and curriculum, particularly in online learning environments. Hofstede’s cultural dimensions and Bigg’s educational model provide frameworks for addressing cultural impact on library education. Specific techniques are suggested for handling language and online learning issues.Avec la mondialisation, les professeurs de bibliothéconomie devraient incorporer les différences culturelles dans leurs cours ainsi que dans le cursus, notamment en milieu d'apprentissage en ligne. Les dimensions culturelles de Hofstede et le modèle éducatif de Bigg offrent un cadre permettant de traiter de l'impact culturel sur l'éducation. Seront présentées différentes techniques pour aborder les questions de langue et d'apprentissage en ligne.

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Louis Menand: The Metaphysical Club: A Story of Ideas in America. 2001. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 546 pp.

Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad ◽

10.36366/frontiers.v9i1.123 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. 201-204

Author(s):

Lance Kenney

Keyword(s):

New York ◽

Cold War ◽

William James ◽

The United States ◽

History Of Ideas ◽

Cultural Impact ◽

Oliver Wendell Holmes ◽

History Of ◽

Charles Peirce ◽

The Cold War

Louis Menand’s The Metaphysical Club, daunting in its choice of subject matter, closely aligns itself with the ancient sense of the word ‘history’ as a fluid, almost epic narrative. The Metaphysical Club of the title was a conversation group that met in Cambridge for a few months in 1872. Its membership roster listed some of the greatest intellectuals of the day: Charles Peirce, William James, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Chauncey Wright, amongst others. There is no record of the Club’s discussions or debates—in fact, the only direct reference to the Club is made by Peirce in a letter written thirty-five years later. Menand utilizes the Club as a jumping-off point for a sweeping analysis of the beliefs of the day. The subtitle of the book belies its true mission: ‘a story of ideas in America.’ Menand discusses the intellectual and social conditions that helped shape these men by the time they were members of the Club. He then shows the philosophical, political, and cultural impact that these men went on to have. In doing so, Menand traces a history of ideas in the United States from immediately prior to the Civil War to the beginning of the Cold War.

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Introduction

10.1093/oso/9780198815976.003.0001 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Rachel Crossland

Keyword(s):

Twentieth Century ◽

Virginia Woolf ◽

New Physics ◽

Literature And Science ◽

Direct Influence ◽

Cultural Impact ◽

Early Twentieth Century ◽

Scientific Ideas

Drawing on Gillian Beer’s suggestion that literature and science ‘share the moment’s discourse’, the Introduction sets out the approach adopted across this study as a whole as one which will combine, but also distinguish between, the two standard approaches within the field of literature and science: direct influence and the zeitgeist. Rejecting the previous critical focus on 1919 in studies of Albert Einstein’s cultural impact in favour of 1905, it argues for a more precise engagement with the scientific ideas, as well as a clearer acknowledgement of similar ideas across a broader range of disciplines in the early twentieth century. It also highlights Virginia Woolf and D. H. Lawrence as particularly apt literary figures for such a study, given their complicated individual relationships with the science of their day, relationships which combine a dislike of science in general with more positive responses to the new physics.

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Post-digital prosumption and the sharing economy of space: The pay-per-minute cafe

Journal of Consumer Culture ◽

10.1177/14695405211022080 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 146954052110220

Author(s):

Alexandra Kviat

Keyword(s):

Consumer Culture ◽

Digital Technology ◽

Sharing Economy ◽

Digital Culture ◽

Cultural Impact ◽

Pricing Policy ◽

Digital Platforms ◽

Brick And Mortar ◽

Physical Spaces

Although prosumption and the sharing economy are currently at the cutting edge of consumer culture research, little attempt has been made to explore the theoretical relationship between these concepts and approach them with a pluralistic, dynamic, nuanced and ethnographically informed lens moving beyond the dichotomies of capitalism versus anti-capitalism, rhetoric versus reality, exploitation versus empowerment and traditional versus digital consumer culture. This article addresses these gaps by focusing on the phenomenon of pay-per-minute cafes – physical spaces inspired by digital culture and meant to apply its principles in the brick-and-mortar servicescape. Drawing on a multi-site, multi-method case study of the world’s first pay-per-minute cafe franchise, the article shows a multitude of ways in which prosumption and the sharing economy, both shaped by different configurations of organisational culture, physical design, food offer and pricing policy, are conceived, interpreted and experienced by the firms and customers across the franchise and argues that conflicts and contradictions arising from this diversity cannot be reduced to the narrative of consumer exploitation. Finally, while both prosumption and the sharing economy are typically defined by the use of digital platforms, this article makes a case for a post-digital approach to consumer culture research, looking into the cultural impact of digital technology on traditional servicescapes.

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