The World According to the Maestro

Dearest Lenny ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 169-176
Author(s):  
Mari Yoshihara
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Revolution ◽  
National Endowment ◽  
Leonard Bernstein ◽  
The West ◽  
The Arts ◽  
The Us ◽  
The World ◽  
Us Government ◽  
Aids Crisis ◽  
The Cultural Revolution

In the mid-1980s, as Leonard Bernstein looked ahead at what he wanted to accomplish in his remaining years, his artistic and professional priorities became clear. Along with his continued commitments as a composer and a conductor, Bernstein decided to prioritize education as his mission. He also continued his activism to address the AIDS crisis. His defiance of the US government took another phase in November 1989, when he rejected the National Medal for the Arts in protest of the National Endowment for the Arts’ withdrawal of funding for an art show dealing with the theme of AIDS. In the meantime, the end of the Cultural Revolution and the opening of China’s door to the West led many musicians to seek artistic exchanges, and Amberson began to explore the possibility of the maestro’s visit to China.

scholarly journals Pirate-states: Imagining the geography of media piracy

2020 ◽  
pp. 136787791985082
Author(s):  
Paul McDonald
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Property ◽  
Copyright Infringement ◽  
Media Industries ◽  
The West ◽  
The Us ◽  
The World ◽  
Us Government ◽  
Cultural Content ◽  
Special 301 ◽  
Discursive Power

Intellectual property (IP) history has long pointed to certain nations as sources of copyright infringement, but these linkages are now systematically produced through annual Special 301 reporting by the US government and media industries. Exploring connections between infringement and nation, this article poses three concepts. Anti-piracy discourse produces a pirate repertoire, a stock of familiar transgressive figures deployed in efforts to combat piracy. These include the pirate-state, a figure used to name and shame nations as hotspots for IP infringement. Cumulatively, pirate-states form a broader geography of media piracy, mapping the world in terms of hubs for unauthorized flows of cultural content. This article views the Special 301 as a representational mechanism for creating a centre–periphery vision imagining ‘the West’ and its infringing others. Although 301 reporting can therefore be read as a statement of discursive power, the article argues this influence remains circumscribed, as is shown by the case of Ukraine.

scholarly journals Shanghai Modern: Replaying Futures Past

2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin O´Connor
Keyword(s):  
Urban Development ◽  
Cultural Revolution ◽  
The Other ◽  
The West ◽  
Unique Position ◽  
The World ◽  
The City ◽  
Opening Up ◽  
The Cultural Revolution

This article discusses different accounts of Shanghai Modern, the period between 1920s and 1940s in which the city occupied a unique position within China and the world. It places discussions of this period in the context of the resurgence of urban led modernization in China, led by Shanghai. It looks in particular at Leo Ou-Fan Lee’s attempt to link the cosmopolitanism of Shanghai modern with prospects for this new post-reform China. I then discuss Ackbas Abbas’ response to this book and use this as a way of reflecting on the progress of Shanghai urban development and its divergence/ convergence with similar processes in the West. The article then looks at the other significant moment of the Cultural Revolution as a way of opening up discussions of Chinese and Shanghainese modernity beyond that of simply an absorption into Western capitalist modernity. It concludes by briefly introducing this volume.

Searching for new Sources of growth. Are the Developing Countries Catching up with the Developed ones?

2015 ◽  
pp. 30-53
Author(s):  
V. Popov
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Gdp Per Capita ◽  
The West ◽  
Catching Up ◽  
The Us ◽  
The World ◽  
Economic Divergence ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Relative Standing

This paper examines the trajectory of growth in the Global South. Before the 1500s all countries were roughly at the same level of development, but from the 1500s Western countries started to grow faster than the rest of the world and PPP GDP per capita by 1950 in the US, the richest Western nation, was nearly 5 times higher than the world average and 2 times higher than in Western Europe. Since 1950 this ratio stabilized - not only Western Europe and Japan improved their relative standing in per capita income versus the US, but also East Asia, South Asia and some developing countries in other regions started to bridge the gap with the West. After nearly half of the millennium of growing economic divergence, the world seems to have entered the era of convergence. The factors behind these trends are analyzed; implications for the future and possible scenarios are considered.

The American Perception of the Palestine-Israel Conflict

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Israa Daas ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Middle East ◽  
Political Party ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Us ◽  
The World ◽  
Us Government ◽  
Source Of Information

Abstract The Palestine-Israel conflict is probably one of the most pressing problems in the Middle East. Moreover, the United States has been involved in this conflict since the 1970s. Therefore, the present research aims to learn more about the American perception of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. It was conducted using a survey that addressed Americans from different backgrounds, focusing on four variables: the American government’s position, solutions, the Israeli settlements, and Jerusalem. The research suggests a correlation between political party and the American perception of the conflict. It appears that Republicans seem to be against the withdrawal of the Israeli settlements, and they believe that the US government is not biased toward Israel. Nevertheless, Democrats tend to believe that the US government is biased in favor of Israel, and they support withdrawing the Israeli settlements. Moreover, there might be another correlation between the American perception and the source of information they use to learn about the conflict. Most of the surveyed Americans, whatever their resource of information that they use to learn about the conflict is, tend to believe that the US is biased in favor of Israel. It is crucial to know about the American perception when approaching to a solution to the conflict as the US is a mediator in this conflict, and a powerful country in the world. Especially because it has a permanent membership in the UN council. KEYWORDS: American Perception, Palestine-Israel Conflict, Jerusalem, Israeli settlements

scholarly journals Strings Attached

2017 ◽  
Vol 139 (05) ◽  
pp. 32-37
Author(s):  
Tim Sprinkle
Keyword(s):  
Public Relations ◽  
Growth Potential ◽  
American Business ◽  
Us Economy ◽  
Foreign Government ◽  
The Us ◽  
The World ◽  
Us Government ◽  
International Investors ◽  
Different Parts

This article discusses reasons for various American startup companies to shift abroad for funding and production, and their impact on the American business scenarios. Founders are accepting funding from overseas investors, setting up supply chains in different parts of the world, servicing customers internationally, and even selling their businesses to foreign government-backed funds. Although the idea of losing American inventions and technologies to international investors and buyers is not generally good for public relations, the current landscape of global startup development has winners on both sides, and overseas involvement in US companies does not necessarily mean a net loss domestically. The US government must find a way to move the US economy forward, preventing predatory pricing and mercantilist practices by exporters while at the same time reaping the international flow of ideas and funds that power innovation. The experts believe that ignoring the rest of the world would not only limit the growth potential of US startups, but over time would reduce America’s global leadership in innovation.

‘Line Struggle‘ in Theory and Practice: The Origins of the Cultural Revolution Reconsidered

1977 ◽  
Vol 72 ◽  
pp. 675-712 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lowell Dittmer
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Revolution ◽  
Scientific Method ◽  
World View ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Living Standards ◽  
Documentary Evidence ◽  
The World ◽  
Western View ◽  
Foreign Policy Strategies ◽  
The Cultural Revolution

The extent to which the Cultural Revolution has transformed the world-view of the Chinese masses remains among the psycho-cultural imponderables, but clearly it has revolutionized the western view of Chinese politics. The dominant pre-1966 image of a consensual solidarity disturbed only rarely by purges, also handled in an orderly way by a consensus excluding only its victims, was challenged by a sudden multitude of polemical claims to the effect that a struggle for power and principle had been raging behind the scenes for decades. This struggle was characterized as a “struggle between two lines”: a “proletarian revolutionary line,” led by Mao Tse-tung, and a “bourgeois reactionary line,” led by Liu Shao-ch'i and Teng Hsiaop'ing. This struggle allegedly represented a deep underlying ideological cleavage within the leadership that had repercussions on every aspect of Chinese life: foreign policy, strategies of economic development, techniques of leadership and administration, pay scales and living standards, delivery patterns for education, medicine, and other services; even scientific method. Allegations concerning this struggle were supported by a wealth of documentary evidence, culled from hitherto confidential Party and government files. Initially greeted with scepticism among western journalists and academic circles, some variant of the “two lines” paradigm has made increasing inroads into our attempts to understand the origins of the Cultural Revolution. The time has come to re-evaluate the conception of a two-line struggle in retrospect and to try to determine just what it means and how it functions.

scholarly journals A Retrospective Look at Rescuing and Restructuring General Motors and Chrysler

2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 3-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Austan D. Goolsbee ◽  
Alan B. Krueger
Keyword(s):  
Automobile Industry ◽  
Decision Process ◽  
General Motors ◽  
Difficult Decision ◽  
Industrial Companies ◽  
Us Economy ◽  
The Us ◽  
Look Back ◽  
The World ◽  
Us Government

The rescue of the US automobile industry amid the 2008–2009 recession and financial crisis was a consequential, controversial, and difficult decision made at a fraught moment for the US economy. Both of us were involved in the decision process at the time, but since have moved back to academia. More than five years have passed since the bailout began, and it is timely to look back at this unusual episode of economic policymaking to consider what we got right, what we got wrong, and why. In this article, we describe the events that brought two of the largest industrial companies in the world to seek a bailout from the US government, the analysis that was used to evaluate the decision (including what the alternatives were and whether a rescue would even work), the steps that were taken to rescue and restructure General Motors and Chrysler, and the performance of the US auto industry since the bailout. We close with general lessons to be learned from the episode.

Building the World War II Memorials, 1945–1960

2018 ◽  
pp. 183-221
Author(s):  
Thomas H. Conner
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Second Generation ◽  
Family Members ◽  
Special Treatment ◽  
World War ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Us ◽  
The World ◽  
Us Government ◽  
The Creation

This chapter looks at the longer aftermath of WWII and traces the creation of the second generation of ABMC sites. Focusing on the process of securing grounds overseas, allowing family members to decide where their loved ones would be buried, and obtaining US government clearance on designs, the account is reminiscent of the start of the ABMC and its first project. By 1960, fourteen cemetery memorials had been dedicated. This chapter also highlights the leadership of the agency’s second chairman, General George C. Marshall, and his direction of the building of memorials in eight countries to remember the 400,000 Americans who had died and the 16 million who had served in WWII. Marshall’s high standing in the US government and in the public esteem, just as was true of Pershing, greatly helped the agency to fulfill its renewed mission. The special treatment shown the grave of General George S. Patton in the Luxembourg American Cemetery is also detailed.

Chinese Art of the Cultural Revolution

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
William H. Ma
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Cultural Revolution ◽  
Mao Zedong ◽  
Chinese Art ◽  
Political Propaganda ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Cultural Sites ◽  
The Masses ◽  
Visual Materials ◽  
The Cultural Revolution

The art of the Cultural Revolution in China, created during the ten-year period from 1967 to 1977, includes a large variety of visual materials in different media. Generally characterized by unambiguous and heroic images that appealed to the masses, these artworks became powerful tools of political propaganda. Most scholars attribute the beginning of the Cultural Revolution to the 1965 play HaiRui Dismissed from Office. Written by Wu Han, a local Communist official, the play was a thinly veiled critique of Mao Zedong. Though semi-retired in the early 1960s, Mao was determined to hold on to power by launching a new revolution to reawaken young Chinese people and root out the counterrevolutionary and anti-proletarian elements in society. Under Mao’s directive, people, places, and things representing the Four Olds (Old Customs, Old Culture, Old Habits, and Old Ideas) were targeted and violently attacked by young people wearing red armbands and carrying the Little Red Book, a collection of quotes by Mao. Party officials, teachers, professors, authors, and artists had their homes raided and were publically dragged out by the Red Guards for public humiliation. In addition, historical and cultural sites were desecrated and vandalized. While the real violence only lasted the first few years, it set the tone of militarism and revolutionary fervor for the next decade, which permeated through all the arts.

China’s Relations with the United States

2020 ◽  
pp. 211-232
Author(s):  
Robert Sutter
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Communist Party ◽  
General Pattern ◽  
The United States ◽  
Asia Pacific ◽  
Pacific Region ◽  
Republic Of China ◽  
The Us ◽  
The World ◽  
Us Government

This chapter reviews Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and People’s Republic of China (PRC) interactions with the United States since the 1940s, and it reveals a general pattern of the United States at the very top of China’s foreign priorities. Among those few instances where China seemed to give less attention to the United States was the post-2010 period, which saw an ever more powerful China advancing at US expense. However, China’s rapid advance in economic, military, and diplomatic power has progressively alarmed the US government, which now sees China as its main international danger. Looking forward into the future, deteriorating US-China relations have enormous consequences for both countries, the Asia-Pacific region, and the world.

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