scholarly journals Time and the Bibliographer: A Meditation on the Spirit of Book Studies

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 179-206
Author(s):  
Matt Cohen
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Indigenous Studies ◽  
Native People ◽  
Center Stage ◽  
Self Defense ◽  
The World ◽  
Book Studies

In light of the global return of tribalism, racism, nationalism, and religious hypocrisy to power’s center stage, it is worth returning to the question of the relevance of bibliography. It is a time when, at least at the seats of power in the United States and some other places, books seem to have become almost meaningless. Bibliographic pioneer D.F. McKenzie’s strategy was not to constrain bibliography in self-defense, but to expand it, to go on the offense. What is our course? This essay explores bibliography’s past in order to suggest ways in which it can gain from an engagement with the methods and motivating concerns of Indigenous studies. The study of books has often functioned within a colonialist set of assumptions about its means and its ends, but at the same time, having been at times in something of a marginalized position themselves in their professions, its practitioners have developed unique tools, passions, and intellectual focuses with decolonial potential. That unusual “spirit”, in dialogue with Native people and Indigenous ideas — about media, about what constitutes a “process”, and about the historical and political meanings of recorded forms — may be key to transforming the imagination of the study of books and to enriching its place in the world.

Genocide

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacquelyn C.A. Meshelemiah ◽  
Raven E. Lynch
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Crimes Against Humanity ◽  
Mass Destruction ◽  
Checks And Balances ◽  
Self Defense ◽  
Marginalized Groups ◽  
The World ◽  
Bear Witness ◽  
Civilized World

Genocides have persisted around the world for centuries, yet the debate persists about what intentions and subsequent actions constitute an actual genocide. As a result, some crimes against humanity, targeted rape campaigns, and widespread displacement of marginalized groups of people around the globe have not been formally recognized as a genocide by world powers while others have. The 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide set out to provide clarity about what constituted a genocide and the corresponding expected behaviors of nations that bear witness to it. Still, even with this United Nations document in place, there remains some debate about genocides. The United States, a superpower on the world stage, did not sign on to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide until 1988 due to a belief that its participation was not necessary as a civilized world leader that had its own checks and balances. More genocides have taken place since the enactment of this 1948 legislation. Genocides that have taken place pre- and post-1948 affirm the need for nations around the world to agree to a set of behaviors that protect targeted groups of people from mass destruction and prescribe punishment for those who perpetrate such atrocities. Although it may seem that identifying genocidal behaviors toward a group of people would be clear and convincing based on witnesses and/or deaths of targeted members, history has shown this not to be the case time and time again. Perpetrators tend to deny such behaviors or claim innocence in the name of self-defense. Regardless of any acknowledgment of wrongdoing, genocides are the world’s greatest crime against humanity.

OPEC is Acting in Self-Defense

Worldview ◽  
1980 ◽  
Vol 23 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 24-35
Author(s):  
Loring Allen
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Oil Companies ◽  
Oil Reserves ◽  
Self Defense ◽  
Oil Exports ◽  
The World ◽  
The Future

AbstractTwo hundred oil specialists from around the world met in Vienna late last fall to talk with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC. As owners of two-thirds of world oil reserves and seven-eighths of oil exports, OPEC's members can make the future they want come true. Their conference in Venezuela last month only confirms this.OPEC's headquarters is a squat, square building along the Danube Canal almost in the shadow of St. Stephen's Cathedral. Thirty-five countries sent official representatives, and though the United States sought no invitation, twenty Americans were on hand—about half from oil companies, the others researchers and scholars. The speeches were somber, even gloomy, reflecting troubled waters ahead.

Theories

2020 ◽  
pp. 122-164
Author(s):  
David Damrosch
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Literary Theory ◽  
The United States ◽  
Genre Theory ◽  
Russian Formalism ◽  
Center Stage ◽  
The World ◽  
Slavic Studies

This chapter talks about the contemporary “literary theory” as a shared international field of discourse with pronounced differences in how theory is conceived and practiced around the world. It analyzes influence studies in Japan that have greater prominence than in many other countries and the questions of aesthetics and narratology that often take center stage in Europe. The chapter discusses a survey in Spain, Teoría literaria y literature comparada, in which Jordi Llovet and four other colleagues delineate the varieties of theory differently than scholars would in the United States. It points out how Llovet devotes far more space to genre theory and periodization than to poststructuralist approaches. It also looks into a different construction of theory that places greater emphasis on Russian formalism and its influence, an approach often championed by comparatists with a base in Slavic studies.

Close Encounters of the Colonial Kind

2021 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 157-167
Author(s):  
Kim TallBear
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Native American ◽  
Knowledge Production ◽  
The United States ◽  
Indigenous Studies ◽  
Multiple Forms ◽  
The Gaze ◽  
The World ◽  
Object Of Study ◽  
First World

This essay is voiced by “IZ,” a character personifying the evolving field of “Native American” or “Indigenous” studies in the United States. IZ was introduced to readers in Aileen Moreton-Robinson’s edited volume Critical Indigenous Studies: Engagements in First World Locations 2016, in which Moreton-Robinson wrote: “Twenty years into this century, Indigenous-centered approaches to knowledge production are thriving” and our “object of study is colonizing power in its multiple forms, whether the gaze is on Indigenous issues or on Western knowledge production.” Today, “critical Indigenous studies” represents a coming together of multiple national engagements by Indigenous scholars and sovereignty movements with universities around the world. In this essay, IZ’s object of study and critical polydisciplinamorous Indigenous engagement is a scientist searching for signs of “intelligent” life off-Earth.

Western Attractions

2005 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
ROGER L. NICHOLS
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
North America ◽  
The United States ◽  
Native People ◽  
General Level ◽  
American Frontier ◽  
Western Films ◽  
The World ◽  
Radio Programs

North America,and in particular the United States, has fascinated Europeans as the place of the "exotic other " for at least the last two centuries. This article surveys American and European art, novels,radio programs, Western films, and television Westerns from the 1820s to the present. It posits that the presence of Indians, fictional Western heroes,gunmen,and a perceived general level of violence made frontier and Western America more colorful and exciting than similar circumstances and native people in other parts of the world. This resulted in a continuing interest in the fictional aspect of the American frontier and Western historical experiences.

Sex Differences in Mass Media Preferences Across Four Asian Countries

2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 186-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malini Ratnasingam ◽  
Lee Ellis
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Sex Differences ◽  
Mass Media ◽  
The United States ◽  
Female Students ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Evolutionary Explanation ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
The World ◽  
Media Preferences

Background. Nearly all of the research on sex differences in mass media utilization has been based on samples from the United States and a few other Western countries. Aim. The present study examines sex differences in mass media utilization in four Asian countries (Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, and Singapore). Methods. College students self-reported the frequency with which they accessed the following five mass media outlets: television dramas, televised news and documentaries, music, newspapers and magazines, and the Internet. Results. Two significant sex differences were found when participants from the four countries were considered as a whole: Women watched television dramas more than did men; and in Japan, female students listened to music more than did their male counterparts. Limitations. A wider array of mass media outlets could have been explored. Conclusions. Findings were largely consistent with results from studies conducted elsewhere in the world, particularly regarding sex differences in television drama viewing. A neurohormonal evolutionary explanation is offered for the basic findings.

Sandra Ramos Revisited

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 32-54
Author(s):  
Silvia Spitta
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Ancient Greek ◽  
Graphic Arts ◽  
Left Behind ◽  
The World ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Political Choices ◽  
The Rich

Sandra Ramos (b. 1969) is one of the few artists to reflect critically on both sides of the Cuban di-lemma, fully embodying the etymological origins of the word in ancient Greek: di-, meaning twice, and lemma, denoting a form of argument involving a choice between equally unfavorable alternatives. Throughout her works she shines a light on the dilemmas faced by Cubans whether in Cuba or the United States, underlining the bad personal and political choices people face in both countries. During the hard 1990s, while still in Havana, the artist focused on the traumatic one-way journey into exile by thousands, as well as the experience of profound abandonment experienced by those who were left behind on the island. Today she lives in Miami and operates a studio there as well as one in Havana. Her initial disorientation in the USA has morphed into an acerbic representation and critique of the current administration and a deep concern with the environmental collapse we face. A buffoonlike Trumpito has joined el Bobo de Abela and Liborio in her gallery of comic characters derived from the rich Cuban graphic arts tradition where she was formed. While Cuba is now represented as a rotten cake with menacing flies hovering over it ready to pounce, a bombastic Trumpito marches across the world stage, trampling everything underfoot, a dollar sign for a face.

The Unquiet Frontier

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jakub J. Grygiel ◽  
A. Wess Mitchell ◽  
Jakub J. Grygiel ◽  
A. Wess Mitchell
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Great Powers ◽  
Global Order ◽  
American Power ◽  
Alliance Networks ◽  
Effective Strategies ◽  
The World ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
Critical Regions

From the Baltic to the South China Sea, newly assertive authoritarian states sense an opportunity to resurrect old empires or build new ones at America's expense. Hoping that U.S. decline is real, nations such as Russia, Iran, and China are testing Washington's resolve by targeting vulnerable allies at the frontiers of American power. This book explains why the United States needs a new grand strategy that uses strong frontier alliance networks to raise the costs of military aggression in the new century. The book describes the aggressive methods which rival nations are using to test American power in strategically critical regions throughout the world. It shows how rising and revisionist powers are putting pressure on our frontier allies—countries like Poland, Israel, and Taiwan—to gauge our leaders' commitment to upholding the American-led global order. To cope with these dangerous dynamics, nervous U.S. allies are diversifying their national-security “menu cards” by beefing up their militaries or even aligning with their aggressors. The book reveals how numerous would-be great powers use an arsenal of asymmetric techniques to probe and sift American strength across several regions simultaneously, and how rivals and allies alike are learning from America's management of increasingly interlinked global crises to hone effective strategies of their own. The book demonstrates why the United States must strengthen the international order that has provided greater benefits to the world than any in history.

Bringing the Real World of Science to Children: A Partnership of the American Museum of Natural History and the City University of New York

2008 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony G Picciano ◽  
Robert V. Steiner
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
New York ◽  
Natural History ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Compulsory Education ◽  
Development Program ◽  
The United States ◽  
American Museum ◽  
The World ◽  
The City

Every child has a right to an education. In the United States, the issue is not necessarily about access to a school but access to a quality education. With strict compulsory education laws, more than 50 million students enrolled in primary and secondary schools, and billions of dollars spent annually on public and private education, American children surely have access to buildings and classrooms. However, because of a complex and competitive system of shared policymaking among national, state, and local governments, not all schools are created equal nor are equal education opportunities available for the poor, minorities, and underprivileged. One manifestation of this inequity is the lack of qualified teachers in many urban and rural schools to teach certain subjects such as science, mathematics, and technology. The purpose of this article is to describe a partnership model between two major institutions (The American Museum of Natural History and The City University of New York) and the program designed to improve the way teachers are trained and children are taught and introduced to the world of science. These two institutions have partnered on various projects over the years to expand educational opportunity especially in the teaching of science. One of the more successful projects is Seminars on Science (SoS), an online teacher education and professional development program, that connects teachers across the United States and around the world to cutting-edge research and provides them with powerful classroom resources. This article provides the institutional perspectives, the challenges and the strategies that fostered this partnership.

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