Author: José Esteban Castro File Type: pdf This festschrift commemorates the legacy of UK-based Portuguese sociologist HerminioMartins (1934-2015). It introduces Martins wide-ranging contributions to the social sciences,encompassing seminal works in the fields of philosophy and social theory, historical and politicalsociology, studies of science and technology, and Luso-Brazilian studies, among others. The bookfeatures an in-depth interview with Martins, short memoirs, and twelve chapters addressing topicsthat were central to his intellectual and political interests. Among those that stand out are hiscritique of Thomas Kuhns theory of scientific revolutions, his work on the significance of time insocial theory and the interweaving of techno-scientific developments and socio-culturaltransformations, including the impact of communication and digital technologies, and of market-led eugenics. Other themes covered are Martins work on patrimonialism and social development inPortugal and Brazil, and his analysis of the state of the social sciences in Portugal, whichreflects his highly critical appraisal of the ongoing marketization andneoliberalization of academic life and institutions worldwide. **Review This volume is ample testimony not to what sociology was over the past half a century or so, but what it could have been, and might still become. It contains writings by eminent sociologists who could not have been brought together but for Herminio Martins, living testimonies to his scholarship, erudition, and insights. Herminio Martins never respected disciplinary and subdisciplinary categories, pursuing ideas and thinkers that were out of fashion as they offered a challenging diagnosis of our own condition and the disciplinary status quo that rather avoided facing it. Central for this is the philosophical sociology of technology, targeting the perhaps greatest contemporary sacred cows. (Arpad Szakolczai, Professor of Sociology, University College Cork, Ireland) This Festschrift is truly a feast of ideas. It captivated and mesmerised me. The various contributions reflect the diverse, erudite and original sociological reflections of Martins and invite the reader to explore his exceptional visionary and challenging work. (Cristobal Kay, Emeritus Professor, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Netherlands, Professorial Research Associate, SOAS, University of London, UK, & Emeritus Professor, FLACSO Ecuador, Ecuador) Herminio Martins was a deep and creative thinker across a range of sociological questions. This book honours him with insightful analyses in many of his interest areas time and social transformation the meaning and impact of scientific innovation and new technologies democracy, communication and knowledge and social structure in Portugal and Brazil. Work of such quality is a fitting tribute. (Craig Calhoun, President, Berggruen Institute, USA) This is a truly delightful book, an excursion through the world of sociology in its most glorious daysthe second half of the twentieth centuryseen by the eyes of a sharp, rigorous, critical observer and committed intervener. The volume is skilfully organized to allow the intellectually curious yet uninformed about Martinss work to enter progressively into his rich, humane, sensible and at the same time powerful and eloquent universe. (Onesimo T. de Almeida, Professor of Portuguese and Brazilian Studies, Brown University, USA) From the Back Cover This festschrift commemorates the legacy of UK-based Portuguese sociologist HerminioMartins (1934-2015). It introduces Martins wide-ranging contributions to the social sciences,encompassing seminal works in the fields of philosophy and social theory, historical and politicalsociology, studies of science and technology, and Luso-Brazilian studies, among others. The bookfeatures an in-depth interview with Martins, short memoirs, and twelve chapters addressing topicsthat were central to his intellectual and political interests. Among those that stand out are hiscritique of Thomas Kuhns theory of scientific revolutions, his work on the significance of time insocial theory and the interweaving of techno-scientific developments and socio-culturaltransformations, including the impact of communication and digital technologies, and of market-led eugenics. Other themes covered are Martins work on patrimonialism and social development inPortugal and Brazil, and his analysis of the state of the social sciences in Portugal, whichreflects his highly critical appraisal of the ongoing marketization andneoliberalization of academic life and institutions worldwide.

Author: Joseph M. Reagle File Type: epub Online comment can be informative or misleading, entertaining or maddening. Haters and manipulators often seem to monopolize the conversation. Some comments are off-topic, or even topic-less. In this book, Joseph Reagle urges us to read the comments. Conversations on the bottom half of the Internet, he argues, can tell us much about human nature and social behavior.Reagle visits communities of Amazon reviewers, fan fiction authors, online learners, scammers, freethinkers, and mean kids. He shows how comment can inform us (through reviews), improve us (through feedback), manipulate us (through fakery), alienate us (through hate), shape us (through social comparison), and perplex us. He finds pre-Internet historical antecedents of online comment in Michelin stars, professional criticism, and the wisdom of crowds. He discusses the techniques of online fakery (distinguishing makers, fakers, and takers), describes the emotional work of receiving and giving feedback, and examines the culture of trolls and haters, bullying, and misogyny. He considers the way comment -- a nonstop stream of social quantification and ranking -- affects our self-esteem and well-being. And he examines how comment is puzzling -- short and asynchronous, these messages can be slap-dash, confusing, amusing, revealing, and weird, shedding context in their passage through the Internet, prompting readers to comment in turn, WTF?!?

Author: William McClellan File Type: pdf Drawing on the work of Holocaust writer Primo Levi and political philosopher Giorgio Agamben McClellan introduces a critical turn in our reading of Chaucer. He argues that the unprecedented event of the Holocaust, which witnessed the total degradation and extermination of human beings, irrevocably changes how we read literature from the past. McClellan gives a thoroughgoing reading of the Man of Laws Tale, widely regarded as one of Chaucers most difficult tales, interpreting it as a meditation on the horrors of sovereign power. He shows how Chaucer, through the figuration of Custance, dramatically depicts the destructive effects of power on the human subject. McClellans intervention, which he calls reading-history-as-ethical-meditation, places reception history in the context of a reception ethics and holds the promise of changing the way we read traditional texts. **From the Back Cover Drawing on the work of Holocaust writer Primo Levi and political philosopher Giorgio Agamben McClellan introduces a critical turn in our reading of Chaucer. He argues that the unprecedented event of the Holocaust, which witnessed the total degradation and extermination of human beings, irrevocably changes how we read literature from the past. McClellan gives a thoroughgoing reading of the Man of Laws Tale, widely regarded as one of Chaucers most difficult tales, interpreting it as a meditation on the horrors of sovereign power. He shows how Chaucer, through the figuration of Custance, dramatically depicts the destructive effects of power on the human subject. McClellans intervention, which he calls reading-history-as-ethical-meditation, places reception history in the context of a reception ethics and holds the promise of changing the way we read traditional texts. About the Author William McClellan is Associate Professor of English at Baruch College, City University of New York, USA. He has written articles on medieval literature, the Holocaust, Giorgio Agamben, and political theory.

Author: Richard E. Schroeder File Type: pdf This highly accessible book provides new material and a fresh perspective on American National Intelligence practice, focusing on the first fifty years of the twentieth century, when the United States took on the responsibilities of a global superpower during the first years of the Cold War. Late to the art of intelligence, the United States during World War II created a new model of combining intelligence collection and analytic functions into a single organizationthe OSS. At the end of the war, President Harry Truman and a small group of advisors developed a new, centralized agency directly subordinate to and responsible to the President, despite entrenched institutional resistance. Instrumental to the creation of the CIA was a group known colloquially as the Missouri Gang, which included not only President Truman but equally determined fellow Missourians Clark Clifford, Sidney Souers, and Roscoe Hillenkoetter.**ReviewRichard Schroeders compelling new book reveals how an under-appreciated U.S. President, Harry Truman, put together an intelligence framework that remained in place for decades and contributed to winning the Cold War. It is a story well told and highly recommended!noted intelligence historian H. Keith Melton An important and long overdue contribution to Americas national security history. The Foundation of the CIA properly honors the members ofPresident Trumans Missouri Gang, whose collective legacy was a responsible intelligence Agency thathas served Democratic and Republican Presidents alike for seventy years.Robert Wallace, author with H. Keith Meltonof Spycraft The Secret History of the CIAs Spytechs, from Communism to Al-Qaeda Schroeder knows his history and has aggressively explored primary and secondary sources. Anyone with an interest in early U.S. intelligence history or the RooseveltTruman era especially will appreciate this book. Perhaps its greatest contribution is its extensive treatment of the first Director, Roscoe Hillenkoetter.David M. Barrett, Professor of Political Science, Villanova University author of The CIA and Congress The Untold Story from Truman to Kennedy Book Description This highly accessible book provides new material and a fresh perspective on American National Intelligence practice, focusing on the first fifty years of the twentieth century, when the United States took on the responsibilities of a global superpower during the first years of the Cold War. Late to the art of intelligence, the United States during World War II created a new model of combining intelligence collection and analytic functions into a single organizationthe OSS. At the end of the war, President Harry Truman and a small group of advisors developed a new, centralized agency directly subordinate to and responsible to the President, despite entrenched institutional resistance. Instrumental to the creation of the CIA was a group known colloquially as the Missouri Gang, which included not only President Truman but equally determined fellow Missourians Clark Clifford, Sidney Souers, and Roscoe Hillenkoetter.