Author: Zuo Assistant Professor, Lala File Type: pdf Timber-framed architecture has long been viewed as an embodiment of Chinese civilization, a hierarchic society ruled by Confucian orthodoxy. Throughout its history, Chinese architectural design was closely regulated by court-enforced building codes, which created a highly standardized and modularized system. In Diversity in the Great Unitythe first in-depth English-language work to present regional traditions of Chinese architecture based on a detailed study of the timber construction systemLala Zuo maintains that during the nearly century-long Yuan dynasty (12711368), the tradition of Han-Chinese architecture as coded, uniform, and controlled by the central government did not take hold. She presents case studies of twenty buildings along the Yangtze River built during the Yuan, often considered a transitional phase in Chinese architectural history. Most of the structures have firm dates, and all are analyzed according to patronage, chronology, and function. Their representativeness is determined by their broad geographic distribution as well as by their scarcity. Numerous photographs and line-drawings accompany the analyses. Referencing Yuan architecture in north China along the Yellow River, Zuo outlines its characteristics in three regions and connects the regional traditions to periods before and after the Yuan, allowing her to contextualize architecture in Yuan social and political history. She explains how the division of regional traditions, especially those in the south, contributed to the transformation of dynastic styles from the Song (9601279) to the Ming (13681644) and how the Song-Yuan migration may have affected architectural design. An appendix presents an extensive glossary of Chinese architectural terms in Song terminology to enable a better understanding of the subject. Although the primary focus of this book is the technical evolution of surviving Yuan architecture, its interdisciplinary approach goes beyond architecture by offering a re-evaluation of Chinese society in light of cultural and religious diversity under Mongol rule.

Author: Mary Beard File Type: epub Her central themes are the classics, universities and teaching - and much else besides. In this second collection following on from the success of Its a Dons Life, Beard ponders whether Gaddafis home is Roman or not, we share her terror of humiliation as she enters hairdresser country and follow her dilemma as she wanders through the quandary of illegible handwriting on examination papers and longing for the next dyslexic - on whose paper the answers are typed, not handwritten. Praise for Its a Dons Life Delightful...it has the virtues of brevity, eclecticism and learning worn lightly...if theyd had Mary Beard on their side back then, the Romans would still have their empire Daily Mail **

Author: Piotr Dutkiewicz File Type: pdf In Russia, a group of leading Russian intellectuals and social scientists join with top researchers from around the world to examine the social, political, and economic transformation in Russia. This timely and important book of original essays makes clear that neither politics nor economics alone holds the key to Russias future, presenting critical perspectives on challenges facing Russia, both in its domestic policies and in its international relations. It also explores how global orderor disordermay develop over the coming decades.Contributors include Oleg Atkov, Timothy J. Colton, Georgi Derluguian, Mikhail K. Gorshkov, Leonid Grigoriev, Nur Kirabaev, Andrew C. Kuchins, Bobo Lo, Roderic Lyne, Vladimir Popov, Alexander Rahr, Richard Sakwa, Guzel Ulumbekova, Vladimir I. Yakunin, Rustem Zhangozha.

Author: Julie Guthman File Type: pdf A bold, compelling challenge to conventional thinking about obesity and its fixes, Weighing In is one of the most important books on food politics to hit the shelves in a long time. --Susanne Freidberg, author of Fresh A Perishable HistoryWeighing In is filled with counterintuitive surprises that should make us skeptics of all kinds of food -- whether local, fast, slow, junk or health -- but also gives us the practical tools to effectively scrutinize the stale buffet of popularly-accepted health wisdom before we digest it. --Paul Robbins, professor of Geography and Development, University of ArizonaIf you liked Michael Pollan, this should be your next read. Guthman gives us the research behind the questions we should be asking, but, falling all over ourselves in the rush to consensus, we have overlooked. A self-described Berkeley foodie, Guthman takes on the self-satisfaction of the alternative food movement and places it in rich context, drawing on research in health, economics, labor, agriculture, sociology, and politics. This marvelous, surprising book is a true game-changer in our national conversation about food and justice. --Anna Kirkland, author of Fat Rights Dilemmas of Difference and PersonhoodThis groundbreaking book calls into question the ubiquitous claim that good food will solve the social and health dilemmas of today. Combining political economic analysis, cultural critique, and clear explanation of scientific discoveries, the author challenges our deeply held convictions about society, food, bodies, and environments. --Becky Mansfield, editor of Privatization Property and the Remaking of Nature-Society RelationsStep back from that farmers market -- Guthman shows us that good foods and good eating are not enough. By questioning the fuzzy facts on obesity, the impact of environment, and capitalisms relentless push to consume, Weighing In challenges us to think harder, and better, about what it really takes to be healthy in the modern age. --Carolyn de la Pena, author of Empty Pleasures The Story of Artificial Sweetener from Saccharin to Splenda