Author: Gwen Allen File Type: pdf Magazine publishing is an exercise in ephemerality andtransience each issue goes outin the world only to be rendered obsolete by the next. To publish a magazine is to enter into aheightened relationship with the present moment. During the 1960s and 1970s, magazines became animportant new site of artistic practice, functioning as an alternative exhibition space for thedematerialized practices of conceptual art. Artists created works expressly for these mass-produced,hand-editioned pages, using the ephemeralityand the materiality of the magazine to challenge theconventions of both artistic medium and gallery. In Artists Magazines, GwenAllen looks at the mostimportant of these magazines in their heyday (the 1960s to the 1980s) and compiles a comprehensive,illustrated directory of hundredsof others. Among the magazines Allen examines are Aspen(1965--1971),a multimedia magazine in a box -- issues included Super-8 films,flexi-disc records,critical writings, artists postage stamps, andcollectible chapbooks Avalanche (1970-1976), whichexpressed the countercultural character of the emerging SoHo art community through its interviewsand artist-designed contributions Art-Rite (1973-1978), an irreverent zine with a disposable,newsprint format Real Life (1979-1994), published by Thomas Lawson and Susan Morgan as a forum forthe Pictures generation 0 to 9 (1967--1969), a mimeographed poetry magazine founded by Vito Acconciand Bernadette Meyer FILE (1972--1989), founded by the Canadian collective General Idea, its coverdesign a sly parody of Life magazine and Interfunktionen (1968--1975), founded to protest theconservative curatorial strategies ofDocumenta. These and the other magazines Allen examinesexpressed their differences from mainstream media in both form and content they cast theirhomemade, DIY quality against the slickness of an Artforum, and they created work that defied theformalist orthodoxy of the day. (A work by John Baldessari from the late 1960s shows a photograph ofArtforum, captioned THIS IS NOT TO BE LOOKED AT.) Artists Magazines, featuring abundant colorillustrations of magazine covers and content, offers an essential guide to a little-exploredmedium.

Author: Edgar W. Schneider File Type: pdf ReviewThe best book for discovering the rich variety in English and its amazing spread, popularity, and uses around the world. John Algeo, University of GeorgiaThis is a virtuosos overview of the sociolinguistics of English around the world, whilst at the same time a warm, inviting, and detailed introduction to this field for the uninitiated. Rajend Mesthrie, University of Cape TownEnglish Around the World is a masterfully executed survey of the spread of English from the British Isles to postcolonial countries ... In addition to being written in a clear and accessible style, the book provides the readers with all necessary tools, including maps, timelines, exercises, audio recordings, suggestions for further readings, glossaries of linguistic terms and phonetic symbols, lists of key notions discussed in chapters, and questions to guide further investigations of varieties of English. Thanks to these features, [the book] is a highly versatile resource for teachers and students. It may be used as a major reading in a course such as World Englishes. Alternatively, individual chapters may be easily integrated in a variety of courses, from historical linguistics and creole studies to language pedagogy. The Linguist List Book DescriptionA lively and accessible introduction to world Englishes, describing varieties used in a wide range of countries worldwide, and setting them within their historical and social contexts. Providing essential knowledge and skills for those embarking on the study of world Englishes, this is set to become the leading introductory text.

Author: Nancy Marie Brown File Type: epub Much like Greek and Roman mythology, Norse myths are still with us. Famous storytellers from JRR Tolkien to Neil Gaiman have drawn their inspiration from the long-haired, mead-drinking, marauding and pillaging Vikings. Their creator is a thirteenth-century Icelandic chieftain by the name of Snorri Sturluson. Like Homer, Snorri was a bard, writing down and embellishing the folklore and pagan legends of medieval Scandinavia. Unlike Homer, Snorri was a man of the worlda wily political power player, one of the richest men in Iceland who came close to ruling it, and even closer to betraying it In Song of the Vikings, award-winning author Nancy Marie Brown brings Snorri Sturlusons story to lifein a richly textured narrative that draws on newly available sources. **Review [The most influential writer of the Middle Ages] wasnt Chaucer, or Malory or the writers of Arthurian romances buta politically powerful Icelander called Snorri SturlusonSong of the Vikings puts the works and the man togetherHis life deserves to be better known.--Thomas Shippey, The Wall Street Journal An important undertaking...The first English-language book published on Snorri in 30 yearsReaders will feel affected by the loss of this powerful and complicated man.Kirkus Reviews For readers whove long sensed that older winds blow through the works of their beloved Tolkien, Song of the Vikingsis a fitting refresher on Norse mythology. Without stripping these dark tales of their magic, Nancy Marie Brown shows how mere humans shape myths that resonate for centuries--and how one brilliant scoundrel became, for all time, the Homer of the North. --Jeff Sypeck, author of Becoming Charlemagne In medieval Iceland, one of the most remote corners of the known Earth, a very un-Viking Norseman named Snorri Storluson crafted the heroic mythology on which rests everything from Wagners Ring cycle and the Brothers Grimm to Tolkein (who considered Snorris work more central to English literature than Shakespeares) and even the evils of Nazism. In Song of the Vikings, Nancy Marie Brown brings to vivid life this age of poetic Viking skalds, of blood feuds and vengeance raids, of royal intrigue and fierce independence, when the barren, beautiful landscape of the North was haunted by trolls, giants and dragons - all of which Snorri, the most important writer the world ever forgot, captured for eternity.--Scott Weidensaul, author of The First Frontier With wry wit andgraceful prose Nancy Marie Brown takes us back to medieval Iceland and introduces us to perhaps the greatest storyteller of the period, Snorri Sturluson. Her depth of knowledge of the era, the rugged landscape, the Vikings, and their lifestyle is impressive. Pat Shipman, author of To the Heart of the Nile For lovers of Medieval history, Norse legend, and myth in general, Song of the Vikings is a must read. Nancy Marie Brown has transformed her extensive knowledge of thirteenth-century Iceland into an accessible and interesting book. Bravo!--Marilyn Yalom, author of Birth of the Chess Queen and How the French Invented Love Drawing upon her broad knowledge, Nancy Marie Brown not only skillfully situates Snorris powerful voice, his tales and his (mis)deeds, in their context, she also adeptly illuminates his modern appeal and curious afterlife in popular culture. This is a sober, well-informed, and imaginative take on Norse mythology.--Gisli Palsson, author ofTravelling Passions and professor of anthropology, University of Iceland Nancy Marie Brown, a clear and careful writer, has crafted a compelling evocation of Snorri Sturluson in his place and time, the Icelandic-Norse commonwealth of the turbulent thirteenth century. Although Snorri always remains at the center of this tale, Song of the Vikings is in many ways the biography of an entire, unusual people. Medieval Icelanders struggled for hundreds of years with their political allegiance, religious adherence, social structure and their remote island home itself with its awesome challenges to human existence. Furnished nine hundred years ago with the Latin alphabet, Icelanders began writing remarkable narratives of their own lives and of their Norse heritageand clever, wily Snorri has long been considered by many scholars foremost among the medieval authors of Iceland as well as the leading power broker of his day on the island. Nancy Marie Brown concludes her Song of the Vikings in truly constructive fashion with an absorbing essay on the reception of medieval Icelandic literature in the modern world, confirming the indelible signature of this sophisticated people on the texts of our global civilization, from Wagner and Tolkien to Thor (from Marvel Comics) and A.S. Byatt. Like her earlier The Far Traveler, on the expansive journeys of the Norse, Nancy Marie Browns Song of the Vikings belongs in the hands of every discerning student of Western civilization.--Patrick J. Stevens, Curator, the Fiske Icelandic Collection, Cornell University Library About the Author Nancy Marie Brown is the author of highly-praised books of nonfiction, including The Abacus and the Cross and The Far Traveler Voyages of a Viking Woman. She has studied Icelandic literature and culture since 1978. Formerly the editor of the award-winning magazine ResearchPenn State, Brown lives in Vermont, where she keeps four Icelandic horses and an Icelandic sheepdog. She blogs at nancymariebrown.blogspot.com.

Author: Daniel H. Nexon File Type: pdf Scholars have long argued over whether the 1648 Peace of Westphalia, which ended more than a century of religious conflict arising from the Protestant Reformations, inaugurated the modern sovereign-state system. But they largely ignore a more fundamental question why did the emergence of new forms of religious heterodoxy during the Reformations spark such violent upheaval and nearly topple the old political order? In this book, Daniel Nexon demonstrates that the answer lies in understanding how the mobilization of transnational religious movements intersects with--and can destabilize--imperial forms of rule.Taking a fresh look at the pivotal events of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries--including the Schmalkaldic War, the Dutch Revolt, and the Thirty Years War--Nexon argues that early modern composite political communities had more in common with empires than with modern states, and introduces a theory of imperial dynamics that explains how religious movements altered Europes balance of power. He shows how the Reformations gave rise to crosscutting religious networks that undermined the ability of early modern European rulers to divide and contain local resistance to their authority. In doing so, the Reformations produced a series of crises in the European order and crippled the Habsburg bid for hegemony.Nexons account of these processes provides a theoretical and analytic framework that not only challenges the way international relations scholars think about state formation and international change, but enables us to better understand global politics today.Review[I]nvaluable.... the kind of book that is bound to trigger debate and it invites (if not beckons) its readers to pursue further the ideas discussed on its pages. --Emilian R. Kavalski, Canadian Journal of HistoryScholars often debate the future of modern system of nation-states, but rarely do they study its origins. This groundbreaking book provides a sweeping reinterpretation of the religious and geopolitical conflicts of the seventeenth century, culminating in the emergence of the European state system. (Foreign Affairs )As a historian of early modern France it is refreshing to venture into a scholarly domain that comfortably pursues large-scale political analysis. It is equally refreshing to find someone trained in international relations who takes religion seriously as an independent, and powerful, political dynamic. Daniel Nexons ambitious reexamination of early modern state formations does just that. . . . [T]his is a highly satisfying and stimulating rethinking of the political significance of the Reformation. (Megan Armstrong Renaissance Quarterly )Daniel H. Nexon analyzes this relationship between religion and violence from the perspective of modern political science. His arguments are clearly stated and thought-provoking. . . . Nexons analysis displays a sure sense of what made early modern Europe distinctive and gives due regard to contingency as well as structural factors. More importantly, his theoretical framework offers an interesting way to integrate religious and secular factors in an analysis of international change and to explore this in comparative perspective. (Peter H. Wilson Journal of Early Modern History )A stimulating, dense, and highly readable book. (Stephen Deets Nationalities Papers )[C]hallenging ideas appear throughout this valuable and impressive work, which will surely spark a great deal of discussion among scholars of early modern politics and international relations. (Tryntje Helfferich Journal of Interdisciplinary History )Such an astute account of the dynamics of continuity and change in global politics will be invaluable both to students and scholars of the theory and history of international relations. . . . Nexons outstanding volume would be of relevance to anyone interested in understanding the European origins of the idea and practices of sovereign territorial statehood. He has also produced the kind of book that is bound to trigger debate and it invites . . . its readers to pursue further the ideas discussed on its pages. (Emilian R. Kavalski Canadian Journal of History ) From the Inside FlapWith this book, Daniel Nexon brings an assertive and iconoclastic voice to an already vibrant conversation among international relations theorists about how the modern international system took shape in early modern Europe. His stress on the combustible power of religious ideas and his innovative model of power and authority amount to a sophisticated and creative explanation of the international politics of this period and indeed of any period--including, he arrestingly argues, our own.--Daniel Philpott, University of Notre DameDaniel Nexon has woven a magisterial account of the impact of the Reformation on international politics. Using network theory and institutionalist analysis, he deftly crafts a composite theory that is relevant not only to the understanding of international change but also to the study of composite polities, empires, and nation-states. His study, furthermore, suggests how religion and institutional change can braid together to produce fundamental challenges to the existing international order. In so doing, he not only provides insights into the past but illuminates contemporary processes as well.--Hendrik Spruyt, Northwestern UniversityIn its depth of theoretical insight and subtlety of reasoning, few recent books in international relations and history rival what Daniel Nexon has accomplished in this impressive piece of scholarship. The books fresh conceptualization opens new vistas on the past experiences, present conditions, and future trajectories of international relations. No theoretically inclined student can afford bypassing Nexons challenging ideas.--Peter J. Katzenstein, Cornell UniversityThis is an extremely impressive book. Nexon not only illuminates a crucial and controversial moment in the history of international relations, but he does so in the context of making a vital theoretical and methodological contribution to the field. This is a very important study, and a superb piece of work.--Richard Little, University of BristolThis book makes a significant contribution not only to international relations theory, but also to comparative politics. Nexon develops an innovative and productive way of viewing changing patterns of international relations, and he helps us to transcend the often-artificial divide between domestic and international politics. He also successfully transcends the debate between materialists and idealists. This book should be of interest to a broad audience.--Mlada Bukovansky, Smith College