Science is the study of our world, as it is in its messy reality. Nonetheless, science requires idealization to function—if we are to attempt to understand the world, we have to find ways to red
In this book, philosopher of religion Nancy Levene probes the elemental character of religion and modernity, and their relation to each other. Her focus is the structuring role of distinction, such as
The Life of Paper offers a wholly original and inspiring analysis of how people facing systematic social dismantling have engaged in letter correspondence to remake themselves, from bodily integrity t
Since the 1979 revolution, scholars and policy makers alike have tended to see Iranian political actors as religiously driven—dedicated to overturning the international order in line with a theologica
Would you like to learn to pray like a medieval Christian? In Mary and the Art of Prayer, Rachel Fulton Brown traces the history of the medieval practice of praisingMary through the complex of prayers
When you are half lost in a work of art, what happens to the half left behind? Semi-Detached delves into this state of being: what it means to be within and without our social and physical milieu, at
A brief, accessible history of the idea of purpose in Western thought, from ancient Greece to the presentCan we live without the idea of purpose? Should we even try to? Kant thought we were stuck with
You might think that any reader is a good reader (publishers certainly do). Merve Emre’s tongue-in-cheek subtitle calls out ?bad” readers?the kind whose approach to literature is naive, superficial, t
Life and Money uncovers the contentious history of the boundary between economy and politics in liberalism. Avoiding the established categories of state and market, Ute Tellmann focuses instead on the
Sex has no history, but sexual science does. Starting in the late nineteenth century, people all over the world suddenly began to insist that understandings of sex be based on science. As Japanese and
Heralded as America’s most quintessentially modern city, Chicago has attracted the gaze of journalists, novelists, essayists, and scholars as much as any city in the nation. And, yet, few histor
Early in the 1980s AIDS epidemic, six gay activists created one of the most iconic and lasting images that would come to symbolize a movement: a protest poster of a pink triangle with the words &ldquo
Few people have done as much to change how we view the world as Charles Darwin. Yet On the Origin of Species is more cited than read. Some of it is considered outdated; in some ways, it has been consi
Hal Foster’s Prince Valiant continues as one of the all-time magnificent adventure comics ever conceived and Fantagraphics’ reprinting is the loveliest treatment of the strip in the history of publish
With America’s founding principles being debated today as never before, Russell Shorto looks back to the era in which those principles were forged. Drawing on new sources, he weaves the lives of six p
Hal Foster’s Prince Valiant is one of the most magnificent adventure comics ever and Fantagraphics’ reprinting is the loveliest treatment of the strip in the history of publishing. Despite being one o
When the tough-on-crime politics of the 1980s overcrowded state prisons, private companies saw potential profit in building and operating correctional facilities. Today more than a hundred thousand of
An honest discussion of free trade and how nations can sensibly chart a path forward in today's global economyNot so long ago the nation-state seemed to be on its deathbed, condemned to irrelevance by
A great movie’s first few minutes are the key to the rest of the film. Like the opening paragraphs of a novel, they draw the viewer in and set up the thematic concerns and stylistic approach that will
Poland in the 1980s was filled with shuttered restaurants and shops that bore such imaginative names as “bread,” “shoes,” and “milk products,” from which lines coul
Hamlet and the Vision of Darkness is a radical new interpretation of the most famous play in the English language. By exploring Shakespeare's engagements with the humanist traditions of early modern E
In 1869, Civil War veteran and amputee Major John Wesley Powell led an expedition down the uncharted Colorado River through the then-nameless Grand Canyon. This is the story of what started as a geolo
A committed Lutheran excommunicated from his own church, a friend to Catholics and Calvinists alike, a layman who called himself a “priest of God,” a Copernican in a world where Ptolemy st
In response to unprecedented environmental degradation, activists and popular movements have risen up to fight the crisis of climate change and the ongoing devastation of the earth. The environmental
How should we weigh the costs and benefits of scientific research on humans? Is it right that a small group of people should suffer in order that a larger number can live better, healthier lives? Or i
Sewing Hope offers the first account of a bold challenge to apparel-industry sweatshops. The Alta Gracia factory in the Dominican Republic is the anti-sweatshop. It boasts a living wage three times th
Economic and social development is a major topic of discussion in courses across the social sciences, particularly those focused on Latin America. Many scholars and instructors have tried to pinpoint,
A pathbreaking history of Sufism, from the earliest centuries of Islam to the presentAfter centuries as the most important ascetic-mystical strand of Islam, Sufism saw a sharp decline in the twentieth
In 1948, only three years after the Holocaust, the newly founded nation of Israel came under siege from a coalition of Arab states. The invaders vowed to annihilate the tiny country and its 600,000 se
Something dark is growing in Mopu. The only question is whether the danger that will undo the women’s delicate camaraderie is outside the gates—or within. House of Women is Goldstein’s second solo gra
One of the simplest stitches in knitting gets a stylish, groundbreaking makeover. The seed stitch is still one of the most popular among knitters, yet few designers have adapted its rich texture or co
The classic book on the art and history of weaving--now expanded and in full color Written by one of the twentieth century's leading textile artists, this splendidly illustrated book is a luminous med
What is fascism and what is populism? What are their connections in history and theory, and how should we address their significant differences? What does it mean when pundits call Donald Trump a fasc
With a uniquely balanced combination of salty, sweet, sour, and spicy flavors, Thai food burst onto Los Angeles's culinary scene in the 1980s. Flavors of Empire examines the rise of Thai food and
This volume collects the best macabre stories of Washington Irving. Blending sly humour with supernatural thrills, these tales are among the most beloved and re-read of all American fiction. In the 13
In an absorbing work peopled with world leaders, generals, and ordinary citizens who fought on both sides of World War II, Alone brings to resounding life perhaps the most critical year of twentieth-c
A personal account of the implementation of a controversial credit transfer program at the nation's third-largest universityChange is notoriously difficult in any large organization. Institutions of h
Today Israel’s Separation Wall swallows land, separating Palestinian farmers from their fields, and Israeli settlements grow in the Occupied Territories. Meanwhile amidst the endless ink spilled on bo
Off the Page examines the business and craft of screenwriting in the era of media convergence. Bernardi and Hoxter use the recent history of screenwriting labor coupled with close analysis of the scre
Camps are emblems of the modern world, but they first appeared under the imperial tutelage of Victorian Britain. Comparative and transnational in scope, Barbed-Wire Imperialism situates the
