Book Description
Everyday theology is the reflective and practical task of living each day as faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. In other words, theology is not just for Sundays, and it's not just for professional theologians. Everyday Theology teaches all Christians how to get the theological lay of the land. It enables them to become more conscious of the culture they inhabit every day so that they can understand how it affects them and how they can affect it. If theology is the ministry of the Word to the world, everyday theologians need to know something about that world, and Everyday Theology shows them how to understand their culture make an impact on it. Engaging and full of fresh young voices, this book is the first in the new Cultural Exegesis series.
Customer Reviews:
Full of Hope.......2007-06-12
Back in the late 60s it was common for even fundamentalists to use the popular music of the era as a vehicle for communicating the Gospel. Anyone here remember the Scott Ross Show? That was an exciting era. In this book Kevin & Co. present us with a practical (observable and not simply academic) framework for doing this same thing again. (Why this excites me so much is that it was this very behavior that came along with the Jesus Movement -- spell that R-E-V-I-V-A-L.) But I digress.
"Everyday Theology is not an encyclopedia of contemporary culture, nor is it a full-blown textbook of cultural hermeneutics. What it provides instead is a model for 'reading' culture theologically as well as a number of illustrative examples." (p. 10)
What will you gain from this book? First, if you're like many who've been out of touch with society in general, you'll get a snapshot of some important current attitudes and activities. If you're thoroughly in touch then this book will help you step back and look objectively at what's going on in culture today.
In this interpreation I was especially encouraged by Chapter 6 (by Michael Sleasman), Swords, Sandals, and Saviors: Visions of Hope in Ridley Scott's Gladiator. Mr. Sleasman does not try to make something Messianic (equivalent to Christ) out of the movie but shows how it conveys a somewhat messianic message, an evidence of the worlds hope and hopelessness.
Recommendation: Get the book. It's worth every penny you spend, and more. Have it available to all the leaders in your church. Couple the book with Harry and Mary for an invaluable package to help you understand culture and trends, and plan your public and interpersonal responses accordingly. For the cause of the Gospel.
Book Description
With a thematic focus on global popular culture, this unique multi-genre reader offers students the opportunity to read, talk, and write about familiar topics of modern life.
Customer Reviews:
never received it.......2005-09-18
Ordered this book a few weeks ago. Never received it. Had to go purchase a new copy at much greater expense.
Amazon.com
Opening with a photograph of a 1950s Disneyland home designed in the shape of a TV (by those fun-loving futurists at MIT), this book's text and photos consistently maintain a balance between insightful social commentary and critique and sensitive recapturing of the essence of visual broadcast's dawn.
Book Description
America in the 1950s: the world was not so much a stage as a setpiece for TV, the new national phenomenon. It was a time when how things looked--and how we looked--mattered, a decade of design that comes to vibrant life in As Seen on TV. From the painting-by-numbers fad to the public fascination with the First Lady's apparel to the television sensation of Elvis Presley to the sculptural refinement of the automobile, Marling explores what Americans saw and what they looked for with a gaze newly trained by TV. A study in style, in material culture, in art history at eye level, this book shows us as never before those artful everyday objects that stood for American life in the 1950s, as seen on TV.
Customer Reviews:
"Life In The Age Of Television Was A Feast For The Eye...".......2000-09-06
Karal Ann Martling tucks her mission in writing "As Seen On TV" in that last sentence of the next-to-last chapter of her fascinating book. She tours the 1950s' TV-raised images, from First Lady Mamie Eisenhower's dress closet to her husband's paintings to garish car in the garage, ready-made food in the kitchen, and herky-jerky TV images pointing to changed American culture and aestetic. Hers is a more entertaining, breezier read than recent books from, respectively, David Halberstam on the 1950s or historian Michael Kammen on American preference.(Marling shared time at Cornell with Kammen, thanking his students in her acknowledgements for "challenging lunchtime conversation.")
Marling merges era icons, fads, and seminal events more seamlessly into social statement than Halberstam did or Kammen attempted. Her understanding of cars evolving into social statements segues best into the image of Elvis Presley, the "King of Rock and Roll" for whom the "gorp"-covered Cadillac was chariot of choice. (she also credits Martin and Lewis with exposing the entertainment's dual sensibilities during early TV).
Marling also writes of home convenience from new appliances and quick dinners colliding with the rustic, more honorable life many felt had been replaced. This clash inspired and popularized Grandma Moses' idealized portraits of American country life, Walt Disney's scale model re-creation of small-town America at Disneyland (and on the accompanying TV program), and Betty Crocker's shorthand version of motherly mentoring through General Mills' best-selling cookbook. Marling's chapter on Walt Disney's inspirations for creating the park is among the book's most fascinating. But a chapter on "American Bandstand," should Marling have chosen to include it, may have tied even more loose ends together.
The book may also have done with some re-arrangement; the closing chapter accurately and humorously chronicles the 1959 Richard Nixon-Nikita Krushchev "kitchen debate." But its tale of form of function, argued by its most important leaders at the peak of Cold War hysteria, may have been more effective introducing Marling's tale. The book may then have received more social context by stating sooner Nixon's belief, according to Marling, in "style as a manifestation or a symbol of difference and, in difference, multiplicity - the possibility of choice - as...connecting idle consumer fetishism to ideology." This would also have more closely tied the 1950s' garish color imagery with its parallel, grainier black-and-white images (Nixon, the Cold War, and Joe McCarthy, a standout 50s figure seen on TV but not in this book.) Nonetheless, "As Seen On TV" is a fun, informative read for those wishing to understand the reasoning behind an era's unforgettable images.
Very interesting book with wonderful photographs.......1999-05-26
Very interesting reading. It is amazing to actually see how television has changed American life. I can't even fathom how life would be today, without TV. A great read for all who are interested in American pop culture in the 1950s.
Book Description
"Bisexuality is about three centuries overdue . . . nevertheless, here it is: a learned, witty study of how our curious culture has managed to get everything wrong about sex."
-Gore Vidal
"A marvelous, witty, learned, and sexy book. Bisexuality is destined for landmark status--no one who reads its bold, persuasive argument will ever think the same way about sex."
-Diane Middlebrook, author of Anne Sexton
"Bisexuality uncovers a subject long buried deep within the closet of America's cultural unconscious. Garber's capacities as a cultural commentator--delivered here in funny, witty, and sexy prose--are quite dazzling. A tour de force of social criticism, Bisexuality is in itself a cultural event."
-Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
The world is flat. The sun revolves around the earth. Human beings are either heterosexual or homosexual. The first two myths have long been abandoned, but the third has awaited its Columbus or Copernicus. Until now.
In this witty, learned, and scrupulously researched book, Marjorie Garber examines bisexuality and its many modes through a dazzling variety of critical lenses: cultural, literary, and psychological. Bisexuality is a monumental inquiry into what "normal" might mean, and just how difficult it is to make claims about sexuality-someone else's or one's own. Whether you're curious or seriously interested, a lay reader or a student of sexuality or gender, Bisexuality is a book you will have to have.
Formerly published as Vice Versa: Bisexuality and the Eroticism of Everyday Life from Touchstone/Simon & Schuster, ISBN: 0 684 82412 4
Customer Reviews:
Wonderful Work!.......2005-02-22
This is an amazing book for anyone who is bisexual or just plain interested in gender studies. It is well written, informative and all encompassing when it comes to the many realms of sexuality outside the terms "gay" or "straight". Through reading this book I was able to realize that although I am a bisexual women, I often identify myself as a male gender phsycologically. That you Marjorie for this wonderful piece of literature!
Pardon me?.......2004-08-19
I thought this was an enjoyable book for the most part, but I am bewildered by the blurb on the back comparing the author's scholarly contribution to the work of Copernicus. Wouldn't that suggest that she would at least have an original and clear thesis in there? Instead, we get a mish-mash of gossip, innuendo, and lame puns for over 500 pages. The closest I came to finding a thesis was the idea that bisexuality is extremely common yet has been denied for centuries... which wasn't even original when Freud said it. The book reads like the sort of thing Entertainment Weekly would have published; the thinking is fuzzy and superficial, and the writing is glib and confused. Entertaining for what it is, but, as scholarship, it shows mostly how far the Ivy Leagues have fallen.
Like ... THIS is the real thing.......2002-09-17
This is a complete and wonderful work of scholarship. I have delighted in and enjoyed every page. It is a thorough exploration of bisexuality, the bisexual experience, and bisexual eroticism. There are some profound observations in the book that have given me now insights into myself. As a bisexual who has read most - if not all - of the books on the subject; I can say that - in my opinion - this is the ONLY book on bisexuality that is actually worth reading. Ms. Garber is the only author I have read who has grasped the essence and the meaning of the "Bisexual Experience". It is clear that - unlike most writers on the subject - she is not guessing. She knows. She has also miraculously managed to make what she knows accessible to any reader. I made my psychologist buy a copy and read it. Now he knows what I'm talking about. Ms Garber demonstrates quite clearly that we bisexuals are not straight, we are not gay, we are not lesbian. We are a whole other breed of cat. This book should help anyone to understand what sort of cat we are.
Bisexuality made visible.......2002-04-14
Garber's book is an eminently readable study of the invisibility of bisexuality in our culture. She reveals the bisexuality in everything from Shakespeare's sonnets to the real-life relationships of Vita Sackville-West and others. The book is chock-full of specific details and quotations--much of it reads like a narrative (sometimes almost gossipy in a fun way!), while continuing to make Garber's point. She breaks down binary and essentialist ideas of sexual orientation with examples drawn from a huge range of literature, culture, film, and biography.
The Bi Equivalent to Faludi's Backlash.......2001-03-07
This book is now a cornerstone of my library. Garber breaksdown Bisexuality just as Susan Faludi previously made feminism accessible through Backlash. This work is definately in the top 10. It is fun yet profound. Though an avid reader, I found at times the content was so heavy that I would put space between me and the book for awhile. But do not dismay. This distance was only needed because, being an acknowledged bisexual myself, the words slammed right home. I found one of the most helpful aspects of the book was the diverse lenses that Garber approached the subject through. Now, when I find myself reading other related books or coming in contact with related controversies, I have a wide range of information and perspective to draw on that Garber provides. Her dynamic & astonishing research is coupled with a great attitude & laid back voice. Buy/read this book, you won't see things the same ever again...........
Book Description
Once people were instinctively tuned to the beautiful. In those distant days before the advent of the motor car and the washing machine, the electric toothbrush and the wheel, craftsmen and musicians, masons and poets, painters and dancers simply did not know how to make an ugly thing; they could not close their hearts to the light of heaven. For them--countless numbers of them--beauty was as necessary as the air they breathed. It gave dignity and meaning to drab and impoverished lives and inspired great (but often brutal) civilizations in which people lived creative and useful lives. Beauty is the nourishment of the soul. It is something that gives us dignity as a species. John Lane calls us to awaken to the possibilities of a culture that recognizes the importance of beauty and to acknowledge that we are only fully human when in contact with the beautiful.
Book Description
Superman's role in romanticizing commercialism; sexual violence in Japanese manga comics; Wonder Woman as Americanized immigrant; reader's reactions to the gay superhero Northstar; Dilbert as a workplace revolutionary; the Punisher's invasion of Vietnam-these are a few of the issues that Comics & Ideology addresses. Focusing on the intersection of social power and comic art, essays in this book explore how images and narratives in comic books and comic strips may portray social groups and social issues. As a scholarly examination of a form known as "the funnies" or "funny books," this book argues that the themes and characterizations in comic art are often quite serious. Essays take diverse theoretical perspectives such as cultural studies, political economy, feminist criticism, queer studies, and mythic analysis, all focusing on the relationship of comics to issues of social division.
Customer Reviews:
Interesting, but Lacks Vital Core........2001-12-12
Excluding the introduction, Comics & Ideology includes eleven rather different essays, which is to say that the only unifying themes in the various contributions, as the reader might expect, are "comics" and "ideology." Unfortunately, both have such varied definitions that although they are used with great frequency in the collection, they are often referring to vastly different things. "Comics" include everything from Japanese magna to syndicated American newspaper strips to traditional superhero comics. Similarly, "ideology" refers to gender politics, race and ethnicity, nationalism, nostalgia, as well as more traditional political belief systems. As such it is rather difficult to recommend the book: there is no great concentration of any one mode of scholarship to attract any scholar with specific interests, and with there being so few limitations on the types of texts considered it would be rather difficult to use the whole text in any unifying way (i.e. teaching a course, or even general research). At most, Comics & Ideology may offer potential readers one or two essays of interest, but this will be entirely dependant upon the individual. For my purposes (and I assume for the majority of potential readers), Comics & Ideology offers three (or five if Judge Dredd and superheroes in The `Nam can be considered) useful essays on American superhero comics, concentrating, respectively, on Wonder Woman, Superman, and gay characters in mainstream comics.
"The Tyranny of the Melting Pot Metaphor" by Matthew J. Smith is a rather interesting approach to Women Woman and her place in the DC universe: Unlike Superman who is quickly homogenized in Smallville, Kansas, Wonder Woman's entire career has been spent in an attempt to slowly acculturate herself to the United States. While Smith wanders from time to time (falling into the inevitable discussion of Wonder Woman and bondage), the article is interesting and the utility of it is apparent: Wonder Woman is the every-immigrant, slowly becoming American through the adoption of cultural practices, and Smith provides an ample framework to understand similar conversions in comic books as well as aliens from more traditional science fiction.
One of the most important pieces of comic book criticism is Umberto Eco's "The Myth of Superman" which Ian Gordon updates in his "Nostalgia, Myth, and Ideology: Visions of Superman at the End of the `American Century'." The basic argument is that Superman must constantly be reinvented in order to appeal to new readers (or viewers of the cinematic or television adaptations, as is the case with most of Gordon's contribution), and Gordon does a good job of updating Eco's argument, appealing to the more commercially recognized screen versions of the Man of Steel.
Morris E. Franklin's "Coming Out in Comics Books" is the most interesting piece in the collection, largely due to his methodological procedure: Eschewing the typical literary analysis of the text itself, Franklin consults the letter columns in comics to analyze reader reaction to coming out narratives. And while the selective editorial practices that limit the letters that are included in such letter columns prohibit full understanding of reader reaction, Franklin does provide a useful model for scholars interested in more anthropological analysis of comic books and their fans.
Finally, the studies of Judge Dredd comics and superhero appearances in Marvel Comics' The `Nam are rather interesting - both deal explicitly with politics, and as such are more at the heart of Comics & Ideology than the majority of the other contributions. Unfortunately though, their political contribution isn't enough to demand owning this collection for political scholars, nor is their loose relation to superheroes enough for those interested in tight- and cape-wearing men and women. Overall, Comics & Ideology has decent pieces, but as a collection it fails to coalesce into a clear academic statement.
Book Description
John Heskett wants to transform the way we think about design, by showing how integral it is to our daily lives, from the spoon we use to eat our breakfast cereal, the car we drive to work in, to the medical equipment used to save lives. Design combines 'need' and 'desire' in the form of a practical object that can also reflect the users identity and aspirations through its form and decoration. This concise guide to contemporary design goes beyond style and taste to look at how different cultures and individuals personalize objects. Heskett also reveals how simple objects, such as a toothpick, can have their design modified to suit the specific cultural behaviour in different countries. There are also fascinating insights into how major companies such as Nokia, Ford, and Sony approach design. Finally, we are shown an exciting vision of what design can offer us in the future and especially its role in humanizing new technology.
Customer Reviews:
clear and concise overview on design today.......2004-05-05
This is a well written snapshot of what comprises the disciplines of "design," from industrial products or even entire environemnts to the crafting of organizational images. In a perfect economy or detail, the curious reader can explore the modalities of all these disciplines as they are practiced today. It is useful and indeed fascinating. I know of no better source for those interested in these issues.
For example, according to Heskett, there are product design companies that rely on single maestros - designers celebiritries such as Philippe Starck. Then, there are team-based groups springing up in the US, like IDEO, that can design anything very quickly on demand, from toothbrush handles to Palm Pilots. Finally, there are sepcialised design groups within corporations, some of which act like consultencies that have to bid for business in competition with outside competitors (this occurs in Philips). Heskett does the same for graphic design, public relations, etc., so there is much here for those seeking specific answers to certain questions as well as a larger contextual overview.
It is nice to find a design book that is not a picture book, but one based on content and analysis. I will consult this for years to come for its holistic perspective on the multi-faceted disciplines that make up "design."
Recommended warmly.
Well designed overview of what design is and why it matters........2003-06-24
This book held my attention and enjoyably helped me understand the concept of design from a holistic point of view rather than a "graphic design," "industrial design" or "any-other-niche design" point of view. Heskett has written a very readable (5-6 hours, and I don't read fast) book that successfully communicates what design is and why it is important. He helped me understand why design is personal, cultural and everywhere. Most of us, at some level, understand why design is important (especially when we experience poor design), but it was very educational to be reminded of this by someone with his perspective and understanding. He provides foundation (The 1st three chapters are "What is Design?," "The Historical Evolution of Design," and "Utility and Significance") and then details five applications of design (a chapter per application). The areas of application are "Objects," Communications," Environments," Identities," and "Systems." He concludes with a chapter on the contexts in which design exists and a look at the future of design. It is well written, and packed with great insights. I look forward to reading it again and gleaning more.
great book.......2003-04-23
Gives a quality overview of the layers of design concerns and approaches for industrial design. No topic is examined in depth, which keeps the book flowing and light.
Average customer rating:
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News in Public Memory: An International Study of Media Memories Across Generations (Popular Culture and Everyday Life)
Manufacturer: Peter Lang Publishing
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Book Description
News in Public Memory brings together a team of international experts to investigate the media-transmitted history of the twentieth century as it exists in the memories and minds of people living in diverse cultures across the globe. This book compares media-related childhood memories across three generations in nine countries. Results reveal that events of the past century are not only historical "facts" but have become substantial elements of a new global collective memory that has been integrated into generational identity worldwide. The global approach of this research encourages the idea that the world is an interconnected whole, but it also helps to advance a better understanding of the different perceptions of global and local news as they emerge from various cultural angles and geographical regions.
Book Description
-- Thorin Tritter, Columbia University, H-Net Reviews
Cultural historian David Henkin explores the influential but little-noticed role played by reading in New York City's public life between 1825 and 1865. From the opening of the Erie Canal to the end of the Civil War, New York became a metropolis, and demographic, economic, and physical changes erased the old markers of continuity and order. As New York became a crowded city of strangers, everyday encounters with impersonal signs, papers, and bank notes altered people's perceptions of connectedness to the new world they lived in. The 'ubiquitous urban texts'--from newspapers to paper money, from street signs to handbills--became both indispensable urban guides and apt symbols for a new kind of public life that emerged first in New York. City Reading focuses on four principal categories of public reading: street signs and store signs; handbills and trade cards; newspapers; and paper money. Drawing on a wealth of visual sources and written texts that document the changing cityscape--including novels, diaries, newspapers, municipal guides, and government records--Henkin shows that public acts of reading (to a much greater extent than private, solitary reading) determined how New Yorkers of all backgrounds came to define themselves and their urban community.
Book Description
As the saying goes, "Enough about me, let's talk about you: what do you think of me?" Hence the pursuit of attention is alive and well. Even the OED reveals a modern coinage to reflect the chase in our technological age: "ego-surfing"--searching the internet for occurrences of your own name. What is the cause of this obsessive need for others' recognition? In The Pursuit of Attention, Derber contends that it is a general lack of social support in America that causes people to compete so hungrily, and he shows how individuals will often employ numerous techniques to turn the course of a conversation towards themselves. The book illustrates and explains this "conversational narcissism" in sample dialogues that will sound disturbingly familiar to everyone. Drawing from research on face-to-face interactions in households, restaurants, workplaces, classrooms, and therapy groups, Derber demonstrates that gender and class, as well as wealth, occupation and education, affect one's success in getting attention. The originality of his arguments lies in his ability to vivdly translate the social and economic forces of contemporary American capitalism into the ordinary experience of individuals, and, as C. Wright Mills put it, to connect private troubles with public issues. First published twenty years ago, The Pursuit of Attention has been revised and updated for this edition and includes a new preface and afterword. The preface focuses on changes in the manifestations of attention-seeking and the hyperindividualistic changes in the economy and culture that are driving these transformations. In his view, individualism has actually accelerated in intense ways over the last twenty years. With the advent of the internet, greater and more immediate possibilities for attention are now available. Personal websites with images and information to attract anonymous viewers are common occurrences, and as people's attachments to marriage and work loosen, there exists a higher sense of being alone, and thus self-absorbed. Finally, the internalization of economic rules of self-interest breeds a psychological readiness to act egotistically even in the most intimate arenas in personal life. In response to this, the afterword focuses on solutions: how to restructure the economy and culture to humanize ourselves and increase the capacity for empathy and attention-giving.
Customer Reviews:
It made my top 5 list for non-fiction.......2004-07-02
Quick and to the point it wastes not a word yet reads well. Accurate observations about american society's need for attention with special emphasis on the roles of class and gender. It points out problems and possible answers.
It is excellent.
Not just a book, a treasure........2001-03-03
I usually sell or give away books once I've read them - there are always other books to read, and I don't fool myself that I'm going to revisit most of what I've already read. There are exceptions, but very few.
"The Pursuit of Attention" is not just an exception to this habit, it is for me, the premier exception. I first received this book as an unsolicited bonus from the bomc. I can honestly say that the insights it contains changed my life, almost revolutionized it.
You would expect to hear hype like that attached to some vapid self-help book. This is nothing of the sort - it reads much more like an extended scholarly paper. Not at all soft, not padded with a lot of empathy or pain-feeling, the book is pithy and somewhat short, and hits even harder because of that.
Attention, important enough to be the subject of the title, is presented as the underlying driving force in social interactions, and the books explaination of how the tactics and strategy of social interactions are affected by this 'pursuit of attention' will open your eyes to behavior all around you, including your own. In a way, this book is to Transactional Analysis what, in mathamatics, basic math is to algebra. Put back in the psychological realm, much of psychology is about the HOW of how people act, this book discusses the fundamentals of the WHY of how they act.
I treasure my copy. I strongly recommend you purchase your own.
Books:
- Fast Food: Roadside Restaurants in the Automobile Age (The Road and American Culture)
- Firefly: The Official Companion: Volume Two
- Fitzpatrick's Color Atlas & Synopsis of Clinical Dermatology
- Food and Society in Classical Antiquity (Key Themes in Ancient History)
- For Women Only: What You Need to Know about the Inner Lives of Men
- Forty Studies that Changed Psychology: Explorations into the History of Psychological Research
- Ghettonation: A Journey Into the Land of Bling and Home of the Shameless
- Global Politics in a Changing World: A Reader
- Hammer of the Gods
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Books Index
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