Download or read book The Dialectics of Secret Society Power in States written by Stanton K. Tefft and published by Humanities Press International. This book was released on 1992 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The Dialectics of Secret Society Power in States explores a fascinating problem neglected by social science for many years, the political role of secret societies in state systems. Through a comparative study of secret society activity in five states, this book provides a penetrating analysis of the dynamics of state-secret society power relations. The five states and corresponding secret societies presented in this study are: Liberia (Poro and Sande), Ottoman Turks (Bektashi), Ching China ( White Lotus), Malaysia (Triad), and South Africa (Broederbond)." "Unique to this book is the portrayal of secret societies as organizations responsive to the conflicts generated by structural contradictions within state systems and the larger social systems of which states are integral units. Unlike earlier studies of secret orders that provide largely descriptive accounts of secret organizations and their rituals, The Dialectics of Secret Society Power in States clearly identifies the nature of the conflicts in which secret societies are involved and shows how this involvement impacts on the secret order and its power relations with the state." "This study also presents an integrated theoretical assessment of secret societies as both products of, as well as forces for, sociopolitical change. It will be of particular interest to political anthropologists and political sociologists, as well as those studying social and revolutionary movements in Asia and Africa."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Download or read book Ibss Political Science 1992 written by British Library of Political and Economic Science and published by Psychology Press. This book was released on 1993 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The IBSS is the essential tool for librarians, university departments, research institutions and any public or private institution whose work requires access to up-to-date and comprehensive knowledge of the social sciences.

Download or read book Downhome Gospel written by Jerrilyn McGregory and published by Univ. Press of Mississippi. This book was released on 2010-10-05 with total page 239 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jerrilyn McGregory explores sacred music and spiritual activism in a little-known region of the South, the Wiregrass Country of Georgia, Alabama, and North Florida. She examines African American sacred music outside of Sunday church-related activities, showing that singing conventions and anniversary programs fortify spiritual as well as social needs. In this region African Americans maintain a social world of their own creation. Their cultural performances embrace some of the most pervasive forms of African American sacred music—spirituals, common meter, Sacred Harp, shape-note, traditional, and contemporary gospel. Moreover, the contexts in which they sing include present-day observations such as the Twentieth of May (Emancipation Day), Burial League Turnouts, and Fifth Sunday. Rather than tracing the evolution of African American sacred music, this ethnographic study focuses on contemporary cultural performances, almost all by women, which embrace all forms. These women promote a female-centered theology to ensure the survival of their communities and personal networks. They function in leadership roles that withstand the test of time. Their spiritual activism presents itself as a way of life. In Wiregrass Country, “You don't have to sing like an angel” is a frequently expressed sentiment. To these women, “good” music is God's music regardless of the manner delivered. Therefore, Downhome Gospel presents gospel music as being more than a transcendent sound. It is local spiritual activism that is writ large. Gospel means joy, hope, expectation, and the good news that makes the soul glad.

Download or read book The Path of Desire written by Hugh B. Urban and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2024 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "In the Western popular imagination, there is a singular association between Tantra and sex. But behind sensationalist stories of Tantric lovemaking lies a rich spiritual and textual tradition of which sexual union is only a small, and fiercely debated, part. In The Path of Desire, Hugh B. Urban takes us on an ethnographic journey to Assam, the heartland of Tantric practice in contemporary India, revealing the vibrant, dynamic lived tradition of Hindu Tantra. The Path of Desire expands our definition of kāma, a central concept of Tantra generally translated as "desire," to focus on mundane and worldly desires such as healing and childbearing. This more holistic notion of desire manifests itself in popular folk practice, which Urban categorizes in four forms: institutional Tantra, comprised of gurus, disciples, and esoteric rituals; public Tantra, involving offerings and temple celebrations; folk Tantra, focusing on practices of healing, protection, material wellbeing, and desire fulfillment; and pop Tantra, or how Tantra is portrayed in popular media such as paperbacks, comic books, and movies. The result is a nuanced understanding of Tantra as a diverse lived tradition"--

Download or read book Government Secrecy written by Susan Maret and published by Emerald Group Publishing. This book was released on 2011-01-26 with total page 465 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Divided into six sections, this title examines Government secrecy (GS) in a variety of contexts, including comparative examination of government control of information, new definitions, categories, censorship, ethics, and secrecy's relationship with freedom of information and transparency.

Download or read book The Routledge Handbook of Religion and Secrecy written by Hugh B. Urban and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2022-03-29 with total page 621 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Secrecy is a central and integral component of all religious traditions. Not limited simply to religious groups that engage in clandestine activities such as hidden rites of initiation or terrorism, secrecy is inherent in the very fabric of religion itself. Its importance has perhaps never been more acutely relevant than in our own historical moment. In the wake of 9/11 and other acts of religious violence, we see the rise of invasive national security states that target religious minorities and pose profound challenges to the ideals of privacy and religious freedom, accompanied by the resistance by many communities to such efforts. As such, questions of secrecy, privacy, surveillance, and security are among the most central and contested issues of twenty-first century religious life. The Routledge Handbook of Religion and Secrecy is the definitive reference source for the key topics, problems, and debates in this crucial field and is the first collection of its kind. Comprising twenty-nine chapters by a team of international contributors, the Handbook is divided into five parts: Configurations of Religious Secrecy: Conceptual and Comparative Frameworks Secrecy as Religious Practice Secrecy and the Politics of the Present Secrecy and Social Resistance Secrecy, Terrorism, and Surveillance. This cutting-edge volume discusses secrecy in relation to major categories of religious experience and individual religious practices while also examining the transformations of secrecy in the modern period, including the rise of fraternal orders, the ongoing wars on terror, the rise of far-right white supremacist groups, increasing concerns over religious freedom and privacy, the role of the internet in the spread and surveillance of such groups, and the resistance to surveillance by many indigenous and diasporic communities. The Routledge Handbook of Religion and Secrecy is essential reading for students and researchers in religious studies, comparative religion, new religious movements, and religion and politics. It will be equally central to debates in the related disciplines of sociology, anthropology, political science, security studies and cultural studies.

Download or read book Secrecy and Cultural Reality written by Gilbert Herdt and published by University of Michigan Press. This book was released on 2010-02-22 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Gilbert Herdt is Director of the Program in Human Sexuality Studies at San Francisco State University, where he is also Professor of Human Sexuality Studies and Anthropology.

Download or read book Contemporary Esotericism written by Egil Asprem and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-09-11 with total page 540 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The study of contemporary esoteric discourse has hitherto been a largely neglected part of the new academic field of Western esotericism. Contemporary Esotericism provides a broad overview and assessment of the complex world of Western esoteric thought today. Combining historiographical analysis with theories and methodologies from the social sciences, the volume explores new problems and offers new possibilities for the study of esoterica. Contemporary Esotericism studies the period since the 1950s but focuses on the last two decades. The wide range of essays are divided into four thematic sections: the intricacies of esoteric appeals to tradition; the role of popular culture, modern communication technologies, and new media in contemporary esotericism; the impact and influence of esotericism on both religious and secular arenas; and the recent 'de-marginalization' of the esoteric in both scholarship and society.

Download or read book The Politics of Organized Crime and the Organized Crime of Politics written by Alfredo Schulte-Bockholt and published by Lexington Books. This book was released on 2006 with total page 278 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: More than simply a study of the mafia, Alfredo Schulte-Bockholt's work argues that collaboration between political science and criminology is critical to understanding the real nature of organized crime and its power. Schulte-Bockholt looks at specific case studies from Asia, Latin America, and Europe as he develops a theoretical discussion - drawing on the thought of Max Horkheimer, Theodor Adorno, and Antonio Gramsci - of the intimate connections between criminal groups and elite structures. Ranging from an historical discussion of the world drug economy to an examination of the evolution of organized crime in the former Soviet Union, the book extends into a consideration of the possible future development of organized crime in the age of advanced globalization.

Download or read book Witchcraft in the Modern World written by Brian P. Levack and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-10-28 with total page 446 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Witchcraft and magical beliefs have captivated historians and artists for millennia, and stimulated an extraordinary amount of research among scholars in a wide range of disciplines. This new collection, from the editor of the highly acclaimed 1992 set, Articles on Witchcraft, Magic, and Demonology, extends the earlier volumes by bringing together the most important articles of the past twenty years and covering the profound changes in scholarly perspective over the past two decades. Featuring thematically organized papers from a broad spectrum of publications, the volumes in this set encompass the key issues and approaches to witchcraft research in fields such as gender studies, anthropology, sociology, literature, history, psychology, and law. This new collection provides students and researchers with an invaluable resource, comprising the most important and influential discussions on this topic. A useful introductory essay written by the editor precedes each volume.

Download or read book Digital Diplomacy written by Corneliu Bjola and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2015-03-24 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book analyses digital diplomacy as a form of change management in international politics. The recent spread of digital initiatives in foreign ministries is often argued to be nothing less than a revolution in the practice of diplomacy. In some respects this revolution is long overdue. Digital technology has changed the ways firms conduct business, individuals conduct social relations, and states conduct governance internally, but states are only just realizing its potential to change the ways all aspects of interstate interactions are conducted. In particular, the adoption of digital diplomacy (i.e., the use of social media for diplomatic purposes) has been implicated in changing practices of how diplomats engage in information management, public diplomacy, strategy planning, international negotiations or even crisis management. Despite these significant changes and the promise that digital diplomacy offers, little is known, from an analytical perspective, about how digital diplomacy works. This volume, the first of its kind, brings together established scholars and experienced policy-makers to bridge this analytical gap. The objective of the book is to theorize what digital diplomacy is, assess its relationship to traditional forms of diplomacy, examine the latent power dynamics inherent in digital diplomacy, and assess the conditions under which digital diplomacy informs, regulates, or constrains foreign policy. Organized around a common theme of investigating digital diplomacy as a form of change management in the international system, it combines diverse theoretical, empirical, and policy-oriented chapters centered on international change. This book will be of much interest to students of diplomatic studies, public diplomacy, foreign policy, social media and international relations.

Download or read book The Handbook of Communication and Corporate Reputation written by Craig E. Carroll and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2015-06-22 with total page 656 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With the latest insights from the world of communication studies into the nature of corporate reputation, this new addition to Wiley-Blackwell’s series of handbooks on communication and media reflects the growing visibility of large businesses’ ethical profiles, and tracks the benefits that positive public attitudes can bring. Serves as the definitive research collection for a fast-growing field featuring contributions by key international scholars Brings together state-of-the-art communication studies insights on corporate reputation Identifies and addresses the lacunae in the research literature Applies new theoretical frameworks to corporate reputation

Download or read book The Cumulative Book Index written by and published by . This book was released on 1992 with total page 2456 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A world list of books in the English language.

Download or read book Anonymous Agencies Backstreet Businesses and Covert Collectives written by Craig Scott and published by Stanford University Press. This book was released on 2013-03-27 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many of today's organizations "live in public"; they devote extensive resources to branding, catching the public eye, and capitalizing on the age of transparency. But, at the same time, a growing number of companies and other collectives are flying under the radar, concealing their identities and activities. This book offers a framework for thinking about how organizations and their members communicate identity to relevant audiences. Considering the degree to which organizations reveal themselves, the extent to which members express their identification with the organization, and whether the audience is public or local, author Craig R. Scott describes collectives as residing in "regions" that range from transparent to shaded, from shadowed to dark. Taking a closer look at groups like EarthFirst!, the Church of Scientology, Alcoholics Anonymous, the KKK, Skull and Bones, U.S. special mission units, men's bathhouses, and various terrorist organizations, this book draws attention to shaded, shadowed, and dark collectives as important organizations in the contemporary landscape.

Download or read book The Economics of Ecstasy written by Hugh B. Urban and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2001 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Urban shows that the case of the Kartabhajas opens many new insights not merely into the specific case of one minor Bengali cult, but also into much larger cross-cultural and theoretical issues, including the changing role of the lower class, marginalized groups under the changing conditions of colonialism, the changing role of Tantric traditions during the period of British rule, and the topic of secrecy as a cross-cultural category in the study of religion. Urban's reflections on the ethical and epistemological dilemmas involved in studying traditions that wish to remain secret will set a new standard for discussion of this controversial issue."--BOOK JACKET.

Download or read book Stalinism and the Dialectics of Saturn written by Douglas Greene and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2023-03-20 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study examines the complicated legacy of Stalinism in the twentieth century. The descent of the Russian Revolution into Stalinism has given rise to an oft-accepted truism that revolutions are like Saturn and will devour their own children. For anticommunists, Stalinism is condemned as a “bolt from blue,” whether an insidious contagion, Big Brother, or totalitarian reason that socialism cannot escape from. On the other end, Communists and their fellow-travelers have seen Stalinism as a force of historical necessity and the only way for the working class to reach a communist society. Both these twin camps accept a Dialectic of Saturn where Stalinism, whether for evil or good, is the preordained fate of all socialist revolutions. However, there is another position that views Stalinism as the product of material circumstance and class struggle. This position was represented by Leon Trotsky in his seminal work The Revolution Betrayed. In contrast to those who accept a mystical dialectic of Saturn, Trotsky argued that Stalinism can be rationally explained and was not inevitable outcome of socialism.

Download or read book The Secret History of Domesticity written by Michael McKeon and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 2006-12-26 with total page 919 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner, Association of American Publishers’ Professional and Scholarly Publishing Awards in Communication and Cultural Studies Taking English culture as its representative sample, The Secret History of Domesticity asks how the modern notion of the public-private relation emerged in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Treating that relation as a crucial instance of the modern division of knowledge, Michael McKeon narrates its pre-history along with that of its essential component, domesticity. This narrative draws upon the entire spectrum of English people's experience. At the most "public" extreme are political developments like the formation of civil society over against the state, the rise of contractual thinking, and the devolution of absolutism from monarch to individual subject. The middle range of experience takes in the influence of Protestant and scientific thought, the printed publication of the private, the conceptualization of virtual publics—society, public opinion, the market—and the capitalization of production, the decline of the domestic economy, and the increase in the sexual division of labor. The most "private" pole of experience involves the privatization of marriage, the family, and the household, and the complex entanglement of femininity, interiority, subjectivity, and sexuality. McKeon accounts for how the relationship between public and private experience first became intelligible as a variable interaction of distinct modes of being—not a static dichotomy, but a tool to think with. Richly illustrated with nearly 100 images, including paintings, engravings, woodcuts, and a representative selection of architectural floor plans for domestic interiors, this volume reads graphic forms to emphasize how susceptible the public-private relation was to concrete and spatial representation. McKeon is similarly attentive to how literary forms evoked a tangible sense of public-private relations—among them figurative imagery, allegorical narration, parody, the author-character-reader dialectic, aesthetic distance, and free indirect discourse. He also finds a structural analogue for the emergence of the modern public-private relation in the conjunction of what contemporaries called the "secret history" and the domestic novel. A capacious and synthetic historical investigation, The Secret History of Domesticity exemplifies how the methods of literary interpretation and historical analysis can inform and enrich one another.