To a reader of Joyce's Ulysses, it makes a difference whether one of Stephen Dedalus's first thoughts is "No mother" (as in the printed version) or "No, mother!" (as in the manuscript). The scholarship surrounding such textual differences--and why this discipline should concern readers and literary scholars alike--is the focus of William Proctor Williams and Craig S. Abbott's acclaimed handbook.This updated, fourth edition outlines the study of texts' composition, revision...

Recent scientific breakthroughs—demonstrating that mind body strategies can actually “switch off” or “switch on” gene activity associated with health and disease—have triggered a mind body revolution in the medical world.In the 1970s, Dr. Herbert Benson of Harvard Medical School ushered in a new era of understanding in the field of mind body medicine. Coining the term “relaxation response,” Dr. Benson identified the body’s physiologic reaction that is the exact opp...

Is it the latest in spy technology, a meteor, a UFO, or a new star? No one-not even government leaders, military commanders, astronomers, or other scientists-can provide any real answers regarding the mysterious light that has suddenly appeared in the eastern sky. When a diverse group of scholars and scientists meets in Israel to investigate the phenomenon, they are soon caught in a web of political and spiritual intrigue, terrorist bombings, and sniper attacks. As uncertainty about the ph...

Remakes are pervasive in today’s popular culture, whether they take the form of reboots, “re-imaginings,” or overly familiar sequels. Television remakes have proven popular with producers and networks interested in building on the nostalgic capital of past successes (or giving a second chance to underused properties). Some TV remakes have been critical and commercial hits, and others haven’t made it past the pilot stage; all have provided valuable material ripe for academic analysis.

Since the release of Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins in 2005, there has been a pronounced surge in alternative uses of the computer term ‘reboot,’ a surge that has witnessed the term deployed in new contexts and new signifying practices, involving politics, fashion, sex, nature, sport, business, and media. As a narrative concept, however, reboot terminology remains widely misused, misunderstood, and misinterpreted across popular, journalistic, and academic discourses, being recklessly an...

A historic international space mission explodes with crimes and crises after scientists, engaged in a moon-mining expedition, receive information from outer space about how to reverse the aging process. Corporate espionage, murders, political assassinations, and finally, the threat of a new Cold War follow a revolutionary message on the human genome from mysterious and possibly demonic beings from another dimension. U.S. Representative Scott Andrews begins to doubt the motives of these "be...

This book explores horror film franchising from a broad range of interdisciplinary perspectives and considers the horror film’s role in the history of franchising and serial fiction.Comprising 12 chapters written by established and emerging scholars in the field, Horror Franchise Cinema redresses critical neglect toward horror film franchising by discussing the forces and factors governing its development across historical and contemporary terrain while also examining text...

Today’s convergent media industries readily produce stories that span multiple media, telling the tales of superheroes across comics, film and television, inviting audiences to participate in the popular universes across cinema, novels, the Web, and more. This transmedia phenomenon may be a common strategy in Hollywood’s blockbuster fiction factory, tied up with digital marketing and fictional world-building, but transmediality is so much more than global movie franchises. Different cultur...

In 2012, Disney purchased Lucasfilm, which meant it also inherited the beloved Star Wars franchise. This corporate marriage sent media critics and fans into a frenzy of speculation about what would happen next with the hugely popular series. Disney’s Star Wars gathers twenty-one noted fan and media studies scholars from around the world to examine Disney’s revival of the franchise.Covering the period from Disney’s purchase through the release of The Force Awakens,...

«The Scandinavian Invasion offers an important and timely interrogation of Nordic Noir. Putting the concept under a microscope in a series of diverse chapters, it reveals that Nordic Noir is still teeming with vigorous life as it has emerged, proliferated and travelled across borders, becoming in the process a cultural phenomenon that has had significant implications for global television in the new millennium.»(Sue Turnbull, University of Wollongong)You might thin...

Sound advice for married couples struggling to save their marriage. The divorce rate has topped 50 percent, and many people believe that permanent relationships are now obsolete. Is it really possible to have an old-fashioned, lifelong husband-wife relationship? Theologian and marriage counselor Dr. Paul A. Mickey answers with a resounding "Yes," but it takes a tough marriage to survive tough times. Too many couples have adopted the narcissistic, give-it-up-if-it doesn't-feel-good attitude...