It is incredibly satisfying to judge the historical figures of the 18th century by the highly evolved moral standards of the 21st century. It is also intellectually dishonest and sociologically dangerous. Presentism is the cognitive bias of projecting contemporary cultural values onto the past, effectively judging historical actors by rules they had no concept of. This chronological arrogance completely ignores the brutal, complex socio-economic realities and limited information ecosystems...

This book examines folk music and dance revival movements in Russia, exploring why this folk culture has come to represent Russia, how it has been approached and produced, and why memory and tradition, in these particular forms, have taken on particular significance in different periods. Above all it shows how folk "tradition" in Russia is an artificial cultural construct, which is periodically reinvented, and it demonstrates in particular how the "folk revival" has played a key role in st...

A fun and delightful rapper book on the Jewish holidays for children and adults.

Scholarship on the role of religion in American public life has taken on a new urgency in the increasingly contentious wake of the attacks of September 11, 2001. This volume brings together an impressive group of scholars to build on past work and broaden the scope of this crucial inquiry in two respects: by exploring aspects of the religion-politics nexus in the United States that have been neglected in the past, and by examining traditional questions concerning the religious tincture of ...

Religion and politics are never far from the headlines, but their relationship remains complex and often confusing. This book offers an engaging, accessible, and balanced treatment of religion in American politics. It explores the historical, cultural, and legal contexts that motivate religious political engagement and assesses the pragmatic and strategic political realities that religious organizations and people face. Incorporating the best and most current scholarship, the authors exami...

In 1965, the United States government enacted legislation to provide low-income individuals with quality health care and related services. Initially viewed as the friendless stepchild of Medicare, Medicaid has grown exponentially since its inception, becoming a formidable force of its own. Funded jointly by the national government and each of the fifty states, the program is now the fourth most expensive item in the federal budget and the second largest category of spending for almost ever...

Combining expert knowledge and first-hand experience, a noted elder care researcher confronts the long-distance care of her own mother.Winner of a Gold Medal, 2017 Living Now Book Award in the Caregiving categoryShortlisted for the 2016 Sarton Women's Book Awards in the Memoir category presented by the Story Circle NetworkFor millions of Americans caregiving is the "new normal." For Laura Katz Olson, a respected res...

"Poignant" Jo Freeman, civil rights activist, a founding member of the feminist movement, author"Badass" Bill Ayers, political organizer, anti-war activist, authorNow 80 years old, retirement and advanced age have dissipated the spirit of six college radicals of the 1960s, who jointly had participated in civil rights campaigns and anti-war protests. Having engaged in only periodic communication over the decades, they suddenly receive an inv...

The role that race and religion play in American presidential elections is attracting national attention like never before. The 2008 presidential candidates reached out to an unprecedented number of racial and religious voting constituencies including African Americans, Latinos, Muslims, Mainline Protestants, Catholics, Evangelicals, Jews, women, the non-religious, and more. Religion, Race, and the American Presidency focuses on the roles of these racial and religious groups in presidentia...

Conceptualizado como una contribución a la continua construcción de la identidad del Códice mendocino, el presente volumen está organizado en torno a tres ejes: el análisis material, la interpretación textual y estilística, y la recepción y transmisión del manuscrito. Los estudios de Barker Benfield y MOLAB abren una ventana hacia el entendimiento objetivo de la materialidad del manuscrito. El proceso de conservación y reencuadernamiento del Mendocino registrado por Barker Benfield ha disi...

An ever-more diverse America is getting older, but American policies are not growing with the needs of our ethnic and aging society. Age Through Ethnic Lenses explores the distinct characteristics and unique social, political, economic, and cultural situations of America's aged, while highlighting the common needs and objectives among all aging Americans. With portraits of Asians, Latinos, individuals of European and African origins, Native Americans, Socio-religious groups, women, gay men...

Narratives of a descent to the underworld, of the sights to be seen and the punishments meted out there, have kept a hold on the popular imagination for millennia. The legacy from doctrinal warnings and the deep-set literary markers that identify a place of suffering and alienation continue to stimulate creative exchange and critical thinking. Such work takes risks: it braves the dark and questions the past.The contributions in this volume reflect on the exigency of hell in the stor...