This volume examines the turn inwards, toward matters of the self, in an era characterized by suffering, destruction and death resulting from large-scale structural problems, including global pandemics, economic inequality and climate change. As uncertainty on a large scale has begotten attempts at certainty on smaller ones, new social and cultural phenomena have emerged that can be understood and analyzed as new ways of crafting selfhood. With a particular focus on “practices of style” th...

"A Cheerful Temper" is a story by Hans Christian Andersen a legendary Danish writer and a "children's author", well-known mostly for his fairytales. The story is narrated by a man, who is deeply convinced, that having a good temper is one of the top priorities in life of any decent person. And, of course, he has an example to prove his point.

Events in the world today appear to be increasingly uncontrollable and unknowable. Climate change, refugee crises, and global pandemics seem to demonstrate the limits of human reason, science, and technology. In light of this, the terms "tragedy" and "tragic" have come into greater use. What does the register of the tragic do? What does its deployment in the contemporary context and other times of crisis mean? In addressing such questions, this book also argues for a "tragic vision" embedd...

From email to video and text messaging, so much of our present social life depends on media technologies. Today it is clearer than ever that these not only play an active part in our everyday lives, but constitute our increasingly global realities. Caught in the Web argues for a new approach to media theory that allows technomedia to be studied on its own terms. Engaging in sociology, social theory, philosophy, and media studies, it provides an analysis of contemporary media techn...

Bringing together empirical cultural and media studies of religion and critical social theory, Technologies of Religion: Spheres of the sacred in a post-secular modernity investigates powerful entanglement of religion and new media technologies taking place today, taking stock of the repercussions of digital technology and culture on various aspects of religious life and contemporary culture more broadly. Making the argument that religion and new media technologies come together t...

Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen (Volume 8) is a collection of fairy tales by Hans Christian Andersen. Contents: The Old Street Lamp / Ole-Luk-Oie, the Dream God / Ole the Tower-keeper / Our Aunt / The Garden of Paradise / The Pea Blossom / The Pen and the Inkstand / The Philosopher's Stone / The Phoenix Bird / The Portuguese Duck

Web 2.0 is a highly accessible introductory text examining all the crucial discussions and issues which surround the changing nature of the World Wide Web. It not only contextualises the Web 2.0 within the history of the Web, but also goes on to explore its position within the broader dispositif of emerging media technologies.The book uncovers the connections between diverse media technologies including mobile smart phones, hand-held multimedia players, "netbooks" and elec...

In modern times, death is understood to have undergone a transformation not unlike religion. Whereas in the past it was out in the open, it now resides mostly in specialized spaces of sequestration—funeral homes, hospitals and other medical facilities. A mainstay in so-called traditional societies in the form of ritual practices, death was usually messy but meaningful, with the questions of what happens to the dead or where they go lying at the heart of traditional culture and religion. In...

Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen (Volume 6) is a collection of fairy tales by Hans Christian Andersen. Contents: Little Ida's Flowers / The Little Match-seller / The Little Mermaid / Little Tiny or Thumbelina / Little Tuk / The Loveliest Rose in the World / The Mail-coach Passengers / The Marsh King's Daughter / The Metal Pig / The Money-box

Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen (Volume 4) is a collection of fairy tales by Hans Christian Andersen. Contents: The Flying Trunk / The Shepherd's Story of the Bond of Friendship / The Girl Who Trod on the Loaf / The Goblin and the Huckster / The Golden Treasure / The Galoshes of Fortune / She was Good for Nothing / Grandmother / A Great Grief / The Happy Family

This book critically analyses the functions and interconnectedness between religion and digital media in a range of East Asian countries. It discusses both how religious organizations make use of new technologies, and also explores how new technologies are reshaping religion in novel and interesting ways. Based on extensive research, the book focuses in particular on Christianity in South Korea, Neo-Shintoism in Japan, Falun Gong in China and Islam in Southeast Asia. Offering a comparative...

Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen (Volume 5) is a collection of fairy tales by Hans Christian Andersen. Contents: A Leaf from Heaven / Holger Danske / Ib and Little Christina / The Ice Maiden / The Jewish Maiden / The Jumper / The Last Dream of the Old Oak / The Last Pearl / Little Claus and Big Claus / The Little Elder-tree Mother