Western and eastern values of society underscore the family as a fundamental social structure and institution.1 The family reveals the most significant sociocultural features of European communi-ties in a given context, and these become central communication channels back to the family. This idea asserts James Casey’s axiom that family and society are part of a single unit.2The family is at t…
Both concerns and proposed solutions changed considerably in the course of Ruth Harrison’s life. While the influence of her vegetarian par-ents and Quaker beliefs loomed large over Harrison’s own campaigning, the decades after 1945 saw many older forms of civic activism and think-ing about animals’ place in society change. Economically and intellectu-ally, pre-war welfare arrange…
The Musical Heritage of Al-Andalus is a critical account of the history of Andalusian music in Iberia from the Islamic conquest of 711 to the final expulsion of the Moriscos (Spanish Muslims converted to Christianity) in the early 17th century. This volume presents the documentation that has come down to us, accompanied by critical and detailed analyses of the sources written in Arabic, Old Cat…
Ban Wang traces the shifting concept of the Chinese state from the late nineteenth century to the present, showing how the Confucian notion of tianxia—“all under heaven”—influences China’s dedication to contributing to and exchanging with a common world.
Grand, extravagant, magnificent, scandalous, corrupt, political, personal, fractious; these are terms often associated with the medieval and early modern courts. Moreover, the court constituted a forceful nexus in the social world, which was central to the legitimacy and authority of rulership. As such, courts shaped European politics and culture: architecture, art, fashion, patronage, and cult…
he region of Tripolitania is well-known for its spec-tacular Roman-period architecture in both city and country. The enormous and elaborate temples, baths, basilicae and other public buildings of the coastal cit-ies of Lepcis Magna, Sabratha and others, have, not undeservedly, captured the attention and imagina-tion of travellers and scholars alik…
No man ever steps in the same river twice.”¹Heraclitus’ riddling remark about identityalso applies to Roman (dress) culture. Fortunately, the puzzling contradiction dependson words and not on objects. If we define the term ‘Roman dress culture’ in the broadestsense, it includes all the garments which Roman people (if we also allow for a broaddefinition of the term ‘Roman’) wore fro…
The date is 14 October 1066, and the battlefield at Hastings lies bloodied, littered with the remains of Harold II's ruined army, with Harold himself defeated by an arrow to the eye. William the Qongueror has just earned his now-famous title, and more importantly, the crown of England. This is where our story begind - the fascinating tale of Britain's monarchy. In this book you will discover in…
Over the last 220 years, society has evolved a universal belief that electricity is ‘safe’ for humanity and the planet. Scientist and journalist Arthur Firstenberg disrupts this conviction by telling the story of electricity in a way it has never been told before?from an environmental point of view?by detailing the effects that this fundamental societal building block has had on our health …
Edited by Martin Biddle with a catalogue of the known coins of the mint by Yvonne Harvey, this volume records and illustrates the minting of silver pennies in Winchester between the reigns of Alfred the Great and Henry III, a period of three and a half centuries. At the Mint, which was situated in the area of the High Street to the east of where the city’s cross now stands, at least 24 millio…