A Culture Of Fact

Shapiro traces the genesis of the fact, a modern concept that originated not in natural science but in legal discourse. She follows the concept's evolution and diffusion across a variety of disciplines in early modern England.

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Bell examines the history of the index and the depiction of the indexer (from diffident drudge to frankly insane) in both fact and fiction. A fascinating look at a previously little-considered element of the book.

For the bestselling miscellany market, an NPR librarian's compendium of fascinating facts on history, science, and the arts How much water do the Great Lakes contain? Who were the first and last men killed in the Civil War? How long is a New York minute? What are the lost plays of Shakespeare? What building did Elvis leave last? Get the answers to these and countless other vexing questions in a All Facts Considered. Guaranteed to enlighten even the most seasoned trivia buff, this treasure trove of "who knew?" factoids spans a wide range of intriguing subjects. Written by noted NPR librarian Kee Malesky, whom Scott Simon has called the "source of all human knowledge" Answers questions on history, natural history, science, religion, language, and the arts Packed with valuable nuggets of information, from the useful to the downright bizarre The perfect gift for every inquiring mind that wants to know, All Facts Considered will put you at the center of the conversation as you show off your essential store of inessential yet irresistible knowledge.

Fictions of history and historiopoetic performances of the past -- Digging, rep & rev-ing, faking: Suzan-Lori Parks's historiopoetic praxis -- A sidelong glance at history: unreliable narration and the silhouette as blickmaschine in Kara Walker -- Stereotypes and theatricality: (Re)staging Black Venus -- Coda: wither historiopoiesis?

Why do we no longer trust facts, experts and statistics? In this essential guide to the turbulent times in which we live, Marcus Gilroy-Ware investigates our era of post-truths and fake news and answers the question of where we can go from here. We are supposed to have more information at our disposal now than at any time in history. So why, in a world of rising sea levels, populist leaders, resurgent fascism and a global pandemic, do so many people believe bizarre and untrue things about the world we live in? In After the Fact?, Marcus Gilroy-Ware shows us what really created the conditions for mis- and disinformation, from fake news and conspiracy theories, to bullshit journalism and the resurgence of the far-right, and why liberal newspaper columnists and centrist politicians are unable to turn back this tide. Spanning politics, culture, psychology, journalism, and much more, After the Fact? is a timely wake-up call for those who believe we can simply go "back to normal", and instead argues that, if we are to put an end to "fake news" we must deal with the broader social crises that are responsible for it.

Why has punditry lately overtaken news? Why do lies seem to linger so long in the cultural subconscious even after they’ve been thoroughly discredited? And why, when more people than ever before are documenting the truth with laptops and digital cameras, does fact-free spin and propaganda seem to work so well? True Enough explores leading controversies of national politics, foreign affairs, science, and business, explaining how Americans have begun to organize themselves into echo chambers that harbor diametrically different facts—not merely opinions—from those of the larger culture.

This book explores the complex interrelationship between fact and fiction in narratives of the twenty-first century. Current cultural theory observes a cultural shift away from postmodernism to new forms of expression. Rather than a radical break from the postmodern, however, postmodernist techniques are repurposed to express a new sincerity, a purposeful self-reflexivity, a contemporary sense of togetherness and an associated commitment to reality. In what the editors consider to be one manifestation of this general tendency, this book explores the ways in which contemporary texts across different media play with the boundary between fact and fiction. This includes the examination of novels, autobiography, autofiction, film, television, mockumentary, digital fiction, advertising campaigns and media hoaxes. The chapters engage with theories of what comes after postmodernism and analyse the narratological, stylistic and/or semiotic devices on which such texts rely. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the European Journal of English Studies.