Festivals Affect And Identity

Via an ethnographic study of the community festivals of Siena Province in central Italy, ‘Festivals, Affect and Identity’ investigates the affective and fluid aspects of reality to establish an integrated perspective on issues of continuity and rupture, tradition and modernity, and nature and culture. Offering an illustration of the explanatory power of continental philosophy, this text demonstrates the accessibility of highly abstract critical theory when examined in relation to specific events and their detailed analysis.

Via an ethnographic study of the community festivals of Siena Province in central Italy, 'Festivals, Affect and Identity' investigates the affective and fluid aspects of reality to establish an integrated perspective on issues of continuity and rupture, tradition and modernity, and nature and culture. Offering an illustration of the explanatory power of continental philosophy, this text demonstrates the accessibility of highly abstract critical theory when examined in relation to specific events and their detailed analysis.

Commemorative Identities represents a significantly new approach to the issue of replacement/abrogation vs. continuation of Jewish thought patterns and practices among Jewish Christ-followers as they are addressed by the Johannine author. Previous studies have been unable to elucidate a comprehensible argument to support continuation of commemoration in the face of explicit Temple replacement terminology in the Gospel. This study provides that argument based upon known sociological observations and models, and direct comparative analysis with Jewish practices pre- and post-70. Mary Spaulding's study will further invigorate scholarly debate concerning identity issues in the Fourth Gospel, a topic of significant interest among Johannine scholars today. More generally, the origins of Christianity as portrayed in the Gospel of John are understood as a gradual unfolding of and differentiation among various Jewish groups post-Second Temple rather than as an abrupt break from an established, normative Judaism.

Sociology and Music Education addresses a pressing need to provide a sociological foundation for understanding music education. The music education community, academic and professional, has become increasingly aware of the need to locate the issues facing music educators within a broader sociological context. This is required both as a means to deeper understanding of the issues themselves and as a means to raising professional consciousness of the macro issues of power and politics by which education is often constrained. The book outlines some introductory concepts in sociology and music education and then draws together seminal theoretical insights with examples from practice with innovative applications of sociological theory to the field of music education. The editor has taken great care to select an international community of experienced researchers and practitioners as contributors who reflect current trends in the sociology of music education in Europe and the UK. The book concludes with an Afterword by Christopher Small.

Urban regeneration is often regarded as the process of renewal or redevelopment of spaces and places. There is a need to look at tourism and urban regeneration with a particular focus on cultural heritage. Cultural heritage consists of tangible heritage (such as historic buildings) and intangible heritage (such as events). The wider need and impact for such work is that places plan for change to keep up with the shifts in demand in the global economy in order for places to maintain a competitive advantage. Moreover, places need to keep up with the pace of global change or they risk stagnation and decline as increased competition is resulting in increased opportunities and choice for consumers. Each chapter in this book explores a specific form of cultural heritage that is driving change in urban spaces. Intended for a wide readership, the book will appeal to students of urban studies, human geography, heritage studies and international tourism management, as well as experts conducting research in and across these areas.

Moving Places draws together contributions from Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa, exploring practices and experiences of movement, non-movement, and place-making. The book centers on “moving places”: places with locations that are not fixed but relative. Locations appearing to be reasonably stable, such as home and homeland, are in fact always subject to practices, imaginaries, and politics of movement. Bringing together original ethnographic contributions with a clear theoretical focus, this volume spans the fields of anthropology, human geography, migration, and border studies, and serves as teaching material in related programs.

In an era when ease of travel is greater than ever, it is also easy to overlook the degree to which voyages of the body – and mind – have generated an outpouring of artistry and creativity throughout the ages. Exploration of new lands and sensations is a fundamental human experience. This volume in turn provides a stimulating and adventurous exploration of the theme of travel from an art-historical perspective. Topical regions are covered ranging from the Grand Tour and colonialism to the travels of Hadrian in ancient times and Georgia O’Keeffe’s journey to the Andes; from Vasari’s Neoplatonic voyages to photographing nineteenth-century Japan. The scholars assembled consider both imaginary travel, as well as factual or embellished documentation of voyages. The essays are far-reaching spatially and temporally, but all relate to how art has documented the theme of travel in varying media across time and as illustrated and described by writers, artists, and illustrators. The scope of this volume is far-reaching both chronologically and conceptually, thereby appropriately documenting the universality of the theme to human experience.

The dissertation studies the extent to which festivals, from a popular event for the masses, evolved into exclusive events, and shows how festivals affect society and are affected by it through practices in accordance with cultural democracy. Festivals relation to society is explained through the following concept-areas: 1. The artist's role 2. The use of festivals 3. The European example 4. Cultural democracy 5. Cultural policy 6. Active participation 7. Cultural tourism 8. The media The dissertation identifies cultural policy, active participation and the media as key areas of concern in order to attain a coherent culturally democratic society. The study recognised that certain festivals and forms of art have been taken over by elite groups of people who exclude others from accessing them. What is called mass culture appeared to include many more practices and manifestations of creativity than the perceived established arts. How mass culture is seen, is important in the way people are given freedom to preserve and express their cultural preferences and identities. In this respect, the media play an important role through their capacity to promote and supply culture. The media use segmented functions of culture and influence people's behaviours.