Mass Moralizing

Mass Moralizing: Marketing and Moral Storytelling examines the narratives of today’s brand marketing, which largely focuses on creating an emotional attachment to a brand rather than directly promoting a product’s qualities or features. Phil Hopkins explores these narratives’ influence on how we think about ourselves and our moral possibilities, our cultural ideas about morality, and our relations to each other. He closely studies the relationship between three interrelated dynamics: the power of narrative in the construction of identity and world, the truth-telling pretenses of mass marketing, and the growth of moralizing as the primary moral discourse practice in contemporary consumer culture. Mass Moralizing scrutinizes the way marketing speaks to us in explicitly moralistic terms, significantly influencing how we think about ourselves and our moral possibilities.

This volume is part of the recent interest in the study of religion and popular media culture (cinema in particular), but it strongly differs from most of this work in this maturing discipline. Contrary to most other edited volumes and monographs on film and religion, Moralizing Cinema will not focus upon films (cf. the representation of biblical figures, religious themes in films, the fidelity question in movies), but rather look beyond the film text, content or aesthetics, by concentrating on the cinema-related actions, strategies and policies developed by the Catholic Church and Catholic organizations in order to influence cinema. Whereas the key role of Catholics in cinema has been well studied in the USA (cf. literature on the Legion of Decency and on the Catholic influenced Production Code Administration), the issue remains unexplored for other parts of the world. The book includes case studies on Argentina, Belgium, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, and the USA.

This book adds a crucial focus on morality to the growing literature on the history of capitalism by exploring social and cultural perspectives on the economic order that has dominated the modern world. Taking the study beyond narrow economic confines, it traces the entanglement between moral sentiments and capitalism, examining both moral critiques and moral justifications. Company bankruptcies, systems of taxation, wealth, and the running of stock exchanges were attacked on moral grounds, while ideas of economic justice and the humanization of capitalism loomed large over moral critiques. Many movements, from antislavery to labour campaigns, were inspired by aspirations to improve capitalism and halt the moral decay that was felt to have affected large sections of society. This book questions how moral sentiments are defined and have changed over time, and how these relate to both capitalism and anti-capitalism. Covering a range of different social movements and ethical issues, the 13 chapters present a moral history of capitalism, understood not simply as an economic system but as an order that encompasses all areas of modern life.

This new book reviews all aspects of the phenomenon of mass tourism. It covers theoretical perspectives (including political economy, ethics, sustainability and environmentalism), the historical context, and the current challenges to domestic, intra-regional and international mass tourism. As tourism and tourist numbers continue to grow around the world, it becomes increasingly important that this subject is studied in depth and best practice applied in real-life situations. Finishing with a speculative chapter identifying potential future trends and challenges, this book forms an essential resource for all researchers and students within tourism studies.

Contemporary deep-reaching changes – whether in financial or real economy, in Europe’s political conditions, in the context of scientific theories, in the field of global (environmental) security, or gender relations – are also a challenge to philosophy. The volume comprises cutting-edge scholarly articles from renowned philosophers with various geographical backgrounds and from different philosophical strands. Next to investigating general questions as to the relation of philosophy and critique (What is philosophical critique and which philosophical concepts of critique are of importance today? Where do we need it most? Where are its limits?), the articles focus on issues like theories of democracy and modes of election; the roles of emotions in the political realm; challenges from a widespread discontent in society to politics and science; changes to social identities and different theoretical approaches to social identity formation. The book is indispensable for all who are interested in what contemporary philosophy has to say on crucial issues of our time.

Forbidden moves beyond the conceptualization of a ban on nuclear weapons to the implementation of the Pope's teachings, the first pontiff to condemn possession. This book interweaves the essential witness of survivors of nuclear attacks and test explosions with the voices of leaders who provide needed context for Pope Francis's condemnation.

Advertising and Reality: A Global Study of Representation and Content offers, for the first time, an extensive study of the way our life is represented in advertising. Leading scholars from different countries, who specialize in marketing communication and media studies, review and analyze different advertising contents and give us a truly cross-cultural view of the matter. Among the contents that are thoroughly discussed throughout the book one finds sexuality, violence, family activities, gender roles, vocations, minorities roles, periodical reconstruction and more. This book provides an up-to-date picture of the way modern life is portrayed in the most popular format of marketing communication worldwide.

Moral Agendas for Children's Welfare examines the roles played by politics, religion, ethics, aesthetics, law and science in identifying children's needs and rights and critically analyses existing child welfare policies. Five sections cover the following Agendas: * Philosophical and Psychoanalytical * Psychological and Sociological * Religious * Social Policy * Child Protection. Moral Agendas for Children's Welfare will provide invaluable reading for students in law, social work and policy and sociology and professionals in welfare, health care and law.