Russell Revisited

Bertrand Russell has played a central role in the development of modern western philosophy, especially analytic philosophy. An appreciation of the main themes and arguments of the thinkers who contributed to this modern movement in philosophy must include references to and analyses of Russell’s important contributions. It would seem that many do recognize the significance of his thought and have shown this in a somewhat dramatic manner. Russell’s Google number, for instance, is about 2.35 million. If the number of entries listed in this search engine is any indication of the level of interest online in Russell, we can surely conclude that the thought and life of this aristocratic English philosopher, logician and humanist still captures the imagination of tens of thousands, if not millions around the globe – even some thirty-seven years after his death. How do we account for this abiding interest in Russell? In a word it is accessibility. Whether it is the complex epistemological issue of the veracity of sense-data, the conundrums associated with the possibility of non-existent objects, the intricacies of the debates on the nature of language or the interminable search of a clear understanding of happiness, Russell inevitably has something profound and clear to say on the matter. Readers of Russell Revisited: Critical Reflections on the Thought of Bertrand Russell will be reminded of this fact time and time again as they explore the analyses here. Representing some of the best of the most recent scholarship on Russell, the articles gathered in this collection serve as a testament to the value of Russell’s diverse contributions to a wide range of challenging philosophical issues.

Religious Experience Revisited explores the contested relationship between experiences and expressions of religion. The entanglements of experience and expression are taken as a point of departure to develop a hermeneutics of religion in interdisciplinary and international perspectives.

The difference between cause and effect seems obvious and crucial in ordinary life, yet missing modern physics. Almost a century ago, Bertrand Russell called the law of causality 'a relic of a bygone age'. Scholars revisit Russell's conclusion, discussing one of the most significant and puzzling issues in contemporary thought.

Includes sections on Polynesia and Micronesia, the California coast, the Caribbean, Choco-Darien Western Ecuador, the Mediterranean Basin, Brazilian Cerrado, Tropical Andes, Central Chile, Atlantic Forest Region, the Caucasus, the Mountains of South-Central China, India and Burma, Eastern Arc Mountains and Coastal Forests of Tanzania and Kenya, Guinean Forest of West Africa, Succulent Karoo, Cape Floristic Province, Madagascar and Indian Ocean Islands, Western Ghats and Sri Lanka, Sundaland, Wallecea, Southwest Australia, the Philippines, New Caledonia, and New Zealand.

Catherine Russell's highly accessible book approaches Japanese cinema as an industry closely modeled on Hollywood, focusing on the classical period - those years in which the studio system dominated all film production in Japan, from roughly 1930 to 1960. Respectful and thoroughly informed about the aesthetics and critical values of the Japanese canon, Russell is also critical of some of its ideological tendencies, and her analyses provide new insights on class and gender dynamics. Russell locates Japanese cinema within a global system of reception, and she highlights the importance of the industrial production context of these films. Including studies of landmark films by Ozu, Kurosawa and other directors, this book provides a perfect introduction to a crucial and often misunderstood area of Japanese cultural output. With a critical approach that highlights the "everydayness" of Japanese studio-era cinema, Catherine Russell demystifies the canon of great Japanese cinema, treating it with fewer auteurist and Orientalist assumptions than many other scholars and critics.

This book provides a thorough review of the research literature on the effect of school size in primary and secondary education on three types of outcomes: student achievement, non-cognitive outcomes and costs per student. Based on 84 scientific publications and several prior reviews, the book discusses four main areas: the impact of school size on cognitive learning outcomes and non-cognitive outcomes; the "state of the art" of empirical research on economies of size; the direct and indirect impact of school size, conditioned by other school context variables on student performance and the specific position of the Netherlands in an international perspective. The book presents summaries of the results and main conclusions found and discusses these with respect to their relevance for educational policy in general and for the Netherlands in particular. The book concludes with suggestions for future research on school size.

Katie Roiphe’s stimulating work has made her one of the most talked about cultural critics of her generation. Now this bracing young writer delves deeply into one of the most layered of subjects: marriage. Drawn in part from the private memoirs, personal correspondence, and long-forgotten journals of the British literary community from 1910 to the Second World War, here are seven “marriages à la mode”—each rising to the challenge of intimate relations in more or less creative ways. Jane Wells, the wife of H.G., remained his rock, despite his decade-long relationship with Rebecca West (among others). Katherine Mansfield had an irresponsible, childlike romance with her husband, John Middleton Murry, that collapsed under the strain of real-life problems. Vera Brittain and George Gordon Catlin spent years in a “semidetached” marriage (he in America, she in England). Vanessa Bell maintained a complicated harmony with the painter Duncan Grant, whom she loved, and her husband, Clive. And her sister Virginia Woolf, herself no stranger to marital particularities, sustained a brilliant running commentary on the most intimate details of those around her. Every chapter revolves around a crisis that occurred in each of these marriages—as serious as life-threatening illness or as seemingly innocuous as a slightly tipsy dinner table conversation—and how it was resolved…or not resolved. In these portraits, Roiphe brilliantly evokes what are, as she says, “the fluctuations and shifts in attraction, the mysteries of lasting affection, the endurance and changes in love, and the role of friendship in marriage.” The deeper mysteries at stake in all relationships.

Today’s multi-modal, participatory exhibitions and attractions are bound by a desire to convey information, excite the viewer and create social and narrative experiences. Without design at the helm and employed effectively, these experiential moments would not become lasting memories that inform and inspire an increasingly sophisticated audience. This full-color illustrated handbook, based on the author’s research and expertise as an exhibition designer, educator, and critic, is the first title to simultaneously explain how to design exhibitions and attractions successfully; contextualize contemporary exhibition design practice through its historical and theoretical underpinnings; elevate understanding of one of the most rapidly evolving and trans-disciplinary creative disciplines; illuminate exhibition design’s contributions to the expanding global market for civic, cultural, commercial and entertainment experiences; and reframe the exhibition design process using a set of recurring tropes and the methods they employ, making this book distinct from other practice-based, museological or commercially-driven titles. This full-color book with over 250 photographs and drawings uses real-world examples, museum and exhibition design studio profiles, historical and contemporary voices, and draw on the author’s own creative practice and exhibition making experience, as well as contributions from his extensive network of international museum, attraction, and design professionals. The author introduces a new methodology for understanding exhibition and experience design. One that elevates understanding of one of the most rapidly evolving and trans-disciplinary creative disciplines. Twelve easy-to-follow illustrated chapters introduce a set of reoccurring exhibition design conventions or “tropes” that are omnipresent in exhibition making and can be used to chart a new methodology for understanding exhibition design and its process.