Open Access Books

The volume, dedicated to the 44th International Conference of the Italian Union for Drawing, investigates the theme of ‘Transitions’, which particularly effectively represents our time and the current condition of the discipline of Drawing. The term, beyond its generic meaning of an intermediate stage in a process in which a condition changes from one state to another, has always been used in various fields, from music to geophysics. In fact, the disciplines of drawing have always been confronted with themes and issues relating to transitions from one condition to another. The history of representation tells us of transformations, even epochal ones, relating to ‘drawing’, with all that such transitions entail: suffice it to think of the evolution of forms of representation, of instrumental apparatuses, of the mutability of supports, of the analogical-digital transition underway, of the new modes of communication on platforms, of the hypertrophic offer of images also on the net that confirms Guy Debord’s intuitions relating to the new spectacularisation of society. Similarly, representation triggers transitions in the prefiguration and communication of design, the anticipation and foreshadowing of future events.The challenges posed by the digital pose open questions whose scope can only be glimpsed, such as the relationship between drawing and the act of modelling, and the construction of new paradigms of visual language and communication. ‘Transitions’, almost implicitly, points to possible futures, the evolution of technique and the search for new modes of expression; at the same time, however, it can suggest silences and reflections in a process of connection between history, theory, criticism and construction.

According to Communist Party discourse, China's 'New Era’ began when Xi Jinping was anointed Party boss in 2012. The shape of this New Era became eminently clear in 2023 when Xi commenced his third five-year term as General Secretary of the Party, a fortification of one-man authoritarian rule unprecedented in post-Mao China. Under Xi, the Party has expanded its influence over government, the economy and society. The Party-State is now more Party than State. The year 2023 saw other ‘new eras’ for China as well. Despite initial optimism sparked by the end of COVID-19 restrictions in late 2022, the Chinese economy in 2023 was buffeted by continuing property sector woes, record unemployment, and an unfolding local government debt crisis. Globally, China adopted a series of new and ambitious diplomatic initiatives to woo the Global South and amplify its voice on the world stage. The China Story Yearbook 2023: China’s New Era provides informed perspectives on these and other important stories that will resonate for years to come.

L’existence ne peut-elle pas être vue comme un voyage, dont le carnet se remplit peu à peu d’histoires vécues ? Les initiateurs de ce livre ont voulu, à travers des approches monographiques très variées, susciter une réflexion sur la manière dont on voyage, du XVIIIe siècle à nos jours, et dont on rend compte de cette expérience dans des écrits personnels qui ne sont pas destinés à la publication. Quels liens se tissent entre les personnes qui partent et leur pays natal ? En quoi l’âge, le genre, l’origine sociale, le métier, les conventions influent-ils sur le récit ? Quelle est la part des lacunes, des blancs et des silences dans ces correspondances et ces carnets de route ? De quelle perception de l’espace et des autres témoignent ces savants, ces artistes, ces explorateurs et ces touristes « ordinaires » ? Le journal de voyage est-il un miroir de soi autant qu’une documentation sur les contrées visitées ? Chaque voyageur, chaque voyageuse agit comme un révélateur des interrogations et des changements que vit son époque. Du tourisme d’élite au tourisme industriel, d’une mission scientifique dans l’Afrique coloniale aux pérégrinations de jeunes bourgeois en quête de plaisirs balnéaires sur la Côte d’Azur, à pied ou en voiture, en mer ou en haute montagne, de la Suisse aux confins du monde, le voyage a sa part d’aventures et de jouissances, de méditations sur la destinée parfois. Tous les témoignages étudiés ici démontrent, par le texte comme par l’image, que le voyage participe d’une expérience à la fois personnelle et collective.

"Based on the premise that the project of Western Modernity is a structuring element of our societies, Racism and Racial Surveillance explores in detail its legacies of coloniality and racialization that interfere in a subtle and perverse way in the current social, cultural and political systems. Guided by an interdisciplinary methodology, the various contributions privilege historical contexts of colonial formation and offer a thorough and intersectional analysis on the specters of coloniality in the upsurge of racism, surveillance, and criminalization, as well as the presence of the phantom of the race in spaces of knowledge production such as that of artistic field, forensic genetics and criminal identification. Drawing on multi case studies the book then proffers key concepts and historical background that will be of interest to researchers, students and professionals in a broad range of areas of social sciences and humanities research, including fields such as criminology and policing, science and technology studies, arts studies, literary studies, race and ethnic studies and, finally, memory studies."

In comparison with other regions in the Sinitic world, a rather small number of medical texts has been preserved in Vietnam. Reasons given are unfavorable local conditions, such as the warm and humid climate, and destruction through prolonged periods of warfare. Also, and in contrast to Ming-Qing dynasty China or Edo Japan, Vietnam lacked a commercial, urban printing industry until the 1920s. Pre–twentieth-century Vietnamese medical manuscripts are consequently rare. Published medical texts are even more so. It’s only thanks to the Đồng Nhân Pagoda in Bắc Ninh Province that Lê Hữu Trác’s (1720?–1791) Understandings of Hải Thượng’s Medical Lineage (1770–1786), the most celebrated text of Sino-Vietnamese medicine, has been preserved in printed form, almost in its entirety.1 One of the prefaces to this text, written by abbot Thích Thanh Cao (?–1896), is translated below

This book examines narratives of individual religious transformation in Western European literature and culture. Religious individuals, themes, experiences and communities are widely represented in diverse literature and culture, including literary texts and visual arts and media. Taking the subject of religious transformation as an angle from which to study constructions of religion, gender and race, this book reveals through various case studies what authors, documentary makers, film makers and playwrights consider to be important (possible) shifts between the old and the new, continuities and discontinuities, and the formation of the self. The chapters demonstrate how individual religious transformations are understood to be shaped by various intersections of difference, and point at the need to consider gender as always related to and co-constructing religion and race. This transdisciplinary and intimate study provides a fresh lens through which to examine pressing questions regarding the place and future of religion, gender and race in contemporary Western Europe.

"What does it mean when a hit that knocks an American football player unconscious is cheered by spectators? What are the consequences of such violence for the participants of this sport and for the entertainment culture in which it exists? This book brings together scholars and sport commentators to examine the relationship between American football, violence and the larger relations of power within contemporary society. From high school and college to the NFL, Football, Culture, and Power analyses the social, political and cultural imprint of America’s national pastime. The NFL’s participation in and production of hegemonic masculinity, alongside its practices of racism, sexism, heterosexism and ableism, provokes us to think deeply about the historical and contemporary systems of violence we are invested in and entertained by. This social scientific analysis of American football considers both the positive and negative power of the game, generating discussion and calling for accountability. It is fascinating reading for all students and scholars of sports studies with an interest in American football and the wider social impact of sport."

"Forms of Emotion analyses how drama, theatre and contemporary performance present emotion and its human and nonhuman diversity. This book explores the emotions, emotional feelings, mood, and affect, which make up a spectrum of ‘emotion’, to illuminate theatrical knowledge and practice and reflect the distinctions and debates in philosophy, neuroscience, psychology, and other disciplines. This study asserts that specific forms of emotion are intentionally unified in drama, theatre, and performance to convey meaning, counteract separation and subversively champion emotional freedom. The book progressively shows that the dramatic and theatrical representation of the nonhuman reveals how human dominance is offset by emotional connection with birds, animals, and the natural environment. This book will be of great interest to students and researchers interested in the emotions and affect in dramatic literature, theatre studies, performance studies, psychology, and philosophy as well as artists working with emotionally expressive performance."

Beim Philosophieren über 'Mittel' werden diese oftmals technologisch verkürzt als bloße Instrumente der Zweckrealisierung erachtet. Dabei wird übersehen, dass 'Mittel' bzw. das 'System der Mittel' (als 'Medialität') konstitutiv für unser theoretisches und praktisches Weltverhältnis ist. Hegel hat die umfassendste Reflexion dieses Problems vorgelegt: in der Phänomenologie des Geistes mit Blick auf die Entstehung eines Selbstbewusstseins im Zuge der Arbeit des 'Knechts' als Mittel; in der Wissenschaft der Logik mit Blick auf den Doppelcharakter des Mittels, Instrument und zugleich Potenzial zu sein und somit der Vernunft die 'List' zu eröffnen, sich von der äußeren Welt zu distanzieren und sich als Macht zu erhalten; in der Rechtsphilosophie mit Blick auf die Entstehung der Sittlichkeit als Koordination der Mittel im System. Dabei wird deutlich, dass das Selbstbegreifen der Vernunft nur durch die Reflexion auf das Praktische möglich ist. Diese Fragen werden in den Argumentationslinien von Marx, Husserl und Cassirer weiter verfolgt.

How should Muslim inheritance rules respond to the realities of modern life? This book explores that question through a concise examination of Islamic inheritance jurisprudence (fiqh al-maw¯ar¯ i th). While traditional inheritance rules have guided Muslim societies for centuries, today’s changing social structures and contemporary legal thought have created new challenges. Bringing together rigorous scholarship with an accessible approach, the book examines the core principles behind Sunni and Shi?i inheritance jurisprudence, highlighting both their shared foundations and important differences. It explores key issues surrounding the distribution of estates among heirs – such as women’s inheritance rights, the position of children and grandchildren, the question of gender, and differences of religion – and sets them within the context of today’s nuclear family. Drawing on evidence from the major schools of Islamic jurisprudence, as well as on current thinking, the author analyses how inheritance rules have been interpreted and applied over time. He also considers why reform may be necessary today and how thoughtful legal development could help better reflect the needs and realities of contemporary Muslim communities. The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access is funded by The Institute of Ismaili Studies.

Gibt es eine Macht ohne Gewalt? Sind Ideologien eine Form des Wissens? Und wie werden unterworfene Individuen zu mündigen Subjekten? Paul Erxleben sucht Antworten, indem er Theodor W. Adorno mit Michel Foucault ins Gespräch bringt. Kritische Gesellschaftstheorie, so zeigt seine Analyse, aktualisiert sich in der Reflexion auf den Zeitkern zentraler Begriffe. Durch deren Redefinition greifen beide öffentliche Intellektuelle in ihr jeweiliges Theorie-Praxis-Gefüge ein. Vor diesem Hintergrund finden Begriffe von Adorno und Foucault in drei Kraftfeldern zu einer Konstellation zusammen. Aus dem Vergleich erwachsen Thesen über Ohnmacht, positionale Ideologiekritik und mündige Subjektivierungsweisen.

Die Vorstellung vieler Schülerinnen und Schüler von elektrischen Stromkreisen ist maßgeblich vom Stromkonzept geprägt, während die Spannung oft lediglich als Eigenschaft des elektrischen Stroms wahrgenommen wird. In der Folge verfügen viele Lernende nach der Sekundarstufe I oftmals über kein angemessenes konzeptionelles Verständnis von einfachen Stromkreisen. Gegenstand der vorliegenden Design-Based-Research-Arbeit ist deshalb die theoriegeleitete Entwicklung und empirische Evaluation eines Unterrichtskonzepts zu einfachen Stromkreisen auf Grundlage eines didaktisch elementarisierten Elektronengasmodells für die Sekundarstufe I. Ein wesentliches Ziel besteht darin, den Lernenden ein qualitatives, konzeptionelles Verständnis der Grundbegriffe Spannung, Stromstärke und Widerstand sowie ihrer wechselseitigen Beziehung in einfachen Stromkreisen zu vermitteln. Hierzu wird das elektrische Potenzial mit dem Luftdruck bzw. dem sog. "elektrischen Druck" in einem Leiter verglichen und die elektrische Spannung dementsprechend als "elektrischer Druckunterschied" noch vor dem elektrischen Strom eingeführt. Im Rahmen der empirischen Evaluation mit 790 Schülerinnen und Schülern zeigte sich, dass das neue Unterrichtskonzept verglichen mit dem traditionellen Physikunterricht zu einem deutlich besseren konzeptionellen Verständnis elektrischer Stromkreise führt, was sich u.a. in einem signifikant höheren Lernzuwachs widerspiegelt. Darüber hinaus geben die unterrichtenden Lehrkräfte an, das Konzept als wesentliche Verbesserung ihres Unterrichts wahrgenommen zu haben.

The state of the art in the optical characterization of materials is advancing rapidly. New insights have been gained into the theoretical foundations of this research and exciting developments have been made in practice, driven by new applications and innovative sensor technologies that are constantly evolving.The great success of past conferences proves the necessity of a platform for presentation, discussion and evaluation of the latest research results in this interdisciplinary field.

Going beyond current books on privacy and security, Unauthorized Access: The Crisis in Online Privacy and Security proposes specific solutions to public policy issues pertaining to online privacy and security. Requiring no technical or legal expertise, the book explains complicated concepts in clear, straightforward language. The authors two renowned experts on computer security and law explore the well-established connection between social norms, privacy, security, and technological structure. This approach is the key to understanding information security and informational privacy, providing a practical framework to address ethical and legal issues. The authors also discuss how rapid technological developments have created novel situations that lack relevant norms and present ways to develop these norms for protecting informational privacy and ensuring sufficient information security. Bridging the gap among computer scientists, economists, lawyers, and public policy makers, this book provides technically and legally sound public policy guidance about online privacy and security. It emphasizes the need to make trade-offs among the complex concerns that arise in the context of online privacy and security.

"The text explores the phenomenon of violence, retracing the sociological theory from the classical paradigms to the frontier of interpretative readings outlined in the digital society age. The aim is to arrive at an interpretation on violence and the possible connections that go from traditional society, in the historiographic sense of action, to the challenges proposed by contemporary society. What is the form that violence takes today? Which are the indicators that allow you to recognize it? Following these reflections, this book raises the question about the social nature of violence in the many forms in which it manifests itself. The analysis that is proposed is therefore that of seeking the widespread dimensions within which the contemporary individual acts, as well as identifying the indicators that, through functional categories, can prevent and combat violence."