'Poverty and Inequality: Falsehood and the Age of Hypocrisy' offers a sustained critique of global capitalism and the ideological structures that reproduce and normalise inequality. It advances the argument that contemporary poverty, in a context of unprecedented global wealth, is not an accidental outcome but a systematically produced condition sustained through institutional arrangements, political economy, and entrenched narratives of legitimacy. Engaging critically with Amartya Sen’s Capability Approach and Antonio Gramsci’s theory of hegemony, the book develops an original analytical framework—the Hegemonic Capability Framework (HCF). This model integrates material, institutional, and epistemic dimensions of inequality to explain how deprivation is reproduced not only through economic relations but also through cultural consent, knowledge production, and ideological capture. In doing so, it extends existing debates in political economy, development studies, and political theory by offering a unified account of how domination operates across structural and symbolic domains. Empirically informed and theoretically grounded, the work combines data-driven analysis with normative political philosophy to interrogate the moral and institutional foundations of global inequality. It situates itself within critical traditions in global governance and social theory while proposing an original conceptual apparatus for analysing power and deprivation. The book will be relevant to scholars in political economy, sociology, development studies, and global governance, as well as to policymakers, researchers, and practitioners in international organisations, think tanks, and non-governmental institutions. It is suitable for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, and functions both as a critical reference text and as a conceptual tool for analysing inequality, capability deprivation, and structural reform in contemporary global systems.

‘Psychoanalyzing the Post-Apocalypse: Psychoanalytic Approaches to 21st Century Fiction and Film’ offers an interdisciplinary exploration of contemporary post-apocalyptic literature and cinema through psychoanalytic theory. Bringing together studies of major novels, films, and television series, the volume demonstrates how Freudian, Lacanian, Jungian, and post-Lacanian perspectives illuminate recurring themes such as trauma, desire, mourning, identity, repression, survival, and psychic renewal in worlds shaped by catastrophe. The collection distinguishes itself by applying diverse psychoanalytic frameworks to a broad range of twenty-first-century texts, including "Oryx and Crake," "The Stone Gods," "Station Eleven," "War of the Worlds," "Vesper," "The Road," "The Leftovers," and "2012". Rather than offering generalized discussions of apocalypse, each chapter provides a theoretically grounded analysis of a specific work, revealing how narratives of collapse reflect contemporary anxieties while also imagining new forms of subjectivity, ethical relations, and resilience. Positioned at the intersection of psychoanalytic criticism, literary studies, film studies, and cultural theory, the volume advances current scholarship by foregrounding the psychological dimensions of post-apocalyptic storytelling and demonstrating the versatility of psychoanalytic approaches in interpreting ecological, technological, and existential crises. It contributes an original perspective to the growing body of research on post-apocalyptic fiction by integrating multiple psychoanalytic traditions across diverse media and cultural contexts. The book will serve as a valuable resource for researchers, graduate students, and advanced undergraduates in literature, film, media, psychoanalysis, and cultural studies. It is equally suitable for classroom adoption in courses on contemporary fiction, speculative literature, adaptation, and critical theory, while offering scholars a methodological framework for future interdisciplinary research on apocalypse and the human psyche.

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'Música antigua: Perspectivas críticas desde América Latina' ofrece, hasta donde sabemos, la primera reevaluación colectiva y sostenida de la música antigua desde perspectivas latinoamericanas. En lugar de considerar la música antigua como un repertorio estable definido por la periodización europea o por el movimiento de interpretación históricamente informada, el volumen la aborda como un campo dinámico y en disputa, en el que los cánones, los archivos, las pedagogías, las prácticas interpretativas y los relatos historiográficos se negocian continuamente. Reuniendo a especialistas de diversos contextos académicos latinoamericanos e iberoamericanos, el libro examina una amplia gama de temas: la enseñanza de la historia de la música en la región; la arqueomusicología andina; la conciencia histórica y la pedagogía de la música antigua; el impacto de la Leyenda Negra española en la historiografía musical; el canto llano en Hispanoamérica; el villancico religioso en la Hispanoamérica colonial mediante análisis de macrodatos ('big data'); los 'villancicos de negro' de Puebla; las instituciones de música antigua en Brasil; y las políticas de la autenticidad en los archivos de música misional de Bolivia. A través de estos estudios de caso, el volumen aborda cuestiones más amplias relacionadas con la colonialidad, la formación de cánones, la autoridad archivística, la agencia de los pueblos indígenas y afrodescendientes, la memoria cultural y la circulación del conocimiento musical. Enmarcado por un prólogo de Leonardo Waisman y un epílogo de Miriam Escudero, el volumen incluye siete capítulos en español y dos en portugués, lo que refleja el carácter multilingüe de la musicología latinoamericana e iberoamericana. El libro contribuye a los debates actuales en musicología, etnomusicología, estudios de la interpretación, estudios latinoamericanos e historia cultural al cuestionar los marcos heredados del Atlántico Norte y proponer formas de estudio de la música antigua más arraigadas en las realidades regionales. Será una obra de referencia útil para investigadores, una herramienta metodológica para especialistas que trabajan en historia e historiografía de la música, y un recurso docente para cursos de grado y posgrado sobre música antigua, música latinoamericana, música colonial, historiografía musical y enfoques decoloniales de las artes. Aunque posee un sólido rigor académico, el volumen también resulta relevante para intérpretes, docentes y directores de conjuntos musicales que buscan perspectivas críticas sobre la música antigua más allá del canon europeo tradicional.

This illustrated volume brings together a wide variety of perspectives on the historic installation, 'Womanhouse' (1972). The introduction discusses the background and creation of this first whole-house feminist installation, a class assignment for the Feminist Art Program in the newly established California Institute of the Arts under the direction of Judy Chicago and Miriam Schapiro. Two of the original artists offer remembrances and speak to the project’s impact on their long careers of artmaking. Artistic descendants of the exhibition are discussed: these include whole-house installations which respond to the original, expanding the conversation by including artists of differing races, ethnicities, and gender expressions, and several iterations which served various roles in their communities. Two shows in galleries commemorating 'Womanhouse' and its artistic offspring are also considered. Next, several contemporary artists present their work and discuss how it relates to 'Womanhouse' and the questions it raised. Finally, a contemporary re-imagining of 'Womanhouse' is offered, giving a contemporary take on the historic exhibition. While much has been written about the original exhibition, rarely have we heard from some of the original artists about how their participation affected their careers and artistic output. In addition, this volume offers information on some of the descendant exhibitions. Discussion of these and their impact in the communities housing them underscores the importance of 'Womanhouse' in the lives of women in the years since 1972. Consideration of shows in galleries highlights the difference between them and the house installations. Reactions of contemporary artists offer new insight into the longevity of the original. And a contemporary re-imagining of 'Womanhouse' surprises the reader with unusual additions and re-evaluations.

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'A Materialist Social Theory of the Idea' advances a unified theoretical framework for understanding how ideas emerge, circulate, and materialize in the world. Rejecting both classical Idealism and reductive Materialism, the book develops a neuromaterialist approach that defines ideas as physically instantiated patterns of neural activity and traces their effects across social, institutional, and material domains. Beginning from the premise that thought is a biological process, the book follows the idea from its origin in the brain through its transmission via language and behavior, its reproduction within culture, and its eventual crystallization in norms, institutions, and physical structures. This recursive process—linking brain, behavior, environment, and social organization—provides a comprehensive model of how ideas function as causal forces in history. Drawing on insights from sociology, philosophy, neuroscience, and political theory, the work introduces original conceptual tools, including models of ideational transmission, activation, and threshold dynamics, as well as the concept of cognitive terraforming to describe the large-scale transformation of reality through ideation. This book offers an interdisciplinary framework for analyzing ideology, social change, and institutional development, making it relevant to scholars and students in social theory, sociology, philosophy of mind, and related fields. It also provides a foundation for further research into the material basis of thought and its role in shaping human behavior and social structure.

'Human Rights and Social Concerns' brings together scholars who examine how human rights frameworks illuminate, and sometimes fail to address, pressing social concerns across diverse societies. Contributors explore issues including migrant women’s experiences of street harassment (Valeria Bonatti and Ashley C.F. Hutson), stigma and disability in rural India (Namita Gupta and Pardeep Kumari), environmental licensing and justice in Brazil (Cassia Cardoso de Miranda), constitutional over‑regulation of families (Ágne Lux and Emese Pásztor), and the paradoxical role of human rights in environmental degradation (Haimo Schulz Meinen).

Young people’s lives are increasingly shaped by digital media, yet public and academic debates about youth, social media and well-being are often dominated by fear-based narratives that frame online spaces as inherently harmful. Against a backdrop of rising concerns about youth mental health and widespread anxieties about social media use, this book offers a critical and timely intervention into how we understand young people’s political and civic engagement in the digital age. Drawing on in-depth interviews with youth activists involved in the international climate change movement and the American gun control movement, alongside analysis of their social media practices, the book challenges binary distinctions between online and real-world activism. Rather than treating digital participation as superficial or ineffective, it foregrounds young people’s own perspectives on activism, demonstrating how digital platforms function as meaningful spaces for connection, organizing and political expression. Situated at the intersection of youth studies, sociology, media studies and political engagement, the book builds on and extends existing literature on digital activism by centring youth voices and lived experience. It offers a counter-narrative to the persistent “slacktivism” critique, arguing that such framings not only misunderstand contemporary activism but risk delegitimizing young people’s contributions to civic life. Written in an accessible style while grounded in rigorous social research, this book will be of interest to scholars, post-secondary students and practitioners working in education, youth work, child and youth care, social services and community organizing. It is suitable for classroom adoption, scholarly reference and professional reflection, and provides valuable insights for anyone seeking to better understand how young people are reshaping political participation in a digitally networked world.