A Socio-Criminological Analysis of the HIV Epidemic

Bruno Meini

July 2020 / ISBN: 978-1-64889-054-3
Availability: In stock
168pp. ¦ $44 £33 €38

***2022 NYC Big Book Award Winner in the category of Sociology*** En el mundo del siglo XXI, las epidemias son sucesos biológicos y sociales comunes y el VIH quizás lo enfatice mejor que cualquier otra enfermedad. Sin duda, la investigación científica médica ha dado importantes pasos hacia adelante; mientras tanto, el campo de la investigación social se encuentra todavía en sus etapas iniciales y muchos esperan una respuesta igualmente auspiciosa. 'Un Análisis Socio-Criminológico de la Epidemia del VIH' ofrece un análisis integral de las dimensiones socio-criminológicas multifacéticas de la epidemia del VIH y contribuye positivamente al debate sociológico en curso sobre las enfermedades infecciosas. El autor pretende crear una epistemología independiente del VIH para explicar las fuerzas sociales que impactan y determinan el curso y la experiencia de la epidemia, al mismo tiempo que busca replantear el discurso popular sobre el VIH para reflejar las conceptualizaciones sociológicas. Este último paso conduce a la identificación del concepto de interacción social como una herramienta adecuada para resaltar la compleja naturaleza social de este virus. El desafío sin precedentes que plantea la epidemia para la comunidad internacional exige una cooperación global dirigida a evaluar los diversos aspectos de los problemas que muchos actores de este trágico drama deben abordar. Dado su atractivo internacional de amplio alcance, este libro también se recomienda para aquellos involucrados o interesados ​​en problemas de salud global y enfermedades infecciosas. Será de particular interés para los investigadores médicos, los trabajadores de la salud, los científicos sociales, los trabajadores sociales, los encargados de formular políticas, los trabajadores humanitarios, los activistas del VIH y los derechos humanos y los estudiantes de posgrado.

The Condition of Music and Anglophone Influences in the Poetry of Shao Xunmei

Tian Jin, University of Edinburgh

June 2020 / ISBN: 978-1-64889-051-2
Availability: In stock
176pp. ¦ $49 £37 €42

This book examines the unique poetics of Shao Xunmei 邵洵美 (1906-1968), a Chinese poet who has long been marginalized by contemporary criticism. Shao aspires to reach the condition of music in poetry, which bears a resemblance to three Anglophone writers whom he applauds: Algernon Charles Swinburne, Edith Sitwell, and George Augustus Moore. The Condition of Music and Anglophone Influences in the Poetry of Shao Xunmei investigates how these three writers influenced Shao, and how this inspiration helped shape his idea of the condition of music in poetry. In the scope of world literature, this book aims to fill a small but important puzzle piece in the global network of literary influence. In a world where cultural exchanges have become increasingly frequent and convenient, and at a time when counter-globalization seems to burgeon into a hazardous trend, it is beneficial to look back to the 1920s-1930s, a time that is as equally tumultuous as today, to examine the global influence network that has taken us where we are, and to understand that in the dynamic of literary influence, no single piece of literature can have its significance alone. This groundbreaking book will benefit the scholarship of Shao and contribute to the relevant research in Chinese studies and word and music studies. Therefore, it will be of great use and interest to researchers of comparative literature, Chinese literature, and world literature, as well as scholars of word and music studies.

Sustainable Architecture – Between Measurement and Meaning

Edited by Carmela Cucuzzella, Concordia University and Sherif Goubran, The American University in Cairo, Egypt

September 2020 / ISBN: 978-1-64889-047-5
Availability: In stock
176pp. ¦ $44 £33 €37

Each day new articles, books, and reports present new methods, standards, and technologies for achieving sustainability in architecture. Additionally, new materials, technological gadgets, and data are increasingly considered the staples of architecture’s future. As we increasingly embrace this techno-advancement, we must be equally aware that we may be pushing architecture into a managerial science and away from its core concerns such as expression, contextuality, functionality and aesthetics. Sustainable architecture that is focused on the abstract measurements of consumption, energy, and emissions loses sight of the vital role that architecture holds in our world: it is the field that creates our public spaces and our places of dwelling, of business, of production, of leisure, and creation. Additionally, it fails to comprehend the human dimension of buildings, as elements that are deeply connected to their sites’ historic contexts and that play a key role in defining our social relations and our connection to the spaces we occupy and utilize. “Sustainable Architecture – Between Measurement and Meaning” takes a step back to reflect on how sustainability in the built environment can be theorized and practiced critically. This book exposes that architecture remains a human and social science that lies at the intersection of measurements and meanings. It reveals that sustainable architecture can still operate in a dialectic space of expression, rather than serving as a manifesto for either the technical or socio-cultural extremes. It purports that the human intuition, senses, and skills still holds the key to unravelling alternative futures of sustainable built spaces. And that most importantly, humans still have a place in sustainable architecture. This book will be of interest to students, early career scholars, established researchers and practitioners studying sustainability in the built environment. It can be used as a referencee to those in the fields of design, architecture, landscape and urban design, urban studies, geography, social sciences, and engineering.

The Alphorn through the Eyes of the Classical Composer

Frances Jones

October 2020 / ISBN: 978-1-64889-044-4
Availability: In stock
336pp. ¦ $45 £34 €38

‘The Alphorn through the Eyes of the Classical Composer’ is the first and definitive book to be written about the alphorn in English. It has been written with English-speaking readers in mind, as it examines the extensive interest of primarily non-Swiss composers, writers and artists in the alphorn as a symbol of the Alps, the influence and significance of the alphorn in culture, literature and the arts across the globe, and the ways in which the instrument has been specifically utilised by the Swiss as the iconic representation of their country. This book also explores the use of the musical language of the alphorn call, to ascertain why and how such references as those of Berlioz or Beethoven can convey so much meaning. Dr Jones seeks out what it is that a composer brings into the concert hall, the theatre, the opera house, the church, or the drawing room by such a quotation, to what heritage they are referring, and upon what basis there are grounds for an assumption that such a reference will be understood by an audience. The book, which will be of interest to researchers in Swiss cultural studies and ethnomusicology, builds on Dr Jones’s research and PhD thesis. The six chapters deal with a variety of topics, including a basic introduction to the alphorn and an exploration of the promotion of the instrument as the symbol of Switzerland, as well as the reasons behind symbolic references to alphorn motifs by European and British composers in concert repertoire, jazz and film.

The Careers of Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas as Referenced in Literature

A Study in Film Perception

Henryk Hoffmann

August 2020 / ISBN: 978-1-64889-036-9
Availability: In stock
276pp. ¦ $57 £43 €48

The Careers of Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas as Referenced in Literature is a study of the perception of these two Hollywood megastars and their work, as presented in the text and context of references and allusions found in world literature. This book also aims to establish the impact factor of the two actors and their major films, as well as to provide extensive data for further studies of the complex and bilateral relationships between film and literature. The pertinent quotations have been extracted from over 150 works—novels, short stories, plays, poems and some nonfiction biographies and memoirs (excluding those focused on film celebrities)—by more than 120 authors. The main body of the book consists of two parts, each devoted to one actor and each having five identical sections. In the first section, references to the actor’s films are discussed while the second section presents references to the actor himself. The third section shows the complete list of references found to the actor and his films, including references not mentioned in the first two sections—either because of their relative insignificance, the lack of an English translation in case of foreign-language works or repetitiveness and/or abundance in a given work. The fourth section offers the credits of the films referenced, and the fifth section presents the actor’s complete monographic bibliography. The third part of the book, ‘Epilogue: Final Remarks and Conclusions,’ provides an analysis and classification of all the references and allusions presented in the main body, and it elaborates on the friendship of the two actors. College professors and students interested in film studies, particularly film analysis and criticism, film perception and film genres, will find this book of great interest. It will also appeal to people interested in biographical books on movie personalities and movie fans, especially those interested in westerns, film noir and the careers of Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas.