Blues in the 21st Century: Myth, Self-Expression and Trans-Culturalism

Edited by Douglas Mark Ponton, University of Catania, Italy and Uwe Zagratzki, University of Szczecin, Poland

March 2020 / ISBN: 978-1-62273-634-8
Availability: In stock
226pp. ¦ $49 £37 €42

The book is the fruit of Douglas Mark Ponton’s and co-editor Uwe Zagratzki’s enduring interest in the Blues as a musical and cultural phenomenon and source of personal inspiration. Continuing in the tradition of Blues studies established by the likes of Samuel Charters and Paul Oliver, the authors hope to contribute to the revitalisation of the field through a multi-disciplinary approach designed to explore this constantly evolving social phenomenon in all its heterogeneity. Focusing either on particular artists (Lightnin’ Hopkins, Robert Johnson), or specific texts (Langston Hughes’ Weary Blues and Backlash Blues, Jimi Hendrix’s Machine Gun), the book tackles issues ranging from authenticity and musicology in Blues performance to the Blues in diaspora, while also applying techniques of linguistic analysis to the corpora of Blues texts. While some chapters focus on the Blues as a quintessentially American phenomenon, linked to a specific social context, others see it in its current evolutions, as the bearer of vital cultural attitudes into the digital age. This multidisciplinary volume will appeal to a broad range of scholars operating in a number of different academic disciplines, including Musicology, Linguistics, Sociology, History, Ethnomusicology, Literature, Economics and Cultural Studies. It will also interest educators across the Humanities, and could be used to exemplify the application to data of specific analytical methodologies, and as a general introduction to the field of Blues studies.

The Crest of the Innovation Management Research Wave

Edited by Marcus Tynnhammar, ISPIM, United Kingdom

November 2019 / ISBN: 978-1-62273-860-1
Availability: In stock
290pp. ¦ $61 £46 €52

For the ninth year running, the ISPIM Dissertation Award has attracted a wealth of PhD dissertations from all over the globe, which have once again contributed significantly to the field of Innovation Management. Comprising of submissions from the 2019 ISPIM Dissertation Award deemed to be of both high quality and high interest, The Crest of the Innovation Management Research Wave offers readers insights into the depth and breadth of research potential in the latest wave of innovation management. This publication provides a window into what the latest generation of scholars are contributing to the innovation management field, as well as into what they find significant and what might become important for the field over time. The wide selection included in this book offers a strong insight into new and upcoming developments in innovation management, drawing attention to interesting empirical areas to research. This edited volume will be of particular interest not only to students but also researchers and professional managers either interested or actively involved in cutting-edge research in the field of innovation management.

Understanding Political Persuasion: Linguistic and Rhetorical Analysis

Douglas Mark Ponton, University of Catania, Italy

October 2019 / ISBN: 978-1-62273-856-4
Availability: In stock
241pp. ¦ $60 £45 €51

This book builds on the consolidated research field of Political Discourse Analysis and attempts to provide an introduction suitable for adoption amongst a readership wishing to understand some of the principles underlying such research, and above all to appreciate how the tools of discourse analysis might be applied to actual texts. It summarises some of the work that has been done in this field by authorities such as Halliday, Fairclough, Wodak, Chilton, Van Dijk, Martin, Van Leeuwen and others to provide the would-be analyst with practical ideas for their own research. Naturally, this would not be the first time that such a handbook or introductory reference book has been proposed. Fairclough himself recently produced one; however, his work, simply entitled Political Discourse Analysis, inevitably includes theoretical insights from his own research. The beginning analyst can, at times, experience a sense of bewilderment at the mass of theoretical writing in linguistics, in the search for some practical, usable tools. I explain a variety of such tools, demonstrating their usefulness in application to the analysis of a number of political speeches, from different historical periods and diverse social contexts. The author’s hope is that would-be students of political rhetoric, of whatever level and from a variety of research areas, will be able to pick up this book and find tools and techniques that will assist them in actual work on texts. Naturally, it is also hoped that they will be inspired to follow up the suggestions for further reading which they will find in the bibliography.

Deciding in Unison: Themes in Consensual Democracy in Africa

Edited by Emmanuel Ifeanyi Ani, University of Ghana, Ghana and Edwin Etieyibo, University of the Witwatersrand

January 2020 / ISBN: 978-1-62273-853-3
Availability: In stock
208pp. ¦ $51 £38 €43

Deciding in Unison: Themes in Consensual Democracy in Africa is an edited volume that both scholars and students of African philosophy and politics will find interesting. The chapters trace the current state of the debate as well as the idea that the advancement of consensus democracy as unanimity democracy is no longer valid, and a democracy of compromise is suggested as an alternative for advancing consensus democracy. The collection also contains chapters dealing with Wiredu’s consensual proposal for the building of resistance movements as well as his views about the relativity of truth and the way we should handle it. However, there are also chapters that explore the non-party system Wiredu proposes as not applicable in practice. Furthermore, the issues related to transferring consensus-supporting values like communism into the contemporary Africa setting are also examined. Also discussed in the book is how current presentations of African epistemology cannot pass for epistemology, and how we could begin to think of fashioning an African epistemology from deliberation aimed at consensus.

Metaphysical and Mid-Late Tang Poetry: A Baroque Comparison

Pengfei Wang

December 2019 / ISBN: 978-1-62273-773-4
Availability: In stock
126pp. ¦ $42 £32 €36

Wishing to expand on the minimal scholarship on the topic of Metaphysical and Mid-Late Tang poets under the general category of Baroque, this book offers a comparative analysis of poems from the Metaphysical poets John Donne, Andrew Marvell and Richard Crashaw and a selection of Tang poetry by Meng Jiao, Li He and Li Shangyin. By following Nietzche’s definition of Baroque as a poetic “style” found in any period and country, and the concept of art as allegory, the author approaches the analysis of these poems using allegorical reading. The application of this non-traditional method of investigation and analysis has produced ground-breaking implications in the area of literary criticism, paving the way for future additions to the growing body of work on Baroque poetry. Therefore, it is likely to hold great appeal to literature researchers and scholars, as well as those studying Tang poetry, Metaphysical poetry and Comparative Studies.