Our Books - Ideas That Shape Scholarship

The purpose of this book is to demonstrate that Cathar doctrine is the main source of Dante's poem and to encourage readers to approach this work with fresh eyes, beyond the interpretative frameworks that are often worn. With detailed references to Dante's text, persuasive arguments, lucid and concrete exposition, and a direct and easy-to-follow style, Maria Soresina progressively presents the links between the ‘Divine Comedy’ and Catharism, which she has been investigating since the end of the last century. The text analyzes Cathar characters with respect to the doctrine. The Cathars were Christians, but their beliefs were very different from those of the Catholic Church. The author analyzes their philosophy, followed by verses of Dante that demonstrate agreement with it and distance from the Catholic Church. In addition to the great doctrinal questions, there are many Cathar beliefs and customs, all of which, such as their being vegetarians, find precise confirmation in the verses of the ‘Divine Comedy’. The Cathars had only one sacrament, the ‘consolamentum’. A long chapter is dedicated to demonstrating that Dante's journey through Purgatory corresponds to the various phases of this sacrament, within which the figure of Beatrice has a particular meaning, a woman whom Dante probably never met and never loved. This text offers non-Italian-speaking readers the chance to engage with these interpretive theories, destabilizing the canonical criticism and forcing a re-examination of sources and historical context.

Este libro nos presenta un panorama muy amplio de la percepción del rock en América Latina desde la cultura dominante, y la forma en que esa percepción adulta, blanca, heteronormativa y prejuiciada desarrolló estrategias de persecución y censura contra el nuevo género. El paso del rock and roll de los años cincuenta al rock de los sesenta coincide con el tránsito de la adolescencia a la juventud de sus seguidores, por lo que ya no se trataba de diversiones adolescentes, sino de demandas de poder de un nuevo sector social. De esa manera, la censura, aunque errática, trató de contrarrestar la amenaza que el rock representaba para el statu quo dominante, en dictadura o democracia, con gobiernos de derecha o de izquierda. La apariencia física de los rockeros se transformó en asunto de Estado, como nos ilustran los autores del libro, donde la represión pasó del control de la música al control de los cuerpos. Frente a la escasa bibliografía existente sobre el rock y la censura en América Latina, este libro constituye un estímulo para ampliar el concepto de música y censura, como para profundizar en la historia del rock en la región.

'Surrealism and Ecology' is the first volume to consider the intersections of these two fields. It addresses the contribution of the avant-gardes in thinking about the relationship of humans with their environment in the context of massive environmental upheaval in the twentieth century. This volume explores the significant role of Surrealist artists and writers within the history of critical thinking about nature and environment over the last hundred years. It approaches ecology both as a mode of thinking about the many interconnections of life and as a way of experiencing and knowing the world. The relationship of humans with their environment is of paramount significance within contemporary discourse, and the contribution of the historical avant-gardes to this topic remains largely underexplored. In addressing this gap, the book presents a diverse selection of analyses of the ways in which the Surrealists have thought about and represented nature and the human place within it. It emphasises how Surrealism’s interventions in connecting seemingly distinct domains of thought and phenomena can be understood as relevant to more recent developments in the practice of ecological thought. Surrealist practices and the academic field of Surrealism studies are broad in scope and include not only visual art, but also poetry and literature, film, philosophy, exhibition design, and experimental practice. This volume includes contributions from established and developing scholars working across disciplines and locations, who address such varied practices and engage with analyses from multiple perspectives. The international and trans-Atlantic history of Surrealism is well-represented in this book, with over half the texts exploring the work of European Surrealists in exile during the Second World War or the art and environmental and political activism of Surrealists in the Caribbean and throughout the Americas.

'Fashion’s Missing Masses' fills a gap in literature on museums and fashion collections and focuses on the display of clothing and fashion that has historically been left out of the canon. The fifteen essays in this volume span topics on Indigenous and traditional dress; disabled and fat bodies; and queer and ethnic identities. Their authors study the ways that dress and textiles have been collected, displayed, and often ignored across a century and a half of museum exhibitions. Representation and inclusion in fashion museums is a new and rapidly evolving area of research in the reexamination of dress history. These chapters provide unique information and perspectives on curation, collections management, conservation, and research, which will be valuable to a wide group of audiences working, teaching, and learning in and about museums. This volume touches on practical concerns of exhibition, including mannequin availability and difficulties of mounting dress, as well as broader questions of scholarship and activism that will be key for educators and researchers who wish to stay abreast of developments in this field. Diversity in fashion is a hot topic, and understanding the line between tokenization and representation in spaces of institutional authority is crucial to learning how we can better serve our diverse populations in the teaching of history.

Frederick Douglass and Stand Watie, two men on opposite sides of the American Civil War, may seem to have little in common. Yet in 'The Civil Warriors', Reagan Fancher seeks to help students of American History understand the nuances of both men’s actions and decisions while calling attention to the striking similarities between Douglass, an abolitionist leader and adviser to President Abraham Lincoln, and Watie, a “mixed-blood” Cherokee slaveholder who became the last Confederate general to surrender. Despite their stark contrasts, these two men proved more similar than different in their character and courage in striving to aid their respective peoples. Douglass’s liberty message contributed to the enfranchisement of the freedmen and the breaking of political barriers, while Watie’s wisdom in laying aside his personal grievances against the Northern Cherokee rivals of his Southern Cherokee people helped heal the Cherokee Nation’s simmering sectarianism, reignited by the Civil War and paved the way for intratribal peace. In contrast to previous works, 'The Civil Warriors' examines the wartime and postwar lives and actions of both Douglass and Watie in a single volume for the first time, calling scholars’ attention to the similar paths on which each man embarked in serving his respective republic. Through this book, Fancher seeks to both inform collegiate-level students about Watie and Douglass’s lasting contributions that often seem to be overlooked or underemphasized in many other recent works and provide a useful classroom teaching tool for scholars while exploring both men’s lives and legacies. Revisiting and rebutting some popular misperceptions of each man, the book also fills a gap in Watie scholarship and seeks to both inform and inspire casual readers and scholars alike, bringing together those of different perceptions of the Civil War and Reconstruction and guiding today’s Americans in casting aside their differences and working together.

Latin America is a diverse mosaic of cultures that trace their origins back to Indigenous, African, Spanish, Portuguese and Islamic sources. Its philosophies, eloquently expressed by a long line of thinkers, are found not just in departments of philosophy, but also in its rich literature and art, which are given treatment in this volume. The Islamicate world is a unique, fourteen-century-old cultural mosaic that covers much of the known world. Despite its long civilizational experience, it too faces the challenge of emancipation from foreign domination and the chaotic cacophony of monologues afflicting our time. The papers collected here cover various aspects of the philosophies of these two constantly interacting traditions and how they impinge on an old problematic: “ghayriyya” (otherness) and “alienation”. Their themes include key figures like Ibn ʿArabī, Suhrawardī, Aḥmad b. Muṣṭafa al-ʿAlawī, Rudolfo Kusch, José Martí, Spain’s Moriscos, and contemporary Argentine philosophers; and expanding areas of research like the philosophy of the Nahua (popularly known as the “Aztec”) and the language reforms in Türkiye, both of which provide excellent examples of cultural self-alienation.

Esta monografía colectiva profundiza en diferentes estrategias lingüísticas de (des)cortesía verbal documentadas en los períodos evolutivos tradicionalmente considerados en historia de la lengua española. Los diez capítulos que constituyen el libro, cuyos autores son especialistas en la materia, ofrecen novedosas aportaciones sobre el funcionamiento de diferentes actos de habla, formas de tratamientos o modulaciones del discurso, abordados desde diferentes enfoques y aplicados en diferentes modalidades del español. De esta manera, hace una notable aportación a la reconstrucción de la historia de la (des)cortesía en español -y en italiano, puesto que hay un capítulo dedicado al análisis histórico contrastivo- y de las construcciones lingüísticas empleadas en la interacción a lo largo de los siglos, pues el arco temporal abarcado cubre desde los siglos XII al XXI. En las perspectivas de análisis diacrónico adoptadas resultan cruciales la recontextualización sociocultural de la (des)cortesía de cada época y la consideración de los géneros discursivos empleados como corpus, de modo que cobran especial relevancia para el estudio de la pragmática la organización secuencial de las interacciones orales y escritas, la tradicionalidad discursiva de las construcciones analizadas y las funciones interpersonales y de gestión de la interacción a las que sirven. Esta perspectiva sociocultural y discursiva, propia de los estudios actuales en pragmática y (des)cortesía permite un análisis esclarecedor de los fenómenos lingüísticos y discursivos abordados.

'Pedagogical Reckoning: Decolonizing and Degendering the Art Historical Canon in the Classroom and Museum' brings together leading voices in art history, museum studies, and pedagogy to confront the Eurocentric and patriarchal foundations of traditional art historical education. This timely anthology provides a range of actionable strategies for reshaping curricula, exhibitions, and research through the lenses of decoloniality, gender justice, and global inclusion. Edited by Sooran Choi and Gillian Greenhill Hannum, the volume includes contributions from scholars, artists, and educators across institutional contexts—from large research universities to community colleges and art schools. Its chapters span three key areas: inclusive classroom pedagogy, critical museum and curatorial practice, and decolonial research methodologies. Essays explore intersectional frameworks informed by postcolonial theory, feminist critique, queer studies, and ethnic studies, while also providing practical tools such as sample assignments, case studies, and curatorial models. Uniquely, this anthology integrates scholarly analysis with pedagogical reflection, offering readers both conceptual frameworks and concrete applications. It builds on recent literature such as 'Teaching South and Southeast Asian Art' and 'Expanding the Parameters of Feminist Artivism', while extending the conversation through its focus on classroom agency, community-responsive teaching, and institutional reckoning. Ideal for art history instructors; museum professionals; and students in anthropology, cultural studies, and education, 'Pedagogical Reckoning' serves as both a critical resource and a methodological guide. It is suitable for classroom adoption, professional development, and curriculum planning, and will appeal to anyone committed to transforming the way we teach, curate, and write about art.

Recent research has revealed a psychedelic inspiration for Nietzsche’s philosophy and, far from being a novelty in the history of philosophy, there is significant evidence that several of the first western philosophers ingested psychedelics as well. In his first book, Joseph I. Breidenstein Jr, PhD, maintained that western philosophy began as what we today would call a feminist religious reformation in the sense that many prominent presocratic philosophers were reviving a paleo/neolithic goddess-centered religiosity of rebirth within the largely patriarchal and death-glorifying culture of archaic Greece. And, in this book, Dr. Breidenstein Jr proposes that the presocratics’ psychedelic-reincarnationist-feminine model of education and/or worldview is better suited for democracy in the twenty-first century than the economic model of education that takes the west’s mainstream materialistic-secular worldview for granted. For several decades now, researchers have acknowledged both that the empirical evidence for reincarnation is overwhelming and that psychedelics can evoke past-life recollections, but ‘explanations’ for either reincarnation or how psychedelics do this have yet to be offered. By combining Nietzsche’s philosophy with the work of other thinkers, ‘Psychedelic Immortality’ both provides explanations for each of these phenomena and explores how situating education and democracy within the context of reincarnation can incite a renaissance of American culture and politics. For Nietzscheans and philosophers in particular, this book illustrates the contemporary relevance of two neglected aspects of Nietzsche scholarship—i.e. psychedelics and reincarnation—and, for researchers in such fields as feminist philosophy of religion, ecotheology, philosophy of education, social-political philosophy, and eastern philosophy, it offers a more plausible and healthier worldview in which to explore possibilities in their respective fields that are diminished by the mainstream paradigm. For spiritual seekers of all paths, it offers a conception of philosophy as a practice of awakening goddess consciousness that unfolds over the course of successive lifetimes.