The Porcupine's Quill
Livres Canada Books
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View Rights PortalThe turn of the twenty-first century has witnessed the striking advance of pornography into the Western cultural mainstream. Symptomatic of this development has been the use by writers, artists, and film-makers of the imagery and aesthetics of pornography, in works which have, often on this basis, achieved considerable international success. Amongst these artists are a number of French authors and directors - such as Michel Houellebecq, Catherine Breillat, Virginie Despentes, or Catherine Millet - whose work has often been dismissed as trashy or exploitative, but whose use of pornographic material may in fact be indicative of important contemporary concerns. In this study of a very significant trend, the authors explore how the reference to pornography encodes diverse political, cultural, and existential questions, including relations between the sexes, the collapse of avant-garde politics, gay sexualities in the time of AIDS, the anti-feminist backlash, the relation to the body and illness, the place of fantasy, and the sexualisation of children. It will be of interest to undergraduates, graduates, and researchers in the fields of French culture, gender, film and media studies.
The turn of the twenty-first century has witnessed the striking advance of pornography into the Western cultural mainstream. Symptomatic of this development has been the use by writers, artists, and film-makers of the imagery and aesthetics of pornography, in works which have, often on this basis, achieved considerable international success. Amongst these artists are a number of French authors and directors - such as Michel Houellebecq, Catherine Breillat, Virginie Despentes, or Catherine Millet - whose work has often been dismissed as trashy or exploitative, but whose use of pornographic material may in fact be indicative of important contemporary concerns. In this, the first study of this significant trend, the authors explore how the reference to pornography encodes diverse political, cultural, and existential questions, including relations between the sexes, the collapse of avant-garde politics, gay sexualities in the time of AIDS, the anti-feminist backlash, the relation to the body and illness, the place of fantasy, and the sexualisation of children. It will be of interest to undergraduates, graduates, and researchers in the fields of French culture, gender, film and media studies.
Cases of citation presents a history of artists who incorporated literary references into their work from the 1960s onwards. Through a series of object-focused chapters that each take up a singular 'case of citation', the collection considers how literary citation emerged as a viable and urgent strategy for artists during this period. It surveys eleven artworks by a diverse group of artists - including David Wojnarowicz, Lis Rhodes, Romare Bearden and Silvia Kolbowski - whose citations draw on works as varied as Karl Marx's Das Kapital and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. The book also features an interview with pioneering feminist artist Elaine Reichek that discusses her career-long commitment to working with text. Together, the artworks and cited texts are approached from various critical angles, with each author questioning and complicating the ways in which we can 'read' textual citations in art.
The revival of recognition theory has brought new energy to critical theory. In general terms, recognition theory aims to critically evaluate social structures against a standard of social freedom identified with norms of interaction which are freely recognised by all parties. Until now, attention has primarily focused on the categories and forms of recognition theory. However, the influence of contemporary French theory upon the development of theories of recognition has not yet received the consideration it merits. This collection outlines the current state of recognition theory, studies the impact of French theory, and uses French thought to identity aspects of the recognitive process which are often overlooked. Exploring French accounts of agonistic identity construction, vulnerability, power, ethical obligation and reflexive theory construction, this book supports the intentions of critical theory with heightened attentiveness to oppression in all of its forms.
The revival of recognition theory has brought new energy to critical theory. In general terms, recognition theory aims to critically evaluate social structures against a standard of social freedom identified with norms of interaction which are freely recognised by all parties. Until now, attention has primarily focused on the categories and forms of recognition theory. However, the influence of contemporary French theory upon the development of theories of recognition has not yet received the consideration it merits. The book takes up this task. With chapters by internationally recognised authors, the collection outlines the current state of recognition theory, studies the impact of French theory, and uses French thought to identity aspects of the recognitive process which are often overlooked. Exploring French accounts of agonistic identity construction, vulnerability, power, ethical obligation and reflexive theory construction, this book supports the intentions of critical theory with heightened attentiveness to oppression in all of its forms. ;
The book encompasses representative Chinese modern and contemporary poetry, novels, proses, and dramas created by several well-known Chinese writers, like Gong Zizhen, Xu Zhimo, Dai Wangshu, Lu Xun, Lao She, Cao Yu, etc. In this book, each piece of work is presented with author introdcution, analysis of theme and artistic characteristics, and questions to be answered by readers.
The first in-depth, comprehensive study of Korean cinema offering original insight into the relationships between ideology and the art of cinema from East Asian perspectives. Combines issues of contemporary Korean culture and cinematic representation of the society and people in both North and South Korea. Covers the introduction of motion pictures in 1903, Korean cinema during the Japanese colonial period (1910-45) and the development of North and South Korean cinema up to the 1990s. Introduces the works of Korea's major directors, and analyses the Korean film industry in terms of film production, distribution and reception. Based on this historical analysis, the study investigates ideological constructs in seventeen films, eight from North Korea and nine from South Korea.
The book has a total of 22 chapters and 1.5 million words. It was written by more than 20 experts and scholars in the field of Confucianism. The book has two main lines: Confucianism of famous thinkers in the past and Confucianism of folk beliefs. It integrates and interprets Confucianism of more than two thousand years in a clear way, including thoughts of benevolence, righteousness, etiquette, wisdom, integrity, filial piety, friendship, shame, courage, forgiveness, happiness, natural principles, conscience and etc.
Green's The contemporary law of armed conflict has been acclaimed as one of the most significant works on the law of armed conflict to appear in recent years. The first edition was adopted as a basic text by military institutions and educational establishments throughout the world and is among the most comprehensive and readable works on the subject. This new edition brings the work up to date, examining the significance of the World Court's Opinion on the legality of the nuclear weapon. It also considers the importance of such matters as the laser weapon agreement, the mines treaty and the jurisprudence of the two war crimes tribunals, that for the former Yugoslavia as well as for Rwanda, and assesses the role of the proposed International Criminal Court as it may affect the law of armed conflict. The book applies a practical as well as a theoretical approach, and draws on an extensive range of national and international practice. It is thus an indispensable reference for the armed forces and government defence organizations, as well as academics and students interested in the modern law of war. ;
Focusing on specific artists and vivid works of art, this book aims to assist in the narration of the important artistic movements and trends that have formed the current state of contemporary art. Starting from the major creative media of image, sound, color, body, digital technology and the Internet, it discusses and introduces a number of new works, new issues and new approaches in contemporary art. Through the author's detailed elaboration of the creation of artworks, artists' personal stories and the evolution of aesthetic concepts, readers will see the vitality, thinking and creativity of contemporary art, experience the concrete connection between contemporary art and our daily life, dispel myths and prejudices about contemporary art, and truly feel the infinite power of art.
Green's The contemporary law of armed conflict has been acclaimed as one of the most significant works on the law of armed conflict to appear in recent years. The first edition was adopted as a basic text by military institutions and educational establishments throughout the world and is among the most comprehensive and readable works on the subject. This new edition brings the work up to date, examining the significance of the World Court's Opinion on the legality of the nuclear weapon. It also considers the importance of such matters as the laser weapon agreement, the mines treaty and the jurisprudence of the two war crimes tribunals, that for the former Yugoslavia as well as for Rwanda, and assesses the role of the proposed International Criminal Court as it may affect the law of armed conflict. The book applies a practical as well as a theoretical approach, and draws on an extensive range of national and international practice. It is thus an indispensable reference for the armed forces and government defence organizations, as well as academics and students interested in the modern law of war.
1978-2018, a big era. Reform and opening up have profoundly affected the changes in the way of life of the Chinese people. The manuscript replays the development of social life in China over the past 40 years of reform and opening up. It mainly sorts out the great changes in our lives in the past 40 years from the aspects of clothing, food, housing, market, love, and play. Adhering to the purpose of "a magazine and the body temperature of an era", the manuscript has a unique perspective and rich details, which can be regarded as a brief history of alternative life with warmth in this era.
By situating Iran within the neoliberal global capitalism and resulting geopolitics, this book traces the patterns of capital accumulation and transformations in class and state formation emanating from it. It shows that Iranian neoliberalisation has brought about two capital fractions, namely the internationally-oriented capital fraction and the military-bonyad complex. It substantiates that the co-existence of these competing class fractions with different accumulation strategies has generated hybrid neoliberalism. The book further demonstrates how this new class formation has reorganised the function and operation of state institutions and transformed state ideology. By documenting the ways in which Iranian neoliberalisation has reshaped the subaltern classes and formed Iran's volatile foreign policy, it also provides a novel account of major events and processes in contemporary Iran, such as the post-2017 wave of uprisings, the nuclear programme and international sanctions.
“A wise malice radiated from his features, and one always had the impression that he knew more than he was willing to say, that a shrewd reflection lurked behind his smiles. His quick wit and good humor were the delight of La Mauresque and its surroundings; a reminder through his quiet charm that the world could still harbor delicacy.” Mohamed Abdallah Oran, autumn 1954. At La Mauresque, a space symbolizing a whole country in turmoil, in the heart of the indigenous city of Oran, the doubts of its occupants multiply and questions abound. Journalists, politicians, novelists, poets and artists grapple with a pivotal moment in their countries' history. The old world is dying, while the new one is slow to emerge for them. Hesitations and initiatives abound. They are trying to navigate by sight in an ocean so vast that it merges with the horizon; a horizon they sometimes seem to forget, but which the author has tried to give readers a constant view of through his novel: Le Vent a dit son Nom (The Wind Has Said Its Name). Multiplying references to emblematic figures in the awakening of consciences to freedom, Mohamed Abdallah attempts to offer a fresh look at the role that men of letters, intellectuals and, more generally, people of culture can play, at a time when a Nation is preparing to face new trials. These are themes that still resonate today.
Jacques Martineau, Olivier Ducastel, Alain Guiraudie, Sébastien Lifshitz and Céline Sciamma. The films of these five major French directors exemplify queer cinema in the twenty-first century. Comprehensive in scope, Queer cinema in contemporary France traces the development of the meaning of queer across these directors' careers, from their earliest, often unknown films to their later, major films with wide international release. Whether having sex on the beach or kissing in the high school swimming pool, these cinematic characters create or embody forward-looking, open-ended and optimistic forms of queerness and modes of living, loving and desiring. Whether they are white, beur or black, whether they are lesbian, gay, trans* or queer, they open up hetero- and cisnormativity to new ways of being a gendered subject.