In his 1840 lectures on heroes, Thomas Carlyle, Victorian essayist and social critic, championed the importance of the individual in history. Published the following year and eventually translated int
David Grimsted's Melodrama Unveiled explores early American drama to try to understand why such severely limited plays were so popular for so long. Concerned with both the plays and the dramatic setti
A Companion to Piers Plowman is the first comprehensive guide to William Langland's fourteenth-century masterpiece. Until now no single volume has discussed the broad range of issues raised here, nor
"This stimulating and accessible treatment of a central philosophical work advances a nuanced and original understanding, highly relevant to current debates both in Kant interpretation and in philosop
"Caton's imagination was deeply affected by the power of Lawrence of Arabia, a cinematic classic that he knows intimately . . . and analyzes intelligently. Having read his multi-layered critique of Le
An anthology of essays by such notables as W.B. Yeats, Gertrude Stein, and W.H. Auden offer their views on painting and works by such great painters as Picasso, Van Gogh, and Matisse
At a time when politics and virtue seem less compatible than oil and water, Democracy and Moral Development shows how to bring the two together. Philosopher David Norton applies classical concepts of
Based on in-depth interviews and two years of participant observation of felons, this book traces the career paths of such criminal types as the thief, the hustler, and the junkie, as well as the non-
Challenging prevailing theories of development and labor, Gay Seidman's controversial study explores how highly politicized labor movements could arise simultaneously in Brazil and South Africa, two s
Powerful, instructive, and full of humanity, this book challenges the current understanding of the war that has turned Mozambique?a naturally rich country?into the world's poorest nation. Before going
Analyzing the "democratic" features and institutions of the Athenian democracy in the fifth century B.C., Martin Ostwald traces their development from Solon's judicial reforms to the flowering of popu
Exploring the careers of five influential women writers of the Restoration and eighteenth century, Catherine Gallagher reveals the connections between the increasing prestige of female authorship, the
"Focusing on contemporary aspects of ethno-racial formation and identity in U.S. culture and society, As We are Now is urgent and rousing."--Jose Saldivar, author of Border Matters"A trail-breaking bo
In this fascinating biography, A. Lloyd Moote provides the first authoritative account of one of the most enigmatic figures of seventeenth-century Europe. Contrary of popular portrayals of the monarch
Focusing on Ottoman Lebanon, Ussama Makdisi shows how sectarianism was a manifestation of modernity that transcended the physical boundaries of a particular country. His study challenges those who hav
The advice given to Cicero by his astute, campaign-conscious brother to prepare him for the consular elections of 64 B.C., has a curiously modern ring: "Avoid taking a definite stand on great public i
"Rarely does one encounter in a single volume such a masterful and graceful display of intellectual virtuosity. Kerman's skill in illuminating musical texts, interpreting meaning, and fashioning histo
"An important study on modern Japanese social history that persuasively articulates quantitative data with well-chosen qualitative texts to tell the story of imperial democracy in Japan. The work show
Borzu Qermezi was the headman and political leader of a group of nomadic pastoralists who were part of the Qashqa'i confederacy of southwest Iran. Proud, complex, strong-willed, witty, and cunning, Bo
