William F. McCants
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691151489
- eISBN:
- 9781400840069
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691151489.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Ancient History / Archaeology
From the dawn of writing in Sumer to the sunset of the Islamic empire, this book traces four thousand years of speculation on the origins of civilization. Investigating a vast range of primary ...
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From the dawn of writing in Sumer to the sunset of the Islamic empire, this book traces four thousand years of speculation on the origins of civilization. Investigating a vast range of primary sources, some of which are translated here for the first time, and focusing on the dynamic influence of the Greek, Roman, and Arab conquests of the Near East, the book looks at the ways the conquerors and those they conquered reshaped their myths of civilization's origins in response to the social and political consequences of empire. The Greek and Roman conquests brought with them a learned culture that competed with that of native elites. The conquering Arabs, in contrast, had no learned culture, which led to three hundred years of Muslim competition over the cultural orientation of Islam, a contest reflected in the culture myths of that time. What we know today as Islamic culture is the product of this contest, whose protagonists drew heavily on the lore of non-Arab and pagan antiquity. The book argues that authors in all three periods did not write about civilization's origins solely out of pure antiquarian interest—they also sought to address the social and political tensions of the day. The strategies they employed and the postcolonial dilemmas they confronted provide invaluable context for understanding how authors today use myth and history to locate themselves in the confusing aftermath of empire.Less
From the dawn of writing in Sumer to the sunset of the Islamic empire, this book traces four thousand years of speculation on the origins of civilization. Investigating a vast range of primary sources, some of which are translated here for the first time, and focusing on the dynamic influence of the Greek, Roman, and Arab conquests of the Near East, the book looks at the ways the conquerors and those they conquered reshaped their myths of civilization's origins in response to the social and political consequences of empire. The Greek and Roman conquests brought with them a learned culture that competed with that of native elites. The conquering Arabs, in contrast, had no learned culture, which led to three hundred years of Muslim competition over the cultural orientation of Islam, a contest reflected in the culture myths of that time. What we know today as Islamic culture is the product of this contest, whose protagonists drew heavily on the lore of non-Arab and pagan antiquity. The book argues that authors in all three periods did not write about civilization's origins solely out of pure antiquarian interest—they also sought to address the social and political tensions of the day. The strategies they employed and the postcolonial dilemmas they confronted provide invaluable context for understanding how authors today use myth and history to locate themselves in the confusing aftermath of empire.
Lowell Edmunds
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691165127
- eISBN:
- 9781400874224
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691165127.003.0003
- Subject:
- Literature, Folk Literature
This chapter examines the divine twins, the “Dioscuri,” to which Helen is variously related in the mythology. After reviewing the evidence for the theft of Helen and her rescue by the Dioscuri, the ...
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This chapter examines the divine twins, the “Dioscuri,” to which Helen is variously related in the mythology. After reviewing the evidence for the theft of Helen and her rescue by the Dioscuri, the chapter studies the Indo-European background of the trio, and attempts to reconstruct an Indo-European prototype story. Turning back to the Greeks, the chapter asks if the evidence for the three characters suggests some more primordial trio lying behind the rescue story. However, the chapter abandons the search for Indo-European or primordial prototypes of the story for want of sufficient evidence, though it argues that, nevertheless, one does not have to deny every kind of Indo-European explanation.Less
This chapter examines the divine twins, the “Dioscuri,” to which Helen is variously related in the mythology. After reviewing the evidence for the theft of Helen and her rescue by the Dioscuri, the chapter studies the Indo-European background of the trio, and attempts to reconstruct an Indo-European prototype story. Turning back to the Greeks, the chapter asks if the evidence for the three characters suggests some more primordial trio lying behind the rescue story. However, the chapter abandons the search for Indo-European or primordial prototypes of the story for want of sufficient evidence, though it argues that, nevertheless, one does not have to deny every kind of Indo-European explanation.
John F. Padgett
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691148670
- eISBN:
- 9781400845552
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691148670.003.0002
- Subject:
- Sociology, Economic Sociology
This chapter provides an extensive review of the biochemistry literature on the origins of life where the concept of autocatalysis figures most prominently. There is a lively debate in the scientific ...
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This chapter provides an extensive review of the biochemistry literature on the origins of life where the concept of autocatalysis figures most prominently. There is a lively debate in the scientific literature between scientists who subscribe to an RNA-first hypothesis and scientists who subscribe to a metabolism-first hypothesis about the origin of life. Both are different versions of autocatalysis, and a sensible conclusion could be that biological life really took off when a symbiosis developed between the two. After that, the chapter reviews past formal modeling in this area, which is spotty but highly suggestive. The chapter identifies Eigen's and Schuster's model of hypercycles as the path-breaking work that first placed empirical chemistry and formal models into fruitful dialogue with each other. Finally, the chapter reviews a less successful, more philosophical descendant of autocatalysis called autopoiesis, which is the guise under which autocatalysis first was presented to social scientists.Less
This chapter provides an extensive review of the biochemistry literature on the origins of life where the concept of autocatalysis figures most prominently. There is a lively debate in the scientific literature between scientists who subscribe to an RNA-first hypothesis and scientists who subscribe to a metabolism-first hypothesis about the origin of life. Both are different versions of autocatalysis, and a sensible conclusion could be that biological life really took off when a symbiosis developed between the two. After that, the chapter reviews past formal modeling in this area, which is spotty but highly suggestive. The chapter identifies Eigen's and Schuster's model of hypercycles as the path-breaking work that first placed empirical chemistry and formal models into fruitful dialogue with each other. Finally, the chapter reviews a less successful, more philosophical descendant of autocatalysis called autopoiesis, which is the guise under which autocatalysis first was presented to social scientists.
Richard Alba and Nancy Foner
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691161075
- eISBN:
- 9781400865901
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691161075.003.0007
- Subject:
- Sociology, Migration Studies (including Refugee Studies)
This chapter discusses the political integration of immigrant groups. Entry into the inner precincts of power is a paramount indicator of the overall inclusion of newcomer groups. Indeed, the ability ...
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This chapter discusses the political integration of immigrant groups. Entry into the inner precincts of power is a paramount indicator of the overall inclusion of newcomer groups. Indeed, the ability of politicians from immigrant backgrounds to be elected to office is the gold standard for political inclusion, bringing rewards of societal power and a voice in political decisions. The chapter then provides data on the success of immigrant-origin groups in winning positions in local, regional, and national legislatures in the six countries of this book's study; probes the factors that explain the differences in electoral representation; and considers whether, and to what degree, convergences in national laws and policies have reduced the importance of national differences in political integration and may continue to do so in the future.Less
This chapter discusses the political integration of immigrant groups. Entry into the inner precincts of power is a paramount indicator of the overall inclusion of newcomer groups. Indeed, the ability of politicians from immigrant backgrounds to be elected to office is the gold standard for political inclusion, bringing rewards of societal power and a voice in political decisions. The chapter then provides data on the success of immigrant-origin groups in winning positions in local, regional, and national legislatures in the six countries of this book's study; probes the factors that explain the differences in electoral representation; and considers whether, and to what degree, convergences in national laws and policies have reduced the importance of national differences in political integration and may continue to do so in the future.
Volker R. Berghahn
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691161099
- eISBN:
- 9781400850297
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691161099.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, American History: 20th Century
This chapter examines the state of American and European economies during the outbreak of World War I until the Genoa Conference was convened in 1922. It first considers the military–political ...
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This chapter examines the state of American and European economies during the outbreak of World War I until the Genoa Conference was convened in 1922. It first considers the military–political origins of the war before analyzing the role the international business community played at the time of the war's outbreak. Hereafter the chapter focuses on the American perspectives, as it studies the ambiguities of American neutrality, the state of the American economy and its eventual entry into the war, and the beginnings of a strain on the Anglo-American relationship at the Paris Peace Conference. The chapter then returns the focus to the international stage as postwar reconstruction begins, highlighting the attempts at European recovery and the role of American businesses in these endeavors.Less
This chapter examines the state of American and European economies during the outbreak of World War I until the Genoa Conference was convened in 1922. It first considers the military–political origins of the war before analyzing the role the international business community played at the time of the war's outbreak. Hereafter the chapter focuses on the American perspectives, as it studies the ambiguities of American neutrality, the state of the American economy and its eventual entry into the war, and the beginnings of a strain on the Anglo-American relationship at the Paris Peace Conference. The chapter then returns the focus to the international stage as postwar reconstruction begins, highlighting the attempts at European recovery and the role of American businesses in these endeavors.
William F. McCants
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691151489
- eISBN:
- 9781400840069
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691151489.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, Ancient History / Archaeology
This chapter discusses the attempts to explain the origins of science, philosophy, and medicine. In classical Greece, medicine and philosophy were held to be Greek inventions, whereas the ...
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This chapter discusses the attempts to explain the origins of science, philosophy, and medicine. In classical Greece, medicine and philosophy were held to be Greek inventions, whereas the mathematical, or exact, sciences were believed to have originated in the ancient Near East, usually Egypt or Babylon. In the Hellenistic and Roman periods, the “barbarian” nations also laid claim to medicine and philosophy, with some Greek and Roman agreement. Jews in particular focused on philosophy when advancing their claims to civilizational priority rather than laying claim to the other sciences or civilization in general. This was for at least two reasons. First, soon after Alexander's conquests, Greeks promulgated the image of Jews as a philosophical race; when Greek and Roman authors later started to portray Jews as misanthropic outsiders, Jewish scholars sought to reinforce the earlier positive, transconfessional image. Second, once the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek, Greek-speaking Jews could read their scriptures and note parallels with Greek philosophy.Less
This chapter discusses the attempts to explain the origins of science, philosophy, and medicine. In classical Greece, medicine and philosophy were held to be Greek inventions, whereas the mathematical, or exact, sciences were believed to have originated in the ancient Near East, usually Egypt or Babylon. In the Hellenistic and Roman periods, the “barbarian” nations also laid claim to medicine and philosophy, with some Greek and Roman agreement. Jews in particular focused on philosophy when advancing their claims to civilizational priority rather than laying claim to the other sciences or civilization in general. This was for at least two reasons. First, soon after Alexander's conquests, Greeks promulgated the image of Jews as a philosophical race; when Greek and Roman authors later started to portray Jews as misanthropic outsiders, Jewish scholars sought to reinforce the earlier positive, transconfessional image. Second, once the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek, Greek-speaking Jews could read their scriptures and note parallels with Greek philosophy.
Cybelle Fox
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691152233
- eISBN:
- 9781400842582
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691152233.003.0005
- Subject:
- Political Science, Public Policy
This chapter shows how social workers saw European immigrants as culturally inept but nonetheless imagined them as “objects of reform” and so included them in their early social welfare efforts. ...
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This chapter shows how social workers saw European immigrants as culturally inept but nonetheless imagined them as “objects of reform” and so included them in their early social welfare efforts. Moreover, they became their defenders before a sometimes hostile public. They refuted assertions that southeastern European immigrants were paupers and worked to forge a competing construction, marshaling “evidence” to prove that the new immigrants were hardworking, thrifty, sober, and self-sufficient. Part of their confidence in these immigrants rested on their firm conviction that southern and eastern Europeans were capable of economic and racial assimilation. Indeed, looking around, they would have found much evidence confirming these beliefs: from high naturalization rates to growing socioeconomic mobility, all facilitated by the racial, labor, and political context in which these immigrants lived. Social workers then lobbied against national origin quotas and tried to protect European immigrants from harsh immigration and deportation laws.Less
This chapter shows how social workers saw European immigrants as culturally inept but nonetheless imagined them as “objects of reform” and so included them in their early social welfare efforts. Moreover, they became their defenders before a sometimes hostile public. They refuted assertions that southeastern European immigrants were paupers and worked to forge a competing construction, marshaling “evidence” to prove that the new immigrants were hardworking, thrifty, sober, and self-sufficient. Part of their confidence in these immigrants rested on their firm conviction that southern and eastern Europeans were capable of economic and racial assimilation. Indeed, looking around, they would have found much evidence confirming these beliefs: from high naturalization rates to growing socioeconomic mobility, all facilitated by the racial, labor, and political context in which these immigrants lived. Social workers then lobbied against national origin quotas and tried to protect European immigrants from harsh immigration and deportation laws.
Steven Weitzman
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780691174600
- eISBN:
- 9781400884933
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691174600.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
The Jews have one of the longest continuously recorded histories of any people in the world, but what do we actually know about their origins? While many think the answer to this question can be ...
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The Jews have one of the longest continuously recorded histories of any people in the world, but what do we actually know about their origins? While many think the answer to this question can be found in the Bible, others look to archaeology or genetics. Some skeptics have even sought to debunk the very idea that the Jews have a common origin. This book takes a learned and lively look at what we know—or think we know—about where the Jews came from, when they arose, and how they came to be. Scholars have written hundreds of books on the topic and have come up with scores of explanations, theories, and historical reconstructions, but this is the first book to trace the history of the different approaches that have been applied to the question, including genealogy, linguistics, archaeology, psychology, sociology, and genetics. The book shows how this quest has been fraught since its inception with religious and political agendas, how anti-Semitism cast its long shadow over generations of learning, and how recent claims about Jewish origins have been difficult to disentangle from the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. It does not offer neatly packaged conclusions but invites readers on an intellectual adventure, shedding new light on the assumptions and biases of those seeking answers—and the challenges that have made finding answers so elusive. Spanning more than two centuries and drawing on the latest findings, the book brings needed clarity and historical context to this enduring and often divisive topic.Less
The Jews have one of the longest continuously recorded histories of any people in the world, but what do we actually know about their origins? While many think the answer to this question can be found in the Bible, others look to archaeology or genetics. Some skeptics have even sought to debunk the very idea that the Jews have a common origin. This book takes a learned and lively look at what we know—or think we know—about where the Jews came from, when they arose, and how they came to be. Scholars have written hundreds of books on the topic and have come up with scores of explanations, theories, and historical reconstructions, but this is the first book to trace the history of the different approaches that have been applied to the question, including genealogy, linguistics, archaeology, psychology, sociology, and genetics. The book shows how this quest has been fraught since its inception with religious and political agendas, how anti-Semitism cast its long shadow over generations of learning, and how recent claims about Jewish origins have been difficult to disentangle from the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. It does not offer neatly packaged conclusions but invites readers on an intellectual adventure, shedding new light on the assumptions and biases of those seeking answers—and the challenges that have made finding answers so elusive. Spanning more than two centuries and drawing on the latest findings, the book brings needed clarity and historical context to this enduring and often divisive topic.
John Chambers and Jacqueline Mitton
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780691175706
- eISBN:
- 9781400885565
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691175706.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
The birth and evolution of our solar system is a tantalizing mystery that may one day provide answers to the question of human origins. This book tells the remarkable story of how the celestial ...
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The birth and evolution of our solar system is a tantalizing mystery that may one day provide answers to the question of human origins. This book tells the remarkable story of how the celestial objects that make up the solar system arose from common beginnings billions of years ago, and how scientists and philosophers have sought to unravel this mystery down through the centuries, piecing together the clues that enabled them to deduce the solar system's layout, its age, and the most likely way it formed. Drawing on the history of astronomy and the latest findings in astrophysics and the planetary sciences, the book offers the most up-to-date and authoritative treatment of the subject available. It examines how the evolving universe set the stage for the appearance of our Sun, and how the nebulous cloud of gas and dust that accompanied the young Sun eventually became the planets, comets, moons, and asteroids that exist today. It explores how each of the planets acquired its unique characteristics, why some are rocky and others gaseous, and why one planet in particular—our Earth—provided an almost perfect haven for the emergence of life. The book takes readers to the very frontiers of modern research, engaging with the latest controversies and debates. It reveals how ongoing discoveries of far-distant extrasolar planets and planetary systems are transforming our understanding of our own solar system's astonishing history and its possible fate.Less
The birth and evolution of our solar system is a tantalizing mystery that may one day provide answers to the question of human origins. This book tells the remarkable story of how the celestial objects that make up the solar system arose from common beginnings billions of years ago, and how scientists and philosophers have sought to unravel this mystery down through the centuries, piecing together the clues that enabled them to deduce the solar system's layout, its age, and the most likely way it formed. Drawing on the history of astronomy and the latest findings in astrophysics and the planetary sciences, the book offers the most up-to-date and authoritative treatment of the subject available. It examines how the evolving universe set the stage for the appearance of our Sun, and how the nebulous cloud of gas and dust that accompanied the young Sun eventually became the planets, comets, moons, and asteroids that exist today. It explores how each of the planets acquired its unique characteristics, why some are rocky and others gaseous, and why one planet in particular—our Earth—provided an almost perfect haven for the emergence of life. The book takes readers to the very frontiers of modern research, engaging with the latest controversies and debates. It reveals how ongoing discoveries of far-distant extrasolar planets and planetary systems are transforming our understanding of our own solar system's astonishing history and its possible fate.
Daniel B. Schwartz
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691142913
- eISBN:
- 9781400842261
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691142913.003.0002
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy
This chapter analyzes the “prehistory” of the Jewish rehabilitation of Spinoza, exploring how his Jewish origins figured in fashioning him into a cultural symbol among non-Jews first. It traces his ...
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This chapter analyzes the “prehistory” of the Jewish rehabilitation of Spinoza, exploring how his Jewish origins figured in fashioning him into a cultural symbol among non-Jews first. It traces his shifting image across a spectrum of modern Jewish movements and milieus, from the Berlin Haskalah to early religious Reform and Wissenschaft des Judentums (the Science of Judaism) in Germany to the East European Haskalah, Zionism, and Yiddish culture. The chapter discusses the relevance of Spinoza's Jewishness to this early mythmaking. The shapers of Spinoza's early image typically assigned his Jewishness a significant role, albeit not a positive one. Two basic plotlines relevant to this particularity developed in the late seventeenth and first half of the eighteenth century: one emphasized contrast, the other continuity.Less
This chapter analyzes the “prehistory” of the Jewish rehabilitation of Spinoza, exploring how his Jewish origins figured in fashioning him into a cultural symbol among non-Jews first. It traces his shifting image across a spectrum of modern Jewish movements and milieus, from the Berlin Haskalah to early religious Reform and Wissenschaft des Judentums (the Science of Judaism) in Germany to the East European Haskalah, Zionism, and Yiddish culture. The chapter discusses the relevance of Spinoza's Jewishness to this early mythmaking. The shapers of Spinoza's early image typically assigned his Jewishness a significant role, albeit not a positive one. Two basic plotlines relevant to this particularity developed in the late seventeenth and first half of the eighteenth century: one emphasized contrast, the other continuity.
