Nicholas P. Cushner
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195307566
- eISBN:
- 9780199784936
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195307569.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
This book tells the story of how the 16th-century religious conquerors of America attempted to change the belief systems of the Native Americans. To what degree did they succeed or fail? And why? The ...
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This book tells the story of how the 16th-century religious conquerors of America attempted to change the belief systems of the Native Americans. To what degree did they succeed or fail? And why? The European protagonists and frontline representatives of the new religion in the spiritual struggles were the Jesuits (members of the Society of Jesus) who, although latecomers to America, soon became the most vocal and visible spokespersons. Invasion and military power are nothing new to minority societies. But how did they handle the waves of spiritual conquerors that came ashore in the 16th century? “Why have you come here?” are the words of a Florida Indian chief to a Jesuit missionary. The reply enlightens and at the same time demonstrates the renaissance certainty of the Europeans. From their first encounters with the Indians of La Florida, through Mexico, New France, the Paraguay Reductions, Andean Peru, to contact with Native Americans in pre-revolutionary Maryland, the Jesuits were ubiquitous in North and South America, with missions, preaching, and public theater, with the goal of changing what the Native American thought about God. Drawing on an abundance of primary material, the book also integrates the latest in published scholarship. The Jesuit Archives of Rome, the Archivo de Indias, Seville, besides those in Madrid and South America, have been tapped to throw light on the spiritual conquest of America.Less
This book tells the story of how the 16th-century religious conquerors of America attempted to change the belief systems of the Native Americans. To what degree did they succeed or fail? And why? The European protagonists and frontline representatives of the new religion in the spiritual struggles were the Jesuits (members of the Society of Jesus) who, although latecomers to America, soon became the most vocal and visible spokespersons. Invasion and military power are nothing new to minority societies. But how did they handle the waves of spiritual conquerors that came ashore in the 16th century? “Why have you come here?” are the words of a Florida Indian chief to a Jesuit missionary. The reply enlightens and at the same time demonstrates the renaissance certainty of the Europeans. From their first encounters with the Indians of La Florida, through Mexico, New France, the Paraguay Reductions, Andean Peru, to contact with Native Americans in pre-revolutionary Maryland, the Jesuits were ubiquitous in North and South America, with missions, preaching, and public theater, with the goal of changing what the Native American thought about God. Drawing on an abundance of primary material, the book also integrates the latest in published scholarship. The Jesuit Archives of Rome, the Archivo de Indias, Seville, besides those in Madrid and South America, have been tapped to throw light on the spiritual conquest of America.
Myriam Hunter-Henin
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199545520
- eISBN:
- 9780191721113
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso:acprof/9780199545520.003.0018
- Subject:
- Law, Medical Law
This chapter compares the French and English perspectives on surrogacy. If similar fears and concerns have been voiced in both countries, the legal reaction in each country differs greatly. The ...
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This chapter compares the French and English perspectives on surrogacy. If similar fears and concerns have been voiced in both countries, the legal reaction in each country differs greatly. The chapter also seeks a solution to surrogacy that could be acceptable to both legal systems and that would be more respectful of individual liberties than the current pragmatic English approach or the present repressive French position. It shows that surrogacy should be treated as part of the fundamental liberty of women to recognize the child they have just given birth to (which would imply that the surrogate is allowed to renege) or not (thus confirming in the context of surrogacy the pregnant woman's initial intention to give the child away to the commissioning couple). Surrogacy and its unenforceability would thus be intrinsically linked and justified on the basis of principles rather than moral imperatives or the assumptions of ‘nature’.Less
This chapter compares the French and English perspectives on surrogacy. If similar fears and concerns have been voiced in both countries, the legal reaction in each country differs greatly. The chapter also seeks a solution to surrogacy that could be acceptable to both legal systems and that would be more respectful of individual liberties than the current pragmatic English approach or the present repressive French position. It shows that surrogacy should be treated as part of the fundamental liberty of women to recognize the child they have just given birth to (which would imply that the surrogate is allowed to renege) or not (thus confirming in the context of surrogacy the pregnant woman's initial intention to give the child away to the commissioning couple). Surrogacy and its unenforceability would thus be intrinsically linked and justified on the basis of principles rather than moral imperatives or the assumptions of ‘nature’.
Edward C. Page and Vincent Wright (eds)
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198294467
- eISBN:
- 9780191600067
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198294468.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
Presents a comparative study of the senior civil service in Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Greece, Denmark, and Sweden, which provides information about ...
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Presents a comparative study of the senior civil service in Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Greece, Denmark, and Sweden, which provides information about the structures and the composition of the higher civil service, and its position in the political structure. Explores how the higher civil service has developed in the light of the massive changes in European societies over the past thirty years. These changes include the size of the top level of the civil service, the growing social diversity of its ranks, and the tendency to recruit from outside the civil service. Also examines whether wider social changes, such as the democratization of education, the growth of interest groups, and the increasing importance of the European Union have an impact on the higher levels of bureaucracy and produce similar patterns of change throughout Europe.Less
Presents a comparative study of the senior civil service in Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Greece, Denmark, and Sweden, which provides information about the structures and the composition of the higher civil service, and its position in the political structure. Explores how the higher civil service has developed in the light of the massive changes in European societies over the past thirty years. These changes include the size of the top level of the civil service, the growing social diversity of its ranks, and the tendency to recruit from outside the civil service. Also examines whether wider social changes, such as the democratization of education, the growth of interest groups, and the increasing importance of the European Union have an impact on the higher levels of bureaucracy and produce similar patterns of change throughout Europe.
John Child, David Faulkner, and Robert Pitkethly
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199267101
- eISBN:
- 9780191716706
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199267101.001.0001
- Subject:
- Business and Management, International Business
The book addresses the different ways in which foreign companies acquire, integrate, and manage UK companies and their post-acquisition performance. It is based on research comprising case studies on ...
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The book addresses the different ways in which foreign companies acquire, integrate, and manage UK companies and their post-acquisition performance. It is based on research comprising case studies on forty company visits and interviews, and a survey questionnaire on post-acquisition management completed by over 200 companies. The first five chapters review post-acquisition performance and the changes in management practice introduced by acquirers of different nationality. The scale and scope of M&A is examined, followed by research into post-acquisition performance. The disappointing performance of acquisitions is noted, and knowledge about post-acquisition management reviewed. Chapter 4 discusses the debate over the relative significance of national management practices and international norms of practice. Chapter 5 compares management practices of the five countries from which the acquirers in this book originate. A further chapter describes the research scope and methods. Seven chapters then present the results of the study. They indicate that while considerable convergence in management practice is occurring, national management styles still exist among acquiring companies from the UK, USA, Japan, France, and Germany. Furthermore, although some policies are generally associated with better post-acquisition performance, no one national approach is more successful if it is implemented with confidence, determination, and consistency. Failure tends to follow from a lack of these qualities, rather than the ‘wrong’ management style. The book concludes with the findings of the research and relates them to the issues of theory and practical policy in the early chapters.Less
The book addresses the different ways in which foreign companies acquire, integrate, and manage UK companies and their post-acquisition performance. It is based on research comprising case studies on forty company visits and interviews, and a survey questionnaire on post-acquisition management completed by over 200 companies. The first five chapters review post-acquisition performance and the changes in management practice introduced by acquirers of different nationality. The scale and scope of M&A is examined, followed by research into post-acquisition performance. The disappointing performance of acquisitions is noted, and knowledge about post-acquisition management reviewed. Chapter 4 discusses the debate over the relative significance of national management practices and international norms of practice. Chapter 5 compares management practices of the five countries from which the acquirers in this book originate. A further chapter describes the research scope and methods. Seven chapters then present the results of the study. They indicate that while considerable convergence in management practice is occurring, national management styles still exist among acquiring companies from the UK, USA, Japan, France, and Germany. Furthermore, although some policies are generally associated with better post-acquisition performance, no one national approach is more successful if it is implemented with confidence, determination, and consistency. Failure tends to follow from a lack of these qualities, rather than the ‘wrong’ management style. The book concludes with the findings of the research and relates them to the issues of theory and practical policy in the early chapters.
Stuart Carroll
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199290451
- eISBN:
- 9780191710490
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199290451.003.0016
- Subject:
- History, European Early Modern History
The French nobility was acculturated to violence that coexisted with courtliness. Feuding is indelibly associated with the Middle Ages, with a culture that is opposed to modernity. But, in fact, ...
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The French nobility was acculturated to violence that coexisted with courtliness. Feuding is indelibly associated with the Middle Ages, with a culture that is opposed to modernity. But, in fact, evidence for feuding in France before 1559 is fragmentary. Among the aristocracy at least private violence was increasingly under control during the late Middle Ages: revenge killing as a feature of high politics had been eradicated by the beginning of the 16th century. Factors often identified with modernity did much to create the conditions for a recrudescence of vindicatory violence: social mobility, Protestantism, and duelling. Vindicatory violence increased in France because of, not in spite of, the social and economic dynamism associated with the Renaissance, as the traditional elite was challenged by the enterprising and socially mobile.Less
The French nobility was acculturated to violence that coexisted with courtliness. Feuding is indelibly associated with the Middle Ages, with a culture that is opposed to modernity. But, in fact, evidence for feuding in France before 1559 is fragmentary. Among the aristocracy at least private violence was increasingly under control during the late Middle Ages: revenge killing as a feature of high politics had been eradicated by the beginning of the 16th century. Factors often identified with modernity did much to create the conditions for a recrudescence of vindicatory violence: social mobility, Protestantism, and duelling. Vindicatory violence increased in France because of, not in spite of, the social and economic dynamism associated with the Renaissance, as the traditional elite was challenged by the enterprising and socially mobile.
CHARLES L. H. COULSON
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780198208242
- eISBN:
- 9780191716676
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198208242.003.0013
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Medieval History
This book has focused on the human and social aspects of castle-building in England, France, and Ireland during the medieval period, to reconcile the civilized with the violent aspects of medieval ...
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This book has focused on the human and social aspects of castle-building in England, France, and Ireland during the medieval period, to reconcile the civilized with the violent aspects of medieval society, as they are perceived today. Writing about the glories of late-medieval architecture, Wim Swaan saw the problem as summed up by Johan Huizinga's remark that medieval life ‘bore the mixed smell of blood and roses’. Perhaps the main contribution to knowledge to be made by studying castles and fortresses in proper breadth is to shed some light on the aspirations and adversities of noblemen and ladies, ecclesiastics, townspeople, and of the great rural majority, and on their civilized achievements, institutional as well as architectural, in the western European middle ages.Less
This book has focused on the human and social aspects of castle-building in England, France, and Ireland during the medieval period, to reconcile the civilized with the violent aspects of medieval society, as they are perceived today. Writing about the glories of late-medieval architecture, Wim Swaan saw the problem as summed up by Johan Huizinga's remark that medieval life ‘bore the mixed smell of blood and roses’. Perhaps the main contribution to knowledge to be made by studying castles and fortresses in proper breadth is to shed some light on the aspirations and adversities of noblemen and ladies, ecclesiastics, townspeople, and of the great rural majority, and on their civilized achievements, institutional as well as architectural, in the western European middle ages.
Vivien A. Schmidt
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199266975
- eISBN:
- 9780191709012
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199266975.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union
The chapter begins with a brief discussion of EU institutional structures in comparison with national institutional structures. It then examines the EU’s comparative effects on unitary, regionalized, ...
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The chapter begins with a brief discussion of EU institutional structures in comparison with national institutional structures. It then examines the EU’s comparative effects on unitary, regionalized, and federal member-states by considering in turn its impact on national executives, parliaments, subnational authorities, and courts. It follows with a more detailed exploration of the EU’s effects on four countries: France, Britain, Germany, and Italy. Although Europeanization has been more disruptive to the unitary structures of France than to those of Britain, Britain has had a harder time accepting EU-related changes and yet has had a better compliance record. And despite the fact that Europeanization has been least disruptive to Germany’s federal structures and most reinforcing to the regionalized structures of Italy, Germany’s compliance record is little better than that of France, while Italy’s is the worst.Less
The chapter begins with a brief discussion of EU institutional structures in comparison with national institutional structures. It then examines the EU’s comparative effects on unitary, regionalized, and federal member-states by considering in turn its impact on national executives, parliaments, subnational authorities, and courts. It follows with a more detailed exploration of the EU’s effects on four countries: France, Britain, Germany, and Italy. Although Europeanization has been more disruptive to the unitary structures of France than to those of Britain, Britain has had a harder time accepting EU-related changes and yet has had a better compliance record. And despite the fact that Europeanization has been least disruptive to Germany’s federal structures and most reinforcing to the regionalized structures of Italy, Germany’s compliance record is little better than that of France, while Italy’s is the worst.
Vivien A. Schmidt
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199266975
- eISBN:
- 9780191709012
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199266975.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union
This chapter begins with a brief overview of the EU’s policymaking processes in comparison with national processes. It then outlines the EU’s impact on the macro patterns of its member-states’ ...
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This chapter begins with a brief overview of the EU’s policymaking processes in comparison with national processes. It then outlines the EU’s impact on the macro patterns of its member-states’ national policymaking and its impact on the micro patterns of member-states’ sectoral policymaking. This is followed by an extensive illustration of both macro and micro patterns of policymaking in France, Britain, Germany, and Italy. Although Europeanization has been equally (although differently) disruptive to the statist patterns of policymaking of France and of Britain, Britain has had a harder time accepting EU-related changes but an easier time in influencing their formulation. Europeanization has yet again been least disruptive to Germany’s corporatist and legalistic patterns of policymaking, and most salutary to those of Italy, by reinforcing corporatism while denying clientelism.Less
This chapter begins with a brief overview of the EU’s policymaking processes in comparison with national processes. It then outlines the EU’s impact on the macro patterns of its member-states’ national policymaking and its impact on the micro patterns of member-states’ sectoral policymaking. This is followed by an extensive illustration of both macro and micro patterns of policymaking in France, Britain, Germany, and Italy. Although Europeanization has been equally (although differently) disruptive to the statist patterns of policymaking of France and of Britain, Britain has had a harder time accepting EU-related changes but an easier time in influencing their formulation. Europeanization has yet again been least disruptive to Germany’s corporatist and legalistic patterns of policymaking, and most salutary to those of Italy, by reinforcing corporatism while denying clientelism.
Vivien A. Schmidt
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199266975
- eISBN:
- 9780191709012
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199266975.003.0005
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union
The chapter begins with a brief sketch of the EU’s representative politics in comparison with national politics. It then examines the EU’s effects on national politics generally as well as ...
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The chapter begins with a brief sketch of the EU’s representative politics in comparison with national politics. It then examines the EU’s effects on national politics generally as well as differentially between majoritarian and proportional representation systems in terms of questions related to party politics and electoral participation, referenda and citizen activism, trust in government, identity and class between majoritarian and proportional representation systems. This is followed by a more detailed consideration of the EU’s effects in France, Britain, Germany, and Italy. While Europeanization has been equally problematic for the polarized, majoritarian politics of France and Britain, Britain has been more politically polarized for much longer around the issue of Europe than France, despite the fact that it has shielded itself more from EU encroachments on national policies. Europeanization has been least disruptive to Germany’s consensus-oriented, proportional representation system and most salutary to Italy’s more conflictual, mixed system of representation.Less
The chapter begins with a brief sketch of the EU’s representative politics in comparison with national politics. It then examines the EU’s effects on national politics generally as well as differentially between majoritarian and proportional representation systems in terms of questions related to party politics and electoral participation, referenda and citizen activism, trust in government, identity and class between majoritarian and proportional representation systems. This is followed by a more detailed consideration of the EU’s effects in France, Britain, Germany, and Italy. While Europeanization has been equally problematic for the polarized, majoritarian politics of France and Britain, Britain has been more politically polarized for much longer around the issue of Europe than France, despite the fact that it has shielded itself more from EU encroachments on national policies. Europeanization has been least disruptive to Germany’s consensus-oriented, proportional representation system and most salutary to Italy’s more conflictual, mixed system of representation.
Bob Hancké
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199252053
- eISBN:
- 9780191719097
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199252053.001.0001
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Political Economy
Between 1980 and 1985, the French economy and industry faced a dramatic crisis; in the ten years that followed, it witnessed a remarkable revival. How did the French economy make this transition? ...
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Between 1980 and 1985, the French economy and industry faced a dramatic crisis; in the ten years that followed, it witnessed a remarkable revival. How did the French economy make this transition? While the state is still an important economic agent in France, and the market certainly has become more central in the organization of the French economy, both state- and market-centred perspectives fail to understand critical elements of this adjustment. Building on the new Varieties of Capitalism approach in political economy, which puts firms at the centre of the analysis, this book argues that the post-war, state-led system changed into a system organized by and around the large firms. Large firms have always been central in the French post-war economic development model. In the past, however, they adapted to patterns set by the central state. By exploiting the possibilities in government policies in different areas such as finance, labour relations, and regional policies, the large firms were able to induce their main interlocutors — the state, banks, labour unions, workers, and small firms — to adjust in a way that was congruent with their own interests. From subservient economic agents, they became the drivers of economic adjustment. Through this case study of readjustment in France, this book offers a critique of neo-institutionalist perspectives on firms. By analysing how large firms in France changed their institutional environment to fit their own needs, this book offers a perspective on the political economy of industrial and economic change.Less
Between 1980 and 1985, the French economy and industry faced a dramatic crisis; in the ten years that followed, it witnessed a remarkable revival. How did the French economy make this transition? While the state is still an important economic agent in France, and the market certainly has become more central in the organization of the French economy, both state- and market-centred perspectives fail to understand critical elements of this adjustment. Building on the new Varieties of Capitalism approach in political economy, which puts firms at the centre of the analysis, this book argues that the post-war, state-led system changed into a system organized by and around the large firms. Large firms have always been central in the French post-war economic development model. In the past, however, they adapted to patterns set by the central state. By exploiting the possibilities in government policies in different areas such as finance, labour relations, and regional policies, the large firms were able to induce their main interlocutors — the state, banks, labour unions, workers, and small firms — to adjust in a way that was congruent with their own interests. From subservient economic agents, they became the drivers of economic adjustment. Through this case study of readjustment in France, this book offers a critique of neo-institutionalist perspectives on firms. By analysing how large firms in France changed their institutional environment to fit their own needs, this book offers a perspective on the political economy of industrial and economic change.
Claire Gorrara
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199246090
- eISBN:
- 9780191697555
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199246090.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, European Literature
This book offers an introduction to the post-war French roman noir from a cultural studies perspective. A populist and widely disseminated genre, the French roman noir has suffered from a reputation ...
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This book offers an introduction to the post-war French roman noir from a cultural studies perspective. A populist and widely disseminated genre, the French roman noir has suffered from a reputation as a minor genre with its roots in American popular culture. The book challenges such preconceptions and examines how selected writers have appropriated the roman noir as a critical response to formative concerns and debates in post-war French society. Starting with the first truly French roman noir, Léo Malet's 120 rue de la gare (1943) and concluding with Maud Tabachnik's feminist thriller Un été pourri (1994), this book analyses both texts and film in relation to their specific historical and cultural context. From the heritage of the Second World War and France's wars of decolonisation to the rise of consumer culture and questions of gender and sexual equality, the roman noir operates in dialogue with its times, mediating social change and transformation with stories of crime, transgression, and marginality. All the novelists studied were published initially in popular collections, such as the Série noire, but they have been chosen for the innovation of their work and the exciting ways in which they resist tired conventions and offer new ways of representing social reality.Less
This book offers an introduction to the post-war French roman noir from a cultural studies perspective. A populist and widely disseminated genre, the French roman noir has suffered from a reputation as a minor genre with its roots in American popular culture. The book challenges such preconceptions and examines how selected writers have appropriated the roman noir as a critical response to formative concerns and debates in post-war French society. Starting with the first truly French roman noir, Léo Malet's 120 rue de la gare (1943) and concluding with Maud Tabachnik's feminist thriller Un été pourri (1994), this book analyses both texts and film in relation to their specific historical and cultural context. From the heritage of the Second World War and France's wars of decolonisation to the rise of consumer culture and questions of gender and sexual equality, the roman noir operates in dialogue with its times, mediating social change and transformation with stories of crime, transgression, and marginality. All the novelists studied were published initially in popular collections, such as the Série noire, but they have been chosen for the innovation of their work and the exciting ways in which they resist tired conventions and offer new ways of representing social reality.
Edwin S. Gaustad
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195305357
- eISBN:
- 9780199850662
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195305357.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, American History: early to 18th Century
The tenth and youngest son of a poor Boston soapmaker, Benjamin Franklin would rise to become, in Thomas Jefferson's words, “the greatest man and ornament of his age”. This book offers a portrait of ...
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The tenth and youngest son of a poor Boston soapmaker, Benjamin Franklin would rise to become, in Thomas Jefferson's words, “the greatest man and ornament of his age”. This book offers a portrait of this towering colonial figure, illuminating Franklin's character and personality. Here is truly one of the most extraordinary lives imaginable, a man who, with only two years of formal education, became a printer, publisher, postmaster, philosopher, world-class scientist and inventor, statesman, musician, and abolitionist. The book presents a chronological account of all these accomplishments, delightfully spiced with quotations from Franklin's own extensive writings. The book describes how the hardworking Franklin became at age twenty-four the most successful printer in Pennsylvania and how by forty-two, with the help of Poor Richard's Almanack, he had amassed enough wealth to retire from business. The book then follows Franklin's next brilliant career, as an inventor and scientist, examining his pioneering work on electricity and his inventions of the Franklin Stove, the lightning rod, and bifocals, as well as his mapping of the Gulf Stream, a major contribution to navigation. Lastly, the book covers Franklin's role as America's leading statesman, ranging from his years in England before the Revolutionary War to his time in France thereafter, highlighting his many contributions to the cause of liberty. Along the way, the book sheds light on Franklin's personal life, including his troubled relationship with his illegitimate son William, who remained a Loyalist during the Revolution, and Franklin's thoughts on such topics as religion and morality.Less
The tenth and youngest son of a poor Boston soapmaker, Benjamin Franklin would rise to become, in Thomas Jefferson's words, “the greatest man and ornament of his age”. This book offers a portrait of this towering colonial figure, illuminating Franklin's character and personality. Here is truly one of the most extraordinary lives imaginable, a man who, with only two years of formal education, became a printer, publisher, postmaster, philosopher, world-class scientist and inventor, statesman, musician, and abolitionist. The book presents a chronological account of all these accomplishments, delightfully spiced with quotations from Franklin's own extensive writings. The book describes how the hardworking Franklin became at age twenty-four the most successful printer in Pennsylvania and how by forty-two, with the help of Poor Richard's Almanack, he had amassed enough wealth to retire from business. The book then follows Franklin's next brilliant career, as an inventor and scientist, examining his pioneering work on electricity and his inventions of the Franklin Stove, the lightning rod, and bifocals, as well as his mapping of the Gulf Stream, a major contribution to navigation. Lastly, the book covers Franklin's role as America's leading statesman, ranging from his years in England before the Revolutionary War to his time in France thereafter, highlighting his many contributions to the cause of liberty. Along the way, the book sheds light on Franklin's personal life, including his troubled relationship with his illegitimate son William, who remained a Loyalist during the Revolution, and Franklin's thoughts on such topics as religion and morality.
Christopher Pollitt, Xavier Girre, Jeremy Lonsdale, Robert Mul, Hilkka Summa, and Marit Waerness
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198296003
- eISBN:
- 9780191685170
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198296003.001.0001
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Public Management
Performance audit is now in fashion, but has in the past been a somewhat closed world, little studied by outsiders. Now an international team of researchers has studied the work of five national ...
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Performance audit is now in fashion, but has in the past been a somewhat closed world, little studied by outsiders. Now an international team of researchers has studied the work of five national audit offices – France, Finland, The Netherlands, Sweden, and the UK. The picture thus revealed contains elements of technical innovation, methodological challenge, and crucial strategic choice.Less
Performance audit is now in fashion, but has in the past been a somewhat closed world, little studied by outsiders. Now an international team of researchers has studied the work of five national audit offices – France, Finland, The Netherlands, Sweden, and the UK. The picture thus revealed contains elements of technical innovation, methodological challenge, and crucial strategic choice.
Nicholas Hammond
- Published in print:
- 1994
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198158936
- eISBN:
- 9780191673412
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198158936.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, European Literature
Blaise Pascal's Pensées is generally acknowledged as one of the greatest masterpieces of seventeenth-century France, an unfinished work which has both inspired and perplexed readers in succeeding ...
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Blaise Pascal's Pensées is generally acknowledged as one of the greatest masterpieces of seventeenth-century France, an unfinished work which has both inspired and perplexed readers in succeeding centuries. This is the first book on Pascal to be devoted to his use of key terms depicting the central subject of the Pensées: the human condition. The book explores such fundamental notions as language and order, proceeding with a detailed analysis of the words inconstance, ennui, inquiétude, bonheur, félicité, and justice. Developing and challenging the most recent scholarship about the text, it identifies the crucial notion of play (as exemplified in the term divertissement) which underlies all these words and applies its findings to the notoriously unstable concept of truth. Through the fragmentary nature of the Pensées and the shifting meaning of terms, Pascal is shown to be deliberately engaging the reader in a game to make sense of the text. This study gives an account of many important critical controversies of the day, and offers an insight into the persuasive purpose of the Pensées.Less
Blaise Pascal's Pensées is generally acknowledged as one of the greatest masterpieces of seventeenth-century France, an unfinished work which has both inspired and perplexed readers in succeeding centuries. This is the first book on Pascal to be devoted to his use of key terms depicting the central subject of the Pensées: the human condition. The book explores such fundamental notions as language and order, proceeding with a detailed analysis of the words inconstance, ennui, inquiétude, bonheur, félicité, and justice. Developing and challenging the most recent scholarship about the text, it identifies the crucial notion of play (as exemplified in the term divertissement) which underlies all these words and applies its findings to the notoriously unstable concept of truth. Through the fragmentary nature of the Pensées and the shifting meaning of terms, Pascal is shown to be deliberately engaging the reader in a game to make sense of the text. This study gives an account of many important critical controversies of the day, and offers an insight into the persuasive purpose of the Pensées.
Nicholas Harrison
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198159094
- eISBN:
- 9780191673481
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198159094.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, European Literature
The French Revolution of 1789 bequeathed an enduring rhetoric of human rights which made it conventional to declare oneself against censorship and in favour of freedom of expression. But, as this ...
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The French Revolution of 1789 bequeathed an enduring rhetoric of human rights which made it conventional to declare oneself against censorship and in favour of freedom of expression. But, as this book demonstrates, the apparent consensus on this issue in modern France and elsewhere rests on a shaky sense of that rhetoric's history. And, while censors have continued to the present day to charge clumsily across delicate moral and political fields, opponents of literary censorship, in particular, have frequently displayed excessive respect for censored material, mistakenly assuming that the censor can be relied upon to identify material that is disturbing, subversive, or true. This book focuses on key episodes in the history of literary censorship in France. It examines the Madame Bovary trial of 1857, and the prosecution a century later of Pauvert, publisher of Sade's complete works. It analyses and criticizes the Freudian-influenced attempts by the Surrealist movement and by Barthes and the Tel Quel group to subvert and evade censorship. Drawing on a wide range of disciplines and approaches including history, literary theory and feminism, the book presents a critique of the ideas on censorship which resurfaced repeatedly in the discourse of human rights, psychoanalysis and literary culture.Less
The French Revolution of 1789 bequeathed an enduring rhetoric of human rights which made it conventional to declare oneself against censorship and in favour of freedom of expression. But, as this book demonstrates, the apparent consensus on this issue in modern France and elsewhere rests on a shaky sense of that rhetoric's history. And, while censors have continued to the present day to charge clumsily across delicate moral and political fields, opponents of literary censorship, in particular, have frequently displayed excessive respect for censored material, mistakenly assuming that the censor can be relied upon to identify material that is disturbing, subversive, or true. This book focuses on key episodes in the history of literary censorship in France. It examines the Madame Bovary trial of 1857, and the prosecution a century later of Pauvert, publisher of Sade's complete works. It analyses and criticizes the Freudian-influenced attempts by the Surrealist movement and by Barthes and the Tel Quel group to subvert and evade censorship. Drawing on a wide range of disciplines and approaches including history, literary theory and feminism, the book presents a critique of the ideas on censorship which resurfaced repeatedly in the discourse of human rights, psychoanalysis and literary culture.
Susan Palmer
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199735211
- eISBN:
- 9780199918577
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199735211.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
Since the Age of Enlightenment, France has upheld clear constitutional guidelines that protect human rights and religious freedom. Today, however, intolerant attitudes and discriminatory practices ...
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Since the Age of Enlightenment, France has upheld clear constitutional guidelines that protect human rights and religious freedom. Today, however, intolerant attitudes and discriminatory practices towards unconventional faiths have become acceptable and even institutionalized in public life. This book offers an examination of France's most stigmatized new religions, or sects, and the public management of religious and philosophical minorities by the state. The book tracks the mounting government-sponsored anticult movement in the wake of the shocking mass suicides of the Solar Temple in 1994, and the negative impact of this movement on France's most visible religious minorities, whose names appeared on a “blacklist” of 172 sects commissioned by the National Assembly. Drawing on extensive interviews and field research, the book describes the controversial histories of well-known international NRMs (the Church of Scientology, Raelian Movement, and Unificationism) in France, as well as esoteric local groups. The book also reveals the partisanship of Catholic priests, journalists, village mayors, and the passive public who support La Republique's efforts to control minority faiths—all in the name of “Liberty, Equality and Fraternity”.Less
Since the Age of Enlightenment, France has upheld clear constitutional guidelines that protect human rights and religious freedom. Today, however, intolerant attitudes and discriminatory practices towards unconventional faiths have become acceptable and even institutionalized in public life. This book offers an examination of France's most stigmatized new religions, or sects, and the public management of religious and philosophical minorities by the state. The book tracks the mounting government-sponsored anticult movement in the wake of the shocking mass suicides of the Solar Temple in 1994, and the negative impact of this movement on France's most visible religious minorities, whose names appeared on a “blacklist” of 172 sects commissioned by the National Assembly. Drawing on extensive interviews and field research, the book describes the controversial histories of well-known international NRMs (the Church of Scientology, Raelian Movement, and Unificationism) in France, as well as esoteric local groups. The book also reveals the partisanship of Catholic priests, journalists, village mayors, and the passive public who support La Republique's efforts to control minority faiths—all in the name of “Liberty, Equality and Fraternity”.
Chris Millington
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780719085505
- eISBN:
- 9781781702680
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719085505.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
The most up-to-date and comprehensive English-language study of its kind, From victory to Vichy explores the political mobilisation of the two largest French veterans’ associations during the ...
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The most up-to-date and comprehensive English-language study of its kind, From victory to Vichy explores the political mobilisation of the two largest French veterans’ associations during the interwar years, the Union fédérale (UF) and the Union nationale des combattants (UNC). Drawing on extensive research into the associations’ organisation, policies and tactics, this study argues that French veterans were more of a threat to democracy than previous scholarship has allowed. As France descended into crisis, the UF and the UNC sought to extend their influence into the non-veteran milieu through public demonstrations, propaganda campaigns and the foundation of auxiliary groups. Despite shifting policies and independent initiatives, by the end of the 1930s the UF and the UNC had come together in a campaign for authoritarian political reform, leaving them perfectly placed to become the ‘eyes and ears’ of Marshal Pétain’s Vichy regime.Less
The most up-to-date and comprehensive English-language study of its kind, From victory to Vichy explores the political mobilisation of the two largest French veterans’ associations during the interwar years, the Union fédérale (UF) and the Union nationale des combattants (UNC). Drawing on extensive research into the associations’ organisation, policies and tactics, this study argues that French veterans were more of a threat to democracy than previous scholarship has allowed. As France descended into crisis, the UF and the UNC sought to extend their influence into the non-veteran milieu through public demonstrations, propaganda campaigns and the foundation of auxiliary groups. Despite shifting policies and independent initiatives, by the end of the 1930s the UF and the UNC had come together in a campaign for authoritarian political reform, leaving them perfectly placed to become the ‘eyes and ears’ of Marshal Pétain’s Vichy regime.
Jeffrey S. Lantis
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199535019
- eISBN:
- 9780191715952
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199535019.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics, International Relations and Politics
The 1991 Maastricht Treaty on European Union (TEU) represented a dramatic new phase of European integration. The treaty called for intensified political integration, greater centralization of power ...
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The 1991 Maastricht Treaty on European Union (TEU) represented a dramatic new phase of European integration. The treaty called for intensified political integration, greater centralization of power in Brussels, and monetary union. Leading states including France and Germany made clear their commitment to see the treaty through to full implementation rapidly. However, controversial ratification processes soon unfolded in the post-commitment politics phases in both countries. In France, the TEU ratification struggle led to the near collapse of popular support for integration, and in a referendum in September 1992 passed by a narrow majority. Germany was one of the architects of the Treaty on European Union, yet it, too, experienced serious domestic political debates in the ratification phase.Less
The 1991 Maastricht Treaty on European Union (TEU) represented a dramatic new phase of European integration. The treaty called for intensified political integration, greater centralization of power in Brussels, and monetary union. Leading states including France and Germany made clear their commitment to see the treaty through to full implementation rapidly. However, controversial ratification processes soon unfolded in the post-commitment politics phases in both countries. In France, the TEU ratification struggle led to the near collapse of popular support for integration, and in a referendum in September 1992 passed by a narrow majority. Germany was one of the architects of the Treaty on European Union, yet it, too, experienced serious domestic political debates in the ratification phase.
Jeffrey S. Lantis
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199535019
- eISBN:
- 9780191715952
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199535019.003.0005
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics, International Relations and Politics
This chapter examines the history of global environmental policies as foundation for a focused examination of ratification struggles over the Kyoto Protocol to lower greenhouse gas emissions. Five ...
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This chapter examines the history of global environmental policies as foundation for a focused examination of ratification struggles over the Kyoto Protocol to lower greenhouse gas emissions. Five case studies are presented. Struggles over the Kyoto agreement in Australia and the United States may represent classic cases of domestic constraints on international commitments. In early 2001 both governments announced their decision not to ratify the treaty. The Kyoto Protocol also touched off an intense debate over international environmental policy and sovereignty in Canada. At the same time, France and Germany were leading players in international diplomacy that helped to develop the Kyoto Protocol, and they were instrumental in pushing for ratification by all EU member states.Less
This chapter examines the history of global environmental policies as foundation for a focused examination of ratification struggles over the Kyoto Protocol to lower greenhouse gas emissions. Five case studies are presented. Struggles over the Kyoto agreement in Australia and the United States may represent classic cases of domestic constraints on international commitments. In early 2001 both governments announced their decision not to ratify the treaty. The Kyoto Protocol also touched off an intense debate over international environmental policy and sovereignty in Canada. At the same time, France and Germany were leading players in international diplomacy that helped to develop the Kyoto Protocol, and they were instrumental in pushing for ratification by all EU member states.
Jeffrey S. Lantis
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199535019
- eISBN:
- 9780191715952
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199535019.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics, International Relations and Politics
Struggles over ratification of the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) illustrate the politicization of international agreements, even in an area of so-called high politics where many ...
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Struggles over ratification of the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) illustrate the politicization of international agreements, even in an area of so-called high politics where many believe that national security imperatives drive state behavior. Ratification struggles in the United States led that government to reject the treaty in 1999. Other countries, including France, Germany, Australia, and Canada, offered their support for the agreement in spite of dramatically different stances on the issue of stewardship of the nuclear nonproliferation regime. To date, the CTBT has not entered into force, in part because of decisions by select governments not to ratify the agreement.Less
Struggles over ratification of the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) illustrate the politicization of international agreements, even in an area of so-called high politics where many believe that national security imperatives drive state behavior. Ratification struggles in the United States led that government to reject the treaty in 1999. Other countries, including France, Germany, Australia, and Canada, offered their support for the agreement in spite of dramatically different stances on the issue of stewardship of the nuclear nonproliferation regime. To date, the CTBT has not entered into force, in part because of decisions by select governments not to ratify the agreement.
