Amy Johnson Frykholm
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- July 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780195159837
- eISBN:
- 9780199835614
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195159837.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
Examines the readership of the contemporary best-selling series Left Behind, drawing on a qualitative study of readers. Rapture Culture asks what role an anti-worldly theory like dispensationalism ...
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Examines the readership of the contemporary best-selling series Left Behind, drawing on a qualitative study of readers. Rapture Culture asks what role an anti-worldly theory like dispensationalism plays in contemporary evangelicalism when evangelicals have gained increasing social and political power. The book argues that apocalyptic stories are a form of social relationship. They shape identity not only through agreement and a sense of belonging, but also through disagreement and dissent. The most urgent message of the rapture for readers of Left Behind is that the end of time could come soon, and therefore a decision about personal salvation is necessary. While it is true that the Left Behind series plays on readers’ fears, the primary fear is not so much a social or political fear as a personal one—a fear that the reader himself or herself might be left behind. The primary purpose of the Left Behind series is to promote evangelism. Readers feel convicted by the books of the need to tell their loved ones about Christ and to seek the conversion of others. In addition, the story of rapture and tribulation provides a lens through which readers can interpret the chaotic and sometimes disconcerting events of the world. The popularity of the Left Behind series and its diffusion into mainstream culture leads the book to conclude with the suggestion that evangelicalism is wrongly understood as a “subculture” and instead needs to be conceived as a broad and fluid part of dominant popular culture in the United States. Rapture Culture urges its readers to take seriously both the fears and the desires about social life present in the testimonies of Left Behind’s readership and to consider popular fiction reading as a complex and dynamic act of faith in American Protestantism.Less
Examines the readership of the contemporary best-selling series Left Behind, drawing on a qualitative study of readers. Rapture Culture asks what role an anti-worldly theory like dispensationalism plays in contemporary evangelicalism when evangelicals have gained increasing social and political power. The book argues that apocalyptic stories are a form of social relationship. They shape identity not only through agreement and a sense of belonging, but also through disagreement and dissent. The most urgent message of the rapture for readers of Left Behind is that the end of time could come soon, and therefore a decision about personal salvation is necessary. While it is true that the Left Behind series plays on readers’ fears, the primary fear is not so much a social or political fear as a personal one—a fear that the reader himself or herself might be left behind. The primary purpose of the Left Behind series is to promote evangelism. Readers feel convicted by the books of the need to tell their loved ones about Christ and to seek the conversion of others. In addition, the story of rapture and tribulation provides a lens through which readers can interpret the chaotic and sometimes disconcerting events of the world. The popularity of the Left Behind series and its diffusion into mainstream culture leads the book to conclude with the suggestion that evangelicalism is wrongly understood as a “subculture” and instead needs to be conceived as a broad and fluid part of dominant popular culture in the United States. Rapture Culture urges its readers to take seriously both the fears and the desires about social life present in the testimonies of Left Behind’s readership and to consider popular fiction reading as a complex and dynamic act of faith in American Protestantism.
Simon Yarrow
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199283637
- eISBN:
- 9780191712685
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199283637.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Medieval History, History of Religion
This chapter discusses the cult of the hand of St James of Reading. The hand of St James belonged to a universal saint with no historical connection to Reading abbey. The relic came into the Reading ...
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This chapter discusses the cult of the hand of St James of Reading. The hand of St James belonged to a universal saint with no historical connection to Reading abbey. The relic came into the Reading monks' possession through a royal gift and that the abbey itself was an important royal foundation. The relic of St James's hand thus brought new and invaluable associations with it to Reading — associations with an internationally renowned saint's cult, and associations that cemented existing ties with the Anglo–Norman dynasty. In its early decades, the abbey amassed an impressive collection of relics from diverse sources. None of them succeeded in dislodging the hand from its chief position, symbolizing as it did for the Reading monks the fundamental ties that existed between themselves and successive English rulers. That it was the aim of a miracle collection, compiled in the 1190s, to emphasize these connections, particularly those with royalty, on behalf of the Reading monks, which is the central theme of the chapter.Less
This chapter discusses the cult of the hand of St James of Reading. The hand of St James belonged to a universal saint with no historical connection to Reading abbey. The relic came into the Reading monks' possession through a royal gift and that the abbey itself was an important royal foundation. The relic of St James's hand thus brought new and invaluable associations with it to Reading — associations with an internationally renowned saint's cult, and associations that cemented existing ties with the Anglo–Norman dynasty. In its early decades, the abbey amassed an impressive collection of relics from diverse sources. None of them succeeded in dislodging the hand from its chief position, symbolizing as it did for the Reading monks the fundamental ties that existed between themselves and successive English rulers. That it was the aim of a miracle collection, compiled in the 1190s, to emphasize these connections, particularly those with royalty, on behalf of the Reading monks, which is the central theme of the chapter.
James Hinton
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199243297
- eISBN:
- 9780191714054
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199243297.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
To a degree unusual among social institutions, WVS was the creation of a single individual — Lady Reading. For this reason, this chapter explores her belief in the importance of ‘character’, the ...
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To a degree unusual among social institutions, WVS was the creation of a single individual — Lady Reading. For this reason, this chapter explores her belief in the importance of ‘character’, the highly-charged, mystical language with which she inspired her followers, and her autocratic and hierarchical style of leadership. It also deals with her dismissive attitude to the claims of domesticity on women's time — ‘put nation before husband!’ — and contemporary discussion of the relationship between the supply of domestic servants and volunteering by middle-class women.Less
To a degree unusual among social institutions, WVS was the creation of a single individual — Lady Reading. For this reason, this chapter explores her belief in the importance of ‘character’, the highly-charged, mystical language with which she inspired her followers, and her autocratic and hierarchical style of leadership. It also deals with her dismissive attitude to the claims of domesticity on women's time — ‘put nation before husband!’ — and contemporary discussion of the relationship between the supply of domestic servants and volunteering by middle-class women.
Arnhilt Johanna Hoefle
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780824872083
- eISBN:
- 9780824876852
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Hawai'i Press
- DOI:
- 10.21313/hawaii/9780824872083.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, World Literature
How can one author be among the most bitterly rejected writers in one cultural context, while being one of the most celebrated in another? For decades, the works of the Austrian-Jewish writer Stefan ...
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How can one author be among the most bitterly rejected writers in one cultural context, while being one of the most celebrated in another? For decades, the works of the Austrian-Jewish writer Stefan Zweig (1881-1942) have been fiercely attacked by critics and scholars in Europe and North America who questioned their literary value and naïve Habsburg nostalgia. Yet in other parts of the world, such as in China, Zweig’s works have enjoyed not only continued admiration but also truly exceptional influence, popularity, and even canonical status. China’s Stefan Zweig unveils the extraordinary success story of Zweig’s novellas in China, from the first translations in the 1920s, shortly after the collapse of the Chinese Empire, through the Mao era to the contemporary People’s Republic. Extensive research in China has unearthed a wealth of hitherto unexplored Chinese-language sources which evidence that Zweig has been read in an entirely different way there. Traversing a truly global system of cultural transfer and several intermediary spaces, Zweig’s works have been selected and employed for very different literary and ideological purposes throughout turbulent times in China. Declared to be a powerful critic of bourgeois society, the Chinese way of reading Zweig reveals important new perspectives on one of the most successful and, at the same time, most misunderstood European writers of the twentieth century.Less
How can one author be among the most bitterly rejected writers in one cultural context, while being one of the most celebrated in another? For decades, the works of the Austrian-Jewish writer Stefan Zweig (1881-1942) have been fiercely attacked by critics and scholars in Europe and North America who questioned their literary value and naïve Habsburg nostalgia. Yet in other parts of the world, such as in China, Zweig’s works have enjoyed not only continued admiration but also truly exceptional influence, popularity, and even canonical status. China’s Stefan Zweig unveils the extraordinary success story of Zweig’s novellas in China, from the first translations in the 1920s, shortly after the collapse of the Chinese Empire, through the Mao era to the contemporary People’s Republic. Extensive research in China has unearthed a wealth of hitherto unexplored Chinese-language sources which evidence that Zweig has been read in an entirely different way there. Traversing a truly global system of cultural transfer and several intermediary spaces, Zweig’s works have been selected and employed for very different literary and ideological purposes throughout turbulent times in China. Declared to be a powerful critic of bourgeois society, the Chinese way of reading Zweig reveals important new perspectives on one of the most successful and, at the same time, most misunderstood European writers of the twentieth century.
Alan Coates
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198207566
- eISBN:
- 9780191677724
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198207566.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Medieval History
Reading, now the county town of Royal Berkshire, lies near the junctions of the River Kennet and the River Thames, forty-one miles west of London. In the Middle Ages, Reading’s geographical position ...
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Reading, now the county town of Royal Berkshire, lies near the junctions of the River Kennet and the River Thames, forty-one miles west of London. In the Middle Ages, Reading’s geographical position was one of importance. Cluny’s own high reputation and Henry I’s links with it can only have strengthened his decision to choose the Cluniac observance for Reading. Reading’s eldest, and ultimately only surviving daughter house was Leominster Priory, which was probably used by the monks of Reading as some sort of retreat. This chapter provides a brief history of Reading and its abbey. Reading’s dependencies in England include two hospitals. Reading also had two dependencies in Scotland. Abbot Hugh I of Reading was at the forefront of affairs in Henry I’s reign. The position at Reading had evidently not improved by 1281, when Archbishop John Pecham of Canterbury intervened and proposed for the abbey a system of monastic financial administration similar to that which had been established at Christ Church, Canterbury, and which was also employed at Glastonbury.Less
Reading, now the county town of Royal Berkshire, lies near the junctions of the River Kennet and the River Thames, forty-one miles west of London. In the Middle Ages, Reading’s geographical position was one of importance. Cluny’s own high reputation and Henry I’s links with it can only have strengthened his decision to choose the Cluniac observance for Reading. Reading’s eldest, and ultimately only surviving daughter house was Leominster Priory, which was probably used by the monks of Reading as some sort of retreat. This chapter provides a brief history of Reading and its abbey. Reading’s dependencies in England include two hospitals. Reading also had two dependencies in Scotland. Abbot Hugh I of Reading was at the forefront of affairs in Henry I’s reign. The position at Reading had evidently not improved by 1281, when Archbishop John Pecham of Canterbury intervened and proposed for the abbey a system of monastic financial administration similar to that which had been established at Christ Church, Canterbury, and which was also employed at Glastonbury.
Alan Coates
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198207566
- eISBN:
- 9780191677724
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198207566.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Medieval History
At some time in or before 1792, a number of old books were found hidden away at Shinfield House, south of Reading, which was owned by the Earl of Fingall. The books were taken to nearby Woolhampton ...
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At some time in or before 1792, a number of old books were found hidden away at Shinfield House, south of Reading, which was owned by the Earl of Fingall. The books were taken to nearby Woolhampton House, another residence of Lord Fingall. Woolhampton Lodge, a small house on the estate, was rented by Lord Fingall to the Roman Catholic bishop of Portsmouth. When John Virtue became bishop of Portsmouth and went to the Lodge in 1884, he discovered amongst other books a volume of charters and other items. This volume was eventually acquired by the British Museum and is now known as the Fingall Cartulary, or Wollascot Manuscript. In addition to charters, lists of vestments, liturgical objects and relics, the Fingall Cartulary contains the earliest surviving list of the books of Reading Abbey and Leominster Priory. The importance that the monks attached to their books can be seen from the fact that the books were listed so prominently towards the beginning of the cartulary, following the list of relics.Less
At some time in or before 1792, a number of old books were found hidden away at Shinfield House, south of Reading, which was owned by the Earl of Fingall. The books were taken to nearby Woolhampton House, another residence of Lord Fingall. Woolhampton Lodge, a small house on the estate, was rented by Lord Fingall to the Roman Catholic bishop of Portsmouth. When John Virtue became bishop of Portsmouth and went to the Lodge in 1884, he discovered amongst other books a volume of charters and other items. This volume was eventually acquired by the British Museum and is now known as the Fingall Cartulary, or Wollascot Manuscript. In addition to charters, lists of vestments, liturgical objects and relics, the Fingall Cartulary contains the earliest surviving list of the books of Reading Abbey and Leominster Priory. The importance that the monks attached to their books can be seen from the fact that the books were listed so prominently towards the beginning of the cartulary, following the list of relics.
Amy Johnson Frykholm
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- July 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780195159837
- eISBN:
- 9780199835614
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195159837.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
Argues that especially with religious fiction, reading cannot be understood as a private act but must be placed into a social context. Readers engage in reading Left Behind through a series of ...
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Argues that especially with religious fiction, reading cannot be understood as a private act but must be placed into a social context. Readers engage in reading Left Behind through a series of networks that contribute to the meaning they give the text. This chapter examines two contexts in which the reading of Left Behind occurs: the church “home” and the usually religiously divided family. Within these contexts, readers find that their beliefs and practices are contested by the dissent of other believers, by the disdain of clergy, and by family members who resist the Left Behind series’ call to faith. Readers use the books to build narratives of identity and belonging, but only in divided and complex contexts.Less
Argues that especially with religious fiction, reading cannot be understood as a private act but must be placed into a social context. Readers engage in reading Left Behind through a series of networks that contribute to the meaning they give the text. This chapter examines two contexts in which the reading of Left Behind occurs: the church “home” and the usually religiously divided family. Within these contexts, readers find that their beliefs and practices are contested by the dissent of other believers, by the disdain of clergy, and by family members who resist the Left Behind series’ call to faith. Readers use the books to build narratives of identity and belonging, but only in divided and complex contexts.
William Thomas
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198208648
- eISBN:
- 9780191678103
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198208648.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History, History of Ideas
On September 20 1831, Macaulay delivered his speech on the Third Reading of the Bill. It was constructed around the historical parallel of the First French Revolution. It closed with a warning to the ...
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On September 20 1831, Macaulay delivered his speech on the Third Reading of the Bill. It was constructed around the historical parallel of the First French Revolution. It closed with a warning to the peers to heed the precedent of the French Revolution, which had destroyed the French nobility. Macaulay was answered by J. W. Croker, the most searching critic of the Reform Bill on the Opposition benches, and an authority on the French Revolution. Macaulay's version of the French Revolution stirred him to an impromptu rebuttal. The French nobility, he said, did indeed provide the House of Lords with a precedent and an example, but not because they had resisted reform. On the contrary, they had initiated it. Many writers assumed that the quarrel was nothing more than one between a Whig and a Tory, as if each man's political loyalties were simple and constant.Less
On September 20 1831, Macaulay delivered his speech on the Third Reading of the Bill. It was constructed around the historical parallel of the First French Revolution. It closed with a warning to the peers to heed the precedent of the French Revolution, which had destroyed the French nobility. Macaulay was answered by J. W. Croker, the most searching critic of the Reform Bill on the Opposition benches, and an authority on the French Revolution. Macaulay's version of the French Revolution stirred him to an impromptu rebuttal. The French nobility, he said, did indeed provide the House of Lords with a precedent and an example, but not because they had resisted reform. On the contrary, they had initiated it. Many writers assumed that the quarrel was nothing more than one between a Whig and a Tory, as if each man's political loyalties were simple and constant.
Alessandra Giorgi
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199571895
- eISBN:
- 9780191722073
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199571895.003.0004
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Semantics and Pragmatics, Syntax and Morphology
In this chapter I consider two cases in Italian in which the embedded verbal form does not give rise to the Double Access Reading, even if it is not a subjunctive: the imperfect of the indicative and ...
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In this chapter I consider two cases in Italian in which the embedded verbal form does not give rise to the Double Access Reading, even if it is not a subjunctive: the imperfect of the indicative and the future‐in‐the‐past. These cases constitute a prima facie problem to the thesis proposed in this monograph: if the interface between the sentence and the context is provided by the presence of a certain projection in the C‐layer, a uniform behavior is predicted, but this prediction is apparently not borne out. I show that in both cases the theoretical proposal argued for in this book can be maintained and, more interestingly, it clarifies some facts about these verbal forms which would remain otherwise unexplained, both in Italian and in English.Less
In this chapter I consider two cases in Italian in which the embedded verbal form does not give rise to the Double Access Reading, even if it is not a subjunctive: the imperfect of the indicative and the future‐in‐the‐past. These cases constitute a prima facie problem to the thesis proposed in this monograph: if the interface between the sentence and the context is provided by the presence of a certain projection in the C‐layer, a uniform behavior is predicted, but this prediction is apparently not borne out. I show that in both cases the theoretical proposal argued for in this book can be maintained and, more interestingly, it clarifies some facts about these verbal forms which would remain otherwise unexplained, both in Italian and in English.
Alessandra Giorgi
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199571895
- eISBN:
- 9780191722073
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199571895.003.0005
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Semantics and Pragmatics, Syntax and Morphology
In this chapter I consider a challenging set of data: the dependencies from a future verbal form. So far, I have proposed that in Italian and English, both DAR languages, an embedded context requires ...
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In this chapter I consider a challenging set of data: the dependencies from a future verbal form. So far, I have proposed that in Italian and English, both DAR languages, an embedded context requires that the subject's coordinate be syntactically represented. The contexts depending from a future seem to constitute a systematic exception, in that the interpretation obtained presents some anomalies that do not conform to DAR contexts. The aim of this chapter is to show that as soon as we enlarge the empirical basis, considering for instance the compatibility of the embedded verbal with temporal locutions of various kinds, the picture changes and turns out not to be exceptional any longer.Less
In this chapter I consider a challenging set of data: the dependencies from a future verbal form. So far, I have proposed that in Italian and English, both DAR languages, an embedded context requires that the subject's coordinate be syntactically represented. The contexts depending from a future seem to constitute a systematic exception, in that the interpretation obtained presents some anomalies that do not conform to DAR contexts. The aim of this chapter is to show that as soon as we enlarge the empirical basis, considering for instance the compatibility of the embedded verbal with temporal locutions of various kinds, the picture changes and turns out not to be exceptional any longer.
Konrad Hirschler
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2018
- ISBN:
- 9781474408776
- eISBN:
- 9781474418812
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9781474408776.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Middle East History
The written text was a pervasive feature of cultural practices in the medieval Middle East. At the heart of book circulation stood libraries that experienced a rapid expansion from the twelfth ...
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The written text was a pervasive feature of cultural practices in the medieval Middle East. At the heart of book circulation stood libraries that experienced a rapid expansion from the twelfth century onwards. While the existence of these libraries is well known our knowledge of their content and structure has been very limited as hardly any medieval Arabic catalogues have been preserved. This book discusses the largest and earliest medieval library of the Middle East for which we have documentation – the Ashrafiya library in the very centre of Damascus – and edits its catalogue. This catalogue shows that even book collections attached to Sunni religious institutions could hold rather unexpected titles, such as stories from the 1001 Nights, manuals for traders, medical handbooks, Shiite prayers, love poetry and texts extolling wine consumption. At the same time this library catalogue decisively expands our knowledge of how the books were spatially organised on the bookshelves of such a large medieval library. With over 2,000 entries this catalogue is essential reading for anybody interested in the cultural and intellectual history of Arabic societies. Setting the Ashrafiya catalogue into a comparative perspective with contemporaneous libraries on the British Isles this book opens new perspectives for the study of medieval libraries.Less
The written text was a pervasive feature of cultural practices in the medieval Middle East. At the heart of book circulation stood libraries that experienced a rapid expansion from the twelfth century onwards. While the existence of these libraries is well known our knowledge of their content and structure has been very limited as hardly any medieval Arabic catalogues have been preserved. This book discusses the largest and earliest medieval library of the Middle East for which we have documentation – the Ashrafiya library in the very centre of Damascus – and edits its catalogue. This catalogue shows that even book collections attached to Sunni religious institutions could hold rather unexpected titles, such as stories from the 1001 Nights, manuals for traders, medical handbooks, Shiite prayers, love poetry and texts extolling wine consumption. At the same time this library catalogue decisively expands our knowledge of how the books were spatially organised on the bookshelves of such a large medieval library. With over 2,000 entries this catalogue is essential reading for anybody interested in the cultural and intellectual history of Arabic societies. Setting the Ashrafiya catalogue into a comparative perspective with contemporaneous libraries on the British Isles this book opens new perspectives for the study of medieval libraries.
Josephine M. Guy and Ian Small
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198187288
- eISBN:
- 9780191674686
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198187288.003.0006
- Subject:
- Literature, 19th-century and Victorian Literature
This chapter focuses on Oscar Wilde's post-prison and posthumous works. Wilde's arrest compromised his reputation and he was never again in his lifetime to be the dramatist whose satire was performed ...
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This chapter focuses on Oscar Wilde's post-prison and posthumous works. Wilde's arrest compromised his reputation and he was never again in his lifetime to be the dramatist whose satire was performed on the West End stage. However, Wilde the writer did not disappear altogether. Paradoxically, his most successful book — if success is to be understood in terms of the number of copies sold — was a post-prison work, The Ballad of Reading Gaol (1898), which ran to six editions in only five months. It seems that Wilde was still a marketable author after his disgrace, but different strategies (and different publishers) were required to sell his work.Less
This chapter focuses on Oscar Wilde's post-prison and posthumous works. Wilde's arrest compromised his reputation and he was never again in his lifetime to be the dramatist whose satire was performed on the West End stage. However, Wilde the writer did not disappear altogether. Paradoxically, his most successful book — if success is to be understood in terms of the number of copies sold — was a post-prison work, The Ballad of Reading Gaol (1898), which ran to six editions in only five months. It seems that Wilde was still a marketable author after his disgrace, but different strategies (and different publishers) were required to sell his work.
Catherine Constable
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780231174558
- eISBN:
- 9780231850834
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231174558.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, Film, Media, and Cultural Studies
This volume focuses on postmodern film aesthetics, thinking through ways in which it challenges the aesthetic paradigms currently dominating analyses of Hollywood cinema. The first chapter explores ...
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This volume focuses on postmodern film aesthetics, thinking through ways in which it challenges the aesthetic paradigms currently dominating analyses of Hollywood cinema. The first chapter explores conceptions of the classical, modernist, post-classical/new Hollywood, and their construction as a linear history of style in which postmodernism forms a debatable final act. This history is challenged by using Jean-François Lyotard’s non-linear conception of postmodernism in order to view postmodern aesthetics as a paradigm that can occur across the history of Hollywood. Chapter 2 explores famous 'nihilistic' theorists of the postmodern, Jean Baudrillard and Frederic Jameson, addressing the ways in which their work impacts on reading Hollywood films. Within Film Studies, writing on postmodernism and Hollywood cinema has drawn on the more negative aspects of Jameson’s work. Postmodern films are seen as expressions of the logic of late capitalism, and thus incapable of offering political critique, while their relentless utilisation of past styles is reflective of aesthetic bankruptcy. In contrast, the final chapter argues in favor of taking up the work of 'affirmative' postmodern theorists, notably Linda Hutcheon, in order to set up nuanced and positive variants of postmodern film aesthetics. For Hutcheon, postmodern art is characterized by paradox, due to its simultaneous re-inscription and deconstruction of past art forms. This doubled movement of both evoking and dismantling convention underpins its political potential, namely the de-naturalisation of a history of representation. The range, diversity and critical potential of postmodern aesthetic strategies are demonstrated by detailed readings of four film texts.Less
This volume focuses on postmodern film aesthetics, thinking through ways in which it challenges the aesthetic paradigms currently dominating analyses of Hollywood cinema. The first chapter explores conceptions of the classical, modernist, post-classical/new Hollywood, and their construction as a linear history of style in which postmodernism forms a debatable final act. This history is challenged by using Jean-François Lyotard’s non-linear conception of postmodernism in order to view postmodern aesthetics as a paradigm that can occur across the history of Hollywood. Chapter 2 explores famous 'nihilistic' theorists of the postmodern, Jean Baudrillard and Frederic Jameson, addressing the ways in which their work impacts on reading Hollywood films. Within Film Studies, writing on postmodernism and Hollywood cinema has drawn on the more negative aspects of Jameson’s work. Postmodern films are seen as expressions of the logic of late capitalism, and thus incapable of offering political critique, while their relentless utilisation of past styles is reflective of aesthetic bankruptcy. In contrast, the final chapter argues in favor of taking up the work of 'affirmative' postmodern theorists, notably Linda Hutcheon, in order to set up nuanced and positive variants of postmodern film aesthetics. For Hutcheon, postmodern art is characterized by paradox, due to its simultaneous re-inscription and deconstruction of past art forms. This doubled movement of both evoking and dismantling convention underpins its political potential, namely the de-naturalisation of a history of representation. The range, diversity and critical potential of postmodern aesthetic strategies are demonstrated by detailed readings of four film texts.
Alan Coates
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198207566
- eISBN:
- 9780191677724
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198207566.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Medieval History
This study of the books of Reading Abbey covers not only the whole history of the Abbey from its foundation, but also charts the subsequent dispersal of its book collection. In doing so, the book ...
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This study of the books of Reading Abbey covers not only the whole history of the Abbey from its foundation, but also charts the subsequent dispersal of its book collection. In doing so, the book illustrates intellectual life in a medieval English monastery and, in particular, valuable insights into the fate of monastic books after the Dissolution of the monasteries.Less
This study of the books of Reading Abbey covers not only the whole history of the Abbey from its foundation, but also charts the subsequent dispersal of its book collection. In doing so, the book illustrates intellectual life in a medieval English monastery and, in particular, valuable insights into the fate of monastic books after the Dissolution of the monasteries.
Austin Woolrych
- Published in print:
- 1987
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198227526
- eISBN:
- 9780191678738
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198227526.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Early Modern History
A new phase opened on June 16 when the army delivered to the Commons a set of charges against eleven MPs as a preliminary to their impeachment. They accused them of raising a new force and ...
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A new phase opened on June 16 when the army delivered to the Commons a set of charges against eleven MPs as a preliminary to their impeachment. They accused them of raising a new force and threatening to put the kingdom into a new war, and of encouraging and enlisting the reformadoes who had been threatening the House and its members with violence. The army did not feel secure while the City militia was commanded exclusively by Presbyterians. Another threat to the army lay in parliament's dealings with the king, who could command overwhelming support and divide the army. The main business at Reading on July 16 was to consider the possible initiatives for breaking the impasse in the relations between the army, parliament, and king. The one proposed by the agitators was an immediate March to London. The other was a draft of proposals for national settlement.Less
A new phase opened on June 16 when the army delivered to the Commons a set of charges against eleven MPs as a preliminary to their impeachment. They accused them of raising a new force and threatening to put the kingdom into a new war, and of encouraging and enlisting the reformadoes who had been threatening the House and its members with violence. The army did not feel secure while the City militia was commanded exclusively by Presbyterians. Another threat to the army lay in parliament's dealings with the king, who could command overwhelming support and divide the army. The main business at Reading on July 16 was to consider the possible initiatives for breaking the impasse in the relations between the army, parliament, and king. The one proposed by the agitators was an immediate March to London. The other was a draft of proposals for national settlement.
Alan Coates
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198207566
- eISBN:
- 9780191677724
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198207566.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Medieval History
An examination of the later manuscripts from Reading Abbey suggested that the history of its book collections, from its foundation to their dispersal at the Dissolution, would provide interesting ...
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An examination of the later manuscripts from Reading Abbey suggested that the history of its book collections, from its foundation to their dispersal at the Dissolution, would provide interesting evidence of monastic intellectual life in the Middle Ages; and that to chart, where possible, the dispersal of the books and the stages by which they reached the large collections, in which so many of them are now housed, would make a contribution to the study of the fate of monastic manuscripts and of book collecting in general in the post-Dissolution period. The Oxford thesis from which this book is derived was originally conceived as a study of the twelfth-century manuscripts and an assessment of the evidence for the existence of a monastic scriptorium at Reading Abbey. The history of the abbey was written by the local antiquary and doctor, J. B. Hurry. J. R. Liddell wrote that ‘there are few English monastic libraries of which so much can be known as that of Reading Abbey’.Less
An examination of the later manuscripts from Reading Abbey suggested that the history of its book collections, from its foundation to their dispersal at the Dissolution, would provide interesting evidence of monastic intellectual life in the Middle Ages; and that to chart, where possible, the dispersal of the books and the stages by which they reached the large collections, in which so many of them are now housed, would make a contribution to the study of the fate of monastic manuscripts and of book collecting in general in the post-Dissolution period. The Oxford thesis from which this book is derived was originally conceived as a study of the twelfth-century manuscripts and an assessment of the evidence for the existence of a monastic scriptorium at Reading Abbey. The history of the abbey was written by the local antiquary and doctor, J. B. Hurry. J. R. Liddell wrote that ‘there are few English monastic libraries of which so much can be known as that of Reading Abbey’.
Alan Coates
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198207566
- eISBN:
- 9780191677724
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198207566.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Medieval History
Fifty-eight predominantly twelfth-century manuscripts that have a known or suspected Reading provenance survive. The principal contents fall into five main categories: glossed books of the Bible, ...
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Fifty-eight predominantly twelfth-century manuscripts that have a known or suspected Reading provenance survive. The principal contents fall into five main categories: glossed books of the Bible, patristic works, theological treatises, history and chronicles, and service books. There is also some hagiography and one volume of poetry, but none of the classical or grammatical works from the book list has survived. The Reading Abbey's list seems to be particularly strong in patristics: this impression is no doubt partly because the entries frequently contain references to more than one text in a given volume. This chapter compares the contents of the Fingall Cartulary list and the lists from Durham and Rochester. Two late twelfth-century book lists from Benedictine houses, Burton-on-Trent and Whitby, are also compared. The Durham and Rochester lists are strong in both classics and medicine. Reading and Durham both have copies of the lives of saints such as Cuthbert, Brendan, and Brigid.Less
Fifty-eight predominantly twelfth-century manuscripts that have a known or suspected Reading provenance survive. The principal contents fall into five main categories: glossed books of the Bible, patristic works, theological treatises, history and chronicles, and service books. There is also some hagiography and one volume of poetry, but none of the classical or grammatical works from the book list has survived. The Reading Abbey's list seems to be particularly strong in patristics: this impression is no doubt partly because the entries frequently contain references to more than one text in a given volume. This chapter compares the contents of the Fingall Cartulary list and the lists from Durham and Rochester. Two late twelfth-century book lists from Benedictine houses, Burton-on-Trent and Whitby, are also compared. The Durham and Rochester lists are strong in both classics and medicine. Reading and Durham both have copies of the lives of saints such as Cuthbert, Brendan, and Brigid.
Alan Coates
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198207566
- eISBN:
- 9780191677724
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198207566.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Medieval History
This chapter provides an introduction to the palaeography of the surviving twelfth-century manuscripts from Reading Abbey. It summarizes the evidence taken from various features of the manuscripts to ...
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This chapter provides an introduction to the palaeography of the surviving twelfth-century manuscripts from Reading Abbey. It summarizes the evidence taken from various features of the manuscripts to show that some of these manuscripts were produced at or for the abbey whilst others were acquired from other sources, and shows when the various manuscripts entered the abbey. On opening a manuscript the most obvious thing is the way in which the page of that manuscript is laid out. The ruling of a page may constitute a guide to scribal practice, a method of identification, and also be of some use as a dating tool. It is possible to identify the habits of some scribes by examining the ways in which ruling was extended into the margins of the page. The way in which punctuation marks were used may help to distinguish the work of one scribe from another. Four main methods of correction are to be found in the Reading manuscripts: erasure, the signe-de-renvoi, interlinear insertion, and crossing out.Less
This chapter provides an introduction to the palaeography of the surviving twelfth-century manuscripts from Reading Abbey. It summarizes the evidence taken from various features of the manuscripts to show that some of these manuscripts were produced at or for the abbey whilst others were acquired from other sources, and shows when the various manuscripts entered the abbey. On opening a manuscript the most obvious thing is the way in which the page of that manuscript is laid out. The ruling of a page may constitute a guide to scribal practice, a method of identification, and also be of some use as a dating tool. It is possible to identify the habits of some scribes by examining the ways in which ruling was extended into the margins of the page. The way in which punctuation marks were used may help to distinguish the work of one scribe from another. Four main methods of correction are to be found in the Reading manuscripts: erasure, the signe-de-renvoi, interlinear insertion, and crossing out.
Alan Coates
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198207566
- eISBN:
- 9780191677724
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198207566.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Medieval History
There are no surviving inventories of Reading books from the thirteenth century. However, there are two rather unusual documents: the list of labours of brother William of Wicumbe during his sojourn ...
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There are no surviving inventories of Reading books from the thirteenth century. However, there are two rather unusual documents: the list of labours of brother William of Wicumbe during his sojourn at Leominster in no. 42, and a copy of a letter circulated by the sacrist of Reading Abbey about a stolen book in no. 6. Wicumbe, who identifies himself as ‘frater W. de Wicb.’, is a somewhat elusive character. As will become apparent, he seems to have upset some other members of the Reading community, and it is open to question whether he was very respectful of authority. It is probable that he composed music as well. A connection between Worcester and Leominster regarding the music in the list has been proposed. A Bible survives from the Reading collections. The fourteenth-century lists of books include a list of readings to be delivered in the refectory and in the church at night, and a list of books to be kept in the dormitory to be used for readings in the refectory.Less
There are no surviving inventories of Reading books from the thirteenth century. However, there are two rather unusual documents: the list of labours of brother William of Wicumbe during his sojourn at Leominster in no. 42, and a copy of a letter circulated by the sacrist of Reading Abbey about a stolen book in no. 6. Wicumbe, who identifies himself as ‘frater W. de Wicb.’, is a somewhat elusive character. As will become apparent, he seems to have upset some other members of the Reading community, and it is open to question whether he was very respectful of authority. It is probable that he composed music as well. A connection between Worcester and Leominster regarding the music in the list has been proposed. A Bible survives from the Reading collections. The fourteenth-century lists of books include a list of readings to be delivered in the refectory and in the church at night, and a list of books to be kept in the dormitory to be used for readings in the refectory.
Alan Coates
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198207566
- eISBN:
- 9780191677724
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198207566.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Medieval History
The teaching provided in the monasteries would have been supplemented for more able monks by study in the schools and universities. The Benedictines' enthusiasm for university study in general, and ...
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The teaching provided in the monasteries would have been supplemented for more able monks by study in the schools and universities. The Benedictines' enthusiasm for university study in general, and their desire for contacts with Oxford University in particular, should be seen against a background of reform undertaken by the order from the middle of the thirteenth century through to the middle of the fourteenth century. Theology and canon law were the two subjects in which monastic students would have taken degrees at Oxford. A Benedictine house of study was set up in Oxford in 1283, when Sir John Giffard of Brimpsfield gave land for the foundation of Gloucester College. Only one of the seven Oxford-educated monks from Reading, John Thorne II, took a degree in canon law. Having illustrated the external evidence, this chapter turns to the evidence for university study provided by the surviving manuscripts from Reading Abbey. The manuscripts are considered by content, looking first at theology, then preaching, law, the artes, and dictamen.Less
The teaching provided in the monasteries would have been supplemented for more able monks by study in the schools and universities. The Benedictines' enthusiasm for university study in general, and their desire for contacts with Oxford University in particular, should be seen against a background of reform undertaken by the order from the middle of the thirteenth century through to the middle of the fourteenth century. Theology and canon law were the two subjects in which monastic students would have taken degrees at Oxford. A Benedictine house of study was set up in Oxford in 1283, when Sir John Giffard of Brimpsfield gave land for the foundation of Gloucester College. Only one of the seven Oxford-educated monks from Reading, John Thorne II, took a degree in canon law. Having illustrated the external evidence, this chapter turns to the evidence for university study provided by the surviving manuscripts from Reading Abbey. The manuscripts are considered by content, looking first at theology, then preaching, law, the artes, and dictamen.
