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Old Norse-Icelandic Studies

Heather O’Donoghue

in A Century of British Medieval Studies

This chapter examines the works of British Old Norse-Icelandic scholars. It explains that from the start, British interest in Old Norse studies was closely bound up with contemporary Old ... More

This chapter examines the works of British Old Norse-Icelandic scholars. It explains that from the start, British interest in Old Norse studies was closely bound up with contemporary Old Norse-Icelandic scholarship in Scandinavia and that the British connection was only established after James Johnstone's translation of extracts from the thirteenth-century historical compilation Heimskringla. This chapter also discusses the trend in Old Norse-Icelandic studies in Britain which involved the recognition of sagas as being informative not in their details of event and character, but in their portrayal of society and culture.Less

Making Race, Marking Difference

Melissa N. Stein

in Measuring Manhood: Race and the Science of Masculinity, 1830-1934

The introduction discusses pursuits of scientists from past to present to discover physical, biological differences between genders and races, and the effect that this has had on American society and ... More

The introduction discusses pursuits of scientists from past to present to discover physical, biological differences between genders and races, and the effect that this has had on American society and its perception of manhood.Less

Early Years and Architectural Training

Kristin E. Larsen

in Community Architect: The Life and Vision of Clarence S. Stein

This chapter focuses on Clarence Samuel Stein's formative years, including the foundations of his work ethic, engagement in learning by doing, community design skills, and commitment to affordable ... More

This chapter focuses on Clarence Samuel Stein's formative years, including the foundations of his work ethic, engagement in learning by doing, community design skills, and commitment to affordable housing. Born in Rochester, New York, on June 19, 1882, into an upwardly mobile Jewish family, Clarence Samuel Stein was the third child of Rose Rosenblatt and Leo Stein. When the Stein Manufacturing Company consolidated with two other firms in 1890 to form the National Casket Company, the Stein family moved to the Chelsea district in New York City. This chapter first provides an overview of New York City's Ethical Culture Society and its influence on Stein's early life before discussing his enrollment in 1905 at Paris's École des Beaux Arts, known for its strong tradition of architectural education with a focus on fostering excellence in design and drafting. It also considers Stein's employment in the office of Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue as well as his civic reform work in New York City.Less

The Long Industrial Revolution

Stefan Collini

in The Nostalgic Imagination: History in English Criticism

This chapter starts from Raymond Williams’s claim to have shown how the concept of ‘culture’ developed out of the experience of the Industrial Revolution, demonstrating that his own evidence does not ... More

This chapter starts from Raymond Williams’s claim to have shown how the concept of ‘culture’ developed out of the experience of the Industrial Revolution, demonstrating that his own evidence does not in fact support his claim. The chapter traces the development of Williams’s thinking from 1945 up the publication of Culture and Society, itemizing his indebtedness to the Leavisian framework and bringing out the ‘before-and-after’ character of his understanding of the role of the Industrial Revolution in replacing an organic society with an atomized, selfish form of social relationship. A close analysis of Culture and Society reveals the informing historical logic of a book that has been immensely influential yet has never really been received as a work of history.Less

The early aesthetic and ‘Thoughts Towards an Aesthetic of the Cinema’/‘Gedanken zu einer Ästhetic des Kino’

in Lukácsian film theory and cinema: A study of Georg Lukács’ writings on film, 1913-71

This chapter explores the early aesthetic of Georg Lukács. It discusses the factors that influenced Lukács' conception of modernity: romantic anti-capitalism and Hungarian culture and society. The ... More

This chapter explores the early aesthetic of Georg Lukács. It discusses the factors that influenced Lukács' conception of modernity: romantic anti-capitalism and Hungarian culture and society. The chapter provides a more conditional delineation of the early aesthetic as a prelude to a more substantive analysis of Luk'cs' first engagement with film theory in his ‘Thoughts Towards an Aesthetic of the Cinema’/‘Gedanken zu einer Ästhetic des Kino’ (1911/1913).Less

Black-History Activism and the Afro-American Heritage Association

Ian Rocksborough-Smith

in Black Public History in Chicago: Civil Rights Activism from World War II into the Cold War

The third chapter of this book shifts to address the question of nationalism and its historically contingent forms in urban America. This chapter specifically looks at how black nationalism in ... More

The third chapter of this book shifts to address the question of nationalism and its historically contingent forms in urban America. This chapter specifically looks at how black nationalism in Chicago became a complex phenomenon that drew on older traditions and modalities of black politics through the local organizations and activists that challenged simple dichotomies of integration and separatism, militancy and accommodation. A primary focus in the chapter examines the establishment of the Afro-American Heritage Foundation (AAHA) in 1958 and its subsequent public-history efforts—notably the promotion of Negro History Week in the city through the early 1960s and into the Black Power 1960s.Less

Critics (II): Lionel Trilling and Raymond Williams

Stefan Collini

in Common Writing: Essays on Literary Culture and Public Debate

This chapter provides a general reassessment of the critical work of Lionel Trilling, perhaps the most admired American critic of the mid-twentieth century, emphasizing the distinctiveness of his ... More

This chapter provides a general reassessment of the critical work of Lionel Trilling, perhaps the most admired American critic of the mid-twentieth century, emphasizing the distinctiveness of his elegantly cadenced style and the moral seriousness of his engagement with literature and ideas. It then revisits the first half of the career of Raymond Williams, one of the most influential English-language critics of the second half of the twentieth century, focusing on the relation between his Welsh working-class background and his emerging conception of ‘culture’. In both cases, their purely literary criticism is shown to be bound up with wider political and moral commitments and to provide an influential medium for social criticism.Less

Clericalism

Zev Eleff

in Who Rules the Synagogue?: Religious Authority and the Formation of American Judaism

In the wake of the transformations in religious authority that took place in the 1860s, the American rabbinate seized virtual control of American Jewish religious life. Their new challenge, however, ... More

In the wake of the transformations in religious authority that took place in the 1860s, the American rabbinate seized virtual control of American Jewish religious life. Their new challenge, however, was to retain the many laypeople who no longer felt compelled to frequent the synagogue and play consequential roles in their communities. The flight from the synagogue was a frustrating trend for rabbis who had exerted so much effort in the past decades to gain a reasonable level of religious power. Nonetheless, it was unquestionably the case that religious leaders held the power. After many attempts to form a rabbinical school to train Jewish clerics, Isaac Mayer Wise established Hebrew Union College. This new school represented the emergence of a more fortified American rabbinate and one that was emancipated from the seminaries in Europe.Less

Greater Heights of Spiritual Achievements: A Jewish Light unto the Nations

Leonard Rogoff

in Gertrude Weil: Jewish Progressive in the New South

Weil rooted her in idealism in the ethics of Classical Reform Judaism although she described her beliefs as personal. A spiritual seeker, she adhered to a prophetic rather than a rabbinic Judaism ... More

Weil rooted her in idealism in the ethics of Classical Reform Judaism although she described her beliefs as personal. A spiritual seeker, she adhered to a prophetic rather than a rabbinic Judaism that emphasized ethics, rationalism, and universalism. Judaism was a live issue, and she was drawn to Ethical Culture Society. At the Oheb Sholom temple in Goldsboro she served for fifty years as Sunday School principal and worshipped there faithfully on the Sabbath. She was also a leader of the North Carolina Association of Jewish Women, founded by her Aunt Sarah. In contrast to Reform ideology, the Weil women were committed Zionists, fostered through their friendship with Henrietta Szold, founder of Hadassah.Less

Reinvention, 1982–1989

Myra Strober and John Donahoe

in Sharing the Work: What My Family and Career Taught Me about Breaking Through (and Holding the Door Open for Others)

The chapter begins with Sam telling me he wants to leave our marriage and my trying to understand the reasons for our divorce and cope with its overwhelming pain. I begin dating and meet someone new, ... More

The chapter begins with Sam telling me he wants to leave our marriage and my trying to understand the reasons for our divorce and cope with its overwhelming pain. I begin dating and meet someone new, Ted. I take my first backpack trip and experience the peace of the mountains. I become a Resident Fellow in one of the Stanford dorms. I become involved in Stanford Hillel and strengthen my commitment to Judaism. I continue to study occupational segregation, this time in bank telling and the Mexican maquiladoras. I take on two new challenges--first chair of the National Council for Research on Women and an associate editor of the journal, Signs, which I help to bring to Stanford. I attempt, unsuccessfully, to get my salary in line with that of my male colleagues. In the chapter’s conclusion, I end my relationship with Ted.Less