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China at War 1901-1949 (Modern Wars In Perspective)
By Edward L. Dreyer. 1995
Few phases of history were as heavy with implications for the world at large than the turbulent years through which…
China moved from the overthrow of the last imperial dynasty in 1911, through anarchy, civil war and invasion, to the final triumph of the Communists in 1949 - yet few periods are as little known by the wider world, and so little understood. Professor Dreyer's impressive account of China at war is both an important contribution to this new series of studies of modern wars in their full political, social and ideological contexts, and also a valuable introduction to the birth- confused, bloody and painful as it was - of the future superpower.Nehru (Profiles In Power)
By Judith M. Brown. 2001
Women of the Kakawin World: Marriage and Sexuality in the Indic Courts of Java and Bali
By Helen Creese. 2005
In this fascinating study the lives and mores of women in one of the least understood but most densely populated…
areas of the world are unveiled through the eyes of generations of court poets. For more than a millennium, the poets of the Indic courts of Java and Bali composed epic kakawin poems in which they recreated the court environment where they and their royal patrons lived. Major themes in this poetry form include war, love, and marriage. It is a rich source for the cultural and social history of Indonesia. Still being produced in Bali today, kakawin remain of interest and relevance to Balinese cultural and religious identities. This book draws on the epic kakawin poetry tradition to examine the institutions of courtship and marriage in the Indic courts. Its primary purpose is to explore the experiences of women belonging to the kakawin world, although the texts by nature reveal more about the discourses concerning women, sexuality, and gender than of the historical experiences of individual women. For over a thousand years these royal courts were major patrons of the arts. The court-sponsored epic works that have survived provide an ongoing literary testimony to the cultural and social concerns of court society from its ealiest recorded history until its demise at the end of the nineteenth century. This study examines the idealized images of women and sexuality that have pervaded Javanese and Balinese culture and provides insights into a number of cultural practices such as sati or bela (self-immolation of widows).Focussing on events in the Anatolian town of Tokat during the final two decades of the great Ottoman legal and…
administrative reforms known as the Tanzimat (1839-76), this book applies elements of social networking theory to analyze and assess the establishment of local governments across the Middle East. The author’s key finding is that the state’s efforts to centralize authority succeeded only when and where locals acted as the primary agents of change. Independent notables, such as the military a‘yân, demanded wealth and state offices in exchange for meting out reform measures according to local idioms of power. Newly created administrative bodies also offered greater social mobility to a growing multiconfessional middle-class in small towns like Tokat. The state was desparate to reform, but opportunistic provincials were eager to have it only on their own terms. Challenging false assumptions about the limited scope of participatory politics in the Middle East during the nineteenth century, Ottoman Notables and Participatory Politics will be of interest to students and scholars of Political Economy, History and Middle East Studies.The Pacific War: Aftermaths, Remembrance and Culture (Routledge Studies in the Modern History of Asia)
By Ernest Koh, Christina Twomey. 2015
The Pacific War is an umbrella term that refers collectively to a disparate set of wars, however, this book presents…
a strong case for considering this assemblage of conflicts as a collective, singular war. It highlights the genuine thematic commonalities in the legacies of war that cohere across the Asia-Pacific and shows how the wars, both individually and collectively, wrought dramatic change to the geo-political makeup of the region. This book discusses the cultural, political and social implications of the Pacific War and engages with debates over the war’s impact, legacies, and continuing cultural resonances. Crucially, it examines the meanings and significance of the Second World War from a truly international perspective and the contributors present fascinating case studies that highlight the myriad of localised idiosyncrasies in how the Pacific War has been remembered and deployed in political contexts. The chapters trace the shared legacy that the individual wars had on demographics, culture and mobility across the Asia Pacific, and demonstrate how in the aftermath of the war political borders were transformed and new nation states emerged. The book also considers racial and sexual tensions which accompanied the arrival of both Allied and Axis personnel and their long lasting consequences, as well as the impact returning veterans and the war crime trials that followed the conflict had on societies in the region. In doing so, it succeeds in illuminating the events and issues that unfolded in the weeks, months, and indeed decades after the war. This interdisciplinary volume examines the aftermaths and legacies of war for individuals, communities, and institutions across South, Southeast, and East Asia, Oceania, and the Pacific world. As such, it will be welcomed by students and scholars of Asian history, modern history and cultural history, as well as by those interested in issues of memory and commemoration.The New Entrepreneurs of Europe and Asia: Patterns of Business Development in Russia, Eastern Europe and China
By Victoria E. Bonnell, Thomas B. Gold. 2002
While attention has been focused on high-level struggles over control of giant enterprises in China and the former Soviet bloc,…
a remarkable but underreported revolution has been occurring at the grass-roots level. This volume examines the profiles of entrepreneurs and the patterns of business development in the post-socialist countries Bringing together the perspectives of all the social science disciplines, from anthropology through economics and political science to sociology, the contributors identify the criteria for survival and success of independent businesses in different environments. Their findings shed light not only on the "transition from socialism" at the micro-level, but also on the conditioning effects of different economic, historical, legal, and social conditions on the conduct of independent economic initiatives.A fundamental aspect of the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis is the territorial dispute which began long before the State…
of Israel was established. Analysing the land tenure system in Palestine under the administration of the British Mandate, this book questions whether, and to what extent, the land tenure system in Palestine facilitated Zionist land acquisition. The research uses benchmarks elaborated in the guidelines of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme as its analytical starting point, and looks at the formation and implementation of the land tenure system in Palestine. It goes on to place the penetration of Zionism into the land tenure system within the theoretical context of a colonial-settler framework, employing information from land registry records located at the Jordanian Department of Lands. Providing a political-historical analysis of the land tenure system from the end of Ottoman Rule until the end of the British Mandate, this book will be of interest to scholars and students of Middle Eastern History, Imperial and Colonial History, and Middle Eastern Politics.Chinese Identities, Ethnicity and Cosmopolitanism (Chinese Worlds)
By Kwok Bun Chan. 2005
Drawing upon wide-ranging case study material, the book explores the ever-changing personal and cultural identity of Chinese migrants and the diverse cosmopolitan…
communities they create. The various models of newly-forged communities are examined with the added dimension of personal identity and the individual's place in society. With particular emphasis on the changing face of Chinese ethnicity in a range of established places of convergence, Chan draws on extensive experience and knowledge in the field to bring the reader a fresh, fascinating and ultimately very human analysis of migration, culture, identity and the self.Bedouin Tribes of the Euphrates
By W. S. Blunt. 1968
This is Volume I of two which looks at the Bedouin tribes of the Euphrates River valley area, Mesopotamia and…
the western deserts. It was originally published in 1879. This collection has an additional preface in Volume I and chapters in Volume II by the editor.Rural South Asia: Linkages, Change and Development (Routledge Revivals)
By Peter Robb. 1983
First published in 1983, Rural South Asia examines questions of change and development in terms of linkages between localities and…
the outside world. The authors examine the response specifically to the introduction of a ‘modern’ features of production, the importance of physical, cultural and economic communication, and the impact of various development efforts. This book will be of interest to student of South Asian studies, history, economics and agriculture.A Chronicle of China’s Notary History (1902–1979)
By Yu Cai. 2023
This book seeks to trace the notarial history of China from 1902 to 1979. While working on this trailblazing effort,…
the author taps into a rich variety of artifacts, especially the notarial documents, archived records, manuals and journals from private collection or originally issued by China’s judicial authorities during different periods. No similar book has been published so far. Many of these items are taken from old publications and notarial documents that the author purchased from grass-root vendors. The book complements the text with illustrations, and the descriptions of the same articles are consistent throughout narrative. Even more remarkable is that many rare notarial historical materials in Chinese and foreign languages are available for the first time. This book is a must-read for researchers and students need in their understanding of China’s judicial system or China’s history. It gives a complete introduction to the development and evolution of China’s notarial system, which has great reference value for those who study this subject.Tsūji, Interpreters in and Around Early Modern Japan (Translation History)
By Mino Saito, Miki Sato. 2023
This book introduces English-speaking audiences to tsūji, who were interpreters in different contexts in Japan and then the Ryukyu Kingdom from…
the late 16th to the mid-19th century. It comprises seven historical case studies on tsūji in which contributors adopt a context-oriented approach. They aim to explore the function of these interpreters in communication with other cultures in different languages, including Japanese, Dutch, Chinese, Korean, Ryukyuan, English, Russian and Ainu. Each chapter elucidates the tsūji and the surrounding social, political and economic conditions. The book will be of interest to students and scholars of translation and interpreting, but also readers interested in the early modern history of interpreting and cultural exchange. It will similarly appeal to those interested in the Japanese language, but with limited access to books written in Japanese.This book is the first to analyse the practice of governance to resolve conflict in the case of Aceh in…
Indonesia. Combining theoretical discourse on conflict, democracy, and governance, it draws from original field research on the separatist conflict, utilizing a social constructivist approach in collating observations and interviews with political elites from both the Government of Indonesia and the Aceh Independent Movement (GAM). The conflict was an intractable one in which thousand civilians were killed between 1976 and 2006. The author zooms into the 2003 and 2007 period, against the broader context of the political landscape of Indonesia under the Suharto regime. In doing so, the book tackles the challenges presented by intrastate conflicts relating to ethno-religiosity, land use, and separatism. It unpacks the Indonesian political system’s shift from an authoritarian regime to a democratic one, and demarcates the prevalence of state violence in managing conflicts, as exemplified in the Aceh separatism conflict. Relevent to political scientists and scholars in peace, conflict and development studies, this co-published book presents novel sociological insights into Indonesia’s historical, and contemporary, political landscape.The Routledge Handbook of Muslim Iberia
By Maribel Fierro. 2020
This handbook offers an overview of the main issues regarding the political, economic, social, religious, intellectual and artistic history of…
the Iberian Peninsula during the period of Muslim rule (eighth–fifteenth centuries). A comprehensive list of primary and secondary sources attests the vitality of the academic study of al-Andalus (= Muslim Iberia) and its place in present-day discussions about the past and the present. The contributors are all specialists with diverse backgrounds providing different perspectives and approaches. The volume includes chapters dealing with the destiny of the Muslim population after the Christian conquest and with the posterity of al-Andalus in art, literature and different historiographical traditions. The chapters are organised in the following sections: Political history, concentrating on rulers and armies Social, religious and economic groups Intellectual and cultural developments Legacy and memory of al-Andalus Offering a synthetic and updated academic treatment of the history and society of Muslim Iberia, this comprehensive and up-to-date collection provides an authoritative and interdisciplinary guide. It is a valuable resource for both specialists and the general public interested in the history of the Iberian Peninsula, Islamic and Medieval studies.Syria: Modern State in an Ancient Land (Routledge Revivals)
By John F. Devlin. 1983
First Published in 1983, Syria: Modern State in an Ancient Land presents a concise profile of Syria in which the…
author depicts the factors that shaped modern Syria, introducing its land, people, and culture and explaining how it moved from being the coup - prone cockpit of inter-Arab politics to the relative stability in the 1980s. He discusses how its political system functions, the development of its moderate socialist economy, the nation's external affairs (particularly within the Middle East), and issues for the future-the last of particular interest because Syria is in a process of change in its politics, society, and international relationships. Throughout he provides a framework within which to understand and assess the developments in Syria in the 1980s. This is a must read for students of Middle East studies and Middle East history.Tahoma and its People: A Natural History of Mount Rainier National Park
By Jeff Antonelis-Lapp. 2020
A magnificent active volcano, Mount Rainier ascends to 14,410 feet above sea level--the highest in Washington State. The source of…
five major rivers, it has more glaciers than any other peak in the contiguous U.S. Its slopes are home to ancient forests, spectacular subalpine meadows, and unique, captivating creatures. In Tahoma and Its People, a passionate, informed, hands-on science educator presents a natural and environmental history of Mount Rainier National Park and the surrounding region. Jeff Antonelis-Lapp explores geologic processes that create and alter landscapes, interrelationships within and between plant and animal communities, weather and climate influences on ecosystems, and what linked the iconic mountain with the people who traveled to it for millennia. He intersperses his own direct observation and study of organisms, as well as personal interactions with rangers, archaeologists, a master Native American weaver, and others. He covers a plethora of topics: geology, archaeology, indigenous villages and use of resources, climate and glacier studies, alpine and forest ecology, rivers, watershed dynamics, keystone species, threatened wildlife, geological hazards, and current resource management. Numerous color illustrations, maps, and figures supplement the text. 2020 Banff Mountain Book Competition Finalist, Mountain Environment and Natural History categoryThis book explores the multiplicity of women’s experiences in the Cambodian genocide during the four-year rule of the Khmer Rouge.…
The dominant discourses of genocide often speak from a patriarchal and national perspective, rendering women speechless, and yet in this volume, the female survivors of the Cambodian genocide testify not only to the specific atrocities committed during the war but also to the pre-war conditions that laid the groundwork for a gender-specific victimization of women and its continuation post-war. With the help of testimonies from Khmer women who joined the Khmer Rouge, women who experienced sexual violence during the Khmer Rouge era, women who fled the country, and the Cham women who faced expulsion from home, this book explores the diversity of women’s experiences under the Khmer Rouge. Survivors’ accounts show that a Khmer woman’s experience with the Khmer Rouge was considerably different from the experience of not only a Khmer man but also a woman from a religious or ethnic minority group or a woman who chose to join the Khmer Rouge. These differences are conveniently ignored in nationalist discourses in Cambodia and by western scholars of history and gender-based violence, and they are given even less consideration in discourses about women survivors in diaspora. Instead of forcing generalization and universalization of gendered crimes of war, Gender and Genocide in Cambodia employs feminist curiosity and closely examines women’s experiences under the Khmer Rouge from multiple vantage points. This volume is essential reading for students and scholars interested in gender and cultural studies, political history, and modern history.Good Housekeeping 1,001 Amazing Science Facts
By Good Housekeeping, Michael Burgan, Rachel Rothman. 2023
Do bees sleep? Can rocks bend? Discover the amazing answers to questions like these in this science fact-packed treasure trove…
for kids age 8 to 12!Join the experts at the Good Housekeeping Institute and get stoked about science! Discover incredible info about awesome animals, our exceptional planet Earth, exciting chemical reactions, extraordinary engineering, and more in this fun-filled, fact-packed book for budding scientists. Packed with hundreds of dynamite color photos and illustrations, hands-on STEAM activities, quizzes, and tons of cheeky jokes, this boredom-busting gift book provides young readers with a close-up look at the science all around us.Chapters cover super topics that kids love from animals to nature and Earth science to engineering and technology.Inside you&’ll find: Dig deep to explore Earth from the inside out, from what&’s going on deep below our feet, to why geysers erupt, and if we drink the same water as the dinosaurs did.Go inside the human body to learn how your eyes see, what happens to food after you eat it, and about the organ which is like a balloon.Investigate our natural world and find out if there are more trees or stars, how a coral reef grows from a tiny animal, and how freezing ice and fiery volcanoes are related.Travel back in time and check out why scientists study dinosaur poop. Then blast off into space to see how stars are born and innovations that will help people travel to Mars.Look at the animal kingdom, from your fellow primates like chimpanzees to insects with killer instincts (and you&’ll even get to find out which ones have the grossest gassy habits…ewww.) With the expert (and sometimes wacky!) science information kids crave, this ultimate book of answers is the perfect classroom resource or gift for the casual browser and the fact-obsessed budding young scientist.Writing Violence: The Politics of Form in Early Modern Japanese Literature
By David C. Atherton. 2023
Edo-period Japan was a golden age for commercial literature. A host of new narrative genres cast their gaze across the…
social landscape, probed the realms of history and the fantastic, and breathed new life into literary tradition. But how to understand the politics of this body of literature remains contested, in part because the defining characteristics of much early modern fiction—formulaicness, reuse of narratives, stock characters, linguistic and intertextual play, and heavy allusion to literary canon—can seem to hold social and political realities at arm’s length.David C. Atherton offers a new approach to understanding the relationship between the challenging formal features of early modern popular literature and the world beyond its pages. Focusing on depictions of violence—one of the most fraught topics for a peaceful polity ruled over by warriors—he connects concepts of form and formalization across the aesthetic and social spheres. Atherton shows how the formal features of early modern literature had the potential to alter the perception of time and space, make social and economic forces visible, defamiliarize conventions, give voice to the socially peripheral, and reshape the contours of community. Through careful readings of works by the major writers Asai Ryōi, Ihara Saikaku, Chikamatsu Monzaemon, Ueda Akinari, and Santō Kyōden, Writing Violence reveals the essential role of literary form in constructing the world—and in seeing it anew.This volume includes 20 articles published between 1994 and 2020 on the subject of Muḥammad and the history of early…
Islam, covered in five sections: Arabia on the Eve of Islam, Muḥammad at Medina, Muḥammad and the Jews, Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq and the sīra and studies on early Islamic literature. The book focuses on a variety of historical questions, from the presumed Ghassanid/Byzantine involvement in the hijra to Muḥammad’s treaties with the main Jewish tribes of Yathrib/Medina. Predilection for detail, especially in the realms of genealogy and geography, is a salient characteristic of Lecker’s research, which in recent years has been increasingly based on digitized text repositories. Many of the articles deal with the social and economic environment of early Islam, which is vital for the study of Muḥammad’s biography. They are conceived of as building blocks in a future critical biography of the Arabian prophet. Studies on the Life of Muhammad and the Dawn of Islam will appeal to those interested in the history of pre- and early Islam, with an emphasis on Muḥammad’s life and his relations with the Jews of Arabia.