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Very short introductions volume 161
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English
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"From subtle discrimination in everyday life, to horrors like lynching in the Old South, cultural imperialism, and "ethnic cleansing", racism exists in many different forms, in almost every facet of society. Despite civil rights movements and other attempts at progress, racial prejudices and stereotypes remain deeply embedded in Western culture. Racism takes a frank and objective look at why these notions exist. It explores how racism has come to...
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Very short introductions volume 86
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English
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Description
We live today in an interconnected world, where ordinary people can become instant online celebrities to fans thousands of miles away, religious leaders can influence millions globally, and complex social forces intersect across continents. This is globalization. Manfred B. Steger considers the major dimensions of globalization, as well as the hotly contested question of whether it is, ultimately, a good or a bad thing. From climate change to trade...
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Very short introductions volume 27
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English
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"Christopher Taylor introduces the life and philosophy of Socrates, whose work has played a central role in shaping Western philosophical thinking for centuries. Examining what we can deduce about Socrates from the writings of his contemporaries (as he himself left none), Taylor traces the reception and influence of his thought to the modern day."--
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English
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"At a historical moment when globalizing forces have intensified and two competing trends are at work-religion is simultaneously bringing us people together and pulling us people apart-everyone who aspires to be an informed global citizen needs to understand religion. It doesn't matter whether you find religion compelling or whether if your nation seems to be more and more secular. What matters is that billions around the world practice a faith-and...
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Very short introductions volume 122
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English
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Description
Foucault is one of those rare philosophers who has become a cult figure. From aesthetics to the penal system; from madness and civilisation to avant-garde literature, he rejected old models of thinking and replaced them with versions that are still debated today. This book introduces and explores aspects of his life, work, and thought.
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Very short introductions volume 289
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English
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"The periodic table of elements, first encountered by many of us at school, provides an arrangement of the chemical elements, ordered by their atomic number, electron configuration, and recurring chemical properties. In this Very Short Introduction, Eric Scerri presents a modern and fresh exploration of this fundamental topic in the physical sciences, considering the deeper implications of the arrangements of the table to atomic physics and quantum...
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Very short introductions volume 31
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English
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Description
Niccolo Machiavelli taught that political leaders must be prepared to do evil so that good may come of it, and his name has been a byword ever since for duplicity and immorality. Is his sinister reputation deserved? In answering this question Quentin Skinner traces the course of Machiavelli's adult life, from his time as Second Chancellor of the Florentine republic, during which he met with kings, the pope, and the Holy Roman Emperor; to the fall...
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Very short introductions volume 78
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English
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Description
"Is terrorism crime or war? Can there be a 'war against terrorism?' In this fully updated edition, Charles Townshend unravels the questions at the heart of the problem of terrorism (its causes, methods, effects, and limitations) suggesting that it must be understood as a political strategy whose threat can be rationally grasped and answered."--Publisher information.
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Very short introductions volume 492
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English
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Description
"The 2014 Ebola epidemic demonstrated the power of pandemics and their ability not only to destroy lives locally but also to capture the imagination and terrify the world. Christian W. McMillen provides a concise yet comprehensive account of pandemics throughout human history, illustrating how pandemic disease has shaped history and, at the same time, social behavior has influenced pandemic disease. Extremely interesting from a medical standpoint,...
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English
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The era known as Reconstruction is one of the unhappiest times in American history. It succeeded in reuniting the nation politically after the Civil War but in little else. Among its chief failures was the inability to chart a progressive course for race relations after the abolition of slavery and rise of Jim Crow. Reconstruction also struggled to successfully manage the Southern resistance towards a Northern, free-labor pattern. But the failures...
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Very short introductions volume 570
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English
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Description
"Stoicism is two things: a long past philosophical school of ancient Greece and Rome, and an enduring philosophical movement that still inspires people in the twenty-first century to re-think and re-organize their lives in order to achieve personal satisfaction. Brad Inwood presents the long history that connects these."--
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Very short introductions volume 263
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English
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Description
Critical theory emerged in the 1920s from the work of the Frankfurt School, the circle of German-Jewish academics who sought to diagnose — and, if at all possible, cure — the ills of society, particularly fascism and capitalism. In this book, Stephen Eric Bronner provides sketches of leading representatives of the critical tradition (such as George Luk?cs and Ernst Bloch, Theodor Adorno and Walter Benjamin, Herbert Marcuse and Jurgen Habermas)...
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Drawing on studies of social class, crime and deviance, education, work in bureaucracies and changes in religious and political organizations, this Very Short Introduction explores the tension between the individual's place in society and society's role in shaping the individual, and demonstrates the value of sociology for understanding the modern world. In this new edition Steve Bruce discusses the continuing arguments for social egalitarianism,...
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Very short introductions volume 599
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English
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Description
What is matter? Matter is the stuff from which we and all the things in the world are made. Everything around us, from desks, to books, to our own bodies are made of atoms, which are small enough that a million of them can fit across the breadth of a human hair. Inside every atom is a tiny nucleus and orbiting the nucleus is a cloud of electrons. The nucleus is made out of protons and neutrons, and by zooming in further you would find that inside...
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Very short introductions volume 609
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English
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Description
"For better or worse, be it militarily, diplomatically, politically, economically, or culturally, Americans have had a profound role in shaping the wider world beyond them. Unsurprisingly, most non-Americans have passionate views about the nature of U.S. foreign policy. America has been a savior to some, a curse to others-and both have good reason to feel that way. And yet, such views are often also based on a caricature of American actions and intentions....
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What are philosophers trying to achieve? How can they succeed? Does philosophy make progress? Is it in competition with science, or doing something completely different, or neither? Timothy Williamson tackles some of the key questions surrounding philosophy in new and provocative ways, showing how philosophy begins in common sense curiosity, and develops through our capacity to dispute rationally with each other. Discussing philosophy's ability
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Very short introductions volume 81
Language
English
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Description
"Was love invented by European poets in the Middle Ages or is it part of human nature? Will winning the lottery really make you happy? Is it possible to build robots that have feelings? These are just some of the intriguing questions explored in this guide to the latest thinking about the emotions. Drawing on a wide range of scientific research, from anthropology and psychology to neuroscience and artificial intelligence, this Very Short Introduction...
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Very short introductions volume 39
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English
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Description
For people with little or no knowledge of the science of human intelligence, this volume takes readers to a stage where they are able to make judgments for themselves about the key questions of human mental ability. Each chapter addresses a central scientific issue but does so in a way that is lively and completely accessible. Issues discussed include whether there are several different types of intelligence, whether intelligence differences are caused...
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Very short introductions volume 546
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English
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Description
Explores the phenomenon of monasteries from antiquity to present day as cloister places of refuge where fundamental aspects of life are regimented and spirituality is practiced.
Author
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Very short introductions volume 126
Language
English
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Description
What is socialism? Does it have a future, or has it become an outdated ideology in the 21st century? This Very Short Introduction considers the major theories in socialism, and explores its historical evolution from the French Revolution to the present day. Michael Newman argues that socialism has always been a diverse doctrine, while nevertheless containing a central core of interconnected values and goals: a critique of capitalism; an optimistic...
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