Δοκίμιο & Πολιτισμός

Gandhi (1869-1948) was one of the few men in history to fight simultaneously on moral, religious, political, social, economic, and cultural fronts. During his time as a lawyer in South Africa he developed his strategy of non-violence: the idea of opposing unjust laws by non-violent protest, which he made the basis of his successful struggle against British rule in India. In this Very Short Introduction to Gandhi's life and thought, Bhikhu Parekh outlines both Gandhi's major philosophical insights and the limitations of his thought.

He looks at Gandhi's cosmocentric anthropology, his spiritual view of politics, his unique form of liberal communitarianism, and his theories of oppression, non-violent action, and active citizenship. He also considers how the success of Gandhi's principles was limited by his lack of coherent theories of evil, and of state and power,and how his hostility to modern civilization impeded his appreciation of its complexity. Gandhi's life and thought has had an enormous impact both within and outside India, and he continues to be widely revered, as one of the greatest moral and political leaders of the twentieth century.

ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

I declare for myself there is nothing delightful          5

than when joy possesses a whole people,

and banqueters in the halls listen to a minstrel

tables in front of them laden with meat and bread,

while the stewrd pours wine from the bowl              10

and carries it round and fills the cups.

This seems to my mind the fairest thing of all to me.

 

Homer, The Odyssey, ix.5-11 

In late 1946, Stig Dagerman was assigned by the Swedish newspaper Expressen to report on life in Germany immediately after the fall of the Third Reich. First published in Sweden in 1947, German Autumn, a collection of the articles written for that assignment, was unlike any other reporting at the time. While most Allied and foreign journalists spun their writing on the widely held belief that the German people deserved their fate, Dagerman disagreed and reported on the humanness of the men and women ruined by the war—their guilt and suffering. Dagerman was already a prominent writer in Sweden, but the publication and broad reception of German Autumn throughout Europe established him as a compassionate journalist and led to the long-standing international influence of the book. Presented here in its first American edition with a compelling new foreword by Mark Kurlansky, Dagerman’s essays on the tragic aftermath of war, suffering, and guilt are as hauntingly relevant today amid current global conflict as they were sixty years ago.

Jessica Lack introduces fifty pioneering modern and contemporary art movements born out of political engagement, decolonization, marginalization or conflict. These movements have aimed to revitalize society by challenging the status quo. While not as well known as Pop Art, Dada and Futurism, these associations of artists - such as the Saqqakhaneh artists of Iran, the Stridentists of Mexico, Jikken Kobo of Japan or America's AfriCobra - have empowered and given voice to their members.

Global Art brings unfamiliar material to life by exploring the unique historical context for each art movement, key cultural events and interconnections, and the key protagonists in the movement's evolution.

A colorful, charismatic personality, violent, ebullient, and energetic, Bakunin was one of two poles between which 19th and early 20th-century anarchism was formed. Although it was never finished, GOD AND THE STATE, his only major work, is the torso of a giant. A basic anarchist and radical document for generations, this book makes one of the clearest statements of the anarchist philosophy of history: religion by its nature is an impoverishment, enslavement, and annihilation of humanity.

This is a historical journey like no other - unlike every other book on the subject, Goddess with a Thousand Faces transcends geographical boundaries and breaks down cultural barriers. From Rangda in Bali, to Freyja in Iceland and more recognisable faces such as the Greek goddess Artemis, it is a work of true inclusion - readers are invited to consider these dazzling goddesses as part of a cultural cannon of human femininity; regardless of race, sex, or gender.

Goddess with a Thousand Faces asks us to interrogate our past through a fresh new lens.

We're challenged to comprehend our relationship with the feminine within us, question the legacy of goddesses, and whether we might see them in the faces of us all.

The compelling and provocative history of world government, from acclaimed author Mark MazowerShortlisted for the RUSI 2013 Duke of Wellington Medal for Military LiteratureIn 1815 the shocked and exhausted victors of the decades of fighting that had engulfed Europe for a generation agreed to a new system for keeping the peace. Instead of independent states changing sides, doing deals and betraying one another, a new, collegial 'Concert of Europe' would ensure that the brutal chaos of the Napoleonic Wars never happened again. Mark Mazower's remarkable new book recreates two centuries of international government - the struggle to spread values and build institutions to bring order to an anarchic and dangerous state system.

Αυτό το βιβλίο γράφτηκε για να δώσει παρηγοριά σε όλους εκείνους που φοβούνται τον θάνατο. Έχοντας γνώση του τι έρχεται μετά την αναχώρησή μας από αυτήν τη Γη, και ότι το μόνο μέρος του εαυτού μας που "χάνουμε" είναι το φυσικό μας σώμα, θα πρέπει να μας δώσει ψυχική γαλήνη. Διαβάζοντας τον "Παππού" ο αναγνώστης θα μεταφερθεί σε ένα ταξίδι που είναι τόσο συναρπαστικό όσο και αληθινό. Αυτό δεν είναι απλώς μια εξωσωματική αποκάλυψη ή μια εμπειρία κοντά στον θάνατο. Αντίθετα, η συγγραφέας είδε τα βήματα που ακολουθούν όταν η ψυχή εγκαταλείπει το φυσικό της σώμα. Και αυτά είναι τα βήματα που μοιράζεται μαζί σας μέσα από αυτό το βιβλίο. Για όσους δεν είναι σίγουροι για το τι, ή αν, πιστεύουν στη μετά θάνατον ζωή, είναι τροφή για σκέψη. Για εκείνους που πιστεύουν, γνωρίζοντας τι θα ακολουθήσει, η άνεσή τους θα είναι μεγάλη.