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Art and Pluralism: Lawrence Alloway's Cultural Criticism

Nigel Whiteley

Lawrence Alloway (1926–1990) was one of the most influential and widely respected (as well as prolific) art writers of the post-war years. His many books, catalogue essays, and reviews manifest the ... More

Lawrence Alloway (1926–1990) was one of the most influential and widely respected (as well as prolific) art writers of the post-war years. His many books, catalogue essays, and reviews manifest the changing paradigms of art away from the formal values of modernism towards the inclusiveness of the visual culture model in the 1950s, through the diversity and excesses of the 1960s, to the politicisation in the wake of 1968 and the Vietnam War, on to postmodern concerns in the 1970s. Alloway was in the right places at the right times. From his central involvement with the Independent Group and the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) in London in the 1950s, he moved to New York, the new world centre of art, at the beginning of the 1960s. In the early 1970s Alloway became deeply involved with the realist revival and the early feminist movement in art — Sylvia Sleigh, the painter, was his wife — and went on to write extensively about the gallery and art market as a system, examining the critic's role within this system. Positioning himself against the formalism and exclusivism associated with Clement Greenberg, Alloway was wholeheartedly committed to pluralism and diversity in both art and society. For him, art and criticism were always to be understood within a wider set of cultural, social and political concerns, with the emphasis on democracy, social inclusiveness and freedom of expression. This book provides a close critical reading of Alloway's writings.Less

Contesting Views: The Visual Economy of France and Algeria

Edward Welch and Joseph McGonagle

Fifty years after Algerian independence, the legacy of France's Algerian past, and the ongoing complexities of the Franco-Algerian relationship, remain a key preoccupation in both countries. A ... More

Fifty years after Algerian independence, the legacy of France's Algerian past, and the ongoing complexities of the Franco-Algerian relationship, remain a key preoccupation in both countries. A central role in shaping understanding of their shared past and present is played by visual culture. This study investigates how relations between France and Algeria have been represented and contested through visual means since the outbreak of the Algerian War in 1954. It probes the contours of colonial and postcolonial visual culture in both countries, highlighting the important roles played by still and moving images when Franco-Algerian relations are imagined. Analysing a wide range of images made on both sides of the Mediterranean – from colonial picture postcards of French Algeria to contemporary representations of postcolonial Algiers – this book is the first to trace the circulation of, and connections between, a diverse range of images and media within this field of visual culture. It shows how the visual representation of Franco-Algerian links informs our understanding both of the lived experience of postcoloniality within Europe and the Maghreb, and of wider contemporary geopolitics.Less

The Cultural Values of Europe

Hans Joas and Klaus Wiegandt (eds)

What is the cultural identity of Europe? Are there specifically European values? Questions such as these are at the centre of a considerable number of political and scholarly debates in contemporary ... More

What is the cultural identity of Europe? Are there specifically European values? Questions such as these are at the centre of a considerable number of political and scholarly debates in contemporary Europe. This book examines innovations and value traditions of Europe to produce an image of contemporary European self-understanding. It combines two possible approaches, examining both specific cultural traditions (‘Athens’ and ‘Jerusalem’) and specific values (‘freedom’ and ‘rationality’).Less

Dada 1916 in Theory: Practices of Critical Resistance

Dafydd Jones

Dada formed in 1916 in a world of rational appearances that belied a raging confusion – in the middle of the First World War, in the neutral centre of a warring continent, at the core of Western art. ... More

Dada formed in 1916 in a world of rational appearances that belied a raging confusion – in the middle of the First World War, in the neutral centre of a warring continent, at the core of Western art. This book sets out new coordinates in revision of a formation that art history routinely exhausts by its characterisation as a ‘revolutionary movement’ of anarchic cultural dissent, in order to contest perpetuated assumptions that underlie the popular myths of Dada. Dada is difficult, and the response to Dada is not easy. What emerge from the theoretical readings developed here are profoundly rational bases for the non-sense that was pitted against a self-proclaimed civilisation, critically and implicitly to propose that what coursed in 1916 continues as vitally today. Given as art-historically identifiable along a trajectory of sustained ruptures and seizures, this book proposes not a history of Dada in Zurich but theoretical engagements with the emergencies of 1916–19, from laughter to ‘lautgedichte’, masks to manifestos, chance to chiasmata, rounding on the permanent Dada that drives against the closure of culture.Less

Dread Trident: Tabletop Role-Playing Games and the Modern Fantastic

Curtis D. Carbonell

Dread Trident examines the rise of imaginary worlds in tabletop role-playing games (TRPGs), such as Dungeons and Dragons. With the combination of analog and digital mechanisms, from traditional books ... More

Dread Trident examines the rise of imaginary worlds in tabletop role-playing games (TRPGs), such as Dungeons and Dragons. With the combination of analog and digital mechanisms, from traditional books to the internet, new ways of engaging the fantastic have become increasingly realized in recent years, and this book seeks an understanding of this phenomenon within the discourses of trans- and posthumanism, as well as within a gameist mode.  The book explores a number of case studies of foundational TRPGs. Dungeons and Dragons provides an illustration of pulp-driven fantasy, particularly in the way it harmonizes its many campaign settings into a functional multiverse. It also acts as a supreme example of depth within its archive of official and unofficial published material, stretching back four decades. Warhammer 40k and the Worlds of Darkness present an interesting dialogue between Gothic and science-fantasy elements. The Mythos of HP Lovecraft also features prominently in the book as an example of a realized world that spans the literary and gameist modes.  Realized fantasy worlds are becoming ever more popular as a way of experiencing a touch of the magical within modern life. Following Northrop Frye’s definition of irony, Dread Trident theorizes an ironic understanding of this process and in particular of its embodied forms.Less

Extending Themselves: User Initiated Transformations of Government-built Housing in Developing Countries

Graham Tipple

Many countries have large stocks of government-built housing which, for various reasons, are in poor physical conditions and/or do not conform to the expectations of occupants, who frequently make ... More

Many countries have large stocks of government-built housing which, for various reasons, are in poor physical conditions and/or do not conform to the expectations of occupants, who frequently make unauthorised but quite considerable changes and extensions (transformations) to their dwellings. This book examines user-initiated transformations to government-built housing in Bangladesh, Egypt, Ghana, and Zimbabwe, surveyed in a research programme sponsored by the UK Department for International Development. The 1600 dwellings surveyed show how relatively low-income households are capable of supplying new rooms and services both to improve their own housing conditions and to supply rental rooms or accommodation for family members living rent-free. The new construction is often of at least as good quality as the original structures and sometime envelopes the original in a new skin. It is clear that transformation adds accommodation and services to existing housing, upgrades the housing stock, and creates variety out of uniformity. The study leads to policy suggestions to encourage transformations for the renewal of government housing. These include the provision of loan finance; the encouragement of co-operation between neighbours, especially in multi-storey housing; and the planned colonisation of open space next to the dwellings where plots are not provided. For new housing, it is clear that designs for new areas are only the beginning of an on-going development process rather than a blueprint for once-for-all development.Less

Franco-British Academic Partnerships: The Next Chapter: The Next Chapter

Philippe Lane and Maurice Fraser (eds)

The steady increase in joint programmes and qualifications offered by UK and French universities is a cause for celebration. But language constraints, financial pressures and political uncertainty ... More

The steady increase in joint programmes and qualifications offered by UK and French universities is a cause for celebration. But language constraints, financial pressures and political uncertainty present obstacles to continued expansion. How are these to be overcome? And how can higher education institutions on either side of the Channel help each other to realise the enormous potential of Franco-British partnerships? This book takes stock of intensifying bilateral cooperation in the higher education sector, and shares experience and best practice. Initiatives and areas for collaboration are identified.Less

French Post-Modern Masculinities: From Neuromatrices to Seropositivity

Lawrence R. Schehr

As traditional notions of masculinity have been put into question, there have been representational reactions to and articulations of changing masculinities in post-modern culture. Certain ... More

As traditional notions of masculinity have been put into question, there have been representational reactions to and articulations of changing masculinities in post-modern culture. Certain contemporary cultural productions in France are illustrative of these changing masculinities and this book offers an examination of these manifestations. It uses analysis of AIDS narratives, mainstream films, popular novels, more mainstream novels, a graphic novel, and rightist polemics to explore the changing meaning of masculinity in French society.Less

French Studies in and for the Twenty-first Century

Philippe Lane and Michael Worton (eds)

This book draws together a range of scholars to examine the state of French Studies in the UK, taking account of the variety of factors that have made the discipline what it is. The book looks ahead ... More

This book draws together a range of scholars to examine the state of French Studies in the UK, taking account of the variety of factors that have made the discipline what it is. The book looks ahead to the place of French Studies in a world that is increasingly interdisciplinary, and where student demands, new technologies and transnational education are changing the ways in which we learn, teach, research and assess.Less

Grounds for Review: The Garden Festival in Urban Planning and Design

Andrew Theokas

Garden Festivals are more than temporary horticultural expositions. Complex and phased, these projects have additional significance as planning stratagems, reclamation projects, public art venues, ... More

Garden Festivals are more than temporary horticultural expositions. Complex and phased, these projects have additional significance as planning stratagems, reclamation projects, public art venues, and precursors of new urban parks. Their scope extends well beyond that implied by the term ‘garden festival’. Typically exceeding 50 hectares, they stimulate development and steer site design through a unique merger of domestic garden culture with a large-scale urban project. A general discussion of the origins, formative elements, and chronology of the generic event followed by cross-cultural reviews and analyses of numerous recent festivals and their site legacies form the core of this comprehensive book on the subject. Recent installations have been responsive to the ascendance of open space as a critical planning element while forthcoming events now develop in the midst of a trend towards the holistic initiatives of urban landscape planning, giving them a renewed relevance for urban design. The author has explored over fifteen festival sites and documents this study using government reports, interview transcripts, thematic maps, master plans, and other primary source material.Less

Humour in Contemporary France: Controversy, Consensus and Contradictions

Jonathan Ervine

This timely study sheds new light on debates about humour and multiculturalism in France, and is the first monograph about multiculturalism and humour in France to be published in either English or ... More

This timely study sheds new light on debates about humour and multiculturalism in France, and is the first monograph about multiculturalism and humour in France to be published in either English or French that analyses both debates about Charlie Hebdo and stand-up comedy. It will examine humour, freedom of expression and social cohesion in France at a crucial time in France’s recent history following the Charlie Hebdo attacks of January 2015. It will evaluate the state of French society and attitudes to humour in France in the aftermath of the events of January 2015. This book will argue that debates surrounding Charlie Hebdo, although significant, only provide part of the picture when it comes to understanding humour and multiculturalism in France. This monograph will fill significant gaps in French and international media coverage and academic writing, which has generally failed to adequately examine the broader picture that emerges when one examines career trajectories of notable contemporary French comedians. By addressing this failing, this book provides a more complete picture of humour, multiculturalism and Republican values in France. By focusing primarily on contemporary comedians in France, this book will explore competing uses of French Republican discourse in debates about humour, offensiveness and freedom of expression. Ultimately, this work will argue that studying humour and multiculturalism in France in often reveals a sense of national unease within the Republic at a time of considerable turmoil.Less

Iberian Modalities: A Relational Approach to the Study of Culture in the Iberian Peninsula

Joan Ramon Resina (ed.)

Of late the term Iberian Studies has been gaining academic currency, but its semantic scope still fluctuates. For some it is a convenient way of combining the official cultures of two states, ... More

Of late the term Iberian Studies has been gaining academic currency, but its semantic scope still fluctuates. For some it is a convenient way of combining the official cultures of two states, Portugal and Spain; yet for others the term opens up disciplinary space, altering established routines. A relational approach to Iberian Studies shatters the state's epistemological frame and complexifies the field through the emergence of lines of inquiry and bodies of knowledge hitherto written off as irrelevant. This book brings together contributions from leading international scholars who demonstrate the cultural and linguistic complexity of the field by reflecting on the institutional challenges to the practice of Iberian Studies.Less

Identity, Belonging and Migration

Gerard Delanty, Ruth Wodak, and Paul Jones (eds)

By investigating the narratives of everyday life, Identity, Belonging and Migration provides some understanding of the many socio-political, historical, discursive and socio-cognitive processes ... More

By investigating the narratives of everyday life, Identity, Belonging and Migration provides some understanding of the many socio-political, historical, discursive and socio-cognitive processes involved in expressions of everyday racism in European countries. Consisting of three parts, the book provides a contextual understanding of European society past and present, foregrounding race and discrimination’s place within it. Part one of the text analyses the theoretical perspectives on belonging within a European context, part two addresses the exclusionary discourses and practices of states and their institutions, and part three concludes the book with four thematic discussions on violence, resistance, Islamophobia in the Netherlands, and racism in the education system.Less

Idiocy: A Cultural History

Patrick McDonagh

The term ‘idiot’ is a damning put down, whether deployed on the playground or in the board room. People stigmatized as being ‘intellectually disabled’ today must confront variants of the fear and ... More

The term ‘idiot’ is a damning put down, whether deployed on the playground or in the board room. People stigmatized as being ‘intellectually disabled’ today must confront variants of the fear and pity with which society has greeted them for centuries. This study explores how artistic, scientific, and sociological interpretations of idiocy work symbolically and ideologically in society. Drawing upon a broad spectrum of British, French and American resources including literary works (Wordsworth's ‘The Idiot Boy’, Dickens' Barnaby Rudge, Conrad's The Secret Agent), pedagogical works (Itard's The Wild Boy of Aveyron, Sequin's Traitement moral, hygiene et education des idiots, and Howe's On the Causes of Idiocy), medical and scientific papers (Philippe Pinel, Henry Maudsley, William Ireland, John Langdon Downs, Isaac Kerlin, Henry Goddard), and sociological writings (Mayhew's London Labour and the London Poor, Beames' The Rookeries of London, Dugdal's The Jukes), the book offers a study of the history and representation of mental disability.Less

Intellectuals, Culture and Public Policy in France: Approaches from the Left

Jeremy Ahearne

French intellectuals have always defined themselves in political terms. They figure in common representation as oppositional figures set against State and government. But speaking truth to power is ... More

French intellectuals have always defined themselves in political terms. They figure in common representation as oppositional figures set against State and government. But speaking truth to power is not the only way that intellectuals in France have brought their influence to bear upon political fields. This book explores a neglected dimension of French intellectuals' practice. What happens when, instead of denouncing from without the worlds of government and public policy, French intellectuals become voluntarily, at least for a while, entangled within those worlds? After a historical and theoretical overview, the heart of the book is constituted by a series of case studies exploring policy domains in which strategies for shaping the broad ‘culture’ of France have been debated and developed. These comprise issues of laicity and secularization, reform of the educational curriculum, programmes of cultural ‘democratization’ and ‘democracy’, and public television programming. The book explores the policy engagement of intellectuals such as Pierre Bourdieu, Michel de Certeau, André Malraux, Catherine Clément, Régis Debray, Francis Jeanson, Henri Wallon, Blandine Kriegel and Edgar Morin.Less

Introduction to a Poetics of Diversity: by Édouard Glissant

This book reproduces the texts of four lectures, followed by discussions, and two interviews with Lise Gauvin published in Introduction à une poétique du divers (1996); and also four further ... More

This book reproduces the texts of four lectures, followed by discussions, and two interviews with Lise Gauvin published in Introduction à une poétique du divers (1996); and also four further interviews from L’Imaginaire des langues (Lise Gauvin, 2010). It covers a wide range of topics but key recurring themes are creolization, language and langage, culture and identity, ‘monolingualism’, the ‘Chaos-world’ and the role of the writer. Migration and the various different kinds of migrants are also discussed, as is the difference between ‘atavistic’ and ‘composite’ communities, the art of translation, identity as a ‘rhizome’ rather than a single root, the Chaos-World and chaos theory, ‘trace thought’ as opposed to ‘systematic thought’, the relation between ‘place’ and the Whole-World, exoticism, utopias, a new definition of beauty as the realized quantity of differences, the status of literary genres and the possibility that literature as a whole will disappear. Four of the interviews (Chapters 6, 7, 8 and 9) relate to particular works that Glissant has published: Tout-monde, Le monde incrée, La Cohée du Lamentin, Une nouvelle région du monde. Many of these themes have been explored in his previous works, but here, because in all the chapters we see Glissant interacting with the questions and views of other people, they are presented in a particularly accessible form.Less

London Underground: A Cultural Geography

David Ashford

Engaging with the rich catalogue of cultural material relating to the London Underground, this cultural geography sets out to explore one of the strangest spaces of the modern world. The first to ... More

Engaging with the rich catalogue of cultural material relating to the London Underground, this cultural geography sets out to explore one of the strangest spaces of the modern world. The first to complete that slow process of estrangement from the natural topography initiated by the Industrial Revolution, London Underground is shown to be what French anthropologist Marc Augé has called non-lieu: non-places, like the motorway, supermarket or airport lounge, compelled to interpret their relation to the invisible landscapes they traverse through the media of signs and maps. The tube-network is revealed to be a transitional form, linking spaces of alienation in Victorian England, such as the railway, and the fully virtual spaces of our contemporary consumer-capitalism. This history of alienation, and of the bold struggle to overcome it, recounted in London Underground: a cultural geography, is nothing less than the history of how people have attempted to make a home in the psychopathological spaces of the modern world. London Underground: a cultural geography taps the current enthusiasm for cultural history, for psychogeography, for books on modern urban space, and for all things relating to London, providing an account of the system's representation and reshaping in fiction, film, art, music, graffiti, connecting the long history of the tube-network to wider theoretical concerns relating to the Victorian City, Cultural Geography, Modernism, Post-modernism and Situationist Theory.Less

Magazines, Travel, and Middlebrow Culture: Canadian Periodicals in English and French, 1925-1960

Faye Hammill and Michelle Smith

A century ago, the golden age of magazine publishing coincided with the beginning of a golden age of travel. Images of speed and flight dominated the pages of the new mass-market periodicals. This ... More

A century ago, the golden age of magazine publishing coincided with the beginning of a golden age of travel. Images of speed and flight dominated the pages of the new mass-market periodicals. This book centres on Canada, where commercial magazines began to flourish in the 1920s alongside an expanding network of luxury railway hotels and transatlantic liner routes. The leading monthlies — among them Mayfair, Chatelaine, and La Revue Moderne — presented travel as both a mode of self-improvement and a way of negotiating national identity. This book announces a new cross-cultural approach to periodical studies, reading both French-and English-language magazines in relation to an emerging transatlantic middlebrow culture. Mainstream magazines, the text argues, forged a connection between upward mobility and geographical mobility. Fantasies of travel were circulated through fiction, articles, and advertisements, and used to sell fashions, foods, and domestic products as well as holidays.Less