Emerging Concepts in Urban Space Design

Book Description

This important work, now available in paperback, from Professor Geoffrey Broadbent, provides a clear analysis of the nature of many of today's design problems, identifying their causes in history and suggesting a basis for co-ordinated solutions. The author discusses `picturesque' and `formal' tendencies in modern architecture, relating them to parallels between philosophic thought and design theory through the ages. Using a wealth of international examples from around the world including America, UK, Italy, Germany and France and with over 250 photographs and illustrations, Emerging Concepts in Space Design offers a fascinating insight into the history and likely future directions of urban design.

Book Description

Hieroglyphs were far more than a language. They were an omnipresent and all powerful force in communicating the messages of ancient Egyptian culture for over three thousand years; used as monumental art, as a means of identifying Egyptianess, and for rarified communication with the gods. In this exciting new study, Penelope Wilson explores the cultural significance of the script with an emphasis on previously neglected areas such as cryptography, the continuing decipherment post-Champollion, and the powerful fascination hieroglyphs still hold for us today.

Crossing Borders Through Folklore: African American Women's Fiction and Art

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Entering The Creative Space Of Toni Morrison
Folklore--"the boiled down juice of human living"
This book enlightens and forces the reader to engage in it.

Crossing Borders Through Folklore: African American Women's Fiction and Art
Alma Jean Billingslea-Brown
Manufacturer: University of Missouri Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Criticism | History & Criticism | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Women Writers & Feminist Theory | Books & Reading | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

United States | Short Stories | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Folklore & Mythology | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Women's Studies | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Women Writers | Women's Studies | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0826211992

Customer Reviews:

Entering The Creative Space Of Toni Morrison.......2004-02-13

This book is for anyone who craves a deeper
comprehension of Morrison's seminal work. In
fact, it's indispensable for the "active" reader or
student who wants to observe how Morrison has seamlessly
interwoven myth and folklore into a complex
tapestry which reflects the afro-american experience
in America. CROSSING BORDERS deftly unravels each thread
for the reader, but paradoxically and exquistely leaves the
tapestry in tact. Kudos to Dr. Brown!

Folklore--"the boiled down juice of human living".......1999-10-23

Folklore--"the boiled down juice of human living," as the writer Zora Neale Hurston defined it--has always been employed by displaced African people to reaffirm their identity within the dominant culture. In the 1960s, when the separation of the black and white worlds was challenged, black artists began to use folklore as a means of "crossing the borders" that maginalized African Americans. By embracing folk idioms (legends and tales, quilts and dolls, and even archetypes and steretypes like Aunt Jemima and Sambo), these artists, who were frequently women, devised a new aesthetic that reclaimed and redefined their multiple identities. In this study, Alma Jean Billingslea-Brown, an associate professor of English at Spelman College, takes a close look at how four African American female artists--writers Toni Morrison and Paule Marshall and visual artists Faith Ringgold and Betye Saar--have mined folklore for the evocative images that have enabled their work to transgress social, cultural, and political borders from the 1960s until today.

This book enlightens and forces the reader to engage in it........1999-05-05

In "Crossing Borders" Dr. Billinglsea-Brown gives the reader an in-depth analysis of the components that surround borderlines. Anyone who reads this book will become enraptured with Dr. Billinglsea-Brown use of language to convey the ideas that surround a complex identity such as the African American woman. Her book is reflective of historical, cultural, and social movements. Through this book I have gained the knowledge to come to a point where I can understand part of the meaning and significance of folklore and its connection to the Afrcian American literary tradition. I enjoyed this book not only for its light language but the author's ability to weave the reader into the world of Morrison, Satyr, and other African American women writers that influenced our history and cultural outlook.

From the Briarpatch File: On Context, Procedure, and American Identity

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From the Briarpatch File: On Context, Procedure, and American Identity
Albert Murray
Manufacturer: Pantheon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Trading Twelves: The Selected Letters of Ralph Ellison and Albert Murray

ASIN: 0375421424
Release Date: 2001-11-13

Book Description

In From the Briarpatch File—a gathering of erudite, provocative, and iconoclastic essays, reviews, and interviews—Albert Murray approaches contemporary America through its artistic expressions of itself and through the inventiveness of his own thinking and experience. He writes about New York in the 1920s and about the beginnings of his career as a writer. He gives us profound assessments of the achievements of Duke Ellington and William Faulkner. He outlines the responsibilities of the black educated elite and discusses the near-tragic, near-comic essence of the blues. His subject is no less than the life of America today; the clarity and the singularity of his vision, thought, and language are no less than stunning.

Pulp Culture: Hardboiled Fiction and the Cold War

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Pulp Culture: Hardboiled Fiction and the Cold War
Woody Haut
Manufacturer: Serpent's Tail
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

British | Short Stories | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

African | History & Criticism | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Reference | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

General | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 1852423196

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Living Waters
Excellent choice for a book discussion
A gripping, at times lusty, tale and an engaging read
AView of God From a Woman's Perspective
From Heartwrenching to Heartwarming ...

Living Water
Obery Hendricks
Manufacturer: HarperOne
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0060000872
Release Date: 2003-02-04

Book Description

Sprung from the pages of The New Testament, Living Water is a gripping and lyrical portrayal of a young women's search for identity set against the strict social confines of the time. This extraordinary first novel brings to life one of the most mysterious and intriguing characters in the Bible -- the woman at the well.

Customer Reviews:

Living Waters.......2007-07-25

I really enjoyed this fictional portrayal of the woman at the well. Her strength came alive, not just her shortcomings. It made you think, about your past, present and your future. And it most important lesson of all was that it is not where you are it is where you are going. My thought process was challenged by Hendricks portrayal of Christ which was as I found out later his intention.

Excellent choice for a book discussion.......2005-09-01

This book is wonderful. The women's guild at my church featured it as a topic of a book discussion last year. We had the pleasure of taking part in a telephone conference with the author Obery Hendricks. He was very gracious. It was a wonderful experience. The reader gets an understanding of how women and minorities were marginalized in society during Biblical times.

A gripping, at times lusty, tale and an engaging read.......2004-06-29

This is a gripping, at times lusty, tale based on the life story of the Samaritan Woman. LIVING WATER is not a stereotypically lightweight, biblical novel. It's for readers who are ready for a challenge and willing to look for truths presented in nontraditional forms.

Author Obery Hendricks, a seminary "professor of biblical interpretation," calls this, his first novel, "an African American retelling of the New Testament story of the woman at the well who was married to five successive husbands at a time when women did not have the right to choose either marriage or divorce." Ethnic overtones are evident in some characters' nicknames (Sonny Boy and Big Mama) and patterns of dialogue ("Oh Lordy, we're in trouble now" and "Don't he talk sweet"). But there are deeper parallels: The ravages of slavery and harsh control influence the heart of the story --- the Samaritan men being humiliated and beaten down by the Romans; the women being powerless property of the husbands who have lost respect for themselves and take out their frustration on their women.

The book opens with a short, startling death scene of the Samaritan woman's fifth husband. Then Part 1 is a flashback, from prenuptial childhood up to that pivotal, bloody mess. She --- her name is Maryam, though significantly we aren't told this for 250 pages --- is a spunky, in-your-face kind of kid who sadly learns, from her kindhearted grandmother, Ma Tee, that spunk is not acceptable for girls. "Atop the coarse woolen tunic that is [the girl's] usual attire is now draped a stale, heavy garment of carefulness. Ma Tee has tried her best to craft it to her size, yet it does not fit. Still, she will dutifully struggle to wear it, though its weight will sag her heart to its knees." And this narrative comment comes even before she's married to and beaten down by her first husband and abandoned by numbers two, three, and four.

This is a feminist story, but not drastically so; it is egalitarian more than man bashing. The big cast of characters --- five (or is it six?) husbands, three father figures, a brother-in-law, Messiah Jesus, and more --- include bad men and good; similarly with the Samaritan women. In a supplemental reader's guide, Hendricks explains that the Samaritan woman's journey "to be free of male domination and mistreatment was also my own journey to free myself from the roles of dominator and mistreater."

Theologically conservative readers may rankle at some feminist theology, but, again, this is not as radical as it might be. Hendricks interprets biblical passages (mostly from Proverbs, once from Luke) that personify Wisdom (a feminine Hebrew word) as being descriptive of "the woman-side of God."

For a novel that is replete with social commentary applicable to any age --- including a chapter on an itinerant, fraudulent faith healer --- LIVING WATER is an engaging read. Part 2 --- in which Maryam claims her name, takes up with a man who loves her and treats her well, and becomes a disciple of Jesus --- includes powerful scenes of redemption, even unto the last page, which drew a tear to my eye.

--- Reviewed by Evelyn Bence

AView of God From a Woman's Perspective.......2003-08-04

This is a touching story of a young womans journey from her joy of life to near-death despair around to a greater joy of life.
It truly celebrates the strength of womanhood. The descriptions were vivid and the personalities so real, I felt I knew all of the characters. Because all women have experienced Maryam's life in some form, this story will touch your heart in an unbelievable way. I loved this book!

From Heartwrenching to Heartwarming ..........2003-07-02

In this glorious tale of redemptive love BEFORE we know what it is, Maryam flowers despite the heartships and trials of her life. Hendricks is a master storyteller who gives us the depth of anguish from both the men and women, while not excusing the pain that the men are causing the women in this Novel. Given to me by a Pastor who shares the stories of women in the Bible with his congregation, I read it from front to end without stopping, finding the message that God loves us even when we don't see it. Worth reading, but more, worth its use as a Bible study tool. Wonderful story with a dynamic ending!

From South Africa: New Writing, Photographs, and Art

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From South Africa: New Writing, Photographs, and Art

Manufacturer: Univ of Chicago Pr (Tx)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

British | Short Stories | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0226080358

The Colored Cartoon: Black Representation in American Animated Short Films

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The Colored Cartoon: Black Representation in American Animated Short Films
Christopher P. Lehman
Manufacturer: University of Massachusetts Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Looney Tunes - Golden Collection, Volume Five

ASIN: 1558496130

The Short Century: Independence and Liberation Movements in Africa 1945-1994 (African, Asian & Oceanic Art)

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The Short Century: Independence and Liberation Movements in Africa 1945-1994 (African, Asian & Oceanic Art)

Manufacturer: Prestel
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Museums & Collections | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Africa | History | Subjects | Books

African Studies | Africa | History | Subjects | Books

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

Book Description

For much of Africa the 20th century was overshadowed by the experience of colonial rule, with political independence arriving for most peoples only in the last 50 years. "The Short Century" is a broad survey of cultural life in Africa from the independence movements through the post-colonial era to the end of apartheid in 1994. Expansive, wide-ranging, and lavishly illustrated, this book studies achievements in all areas of the performing and fine arts, photography, literature, theatre, architecture, music, and film.

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South Africa: A Botched Civilization?
Jane Davis
Manufacturer: University Press of America
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

African | History & Criticism | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

African Studies | Africa | History | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0761806040

Book Description

South Africa: A Botched Civilization? examines how South African novelists, both Black and white, portray the impact of racial conflict on the identities of both the oppressed and the oppressor. This book gives an in-depth analysis of several major authors and focuses on prejudice and its consequences. The discussion of racism and identity is of central importance to the history and the present of South Africa. While the book focuses on literature of the era of segregation and of apartheid, the analysis of the novels reveals barriers to past, present, and future racial progress in South Africa.

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