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264 books match the query 'Introduction' and 14 start with s

cover of Seat of Wisdom: An Introduction to Philosophy in the Catholic Tradition

Seat of Wisdom

An Introduction to Philosophy in the Catholic Tradition

James M. Jacobs

Catholic University of America Press, 2021

The Catholic Church has always recognized that philosophy is necessary both to understand the faith as well as to defend it. The need for a philosophically informed faith has become more acute with the rise of secularism. Seat of Wisdom demonstrates that the philosophical principles developed in the Catholic tradition, especially as articulated in Thomism, provide the intellectual foundation for belief in God and are also the only reliable basis for a fully coherent vision of man’s place in the world. Seat of Wisdom begins with an exploration of the relationship between faith and reason. Philosophy’s essential role is to discover the rational principles underlying the intelligible order of reality. These principles act as a bridge connecting science and religious faith, enabling the believer to integrate all facets of human experience. Each of those first principles, as expressed in the transcendental properties, are then analyzed as the basis of the major philosophical disciplines. Starting with metaphysics’ study of being, the argument proceeds to consider the true, the good, and the beautiful in terms of epistemology, anthropology, ethics, aesthetics, and political philosophy. Lastly, these principles are shown to point to God as creator. The strength of the Catholic philosophical tradition is evident when contrasted with reductive theories which fail to account for the breadth of human experience. Consequently, each chapter will introduce influential philosophers whose inadequate theories inform contemporary assumptions. Against this, the Thomistic argument is elucidated as being inclusive of the insights of the reductive position. It will be seen that this “both/and” approach is the only way to do justice to the glory of God and the gift of creation. Religion is prey to skepticism when it is isolated from the rest of knowledge. This integrative argument, uniting discussions of nature, politics, and theology according to common principles, enables the reader to grasp the unity of wisdom. Moreover, by engaging alternative positions, it provides the reader with tools to defend the Catholic worldview against those reductive philosophies which only deprive life of its full meaning.
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cover of Settler Colonialism: An Introduction

Settler Colonialism

An Introduction

Sai Englert

Pluto Press, 2022

Sai Englert offers readers an accessible and global account of settler colonialism, taking in its history, some of its main characteristics, and its continued relevance today. 

From the Palestinian struggle against Israel occupation to the First Nations' mass opposition to pipeline construction in North America, indigenous peoples are at the forefront of some of the most important struggles of our age. Rich with their own unique histories, characteristics, and social relations, these different struggles are connected by the enemy they face: settler colonialism.

While settler-colonial regimes differ, Englert explains how they are all defined by a fundamental conflict between themselves and the indigenous people they aim to dispossess, exploit and/or eliminate. 

To understand settler colonialism as a distinct, structural, and contemporary process, is also to start engaging with a number of international social movements, political struggles, and solidarity campaigns differently. It is to start asking how decolonization – as a material struggle for freedom – might be possible.

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cover of Seven American Poets from MacLeish to Nemerov: An Introduction

Seven American Poets from MacLeish to Nemerov

An Introduction

Denis Donoghue

University of Minnesota Press, 1975

Seven American Poets from MacLeish to Nemerov was first published in 1975. Volume 9, Minnesota Library on American Writers. Leonard Unger and George T. Wright, series editorsThe Minnesota Library on American Writers, of which this is the ninth volume, is based on collections of pamphlets from the series of University of Minnesota Pamphlets on American Writers. This book focuses on seven important contemporary American poets. The subject poets and the respective authors are Archibald MacLeish by Grover Smith, Richard Eberhart by Ralph J. Mills, Jr., Theodore Roethke, also by Mr. Mills, Randall Jarrell by M.L. Rosenthal, John Berryman by William J. Martz, Robert Lowell by Jay Martin, and Howard Nemerov by Peter Meinke.Mr. Donoghue writes an introduction in which he notes that “seven modern American poets demonstrate seven different ways of being an American.” He continues: “It is not my business, nor would it give me any pleasure, to comment on the difficulty of being an American poet: I am neither American nor a poet. But it is my impression that American poets have become more skillful in the art of being themselves; poets born in 1920 or later have had the advantage of seeing a thousand ways in which the job has been done, and the encouragement of such examples. Each poet must still do the work for himself, but he has before him the pioneers from Poe and Whitman to Williams, and he knows by their example what it means to work in the American grain.”In addition to the critical introductions there are selected bibliographies for each of the seven poets.
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cover of Seven American Women Writers of the Twentieth Century: An Introduction

Seven American Women Writers of the Twentieth Century

An Introduction

Maureen Howard, Editor

University of Minnesota Press, 1977

Seven American Women Writers of the Twentieth Century was first published in 1977. Minnesota Archive Editions uses digital technology to make long-unavailable books once again accessible, and are published unaltered from the original University of Minnesota Press editions.

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cover of Seven Modern American Novelists: An Introduction

Seven Modern American Novelists

An Introduction

William Van O’Connor, Editor

University of Minnesota Press, 1964

Seven Modern American Novelists was first published in 1964. Minnesota Archive Editions uses digital technology to make long-unavailable books once again accessible, and are published unaltered from the original University of Minnesota Press editions.

This volume provides critical introductions to seven of the most significant American novelists of this century, bringing together in convenient book form the material from some of the University of Minnesota Pamphlets on American Writers. The writers discussed and the contributing authors are Edith Wharton by Louis Auchincloss, Sinclair Lewis by Mark Schorer, F. Scott Fitzgerald by Charles E. Shain, William Faulkner by William Van O'Connor, Ernest Hemingway by Philip Young, Thomas Wolfe by C. Hugh Holman, and Nathanael West by Stanley Edgar Hyman.

In an introduction Mr. O'Connor, who is one of the editors of the pamphlet series, discusses some critical principles as they apply to fiction writers in general and to twentieth-century American novelists in particular. He is the author of many volumes of literary criticism as well as a collection of short stories and was a professor of English at the University of California, Davis.

Teachers, librarians, and others who use the material of the University of Minnesota Pamphlets on American Writers for frequent reference or as classroom texts will find this book particularly useful. Biographical information about the writers as well as critical evaluations of their writing is given. A bibliography for each writer lists his works and critical and biographical works about him.

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cover of Seven Modern American Poets: An Introduction

Seven Modern American Poets

An Introduction

Leonard Unger

University of Minnesota Press, 1967

Seven Modern American Poets was first published in 1967. Minnesota Archive Editions uses digital technology to make long-unavailable books once again accessible, and are published unaltered from the original University of Minnesota Press editions.

This volume provides concise critical introductions to seven of the most important twentieth-century American poets, bringing together in convenient book form the material from some of the University of Minnesota Pamphlets on American Writers. The poets discussed and the contributing authors are Robert Frost by Lawrance Thompson, Wallace Stevens by William York Tindall, William Carlos Williams by John Malcolm Brinnin, Ezra Pound by William Van O'Connor, John Crowe Ransom by John L. Stewart, T.S. Eliot by Leonard Unger, and Allen Tate by George Hemphill.

Biographical information about the poets as well as critical discussions of their work is provided. A selected bibliography for each poet lists his works and critical and biographical writing about him.

In an introduction Mr. Unger, who is one of the editors of the pamphlet series, discusses the poets and their place in the development of modern American poetry. Mr. Unger is a professor of English at the University of Minnesota and the author of a number of critical works, including T. S. Eliot: Moments and Patterns.

Teachers, librarians, and others who use the material of the University of Minnesota Pamphlets on American Writers for frequent reference or as classroom texts will find this book particularly useful. It serves also as an excellent guide for the general reader.

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cover of Sex and Death: An Introduction to Philosophy of Biology

Sex and Death

An Introduction to Philosophy of Biology

Kim Sterelny and Paul E. Griffiths

University of Chicago Press, 1999

Is the history of life a series of accidents or a drama scripted by selfish genes? Is there an "essential" human nature, determined at birth or in a distant evolutionary past? What should we conserve—species, ecosystems, or something else?

Informed answers to questions like these, critical to our understanding of ourselves and the world around us, require both a knowledge of biology and a philosophical framework within which to make sense of its findings. In this accessible introduction to philosophy of biology, Kim Sterelny and Paul E. Griffiths present both the science and the philosophical context necessary for a critical understanding of the most exciting debates shaping biology today. The authors, both of whom have published extensively in this field, describe the range of competing views—including their own—on these fascinating topics.

With its clear explanations of both biological and philosophical concepts, Sex and Death will appeal not only to undergraduates, but also to the many general readers eager to think critically about the science of life.
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cover of Sex and Virtue: An Introduction to Sexual Ethics (Catholic Moral Thought, Volume 2)

Sex and Virtue

An Introduction to Sexual Ethics (Catholic Moral Thought, Volume 2)

John S. Grabowski

Catholic University of America Press, 2003

This book provides a theological foundation for consideration of the moral dimensions of human sexuality from a Roman Catholic perspective.
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cover of Six American Novelists of the Nineteenth Century: An Introduction

Six American Novelists of the Nineteenth Century

An Introduction

Richard Foster

University of Minnesota Press, 1968

Six American Novelists of the Nineteenth Century was first published in 1968.This volume, based on material from the University of Minnesota Pamphlets on American Writers, provides concise critical introductions to six nineteenth-century American novelists of major importance. The novelists discussed and the contributing authors are “James Fenimore Cooper” by Robert E. Spiller, “Nathaniel Hawthorne” by Hyatt H. Waggoner, “Herman Melville” by Leon Howard, “Mark Twain” by Lewis Leary, “William D. Howells” by William M. Gibson, and “Henry James” by Leon Edel. Biographical information about the writers is included with the critical discussions of their work. A selected bibliography for each novelists lists his works and critical and biographical writing about him.In his introduction to the volume Professor Foster offers a perspective view of the genius of nineteenth century American literature, a literature of innovative vision which he calls unique in its time. “Only one other national literature of the nineteenth century was so marked by intensity, idiosyncrasy, and the spirit of discovery as America’s - that of Russia,” Professor Foster writes. “If their typical postures in relation to ‘Europe’ were different, American and Russian writers of the nineteenth century nevertheless had in common something far more significant: the uniquely dramatic subject matter, bequeathed them by history, of a nation’s self-discovery and self-creation. This was epic material; and fiction, especially the novel, was the aptest means of imaginatively encompassing it.”
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cover of Six American Poets from Emily Dickinson to the Present: An Introduction

Six American Poets from Emily Dickinson to the Present

An Introduction

Allen Tate

University of Minnesota Press, 1969

Six American Poets from Emily Dickinson to the Present was first published in 1969. Minnesota Archive Editions uses digital technology to make long-unavailable books once again accessible, and are published unaltered from the original University of Minnesota Press editions.This volume provides critical introductions to the work of Emily Dickinson, Hart Crane, Edwin Arlington Robinson, Conrad Aiken, Marianne Moore, and E.E. Cummings, six American poets all of whom were born in the nineteenth century and whose various life spans overlap to cover a period of nearly a century and a half, reaching into the present. In his introduction, Allen Tate discusses the significance of this group of poets and their influence on contemporary poetry. He points out that the overlap in their ages gives a somewhat longer perspective to modern American poetry than the rise of modernism around 1912 has led us to look for. “The impressive variety and versatility of contemporary American poetry, including its ‘modernist’ development,” he writes, “has been the achievement of men and women born before 1901.”In discussing the six poets introduced in this volume, Mr. Tate offers interesting comments on the place in literary history of a number of other poets including Ezra Pound, T.S. Eliot, Wallace Stevens, Robert Frost, Phelps Putnam, Mark Van Doren, John Hall Wheelock, and John Crowe Ransom.The introductions to the six poets are based on the material of six of the pamphlets in the series of University of Minnesota Pamphlets on American Writers: Emily Dickinson by Denis Donoghue, Hart Crane by Monroe K. Spears, Edwin Arlington Robinson by Louis Coxe, Conrad Aiken by Reuel Denney, Marianne Moore by Jean Garrigue, and E.E. Cummings by Eve Triem.
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cover of Small Places, Large Issues: An Introduction to Social and Cultural Anthropology

Small Places, Large Issues

An Introduction to Social and Cultural Anthropology

Thomas Hylland Eriksen

Pluto Press, 2015

This concise introduction to social and cultural anthropology has become a modern classic, introducing countless students to the field and the tools it offers for exploring some of the most complicated questions of human life and interaction. This fourth edition is fully updated, incorporating recent debates and controversies in the field, ranging from globalization and migration research to problems of cultural translation and the challenges of interdisciplinarity. Effortlessly bridging the gap between classic and contemporary anthropology, Small Places, Large Issues remains an essential text for undergraduates embarking on the study of this field.
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cover of Sports, Power, and Resistance: An Introduction to Critical Sports Studies

Sports, Power, and Resistance

An Introduction to Critical Sports Studies

Edited by Thomas P. Oates and Travis Vogan

University of Illinois Press, 2026

Sports embodies and defines US culture while also shaping it and being shaped by it. Thomas P. Oates and Travis Vogan present essays focused on the intersections across sport, power, and resistance in the North American sports world.

Topics range from Black coaches in the National Football League to disordered eating within distance running to transgender athletes’ fight to participate in sports. The editors have organized the contributions into three sections. Part one probes how sports build communities that foster belonging as well as exclusion. The essays in part two explore multiple forms of resistance in sports through various performances and representations. In the final section, essayists analyze more explicit efforts to use sports as a platform for activism from various political viewpoints. Throughout, the works nurture and demonstrate a sensibility that encourages humanistic, critical, and interdisciplinary inquiry.

Wide-reaching and accessible, Sports, Power, and Resistance explores timely issues while demonstrating the value of blending perspectives to better understand the games we play and watch.

Contributors: Ali Bouterse, Adrian Burgos, Jr., Michael L. Butterworth, Noah Cohan, Douglas Hartmann, Victoria E. Johnson, Abraham I. Khan, Jason Kido Lopez, Theresa Runstedtler, Jaime Schultz, Samantha N. Sheppard, and Travers
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cover of Student Workbook for Discover Romanian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture

Student Workbook for Discover Romanian

An Introduction to the Language and Culture

Rodica Bo?oman

The Ohio State University Press, 1995

Student Workbook for Discover Romanian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture by Rodica Bot?oman

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cover of SuperVision: An Introduction to the Surveillance Society

SuperVision

An Introduction to the Surveillance Society

John Gilliom and Torin Monahan

University of Chicago Press, 2012

We live in a surveillance society. Anyone who uses a credit card, cell phone, or even search engines to navigate the Web is being monitored and assessed—and often in ways that are imperceptible to us. The first general introduction to the growing field of surveillance studies, SuperVision uses examples drawn from everyday technologies to show how surveillance is used, who is using it, and how it affects our world.      

Beginning with a look at the activities and technologies that connect most people to the surveillance matrix, from identification cards to GPS devices in our cars to Facebook, John Gilliom and Torin Monahan invite readers to critically explore surveillance as it relates to issues of law, power, freedom, and inequality. Even if you avoid using credit cards and stay off Facebook, they show, going to work or school inevitably embeds you in surveillance relationships. Finally, they discuss the more obvious forms of surveillance, including the security systems used at airports and on city streets, which both epitomize contemporary surveillance and make impossibly grand promises of safety and security.
 
Gilliom and Monahan are among the foremost experts on surveillance and society, and, with SuperVision, they offer an immensely accessible and engaging guide, giving readers the tools to understand and to question how deeply surveillance has been woven into the fabric of our everyday lives.
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