Society and Culture

Fashion: A Very Short Introduction presents fashion's myriad influences and manifestations. Fashion is a dynamic global industry that plays an important role in the economic, political, cultural, and social lives of an international audience. It spans high art and popular culture, and is a significant part of material and visual culture. How does fashion reflect and shape contemporary culture? How has fashion developed since the Renaissance? What questions can we ask about its status, ethical credibility, and influence on consumers? How has globalization affected the fashion industry? Fashion as a creative force, a business, and a means of communication is explored.Less

Film noir is usually associated with a series of darkly seductive Hollywood thrillers from the 1940s and 1950s—shadowy, black-and-white pictures about private eyes, femme fatales, outlaw lovers, criminal heists, corrupt police, and doomed or endangered outsiders. But Film Noir: A Very Short Introduction demonstrates that the genre has much earlier origins and is more international in scope. The key themes and styles of film noir are discussed along with some of the most iconic film noirs, exploring important aspects of their history and ongoing influence: their critical reception, major literary sources, methods of dealing with censorship and budgets, social and cultural politics, variety of styles, and future in a world of digital media and video streaming.Less

Humour: A Very Short Introduction considers the relation of humour to emotion and cognition, explores the value of humour in its social functions, and examines the leading humour theories including The Superiority Theory and The Incongruity Theory. Humour, known in every human culture, can serve many functions; it can be used to relieve stress, to promote goodwill among strangers, to dissipate tension within a fractious group, and to display intelligence. This VSI argues that humour, and the comic amusement that follows it, has a crucial role to play in the construction of communities. It also demonstrates that the social aspect of humour raises questions such as ‘When is humour immoral?’.Less

The term identity is used ubiquitously, but rarely explained. What exactly is identity? Identity: A Very Short Introduction provides a survey of the many faces of the concept of identity, and discusses its significance and varied meanings in the fields of philosophy, sociology, psychology, linguistics, as well as politics and law. Tracing our concern with identity to its deep roots in Europe’s intellectual history, individualism, and the felt need to draw borderlines, it identifies the most important features used to mark off individual and collective identities, and demonstrates why they are deemed important. It concludes with a glimpse at the many ways in which literature has engaged with problems of identity throughout history.Less

Modern Italy: A Very Short Introduction addresses the question of what modernity means to Italy and explores the extent to which modernity still represents a shared vision among Italian intellectuals, political leaders, and ordinary people. It covers the history of Italy from the Risorgimento (Resurgence), the movement leading to the Italian Unification in 1861, to the present. Italy’s political system and style of government is considered along with its economic modernization and issues with emigration, internal migration, and immigration. This volume concludes by looking at Italian culture and lifestyle, including modern art and architecture, cinema, literature, gastronomy, fashion, and sport.Less

Pilgrimage is found in most religious cultures and pilgrimage sites around the world—including Mecca in Saudi Arabia, Lourdes in France, and Shikoku in Japan—attract millions of pilgrims annually, while a flourishing 'spiritual tourism' industry has grown to promote the practice. In the present day, new pilgrimage locations, including 'secular' ones with no official affiliation, such as Graceland, Elvis Presley's house, continue to emerge across the world. Pilgrimage: A Very Short Introduction explores the key issues and themes of pilgrimage through early history to the present, looking at its various forms, how people take part, what is learnt from the journeys, and why pilgrimage remains popular in an increasingly secular age.Less

Do you touch wood for luck, or avoid hotel rooms on floor thirteen? Would you cross the path of a black cat, or step under a ladder? Despite the dominance of science in today’s world, superstitious beliefs—both traditional and new—remain surprisingly popular. Where did these superstitions come from, and why do they persist today? Superstition: A Very Short Introduction explores the nature and surprising history of superstition from antiquity to the present. It takes an exciting look at the varieties of popular superstitious beliefs today and the psychological reasons behind their continued existence, as well as the likely future course of superstition in our increasingly connected world.Less