Author: Akeel Abbas Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield ISBN: 1538192942 Category : Religion Languages : en Pages : 249
Book Description
Between the Ideal and the Real describes why Iraq state-building and democratic transformation failed by offering a very new, and unusual, perspective, away from the usual blame assigned to the US that has become part of the “conventional wisdom” about Iraq and the Middle East. Although the book acknowledges US failings in Iraq, the main argument it presents is that the main causes of failure lie in a problematic alliance between Iraqi Shiite Islamist parties and the clerical establishment in Najaf, led by Ayatollah Sistani. To appreciate this new perspective, the book takes you into the history of Iraqi Shiism both as a set of doctrinal and theological beliefs about the world and a lived experience by ordinary Iraqi Shias. The book argues that this understanding hindered Shias from embracing many products of modernity such as nationalism, individualism, humanism, and democratic rule, by consolidating a primordial group identity that ties people to the past, a particular kind of past based on doctrinal supremacy and historical victimhood. Combined, the two have the negative effect of depriving ordinary Iraqi Shias of a personal sense of agency and contributing to a general spirit skeptical of difference. The book also documents people’s push back against this restrictive approach to reality in a variety of contexts. Based on extensive historical and doctrinal research into the distant past of Shiism, the book links the past to the present by examining the unfortunate consequences that grow out of the insistence to allow pre-modern values determine the modern experience of life.
Author: William H McClain Publisher: Hassell Street Press ISBN: 9781015172630 Category : Languages : en Pages : 128
Book Description
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
Author: Susan M. Dixon Publisher: University of Delaware Press ISBN: 9780874139372 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 164
Book Description
This book examines the Accademia degli Arcadi in its heyday, a little known phenomenon in Italian history in the first part of the eighteenth century. The Roman academy aimed for a peninsula-wide cultural renewal induced by literary reform. Operating within a papal-court society, it eschewed extant patronage systems and social hierarchies and introduced enlightened ideas to its members. By about 1730, the Arcadi was on the wane, the reform largely unmet. It was an easy target for critics, both its proponents and opponents, in part because of the visible role it assigned to women. By attending to the institution's policies, this book provides a rich understanding of the Arcadi's goals. It locates the organization's interest in theater, including the physical environment of the theatrical drama, as central to its operations. It is argued that, like a stage set, the Bosco Parrasio, the garden that the Arcadi built for its literary presentations, is a visual manifestation of Arcadian goals.
Author: Brad Hooker Publisher: Oxford University Press ISBN: 9780198250692 Category : Philosophy Languages : en Pages : 248
Book Description
Begins by explaining and arguing for certain criteria for assessing normative moral theories. Then argues that these criteria lead to a rule-consequentialist moral theory.
Author: Ricardo Blaug Publisher: State University of New York Press ISBN: 0791496880 Category : Political Science Languages : en Pages : 256
Book Description
By focusing the various difficulties encountered in applying theory to practical concerns, this book explores the reasons for the absence of a radical politics in Habermas's work. In doing so, it shows that certain political implications of the theory remain unexplored. The book articulates a unique application of Habermasian theory, the actual functioning of decision-making groups, the nature of deliberative interaction, and the kinds of judgments participants must make if they are to preserve their democratic process.
Author: Dore Jesse Levy Publisher: Columbia University Press ISBN: 9780231114073 Category : Education Languages : en Pages : 236
Book Description
Levy explores the classic Chinese novelThe Story of the Stone(also known as The Dream of the Red Chamber), illuminating the work by interpreting its four major themes: the inversion of traditional family dynamics, the function of illness and medicine in a Buddhist society, the role of poetry in a dynastic Chinese society, and the use of poetry as a vehicle for spiritual retribution.
Author: Akeel Abbas
Author: William H McClain
Author: Susan M. Dixon
Author: Brad Hooker
Author: Ricardo Blaug
Author: 
Author: Lionel Simeon Marks
Author: 
Author: Dore Jesse Levy
Author: James SETH