Synopses & Reviews
View the Table of Contents. Read the Introduction.
aIn welcome contrast to many works in cultural studies, which sometimes collapse under the weight of their theoretical posturing, Shameless is simultaneously rooted in perceptive fieldwork, driven by big ideas, and remarkably free of jargon. The combination of big ideas, methodological sophistication, and history means that undergraduate readers will likely benefit from careful discussion. Nonetheless, the accessibility of Steinas prose and her timely topic will engage a very wide variety of readers.a
--Lisa D. Brush, University of Pittsburgh
aA sophisticated and subtle collection of essays. . . . Steinas innovative volume stands out. . . . Steinas book is notable for combining a commitment to qualitative social science methods with an appropriate grasp of its limitations. She is unusually clear-eyed about the shifting politics of knowledge . . . and reminds us that both sides in the culture wars depend on those we entrust to produce knowledge.a
--Gay and Lesbian Review Worldwide
aShameless is simultaneously rooted in perceptive fieldwork, driven by big ideas, and remarkably free of jargon. . . . Shamelee should inform and stimulate a broad audience.a
--Sex Roles
Arlene Stein has established herself as one of the premier sociologists of sexuality writing today. Skillfully combining historical, sociological, and cultural approaches, this book offers powerful accounts of sexuality in America.
--Steven Seidman, author of Beyond the Closet: The Transformation of Gay and Lesbian Life
Shameless is a lively and clear-headed account of the Two Americas--sexual liberals and the conservatives who haveopposed them--and how America came to be the land of sex and shame.
--Alice Echols, author of Shaky Ground: The Sixties and Its Aftershocks
Arlene Stein is among the most original, wise, bold, and engaging sociological analysts of U.S. culture wars in print today. This riveting collection, displaying capacious intellect and graceful prose, is a must-read for anyone concerned with contemporary clashes over sex, gender, and culture.
--Judith Stacey, author of In the Name of the Family: Rethinking Family Values in the Postmodern Age
Shame, a powerful emotion, leads individuals to feel vulnerable, victimized, rejected. In Shameless, noted scholar and writer Arlene Stein explores American culture's attitudes toward shame and sexuality.
Some say that we live in a world without shame. But American culture is a curious mix of the shameless and the shamers, a seemingly endless parade of Pamela Andersons and Jerry Falwells strutting their stuff and wagging their fingers. With thoughtful analysis and wit, Shameless analyzes these clashing visions of sexual morality.
While conservatives have brought back sexual shame--by pushing for abstinence-only sex education, limitations on abortion, and prohibitions of gay/lesbian civil rights--progressives hold out for sexual liberalization and a society beyond the closet. As these two Americas compete with one another, the future of family life, the right to privacy, and the very meaning of morality hang in the balance.
Review
“In welcome contrast to many works in cultural studies, which sometimes collapse under the weight of their theoretical posturing, Shameless is simultaneously rooted in perceptive fieldwork, driven by big ideas, and remarkably free of jargon. The combination of big ideas, methodological sophistication, and history means that undergraduate readers will likely benefit from careful discussion. Nonetheless, the accessibility of Stein's prose and her timely topic will engage a very wide variety of readers.”
-Lisa D. Brush,University of Pittsburgh
Review
“ Stein elegantly ties together this contentious and complicated history by examining it through the analytical lens of shame. . . . This is an important contribution, since much literature on sexuality from a social constructionist standpoint has sidestepped an analysis of emotions.”
-SIGNS: Journal of Women in Culture and Society ,
Review
“A sophisticated and subtle collection of essays. . . . Steins innovative volume stands out. . . . Stein's book is notable for combining a commitment to qualitative social science methods with an appropriate grasp of its limitations. She is unusually clear-eyed about the shifting politics of knowledge . . . and reminds us that both sides in the culture wars depend on those we entrust to produce knowledge”
-Gay and Lesbian Review Worldwide,
Review
“Arlene Stein has established herself as one of the premier sociologists of sexuality writing today. Skillfully combining historical, sociological, and cultural approaches, this book offers powerful accounts of sexuality in America.”
-Steven Seidman,author of Beyond the Closet: The Transformation of Gay and Lesbian Life
Review
“In welcome contrast to many works in cultural studies, which sometimes collapse under the weight of their theoretical posturing, Shameless is simultaneously rooted in perceptive fieldwork, driven by big ideas, and remarkably free of jargon. The combination of big ideas, methodological sophistication, and history means that undergraduate readers will likely benefit from careful discussion. Nonetheless, the accessibility of Stein's prose and her timely topic will engage a very wide variety of readers.”
“ Stein elegantly ties together this contentious and complicated history by examining it through the analytical lens of shame. . . . This is an important contribution, since much literature on sexuality from a social constructionist standpoint has sidestepped an analysis of emotions.”
“A sophisticated and subtle collection of essays. . . . Stein’s innovative volume stands out. . . . Stein's book is notable for combining a commitment to qualitative social science methods with an appropriate grasp of its limitations. She is unusually clear-eyed about the shifting politics of knowledge . . . and reminds us that both sides in the culture wars depend on those we entrust to produce knowledge”
Shameless is simultaneously rooted in perceptive fieldwork, driven by big ideas, and remarkably free of jargon. . . . Shamelee should inform and stimulate a broad audience.”
“Arlene Stein has established herself as one of the premier sociologists of sexuality writing today. Skillfully combining historical, sociological, and cultural approaches, this book offers powerful accounts of sexuality in America.”
Review
Shameless is simultaneously rooted in perceptive fieldwork, driven by big ideas, and remarkably free of jargon. . . . Shamelee should inform and stimulate a broad audience.”
-Sex Roles,
Synopsis
Shame, a powerful emotion, leads individuals to feel vulnerable, victimized, rejected. In
Shameless, noted scholar and writer Arlene Stein explores American culture's attitudes toward shame and sexuality.
Some say that we live in a world without shame. But American culture is a curious mix of the shameless and the shamers, a seemingly endless parade of Pamela Andersons and Jerry Falwells strutting their stuff and wagging their fingers. With thoughtful analysis and wit, Shameless analyzes these clashing visions of sexual morality.
While conservatives have brought back sexual shame—by pushing for abstinence-only sex education, limitations on abortion, and prohibitions of gay/lesbian civil rights—progressives hold out for sexual liberalization and a society beyond “the closet.” As these two Americas compete with one another, the future of family life, the right to privacy, and the very meaning of morality hang in the balance.
Synopsis
Since the breakdown of the Oslo peace process in 2000 and the beginning of the second Intifada, conflict has escalated in Israel/Palestine and come to seem irreversible. The overwhelming power of the Israeli military has been unleashed against a largely defenseless population in the occupied territories of the West Bank and Gaza, driving Palestinians to despair and to desperate measures of retaliation. The author of this book, Michel Warschawski, has for many decades been active in building alliances of Jews and Palestinians to oppose the Israeli occupation. In this book, however, he focuses especially on the effects of the occupation on the occupiersthat is, on Israeli societyrather than its victims.
Warschawski describes the atrocities of the occupationfrom the sack of Ramallah to the massacre in Jenin, the razing of houses and refugee camps, shooting at ambulances and hospitals, the use of Palestinian civilians as human shieldsshowing how each of these pushes back the boundaries of what was previously thinkable. He documents the resulting shifts in Israeli political thought, citing Ariel Sharon, army officers and even rabbis who begin by describing Palestinians as Nazis and end by relying on the German army's tactics for subjugating the Warsaw ghetto. Toward an Open Tomb seeks to explain the forces within Israeli society and culture that are leading to this self-defeating result.
Warschawski has the keen eye of an Israeli insider. He develops a powerful critique of Israeli policies with a persuasive power drawn from his own Jewish origins and his deepening devotion to Jewish traditions.
About the Author
Arlene Stein is associate professor of sociology and women's studies at Rutgers University. She is the author of The Stranger Next Door: The Story of a Small Community's Battle Over Sex, Faith, and Civil Rights, winner of the Ruth Benedict Prize from the American Anthropological Association, an Honor Award from the American Library Association and a Gustavus Meyer Human Rights Book Award, Honorable Mention.