Synopses & Reviews
Two Greek cities which in their time were leading states in the Mediterranean world, Selinus in Sicily and Cyrene in Libya, set up inscriptions of the kind called sacred laws, but regulating worship on a larger scale than elsewhere - Selinus in the mid fifth century B.C., Cyrene in the late fourth. In different ways, the content and the format of both inscriptions are so unusual that they have baffled understanding.
At Selinus, a large lead tablet with two columns of writing upside down to each other is thought to be a remedy for homicide pollution arising from civil strife, but most of it remains obscure and intractable. The gods who are named and the ritual that is prescribed have been misinterpreted in the light of literary works that dwell on the sensational. Instead, they belong to agrarian religion and follow a regular sequence of devotions, the upside-down columns being reversed midway through the year with magical effect. Gods and ritual were selected because of their appeal to ordinary persons. Selinus was governed by a long enduring oligarchy which made an effort, appearing also in the economic details of sacrifice, to reconcile rich and poor.
At Cyrene, a long series of rules were displayed on a marble block in the premier shrine of Apollo. They are extremely diverse - both costly and trivial, customary and novel - and eighty years of disputation have brought no agreement as to the individual meaning or general significance. In fact this mixture of things is carefully arranged to suit a variety of needs, of rich and poor, of citizens of long standing and of new-comers probably of Libyan origin. In one instance the same agrarian deities appear as at Selinus. It is the work once more of a moderate oligarchy, which on other evidence proved its worth during the turbulent events of this period.
Religion and Reconciliation in Greek Cities provides a revised text and a secure meaning for both documents, and interprets the gods, the ritual, and the social background in the light of much comparative material from other Greek cities. Noel Robertson's approach rejects the usual assumptions based on moralizing literary works and in doing so restores to us an ancient nature religion which Greek communities adapted to their own practical purposes.
Review
"Masterfully bridging the gap between high culture and low, Garber's witty, accessible essays give us surprising angles on a host of topics."-Jonathan Culler, Cornell University
Review
"Modality serves as an introduction, giving an overview of the main theories of modality, from modal logic, through Angelika Kratzer's seminal work, to more recent approaches. Here Portner manages to explain both the forest and the trees, illuminating, for each theory, both its intuitive appeal and its formal details. But the book is also a valuable reference for experts. It summarizes major areas of active debates, presents novel issues and challenges to current theories, and offers new solutions and directions, which will certainly inspire future research."--Valentine Hacquard, Language
"Modern semantics and its interfaces with syntax and pragmatics have gone through an extraordinary development over the past twenty years, characterized by a break through in our understanding of major constructions. Modality figures prominently among them. Insights developed within logic and philosophy have come together with generative linguistics bringing about new fundamental understandings of how modality works in the languages of the world, what aspects of it are universal, what are subject to variation, and so on. This volume, written by one of the leading world specialists on this topic, with his characteristic, unassuming style, is accessible, and at the same time deep and highly engaging. It constitutes an ideal introduction for the beginner; but also the expert will learn from it (be they new facets of traditional problems or less familiar theoretical perspectives on them). An extremely valuable, up to date, inspiring resource." --Gennaro Chierchia, Harvard University
"This book is sure to be recognized as the most thorough systematic survey of the semantics of modality yet undertaken. The detail of discussion makes it an extremely useful reference for everybody interested in the mays, mights, and might have beens of natural language. It is written with admirable care: gently introducing the formal tools needed, Paul Portner manages to bring the uninitiated reader to the forefront of present-day research." --Frank Veltman, University of Amsterdam
"The first comprehensive, up-to-date survey of a wide range of modals and related phenomena. All types of sentential modality receive the extensive discussion they deserve, which integrates across such topics as tense, aspect, subjectivity, and performativity. The wide range of issues addressed in the book alone makes it a great reference book for those who work in modality." --Linguist List
Synopsis
In Loaded Words the inimitable literary and cultural critic Marjorie Garber invites readers to join her in a rigorous and exuberant exploration of language. What links the pieces included in this vibrant new collection is the author's contention that all words are inescapably loaded--that is, highly charged, explosive, substantial, intoxicating, fruitful, and overbrimming--and that such loading is what makes language matter. Garber casts her keen eye on terms from knowledge, belief, madness, interruption, genius, and celebrity to humanities, general education, and academia. Included here are an array of stirring essays, from the title piece, with its demonstration of the importance of language to our thinking about the world; to the superb "Mad Lib," on the concept of madness from Mad magazine to debates between Foucault and Derrida; to pieces on Shakespeare, "the most culturally loaded name of our time," and the Renaissance. With its wide range of cultural references and engaging style coupled with fresh intellectual inquiry, Loaded Words will draw in and enchant scholars, students, and general readers alike.
Synopsis
One of our most important cultural critics, at the top of her form, comments on a wide range of topics in both general and academic culture.In Loaded Words the inimitable literary and cultural critic Marjorie Garber invites readers to join her in a rigorous and exuberant exploration of language. What links the pieces included in this vibrant new collection is the author's contention that all words are inescapably loaded-that is, highly charged, explosive, substantial, intoxicating, fruitful, and overbrimming-and that such loading is what makes language matter.
Garber casts her keen eye on terms from knowledge, belief, madness, interruption, genius, and celebrity to humanities, general education, and academia. Included here are an array of stirring essays, from the title piece, with its demonstration of the importance of language to our thinking about the world; to the superb "Mad Lib," on the concept of madness from Mad magazine to debates between Foucault and Derrida; to pieces on Shakespeare, "the most culturally loaded name of our time," and the Renaissance.
With its wide range of cultural references and engaging style coupled with fresh intellectual inquiry, Loaded Words will draw in and enchant scholars, students, and general readers alike.
Synopsis
A vivid and affectionate portrait of a provincial town in early Victorian England, Elizabeth Gaskell's Cranford describes a community dominated by its independent and refined women. This edition includes two related short pieces by Gaskell, "The Last Generation in England" and "The Cage at Cranford." Dinah Birch's introduction reflects recent revaluations of Gaskell's work and the growing recognition that Cranford is much more than the gently charming comedy that is was once taken to be. The book includes an up-to-date bibliography and expanded notes.
Synopsis
This is a book about semantic theories of modality. Its main goal is to explain and evaluate important contemporary theories within linguistics and to discuss a wide range of linguistic phenomena from the perspective of these theories. The introduction describes the variety of grammatical phenomena associated with modality, explaining why modal verbs, adjectives, and adverbs represent the core phenomena. Chapters are then devoted to the possible worlds semantics for modality developed in modal logic; current theories of modal semantics within linguistics; and the most important empirical areas of research. The author concludes by discussing the relation between modality and other topics, especially tense, aspect, mood, and discourse meaning.
Paul Portner's accessible guide to this key area of current research will be welcomed by students of linguistics at graduate level and above, as well as by researchers in philosophy, computational science, and related fields.
Synopsis
'He's great, Vera,' said Angie.
When Viktor Sarav takes a job at Ballantine's, Angie and her brother Don - the young owners of the New York fashion company - are pleased. But soon there are strange deaths in the company. Is there a vampire at work at Ballantine's? Vera Donato, a company director with secrets to hide, is against Viktor. But Ed Valdemar, the company lawyer, trusts him. Who is right?
Synopsis
Throughout the world, governments are restructuring social and welfare provision to give a stronger role to opportunity, aspiration and individual responsibility, and to competition, markets, and consumer choice. This approach centers on a logic of individual rational action: people are the best judges of what serves their own interests and government should give them as much freedom of choice as possible. The UK has gone further than any other major European country in reform and provides a useful object lesson.
Reframing Social Citizenship analyzes the pressures on social citizenship from changes in work and the family, political actors, population aging, and the processes within government in the relentless international process of globalization that have shaped the response. It examines the various social science approaches to agency and argues that the logic of rational action is able to explain how reciprocity arises and is sustained but offers a weak foundation for social inclusion and social trust. It will only sustain part of the welfare state. A detailed assessment of empirical evidence shows how the outcomes of the new policy framework correspond to its theoretical strengths and limitations. Reforms have achieved considerable success in delivering mass services efficiently. They are much less successful in redistributing to more vulnerable low income groups and in maintaining public trust in the structure of provision.
The risk is that mistrustful and disquieted voters may be unwilling to support high spending on health care, pensions and other benefits at a time when they are most needed. In short, the reform programme was undertaken for excellent reasons in a difficult international context, but risks throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
About the Author
Paul Portner is Professor of Linguistics at Georgetown University. He studied philosophy and linguistics at Princeton University and at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst where his 1992 PhD dissertation was on
Situation Theory and the Semantics of Propositional Expressions. He is editor of
Formal Semantics: Essential Readings (Blackwell, 1992) and author of
What is Meaning? (Blackwell, 2005). He is currently writing a book on
Mood, which like the present work will appear in
Oxford Surveys in Semantics and Pragmatics.
Table of Contents
Abbreviations
Introduction
Part I: At Selinus, Rules Throughout the Year
1. The Lead Tablet
2. Displaying the Tablet
3. A Household Offering
4. The Kotytia and the Olympic Truce
5. The Solstice Festival at Olympia
6. Zeus Eumenês and the Eumenides
7. The Semnai Theai
8. Zeus Milichios in Spring
9. Before the Harvest
10. Tritopatreis Foul and Pure
11. Tritopatreis as Wind Gods
12. Zeus Milichios in Summer
13. After the Harvest
14. Hospitality for an Elasteros
15. Zeus Elasteros and Other Lightning Gods
16. Selinus, c. 450 B.C.
Part II: At Cyrene, Rules for Every Need
17. The Inscription
18. Some General Rules
19. Akamantes and Tritopateres
20. The Tithing Rules
21. Rites of Artemis
22. Suppliant purifications
23. Cyrene, c. 335-324 B.C.
References
Abbreviations
Introduction
Part I: At Selinus, Rules Throughout the Year
1. The Lead Tablet
2. Displaying the Tablet
3. A Household Offering
4. The Kotytia and the Olympic Truce
5. The Solstice Festival at Olympia
6. Zeus Eumenês and the Eumenides
7. The Semnai Theai
8. Zeus Milchios in Spring
9. Before the Harvest
10. Tritopatreis Foul and Pure
11. Tritopatreis as Wind Gods
12. Zues Milchios in Summer
13. After the Harvest
14. Hospitality for an Elasteros
15. Zeus Elasteros and Other Lightning Gods
16. Selinus, c. 450 B.C.
Part II: At Cyrene, Rules for Every Need
17. The Inscription
18. Some General Rules
19. Akamantes and Tritopateres
20. The Tithing Rules
21. Rites of Artemis
22. Suppliant Purifications
23. Cyrene, c. 335-324 B.C.
References