Synopses & Reviews
Contemporary theory is full of references to the modern and the postmodern. How useful are these terms? What exactly do they mean? And how is our sense of these terms changing under the pressure of feminist analysis?
In Doing Time, Rita Felski argues that it makes little sense to think of the modern and postmodern as opposing or antithetical terms. Rather, we need a historical perspective that is attuned to cultural and political differences within the same time as well as the leaky boundaries between different times.
Neither the modern nor the postmodern are unified, coherent, or self-evident realities. Drawing on cultural studies and critical theory, Felski examines a range of themes central to debates about postmodern culture, including changing meanings of class, the end of history, the status of art and aesthetics, postmodernism as "the end of sex," and the politics of popular culture. Placing women at the center of analysis, she suggests, has a profound impact on the way we thing about historical periods. As a result, feminist theory is helping to reshape our vision of both the modern and the postmodern.
Review
"Through a composite itinerary which mirrors the amplitude of the author's theoretical interests-in the borderland between literary criticism, philosophy, sociology and cultural studies-the volume contributes to the debate on postmodernism/poststructuralism/feminism with particular force and argumentative intelligence. In fact, the perspective it opens challenges some of the most usual commonplaces of the contemporary feminist debate."-Feminist Theory,
Review
A "reasoned, commonsensical approach to thorny postmodern philosophicaland political dilemmas."-Modern Fiction Studies,
Review
"Rita Felski is one of today's most audacious and versatile feminist thinkers. Adopting gender and temporal difference as an enabling analytical perspective rather than as an objective focus, she argues for a recognition of both the ordinariness of the everyday and the continued relevance of `the big picture' in the postmodern world. Doing Time dissects some of the major intellectual quandaries of our time with quiet passion, astute thoroughness, and admirable clarity."-Ien Ang,University of Western Sydney
Review
"Through a composite itinerary which mirrors the amplitude of the author's theoretical interests-in the borderland between literary criticism, philosophy, sociology and cultural studies-the volume contributes to the debate on postmodernism/poststructuralism/feminism with particular force and argumentative intelligence. In fact, the perspective it opens challenges some of the most usual commonplaces of the contemporary feminist debate."
A "reasoned, commonsensical approach to thorny postmodern philosophicaland political dilemmas."
"Rita Felski's reflection on the cultural politics of time makes for fascinating reading. Her thoughtful and savvy essays raise the debate about modernity and postmodernity to a new level of sophistication."
"Rita Felski is one of today's most audacious and versatile feminist thinkers. Adopting gender and temporal difference as an enabling analytical perspective rather than as an objective focus, she argues for a recognition of both the ordinariness of the everyday and the continued relevance of `the big picture' in the postmodern world. Doing Time dissects some of the major intellectual quandaries of our time with quiet passion, astute thoroughness, and admirable clarity."
"In these captivating essays, Rita Felski weaves together an important and original inquiry into the tangled relations among postmodernism, modernity, class politics, and feminism. Refusing the solace of 'final' answers, Felski offers instead a series of vibrant investigations into the gray zones of lived relations. Doing Time is lucidly written, powerfully theorized, trenchantly argued, and compels us to reevaluate the cultural contexts through which 'modernity' has been understood."
Review
"Rita Felski's reflection on the cultural politics of time makes for fascinating reading. Her thoughtful and savvy essays raise the debate about modernity and postmodernity to a new level of sophistication."-Nancy Fraser,New School for Social Research
Review
"In these captivating essays, Rita Felski weaves together an important and original inquiry into the tangled relations among postmodernism, modernity, class politics, and feminism. Refusing the solace of 'final' answers, Felski offers instead a series of vibrant investigations into the gray zones of lived relations. Doing Time is lucidly written, powerfully theorized, trenchantly argued, and compels us to reevaluate the cultural contexts through which 'modernity' has been understood."-Janet Lyon,University of Illinois
Review
"As much as is humanly possible to do so, Harvey has managed to fit Paganism between two covers. . . . This exquisitely detailed book takes an in-depth look at many branches of modern Paganism, related customs and issues, beliefs, and history. It rivals classics like Drawing Down the Moon for coverage and clarity."-Hypatia's Hoard,
Review
"Graham Harvey has written the best book yet published upon an important complex of contemporary religions, of which most people know only through hearsay and sensational journalism. His account is exciting, revealing, objective and just; the whole kaleidoscope of Paganism is here in all its vivid colours: witches, Druids, Odinists, eco-mystics and many others." -Ronald Hutton,University of Bristol
Synopsis
The Pagan tradition celebrates the physical nature of life on earth, blending science with spiritual folklore. Seasonal festivals are combined with the rediscovery of shamanic techniques and an emphasis on grounded empiricism. Considering the everyday world of food, health, sex, work, and leisure to be sacred, Pagans oppose that which threatens life such as deforestation, overdevelopment, nuclear power and invoke ancient deities in this struggle for the well-being of the earth and its inhabitants.
Contemporary Paganism presents a broad-based introduction to the main trends of contemporary Paganism, revealing the origins and practical aspects of Druidry, Witchcraft, Heathenism, Goddess Spirituality and Magic, Shamanism, and Geomancy among others. Making use of both traditional history and the movement's more imaginative sources, Harvey reveals how Paganism and its central focus on individual and social life is evolving and how this new religion perceives and relates to more traditional ones.
About the Author
RITA FELSKI is Professor of English at the University of Virginia. Her previous books include Beyond Feminist Aesthetics: Feminist Literature and Social Change and The Gender of Modernity.