Synopses & Reviews
The World Wide Web exploded into public consciousness in 1995, a year which saw the coming of age of the Internet. People are communicating, working, shopping, learning, and entertaining themselves, as well as satisfying carnal desires and even finding God through the simple act of connecting their computers to the wide universe of cyberspace.
We are assured, at the same time, that this progress will have profound effects on work, culture, leisureeverything, including the ways in which we interact with each other. Yet just what these effects will be, how power will be distributed, and what recourse will be available to those adversely affected by the new technologies, are issues that have yet to be negotiated. Aside from the occasional panic over cyber-porn, few have considered the wide-ranging effects of our increasing reliance on interactive technologies.
Cyberfutures offers a close examination of issues that will become increasingly important as computers, networks, and technologies occupy crucial roles in our everyday lives. Comprised of essays from a range of occupational and disciplinary perspectives, including those of Vivian Sobchack and Arturo Escobar, this volume makes essential reading for students in cultural and media studies, anthropology, as well as for citizens interested in considering the larger implications of the Information Superhighway.
Review
"B.R. Burg in Gay Warriors, through a vivid series of pictures from the ancient to the contemporary world, presents clear evidence that homosexual desire between fighting men in most times and places has contributed to the effectiveness of armies. The modern homosexual/heterosexual distinction has changed this over the last three centuries, but there is every reason to expect that the rise of the gay and lesbian movement may serve to restore an older tradition. The book's original sources stimulate the imagination, and this is especially true of the navy and army courts-martial since 1700. The book is a major contribution to a heated contemporary controversy."-Randolph Trumbach,Professor of History, Baruch College and the Grad Center, City University of New YorkAuthor of Sex and the Gender Revolution
Review
"B.R. Burg in Gay Warriors, through a vivid series of pictures from the ancient to the contemporary world, presents clear evidence that homosexual desire between fighting men in most times and places has contributed to the effectiveness of armies. The modern homosexual/heterosexual distinction has changed this over the last three centuries, but there is every reason to expect that the rise of the gay and lesbian movement may serve to restore an older tradition. The book's original sources stimulate the imagination, and this is especially true of the navy and army courts-martial since 1700. The book is a major contribution to a heated contemporary controversy."
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- Randolph Trumbach, Professor of History, Baruch College and the Grad Center, City University of New York
Author of Sex and the Gender Revolution
Review
"The reprinted documents are what makes Burg's book valuable, and they allow readers to judge for themselves whether gays and lesbians deserve to be fully integrated into the modern military."-The Journal of Sex Research,
Review
"Important...a truly fascinating reading on this controversial subject." -Library Journal,
Synopsis
In Ancient Greece and Rome, in Crusader campaigns and pirate adventures, same-sex romances were a common and condoned part of military culture. From the Peloponnesian War to the Gulf War, from Achelleus to Lawrence of Arabia gays and lesbians have played a crucial but often hidden role in military campaigns. But recent debates over the legality of gay service in the military and the "don't ask, don't tell" policy have obscured this rich aspect of military history. Richard Burg has recovered important documents and assembled an anthology on these often invisible gay and lesbian warriors.
Burg shows us that the Amazons of legend weren't just fictional. We learn about the richness and variety of their culture in documents from Plato, Seneca and Suetonius. From courts-martial proceedings we discover women warriors in seventeenth century England who passed as men in order to serve, and army officers whose underground culture fostered long-term romantic friendships.
There are also sections on the American Civil War, World War I and II, the contemporary U.S. military as well as sailors and pirates. This anthology will forever change the way we think about "gays in the military."
About the Author
Ziauddin Sardar is Professor of Science Policy at Middlesex University and consulting editor of Futures magazine.
Jerome R. Ravetz is the Director of Research Methods Consultancy and author of Scientific Knowledge and Social Problems. They both reside in England.