Improve your acting skills and become more expressive in body and voice by following the teachings of Rudolf Laban, one of the most important movement... theorists of the twentieth century.* Individual, partner, and group exercises to make any actor more expressive * Crucial acting tips based on the work of distinguished theorist Rudolf Laban * 65 original illustrations of anatomy and warm-up exercises This in-depth, fully illustrated guide offers a groundbreaking approach to understanding physical and vocal movement that will enable readers to discover how to maximize their potential. Packed with practical exercises for individuals, partners, and group work, this book integrates voice, speech, and movement. Exercises for breath support, tone, range, articulation, dynamic alignment, balance, flexibility, strength, and stamina, as well as building relationships, Actor Training the Laban Way is essential reading for all serious actors, acting teachers, and students. 65 B & W Illustrations

Twelve films are covered in this text, each in a separate chapter covering the background of the film, pre-viewing exercises, post-viewing activities... for discussion, analysis, writing, and additional readings in German. Cinema for German Conversation is an innovative contribution to the modern language pedagogy pioneered by Focus, presenting the study of language and culture through the medium of outstanding films. This text is suited for courses in German that seek to use German language feature films as a springboard for conversation and culture, along with other communicative activities.

William Willimon combines the latest findings in Lukan scholarship with the pastoral, educational, and theological concerns of the local church to... provide a new interpretation of Acts. He bases his commentary on the idea that the purpose of Acts was not to make Christianity acceptable to the Roman state but rather to preserve the integrity of the church against the onslaught of classical culture.Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching is a distinctive resource for those who interpret the Bible in the church. Planned and written specifically for teaching and preaching needs, this critically acclaimed biblical commentary is a major contribution to scholarship and ministry.

This book was first published in 2010. Madison presents the neglected yet compelling and necessary story of local activists in South Saharan Africa who... employ modes of performance as tactics of resistance and intervention in their day-to-day struggles for human rights. The dynamic relationship between performance and activism are illustrated in three case studies: Act One presents a battle between tradition and modernity as the bodies of African women are caught in the cross-fire. Act Two focuses on 'water democracy' as activists fight for safe, accessible public water as a human right. Act Three examines the efficacy of street performance and theatre for development in the oral histories of Ghanaian gender activists. Unique to this book is the continuing juxtaposition between the everyday performances of local activism and their staged enactments before theatre audiences in Ghana and the USA. Madison beautifully demonstrates how these disparate sites of performance cohere in the service of rights, justice, and activism.

In response to the massive bloodshed that defined the twentieth century, American religious radicals developed a modern form of nonviolent protest, one... that combined Christian principles with new uses of mass media. Greatly influenced by the ideas of Mohandas Gandhi, these "acts of conscience" included sit-ins, boycotts, labor strikes, and conscientious objection to war. Beginning with World War I and ending with the ascendance of Martin Luther King Jr., Joseph Kip Kosek traces the impact of A. J. Muste, Richard Gregg, and other radical Christian pacifists on American democratic theory and practice. These dissenters found little hope in the secular ideologies of Wilsonian Progressivism, revolutionary Marxism, and Cold War liberalism, all of which embraced organized killing at one time or another. The example of Jesus, they believed, demonstrated the immorality and futility of such violence under any circumstance and for any cause. Yet the theories of Christian nonviolence are anything but fixed. For decades, followers have actively reinterpreted the nonviolent tradition, keeping pace with developments in politics, technology, and culture. Tracing the rise of militant nonviolence across a century of industrial conflict, imperialism, racial terror, and international warfare, Kosek recovers radical Christians' remarkable stance against the use of deadly force, even during World War II and other seemingly just causes. His research sheds new light on an interracial and transnational movement that posed a fundamental, and still relevant, challenge to the American political and religious mainstream.

Finally, social scientists have begun to attempt to understand religious behavior rather than to discredit it as irrational, ignorant, or foolish--and... Rodney Stark and Roger Finke have played a major role in this new approach. Acknowledging that science cannot assess the supernatural side of religion (and therefore should not claim to do so), Stark and Finke analyze the observable, human side of faith. In clear and engaging prose, the authors combine explicit theorizing with animated discussions as they move from considering the religiousness of individuals to the dynamics of religious groups and then to the religious workings of entire societies as religious groups contend for support. The result is a comprehensive new paradigm for the social-scientific study of religion.

With a new afterword   Acts of Faith is a remarkable account of growing up Muslim in America and coming to believe in religious pluralism, from one of... the most prominent faith leaders in the United States. Eboo Patel’s story is a hopeful and moving testament to the power and passion of young people—and of the world-changing potential of an interfaith youth movement.

With a new afterword   Acts of Faith is a remarkable account of growing up Muslim in America and coming to believe in religious pluralism, from one of... the most prominent faith leaders in the United States. Eboo Patel’s story is a hopeful and moving testament to the power and passion of young people—and of the world-changing potential of an interfaith youth movement.

As the waters of the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain began to pour into New Orleans, people began asking the big question--could any of this... have been avoided? How much of the damage from Hurricane Katrina was bad luck, and how much was poor city planning? Steinberg's Acts of God is a provocative history of natural disasters in the United States. This revised edition features a new chapter analyzing the failed response to Hurricane Katrina, a disaster Steinberg warned could happen when the book first was published. Focusing on America's worst natural disasters, Steinberg argues that it is wrong to see these tragedies as random outbursts of nature's violence or expressions of divine judgment. He reveals how the decisions of business leaders and government officials have paved the way for the greater losses of life and property, especially among those least able to withstand such blows--America's poor, elderly, and minorities. Seeing nature or God as the primary culprit, Steinberg explains, has helped to hide the fact that some Americans are simply better able to protect themselves from the violence of nature than others. In the face of revelations about how the federal government mishandled the Katrina calamity, this book is a must-read before further wind and water sweep away more lives. Acts of God is a call to action that needs desperately to be heard.

Acts of Literature, compiled in close association with Jacques Derrida, brings together for the first time a number of Derrida's writings on literary... texts. The essays discuss literary figures such as Rousseau, Mallarme, Joyce, Shakespeare, and Kafka, and comprise pieces spanning Derrida's career. The collection includes a substantial new interview with him on questions of literature, deconstruction, politics, feminism and history, and Derek Attridge provides an introductory essay on deconstruction and the question of literature, with suggestions for further reading. These essays examine the place and operation of literature in Western culture, and are highly original responses to individual literary texts. They highlight Derrida's interest in literature as a significant cultural institution and as a peculiarly challenging form of writing, with inescapable consequences for our thinking about philosophy, politics and ethics.

Jerome Bruner argues that the cognitive revolution, with its current fixation on mind as "information processor; " has led psychology away from the... deeper objective of understanding mind as a creator of meanings. Only by breaking out of the limitations imposed by a computational model of mind can we grasp the special interaction through which mind both constitutes and is constituted by culture.

Acts of Religion, compiled in close association with Jacques Derrida, brings together for the first time a number of Derrida's writings on religion and... questions of faith and their relation to philosophy and political culture. The essays discuss religious texts from Jewish, Christian, and Muslim traditions, as well as religious thinkers such as Kant, Levinas, and Gershom Scholem, and comprise pieces spanning Derrida's career. The collection includes two new essays by Derrida that appear here for the first time in any language, as well as a substantial introduction by Gil Anidjar that explores Derrida's return to his own "religious" origins and his attempts to bring to light hidden religious dimensions of the social, cultural, historical, and political.

A devastating critique of free-market politics from distinguished sociologist Pierre Bourdieu. In his most explicitly political work to date, Pierre... Bourdieu, France's leading dissident intellectual, speaks out against the withdrawal of the state from crucial areas of social life. In this sharp, uncompromising attack on the dismantling of public welfare in the name of private enterprise and global competitiveness, Bourdieu stands up for the interests of individuals, groups, and social movements whose views are ignored in the current climate of market triumphalism. He offers a new vision of internationalism that would defend the collective and individual social rights of ordinary people against the prerogatives of the marketplace. This important and timely book, by one of our most outstanding intellectuals, challenges us to rethink the dominant political wisdom.

When it's time to revise, the hard work is over. Revision means tweaking, perfecting, enjoying. It's putting the finishing touches on a piece and... readying it for independence. Try it-you'll like it. Revision is a crucial part of the writing process. But many authors resist the act. The contributors to this book know this from experience, whether they've taught freshman comp or other writing courses. They could see the need for a highly practical book-one filled with field-tested exercises to help writers not only revise, but appreciate and enjoy the process. They could see the need for Acts of Revision-a book that writing instructors would be eager to adopt and that new and experienced writers could enjoy as a text for any writing course. Using their own and classroom work as instructional examples, each contributor to Acts of Revision works with either a different genre (poetry, research writing, creative nonfiction, alternate styles, hypertext) or with the sound and effect of text, particularly sentences and punctuation. Exercises within chapters give writers the opportunity to practice revising and hone their skills. To emphasize the point that revision requires a shift from the writer's concerns to readers' concerns, Wendy Bishop and her longtime coauthor Hans Ostrum provide a collaborative revision history at the end of the book. They show how writing and revising together not only improves the product, but also dispels the image, and myth, of the writer-who-writes-alone (which is only true if you expect no readers). Whether you're a student, a teacher, or an independent writer, take this book as a practical invitation into the acts of revision that these contributors know are productive. Benefit from their experiences, including what doesn't work and why. Then consider your many options. Compare and contrast, control and play, assess and experiment. Ultimately, know that the act of revision is an art well worth your time and attention.