Showing papers on "Theme (narrative) published in 1997"

After writing culture : epistemology and praxis in contemporary anthropology

Abstract: This collection addresses the theme of representation in anthropology. Its fourteen articles explore some of the directions in which contemporary anthropology is moving, following the questions raised by the "writing culture" debates of the 1980s. It includes discussion of issues such as: * the concept of caste in Indian society * scottish ethnography * how dreams are culturally conceptualised * representations of the family * culture as conservation * gardens, theme parks and the anthropologist in Japan * representation in rural Japan * people's place in the landscape of Northern Australia * representing identity of the New Zealand Maori.

In Search of the True Gypsy: From Enlightenment to Final Solution

Abstract: CHOICE - "This is a book sure to elicit continued controversy and should be part of every Gypsy collection, but it will be of limited interest to nonspecialists". Patterns of Prejudice, Vol 34, No 1 "Willem"s work is a very important and welcome addition." Holocaust and Genocide Studies "Willem"s study will become a milestone in the history of research on the Gypsies, because it, in excellent fashion, makes this very history its theme.

The Second Epistle to the Corinthians

Abstract: This excellent commentary on 2 Corinthians by Paul Barnett illumines the historical background of the church at Corinth and clarifies the meaning of Paul's passionate letter both for those first-century Christians and for the church today. Assuming the unity of the letter, for which extensive argument is offered, Barnett takes the view that Paul is, in particular, addressing the issue of triumphalism in Corinth. This triumphalism is expressed by the newly arrived missioners who portray Paul as "inferior" to themselves; it is also endemic among the Corinthians. According to Barnett, the recurring theme of the letter is "power-in-weakness, " based on the motif of the Resurrection of the Crucified, which lies at the heart of the gospel of Christ. Also fundamental to the letter is the theme of fulfillment of the "promises of God" by Christ and the Spirit under the New Covenant. Written for scholars, pastors, and lay readers alike, this new commentary on 2 Corinthians will be a lasting reference work for those interested in this important section of Scripture.

Greek tragedy and the historian

Abstract: The tragic theme was no mere diversion for a fifth-century Athenian: it was a focal part of the experience of being a citizen. Tragedy explores fundamental issues of religion, of ethics, of civic ideology, and we should expect it to be a central source for the reconstruction and analysis of the Athenian thought-world. Yet is is also a peculiarly delicate source to use, and the combination of tragic with other material often poses particular problems to the historian. This collection of eleven papers investigates the methods and pitfalls of using tragedy to illuminate fifth-century thought, culture, and society. In the concluding essay Christopher Pelling summarizes two important themes of the book: the problems of using tragedy as evidence; and the light tragedy can shed on civic ideology.

Moral geographies of english landscape

Abstract: This paper uses the theme of moral geographies to address the cultures of landscape and leisure. Focusing on material from England in the 1930s and 1940s, it argues that questions of leisure in the countryside were presented in terms of citizenship, with intellectual, spiritual and physical cultures of landscape being combined as a means to ‘improve’ the citizen. Always, however, these definitions of citizenship worked in relation to the figure of the ‘anti‐citizen’. The paper traces the presence of such distinctions in the formation of policy during and after the Second World War, and suggests that such matters of cultural politics continue to inform questions of landscape and leisure today.

In-service Teacher Education in Europe: conditions and themes for development in the 21st century

Abstract: This article highlights four themes which focus upon the roles of higher education in the development of transitional research into the continuing professional development of teachers. The first theme examines the contexts and conditions for teacher development over a career span. The second theme looks at what research tells us about the variables which affect professional learning and development, and the limitations of current approaches. Theme three is critical of rational research planning models which result in ineffective dissemination and utilisation. It suggests that more attention needs to be paid by researchers to issues of ownership, participation and equity. Theme four proposes that researchers need to revisit their own purposes, roles, responsibilities and accountabilities in order to move closer to those communities whose needs they seek to serve. Finally, the article suggests “sustained flexibility” as a means of establishing and building more effective networks for learning and d...

Henderson, Karla; Bialeschki, M. Deborah; Shaw, Susan M.; and Freysinger, Valeria J. (1996). Both gains and gaps: Feminist perspectives on women's leisure

Abstract: Both gains and gaps: Feminist perspectives on women's leisure by Henderson, Bialeschki, Shaw, and Freysinger takes the reader on a journey through a wide range of theory, research, issues, and ideas about women and leisure. This book is an update of A leisure of one's own: A feminist perspective on women's leisure (Henderson, Bialeschki, Shaw, & Freysinger, 1989). The authors contend that "although many gains have been made in understanding women's leisure, much remains to be learned" (p. xiii). It is this theme of gains and gaps that guides the analysis of women and leisure throughout the book. Both Gains and Gaps is intended to serve as an introduction to the topic of women and leisure The authors achieve this goal by employing a clear, succinct writing style. They also work from the assumption that the reader does not necessarily have a background in women's studies, leisure studies, and/ or social sciences. Having said this, the book is not so simplistic that scholars in the field will not find reading this book beneficial. Indeed, I would argue that Henderson et al. achieve their goal of improving" . . clarity and thinking about both the gains and gaps surrounding women, gender, and leisure" (p. 4). Both Gains and Gaps is divided into ten chapters, or stages, in a journey of comprehension about women and leisure. Each chapter clearly outlines the theoretical perspectives, terminology, and the leisure-based research on a particular aspect pertaining to the topic of women's leisure. Chapter One ". . . sets the stage for subsequent chapters by discussing the underlying reasons for studying women's leisure" (p. 2). A discussion of feminist approaches, a definition of leisure, and social psychological/sociological perspectives on leisure are found in the first chapter. The authors also introduce the reader to the assumptions which guide their analysis of women and leisure as set out in the book. They work from the viewpoint that ". . women almost always function in a world that is governed and controlled by men" (p. 8), subsequently their leisure ". . . is often a reflection of their oppression in patriarchy" (p. 8). Nonetheless, leisure can also be a site for resistance and empowerment. Indeed, the feeling that it is possible to evoke social change, however small, is a constant lesson to be learned from this book. The second chapter provides the historical context for the discussion of women and leisure. While the authors readily admit that this book is written "from a North American perspective" (p. 3), they attempt to address the experiences of women outside of middle class, white, heterosexual society. Indeed, in Chapter Two this attempt at being inclusive is very much in evidence. For example, the reader not only learns of the primarily white suffrage movements of the nineteenth century, but she/he learns that the Black Baptist churches at the turn of the century formed the core membership for the National Association of Colored Women. The authors also address the issue of homophobia in women's leisure, primarily in relation to physical activity and sport. As such, this is a valuable contribution in itself since a discussion of the issues surrounding women's participation (or lack of) in sport is rarely found in leisure texts; a fact which is rather curious considering the significance accorded sport in many individuals' lives. Chapter Three takes "the bull by the horns" and confronts the often negative connotations surrounding the terms feminist and feminism. The authors open the chapter with various quotations from their students when asked if they are feminists. These quotes tend to support Henderson et al's contention that "many people hesitate to be associated with feminism for fear of the repercussions that could arise from some of the negative stereotypes about feminists" (p. 71). This chapter elucidates some of these misconceptions. It helps the reader to understand that there are different feminisms. …

The Medial Caesura and Its Role in the Eighteenth-Century Sonata Exposition

Abstract: The authors are developing a genre-based "Sonata Theory," according to which moment-to-moment compositional choices in sonata-form works are understood as elements of an ongoing dialogue with reasonably ascertainable, flexible norms. One of the most important tonal/rhetorical features of the "two-part exposition" (i.e., an exposition with a secondary theme) c. 1800 is the medial caesura, bringing an emphatic end to Part One and simultaneously making available the "secondary-theme zone" that launches Part Two. Com-posers treated the medial caesura in several standard ways, but they could also subject it to generic "deformation" for structural or expressive reasons that become clearer once the norms surrounding medial-caesura activity are understood. aydn and, later, young Mozart (as well as ev ry other comser of the period) assimil ted and customized into their n personal styles. the later eighteenth century, especially in the hands of aydn, Mozart, and Beethoven, th variet of ays in which e crucial MC could be articulated, 'suggest evaded, asked, declined, bri ged, or stretched had grown enorously. What h d arisen as a simple, straightforward device galant structural punctuation-a gap of silence-came to among the most central, most subtle, mo t expressive feares of the late-eighteenthnd earlyineteenth-century exsition. Sonata Theory, co cerned with recreating the tacit ialogue betwee a in ividual work and a relevant, histora ly fluid set of generic norms, seeks to provide the tools r awake ing the expressive impact of such things as the exhaustibly varied reatmen s of the all-import nt medial This content downloaded from 207.46.13.83 on Fri, 21 Oct 2016 04:46:37 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms

How Engineers Write: An Empirical Study of Engineering Report Writing

Abstract: This study trials an analysis of engineering reports using a modified version of Gosden's (1993) analysis of the science research article. Using Hallidayan sociolinguistic concepts the analysis primarily shows how engineering writers linguistically convert real-world entities and processes into non-real-world concepts and also tracks authorial presence in the article. Concentrating primarily on the Mode aspect of Register, or how reality is constructed the research looks at the system of organizing theme: and information. More particularly, it classifies the Subject in unmarked theme sentences to reveal strategic manipulation of thematic choices between real-world and non-real-world. It is argued that the linguistic reconstrual into scientific concepts and data and then, reconversion into real-world phenomena is the essence of the engineering-report.

The Mythic Voice of Statius: Power and Politics in the Thebaid

Abstract: This is the first thematic study of Statius' Thebaid to be published in monograph form in English in the past twenty years. It examines in detail the thematic design and intent of the Thebaid and considers the question of its contemporary relevance. The book focuses on the central theme of power - how it is exercised on the supernatural and human levels and the consequences of its pursuit and abuse in terms of the human condition. An ensuing discussion explores the political undercurrents of the epic. This discussion is in four main parts: (1) 'Use and Abuse of Supernatural Power'; (2) 'Pursuit and Abuse of Monarchal Power'; (3) 'Consequences of the Abuse of Power'; and (4) 'Political Relevance to Contemporary Rome'. The views expressed represent a fundamental departure from previous studies and constitute a critical reassessment of the Thebaid. The provision of translations makes the book accessible to the Latinless reader.

Feeling Understood in Family Therapy

Abstract: This paper attempts to highlight a common experience, but neglected topic, in family therapy: that of feeling understood. Aspects of postmodernism and contemporary psychoanalysis are revisited to create a theme of understanding as a fully relational activity – making sense together through language of that which lies beyond language. Some ideas on preparing to try to understand are discussed.

Cooperative and collective in China's rural development : between state and private interests

Abstract: This is a critical study of the major novels and short stories of Minako Oba (1930-) the undisputed leader in the resurgence of women writers in Japan. Oba is a postmodernist, rethinking gender and culture, encompassing the theme of female Bildungsroman, and drawing on marinated memories.

Ghosts of Exile: Doubles and Nostalgia in Vergil's "Parva Troia" ("Aeneid" 3.294ff.)

Abstract: This paper provides an analysis of Aeneas9 visit to the "parva Troia" in Epirus (Vergil, "Aeneid" 3.294ff.), centered on the theme of "substitutes" and "doubles," and beginning with Andromache, the heroine of this encounter. With Helenus as a substitute for her deceased husband, Hector, Andromache is involved in a sort of levirate marriage. Moreover, she reacts to Aeneas and his companions as if they too were "substitutes," living persons who immediately evoke images of the dead, "doubles" for her lost loved ones (Hector first and foremost, and also Creusa and Astyanax). This makes Andromache perfectly at home in "parva Troia", which is itself a "double," a "substitute" for the city destroyed by the Greeks. Except that, like all "doubles," "parva Troia" is an insubstantial illusion, the effigy of something that no longer exists. This city and its landscape can only be "seen," not actually "inhabited." These Trojan exiles are thus victims of a syndrome very similar to "nostalgia" (a Greek word unknown to the ancient Greeks, dating to the early eighteenth century, and beautifully described in a remarkable passage by Chateaubriand). Helenus and his companions are "too faithful" to their vanished city; their destiny, like that of the dead, has been hopelessly fulfilled. Aeneas, however, is not allowed to become a prisoner of the past. Against his will, he must be "unfaithful" to his former city: he will not rebuild Troy. The companions of Helenus and Andromache suffer from an "excess of identity" (one way to define nostalgia). Aeneas, on the other hand, submits to the almost total loss of his own identity: except for the Penates, a highly significant, sacred part of the lost patria, which will contribute to the formation of his identity in a way similar to Helenus and Andromache9s own nostalgic cult of the image of Troy.

Historiography of Imperial Russia: The Profession and Writing of History in a Multinational State

Abstract: The six volumes in this series are designed to enrich the study of history, literature, their mutual influences, and their shared legacies Each book begins with an interdisciplinary Chronology that identifies, defines, and places in context the notable historical events, literary works, authors' lives, and cultural landmarks of the period A key feature of each volume is a comprehensive overview essay summarizing the era's major historical trends, social movements, cultural and artistic themes, literary voices, and enduring works as reflections of each other and the spirit of the times The core content comprises 20-30 insightful articles on representative writers of the period, along with excerpts from essential literary works that highlight a historical theme, sociocultural movement, or the confluence of the two These primary sources serve the Common Core emphasis on "informational texts from a broad range of cultures and periods", including "stories, drama, poetry, and literary nonfiction" Each volume serves as an affordable, concise, and well-organised companion for students in history, English, and language arts classes at the high school, community college, and lower undergraduate level

Through Many Tribulations: The Theology of Persecution in Luke-Acts

Abstract: This book, the first comprehensive study of persecution in Luke-Acts from a literary and theological perspective, argues that the author uses the theme of persecution in pursuit of his theological agenda. It brings to the surface six theological functions of the persecution theme, which has an important paraenetic and especially apologetic role for Luke's persecuted community. The persecution Luke's readers suffer is evidence that they are legitimate recipients of God's salvific blessings.

The Meanings of Home in the Stories of Older Women

Abstract: The concept of home emerged as a theme in the stories of inner strength told by older women. In this study, 12 women over the age of 65 (7European American and SAfrican American) were asked to tell...

The Civil code of the Russian Federation

Abstract: The Gilded Age and Dawn of the Modern: 1877-1919, a new title in the six-title series History Through Literature: American Voices, American Themes, provides insights and analysis regarding the history, literature, and cultural climate of the Gilded Age and early twentieth century. It brings together informational text and primary documents that cover notable historic events and trends, authors, literary works, social movements, and cultural and artistic themes. The Gilded Age and Dawn of the Modern begins with an interdisciplinary chronology that identifies, defines, and places in context the notable historical events, literary works, authors' lives, and cultural landmarks of the period. This is followed by a comprehensive overview essay that summarizes the era's major historical trends, social movements, cultural and artistic themes, literary voices, and enduring works as reflections of each other and the spirit of the times. The core content comprises 20-30 articles on representative writers of the period, along with excerpts from essential literary works that highlight a historical theme, sociocultural movement, or the confluence of the two. These excerpts serve the Common Core emphasis on "informational texts from a broad range of cultures and periods", including "stories, drama, poetry, and literary nonfiction".

Angels and Absences: Child Deaths in the Nineteenth Century

Abstract: What is the difference between public and private feeling, and how far can we deduce past feelings from the words that have been left us? Why do child deaths figure so often and so prominently in the literature of the nineteenth century, and how was the theme of the death of a child used to elicit such poignant responses in the readers of that era? In this fascinating new book, Laurence Lerner vividly contrasts the contempt with which twentieth-century criticism so often dismisses such works as mere sentimentality with the enthusiasm and tears of nineteenth-century contemporaries. Drawing examples from both real and literary deaths, Lerner delves into the writings of well-known authors such as Dickens, Coleridge, Shelley, Flaubert, Mann, Huxley, and Hesse, as well as lesser known writers like Felicia Hemans and Lydia Sigourney. In the process, he synthesizes fresh ideas about the thorny subjects of sentimentality, aesthetic judgment, and the function of religion in literature. Lerner's forthright and evocative prose style is enjoyable reading, and he excels in teasing out the moral implications and the psychosocial entanglements of his chosen narrative and lyrical texts. This is a book that will illuminate an important aspect of the history of private life. It should have wide application for those interested in the history, sociology, and literature of the nineteenth century.

Virtues in the Theology of Thomas Aquinas

Abstract: The theology of virtues formulated by Thomas Aquinas follows an Aristotelian model in which the virtues, as new quasi-faculties, flow from a distinctive life form, grace. The A. shows how this theology, evident in Aquinas' works and long a theme of the Dominican school, has important ramifications (often overlooked) in today's ethics of virtue

The Founding Legend of Western Civilization: From Virgil to Vietnam

Abstract: "This book attempts to tell the history of a story, and to show how it is of central importance to western culture because it defines both what 'culture' is and who possesses it, " Richard Waswo begins in this impassioned, humane, and compelling reinterpretation of western civilization. The story Waswo refers to is a legend commonly regarded as fact for two millenia: the descent of all European for peoples from emigrant Trojans. But this study, astonishing in its range and fascinating in its vision, does not merely trace the theme through history. Instead, Waswo examines the way the legend influenced western perception and behavior and became embodied in our literature, religion, law, philosophy, history, science, social theory, and film. Implicit in this legend of perpetual colonization, Waswo says, is a distinction between "culture, " with its settled agricultural and urbanized communities, and the "savage, " with its hunting, gathering, and nomadic pastoralism. Waswo examines the powerful influence of th legend from its first expression in the Aeneid itself to The Faerie Queene to the fiction of Conrad and Forster, and also considers such widely disparate manifestations as the films of John Ford, the defoliation of Vietnam, and the policies of the World Bank. Both polemical and thought-provoking, the book shows how "legendary images defining our civilization determine our conduct toward other cultures: the fictions are both enacted in history and at the same time used to justify such action morally."

The Music of Sergei Prokofiev

Abstract: This work is a comprehensive analytical study of the music of Sergei Prokofiev. Neil Minturn sets the Russian composer's work in historical, cultural, and autobiographical context and examines a representative sampling of his compositions from a theoretical point of view. Minturn finds a central theme of Prokofiev's oeuvre to be the interplay between tradition and innovation. He discusses the composer's diverse compositional procedures (tonal versus "modern" devices), as well as the political and cultural influences on Prokofiev's works. Minturn shows how the contents and structure of individual pieces and movements took shape, how Prokofiev developed the notion of five musical lines, and how the idea of the "wrong note" in his music plays out. A constant harmonic and rhythmic sense permeates Prokofiev's evolving style, as measured by relatively "harmonic" or "contrapuntal" emphasis. Minturn analyses works for piano, orchestra, various chamber ensembles, and voice (including the opera, "The Gambler") and considers works in each category from various periods in Prokofiev's career. For readers with an interest in a particular work, the analyses stand alone and need not be read sequentially.

Limits of Political Engagement in Antebellum America: A New Look at the Golden Age of Participatory Democracy

Abstract: The expansion of democracy during the decades preceding the Civil War has long been a central theme of American historical literature, and in recent years political historians have vastly increased our knowledge of emerging democratic institutions and processes by examining the partisan battles of that era. Virtually all historians agree that political engagement, which went well beyond voting, was both widespread and deeply felt within the electorate. Jean H. Baker observes "that nineteenth-century Americans gave closer attention to politics than is the case today, thereby guaranteeing a broader, deeper understanding of issues. . . . party rallies were better attended than Sunday services or even meetings of itinerant preachers," and elections "became secular holy days." Politics and, especially, partisan commitment colored many other aspects of American life. "More than in any subsequent era," writes William E. Gienapp, "political life formed the very essence of the pre-Civil War generation's experience." The political party, according to Michael E. McGerr, was not merely an institution for formulating public policy and organizing election campaigns, but "a natural lens through which to view the world." "Politics seem to enter into everything," complained a nonpartisan editor during the heat of the 1860 presidential campaign, and a generation of historians has in effect concurred in Gienapp's approving use of this phrase as the title of his seminal essay on northern American political culture and behavior in the antebellum era. '

Gender Trouble in Twelfth Night

Abstract: The emergence of queer studies in the academy has led to many influential rereadings of Renaissance works, including those of Shakespeare.' While Twelfth Night continues to be one of the major textual sites for the discussion of homoerotic representation in Shakespeare, interpretive conclusions about the effect of same-sex attraction in this comedy are divided, especially in light of the natural "bias" of the heterosexual marriages in act 5.2 The relationship between Antonio and Sebastian has proven the most fertile ground for queer inquiry; for example, Joseph Pequigney recently has set out, in New-Critical fashion, to prove the "sexual orientation" of these two characters as unquestionably "homosexual" in a play whose "recurring theme" is "bisexuality."3 Although Pequigney's observations are refreshing as well as important, "The Two Antonios and Same-Sex Love" unproblematically applies contemporary constructions of sexual identity to an early modern culture in which the categories of homoand bisexuality were neither fixed nor associated with identity. In fact, as I will argue, Twelfth Night is centrally concerned with demonstrating the uncategorical temper of sexual attraction.

From Hinton to Hamlet: Building Bridges between Young Adult Literature and the Classics

Abstract: Building bridges between young adult literature and the classics The theme of From Hinton to Hamlet is that Young Adult Literature (YAL) is an effective bridge for getting teen-aged students interested in reading the classics of a required school curriculum The authors also argue that the improved literary quality of YAL in recent years can allow teachers to introduce the students to and augment their understanding of traditional literary concepts Chapter one is primarily anecdotal The author tells of the experiences with her seventh and eight grade classes that lead her to YAL They were reluctant -even hostile- toward reading the required literature When she tried YAL, the classroom atmosphere and students' attitudes changed for the positive The author relates some further anecdotes to show actual student responses The last section of chapter one is not anecdotal but is an attempt to convince teachers to give YAL a chance It is, in effect, a call to read on in the book with an open mind Chapter two is designed to dispel the traditional notions about Young Adult Literature It begins by giving a summative history of YAL In the 1920's-1950's the literature was superficial even though a few authors produced some literature of higher quality and relevance However, in the late 1960's and early 1970's came the turning point Literary talents of authors became more evident The first section of chapter two concludes with a listing of characteristics unique to YAL The second section of the chapter deals with the problems of the traditional attitudes toward YAL, while the remainder of chapter two argues that, contrary to the traditional viewpoint, YAL contains valuable universal themes and motifs and characters Chapter three argues that traditional teaching of literature in which the teacher emphasizes literary techniques and the meanings of books prevents students from experiencing literature on a personal level The author emphasizes that having students read for the pleasure of discovery should be more of a goal In what is probably the most cogent sections of this book (pages 15-21), the author examines the stages of literary growth in readers She also deals with the old (and probably valid) educational concept of reading readiness As a means of collaborating her beliefs, she cites Louise Rosenblatt: "Like the beginning reader, the adolescent needs to encounter literature for which he possesses the intellectual, emotional, and experiential equipment" Chapter three concludes with an argument for using student-centered, response-based teaching as a means of engaging students in the reading of literature Chapter four encourages teachers to be flexible in allowing students to choose literary selections, in accepting student responses as valid, and in allowing classroom time for reading and small group discussion, and for changes in students' reading attitudes The author recommends two weeks as the optimum time for dealing with a Young Adult selection By providing this time, either before or after reading a required classic, she argues that students will become more engaged and enthusiastic about their reading as they make connections between literary works and as their confidence grows The recognition of these connections can be fostered in students by introducing archetypes in literature and by using thematic literature units The final argument of chapter four is that by students having the interest and readiness to read, teachers will still be able to cover the material required by the curriculum Much of chapter four provides pages of examples of how YAL can tie in to works commonly required in an English curriculum These pages are potentially a good reference source for teachers unfamiliar with the Young Adult Literature Chapter five promotes changing the students' image of libraries by having teachers, library/media specialists, and public librarians convince teenagers to browse and shop the library just as they do the mall …

The Powers of the Holy: Religion, Politics, and Gender in Late Medieval English Culture

Abstract: The Powers of the Holy: Religion, Politics, and Gender in Late Medieval English Culture. By David Aers and Lynn Staley. University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1996. 310 pp. $45.00 (cloth); 19.95 (paper). In The Powers of the Holy, David Aers and Lynn Staley explore the relationship between politics and piety in England during the last quarter of the fourteenth century, showing it to be a period of great intellectual ferment, in contrast to the rather restricted orthodoxy of the fifteenth century. They focus in particular on vernacular works (including Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, Langland's Piers Plowman, Julian of Norwich's Showings, and various Wycliffe texts) produced prior to Archbishop Thomas Arundel's Constitutions of 1409, which made vernacular discussions of theological matters highly suspect. These texts, which have typically been read as "religious" or "literary" texts, are shown by Aers and Staley to have profound political investments-that is, these texts both are shaped by and respond to the various configurations of social power operative in their specific time and place. Though the authors have worked closely together in producing this book, the first half is Aers's and the second half Staley's. Aers's section consists of three closely related chapters examining different representations of Christ's humanity. Reacting to Caroline Bynum's brilliant but monolithic account of the late medieval understanding of Christ's humanity as feminized and suffering, Aers shows that there were in fact alternative accounts of that humanity. Aers examines how the dominant "orthodox" representations of Christ's humanity, which focused on his passion to the exclusion of either his teaching or his resurrection, submerged the memory of the wandering rabbi who challenged the religious and political leaders of his day. Aers then goes on to show how this "dangerous" memory was preserved both in theologically "orthodox" forms (i.e. Piers Plowman), as well as in forms that were theologically "heterodox" (i.e. Wyclif and the Lollards). In both these forms Jesus' crucifixion is construed not as self-abnegation, but as a suffering inflicted upon him by those in power, a suffering that he willingly takes on rather than abandon his prophetic preaching. Aers then looks at Julian of Norwich's representation of Christ's humanity as another example of a Christology in which the suffering of Christ, while not ignored, is not the primary focus. Aers's essays work together effectively to argue for a rethinking of the significance of Christ's humanity in medieval Christianity, and they make an important point about the ways that various late medieval depictions of Christ's humanity both reflect and are shaped by different understandings of the relationship between piety and politics. Whereas Aers's essays cluster tightly around the theme of Christ's humanity, the two essays by Staley that make up the second half of the book address less focused questions of "power" and "authority." The first, also on Julian of Norwich, presents Julian as a self-conscious author who engaged in an act of "fictional self-fashioning" that allowed her "the freedom to say what she needed to say" ( 109). And what Julian needed to say, on Staley's account, had to do with the overcoming of the various antinomies that normally structured social power, in particular the pairs lord-servant (in Julian's "example" of the Lord and Servant) and male-female (in her teaching on the motherhood of Christ). Staley's second essay offers a reading of Chaucer that is at once theological and political. Though Chaucer is not usually thought of as a theological writer, Staley argues that in certain key Canterbury tales (the Second Nun's tale, the Melibee, and the Clerk's Tale) Chaucer offers his readers resources for a social critique grounded in a Christian vision not unlike (though not identical with) that found in Wyclif and Langland. …