Challenging Evil: Time, Society and Changing Concepts of the Meaning of Evil

Download Challenging Evil: Time, Society and Changing Concepts of the Meaning of Evil PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : BRILL
ISBN 13 : 184888026X
Total Pages : 205 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (488 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Challenging Evil: Time, Society and Changing Concepts of the Meaning of Evil by :

Download or read book Challenging Evil: Time, Society and Changing Concepts of the Meaning of Evil written by and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2020-04-28 with total page 205 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The papers collected in this volume were first presented at the 11th Global Conference Perspectives on Evil and Human Wickedness, which took place in Salzburg (Austria) in March 2010 and is a part of the research network Inter-Disciplinary.Net.

International Perspectives on Rethinking Evil in Film and Television

Download International Perspectives on Rethinking Evil in Film and Television PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : IGI Global
ISBN 13 : 1799847799
Total Pages : 248 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (998 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis International Perspectives on Rethinking Evil in Film and Television by : Tüysüz, Dilan

Download or read book International Perspectives on Rethinking Evil in Film and Television written by Tüysüz, Dilan and published by IGI Global. This book was released on 2020-12-22 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Aestheticization of evil is a frequently used formula in cinema and television. However, the representation of evil as an aesthetic object pushes it out of morality. Moral judgments can be pushed aside when evil is aestheticized in movies or TV series because there is no real victim. Thus, situations such as murder or war can become a source of aesthetic pleasure. Narratives in cinema and television can sometimes be based on a simple good-evil dichotomy and sometimes they can be based on individual or social experiences of evil and follow a more complicated method. Despite the various ways evil is depicted, it is a moral framework in film and television that must be researched to study the implications of aestheticized evil on human nature and society. International Perspectives on Rethinking Evil in Film and Television examines the changing representations of evil on screen in the context of the commonness, normalization, aestheticization, marginalization, legitimization, or popularity of evil. The chapters provide an international perspective of the representations of evil through an exploration of the evil tales or villains in cinema and television. Through looking at these programs, this book highlights topics such as the philosophy of good and evil, the portrayal of heroes and villains, the appeal of evil, and evil’s correspondence with gender and violence. This book is ideal for sociologists, professionals, researchers and students working or studying in the field of cinema and television and practitioners, academicians, and anyone interested in the portrayal and aestheticization of evil in international film and television.

Overcoming Workplace Pathologies

Download Overcoming Workplace Pathologies PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 3319171542
Total Pages : 190 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (191 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Overcoming Workplace Pathologies by : Gilbert W. Fairholm

Download or read book Overcoming Workplace Pathologies written by Gilbert W. Fairholm and published by Springer. This book was released on 2015-07-04 with total page 190 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book deals directly with the characteristics of the relationships that the leader builds in the context of the work environment. It argues that the prevailing work community work culture is intended to help the leader lead but, increasingly it impedes the leader’s work. Leadership is a function of the leader’s values, attitudes, and aspirations: leadership flows from the leader’s spiritual character-defining core essence. However, the author argues that cultural forces coming from both inside and outside the workplace, often designed to promote diversity, inclusivity, and tolerance, have introduced into the work culture values and behavior that are pathological to executing effective leadership and detrimental to the health of work communities. While attractive on the surface, these new values are toxic to the idea of relationship and thus threaten the work community culture, in effect "killing leadership." This book will arm leaders with the tools, resources, and techniques to recognize and overcome workplace pathologies. After reading this book, leaders will: have a complete understanding of the key principles of spirit-based values leadership see clearly that the leader’s values shape both the leader’s one-on-one relationships with coworkers and are at the center of the work culture they create to re-enforce coworker actions and decisions appreciate more fully the power of the ambient work culture to influence coworkers toward leader set values and methods guiding the work community know the toxic effect on doing leadership of introducing non-work values and standards into the work community culture understand the arguments against allowing subgroups of the work community to form and practice values opposed to the values the leader has set for the full group be better prepared to deal with the consequences of encountering evil, hatred and/or fear in the workplace realize that not all coworkers are uniformly honest and truthful and learn ways to counter this behavior and still accomplish the work community’s goals and ensure its productivity The result is a pragmatic approach to aligning values, behaviors, and performance, while enhancing the principles of effective and positive leadership throughout the organization.

World Suffering and Quality of Life

Download World Suffering and Quality of Life PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 940179670X
Total Pages : 447 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (17 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis World Suffering and Quality of Life by : Ronald E. Anderson

Download or read book World Suffering and Quality of Life written by Ronald E. Anderson and published by Springer. This book was released on 2015-02-04 with total page 447 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first book tackling the topic of world suffering. It compiles in one place the ideas, perspectives, and findings of researchers from around the world who pioneered research-based understanding of human suffering. Some chapters use the paradigm of ‘quality of life’ to explore ways to enhance knowledge on suffering. Other chapters show how concepts and knowledge from suffering research can benefit studies on quality of life. By bringing together in one volume, ideas and research experience from the best minds and leading researchers in the fields of pain, suffering, poverty, deprivation, disability and quality of life (including well-being and happiness), this volume advances social science solutions to a number of major threads of research, most notably suffering. As a whole, the volume advances the fields of suffering and deprivation by suggesting a working typology of suffering and by pointing out the major paradigms for relief of suffering, such as humanitarianism, human rights, caring, and healing. This volume provides a wealth of insights about the interaction between suffering and quality of life, the most up-to-date characterization of worldwide suffering, and a grasp of the implications of these data for local and global policy on health and social well-being.

Organizational Behavior - Negative Aspects

Download Organizational Behavior - Negative Aspects PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : BoD – Books on Demand
ISBN 13 : 1837695741
Total Pages : 141 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (376 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Organizational Behavior - Negative Aspects by : Kivanc Bozkus

Download or read book Organizational Behavior - Negative Aspects written by Kivanc Bozkus and published by BoD – Books on Demand. This book was released on 2023-10-04 with total page 141 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Discover the hidden underbelly of organizational behavior in this thought-provoking edited volume, Organizational Behavior - Negative Aspects. Delving into the darker dimensions of the workplace, this book explores the detrimental aspects that impact individuals, teams, and entire organizations. From the elusive "Dark Triad" to counterproductive workplace behaviors and the perils of technostress, a wide range of topics are covered to provide a comprehensive understanding of the challenges organizations face. Fear's crushing impact on organizational culture and the unexplored realms of leadership expectations further challenge conventional notions. The negative aspects of teacher burnout and its profound effects on educational institutions highlight the urgency of addressing this issue. With insightful perspectives and evidence-based recommendations, this collection offers a valuable resource for researchers and practitioners seeking to navigate the complexities of negative organizational behavior. Whether you are a scholar, a manager, or simply curious about the intricacies of organizational dynamics, this book will broaden your understanding and inspire meaningful change. Join us on this journey as we uncover the hidden side of organizational behavior and pave the way towards healthier, more productive workplaces.

Routledge International Handbook of Charisma

Download Routledge International Handbook of Charisma PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 0429558279
Total Pages : 560 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (295 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Routledge International Handbook of Charisma by : José Pedro Zúquete

Download or read book Routledge International Handbook of Charisma written by José Pedro Zúquete and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-11-29 with total page 560 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Routledge International Handbook of Charisma provides an unprecedented multidimensional and multidisciplinary comparative analysis of the phenomenon of charisma – first defined by Max Weber as the irrational bond between deified leader and submissive follower. It includes broad overviews of foundational theories and experiences of charisma and of associated key issues and themes. Contributors include 45 influential international scholars who approach the topic from different disciplinary perspectives and utilize examples from an array of historical and cultural settings. The Handbook presents up-to-date, concise, thought-provoking, innovative, and informative perspectives on charisma as it has been expressed in the past and as it continues to be manifested in the contemporary world by leaders ranging from shamans to presidents. It is designed to be essential reading for all students, researchers, and general readers interested in achieving a comprehensive understanding of the power and potential of charismatic authority in all its varieties, subtleties, dynamics, and current and potential directions.

The 21st Century Superhero

Download The 21st Century Superhero PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : McFarland
ISBN 13 : 0786487305
Total Pages : 214 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (864 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The 21st Century Superhero by : Richard J. Gray II

Download or read book The 21st Century Superhero written by Richard J. Gray II and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2011-09-07 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Superhero films are one of the most enduring genres of cinema, and their popularity is only increasing in the 21st century. These ten critical essays explore the phenomenon through the lenses of numerous academic disciplines, and cover topics such as the role of globalization in the formation of superhero narratives, the shifting nature of masculinity and femininity in the superhero world and the state of the genre today. Of particular interest is the way these narratives, however fantastic, abstract, futuristic or simplistic, resonate with specific events in the world and function as starting points for discussion of contemporary sociopolitical conflicts.

In the Midst of Civilized Europe

Download In the Midst of Civilized Europe PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Metropolitan Books
ISBN 13 : 1250116260
Total Pages : 298 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (51 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis In the Midst of Civilized Europe by : Jeffrey Veidlinger

Download or read book In the Midst of Civilized Europe written by Jeffrey Veidlinger and published by Metropolitan Books. This book was released on 2021-10-26 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL JEWISH BOOK AWARD * SHORTLISTED FOR THE LIONEL GELBER PRIZE “The mass killings of Jews from 1918 to 1921 are a bridge between local pogroms and the extermination of the Holocaust. No history of that Jewish catastrophe comes close to the virtuosity of research, clarity of prose, and power of analysis of this extraordinary book. As the horror of events yields to empathetic understanding, the reader is grateful to Veidlinger for reminding us what history can do.” —Timothy Snyder, author of Bloodlands Between 1918 and 1921, over a hundred thousand Jews were murdered in Ukraine by peasants, townsmen, and soldiers who blamed the Jews for the turmoil of the Russian Revolution. In hundreds of separate incidents, ordinary people robbed their Jewish neighbors with impunity, burned down their houses, ripped apart their Torah scrolls, sexually assaulted them, and killed them. Largely forgotten today, these pogroms—ethnic riots—dominated headlines and international affairs in their time. Aid workers warned that six million Jews were in danger of complete extermination. Twenty years later, these dire predictions would come true. Drawing upon long-neglected archival materials, including thousands of newly discovered witness testimonies, trial records, and official orders, acclaimed historian Jeffrey Veidlinger shows for the first time how this wave of genocidal violence created the conditions for the Holocaust. Through stories of survivors, perpetrators, aid workers, and governmental officials, he explains how so many different groups of people came to the same conclusion: that killing Jews was an acceptable response to their various problems. In riveting prose, In the Midst of Civilized Europe repositions the pogroms as a defining moment of the twentieth century.

Between Illusionism and Anti-Illusionism

Download Between Illusionism and Anti-Illusionism PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Cambridge Scholars Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1443863475
Total Pages : 200 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (438 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Between Illusionism and Anti-Illusionism by : Marek Pawlicki

Download or read book Between Illusionism and Anti-Illusionism written by Marek Pawlicki and published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. This book was released on 2014-07-03 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Between Illusionism and Anti-Illusionism: Self-Reflexivity in the Chosen Novels of J. M. Coetzee takes as its premise J. M. Coetzee’s distinction between “illusionism” and “anti-illusionism”: the realist and the self-reflexive traditions in prose fiction. The aim of this critical study is to demonstrate that these two traditions are not opposed, but rather complementary to each other, and enrich the novel as a genre. Based on Marek Pawlicki’s doctoral thesis, the book is a detailed analysis of Coetzee’s oeuvre, paying particular attention to the impact of the writer’s literary essays on his fiction. Insofar as it looks into the ways in which Coetzee’s work as a critic has affected his novels, this book deals with the relation between fiction and literary criticism. Chapter One is an introduction into the topic of self-reflexivity. Chapters Two to Five, devoted to Dusklands, In the Heart of the Country, Age of Iron and Summertime, are concerned with the issue of subjectivity in confessional discourse and the boundary between fiction and autobiography. Chapters Six to Eight, concentrating on Foe, Slow Man, The Master of Petersburg, and Elizabeth Costello, offer insight into Coetzee’s views on literary creation and the role of the writer in society. Between Illusionism and Anti-Illusionism also examines intertextual references in Coetzee’s novels to the works of Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Kafka and Beckett.

Suffering and Evil

Download Suffering and Evil PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Berghahn Books
ISBN 13 : 0857456458
Total Pages : 205 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (574 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Suffering and Evil by : W. S. F. Pickering

Download or read book Suffering and Evil written by W. S. F. Pickering and published by Berghahn Books. This book was released on 2012 with total page 205 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Until recently the subject of suffering and evil was neglected in the sociological world and was almost absent in Durkheimian studies as well. This book aims to fill the gap, with particular reference to the Durkheimian tradition, by exploring the different meanings that the concepts of evil and suffering have in Durkheim's works, together with the general role they play in his sociology. It also examines the meanings and roles of these concepts in relation to suffering and evil in the work of other authors within the group of the Année sociologique up until the beginning of World War II. Finally, the Durkheimian legacy in its wider aspects is assessed, with particular reference to the importance of the Durkheimian categories in understanding and conceptualizing contemporary forms of evil and suffering.

The Roots of Evil

Download The Roots of Evil PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Cornell University Press
ISBN 13 : 0801471303
Total Pages : 282 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (14 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Roots of Evil by : John Kekes

Download or read book The Roots of Evil written by John Kekes and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2014-02-15 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Evil is the most serious of our moral problems. All over the world cruelty, greed, prejudice, and fanaticism ruin the lives of countless victims. Outrage provokes outrage. Millions nurture seething hatred of real or imagined enemies, revealing savage and destructive tendencies in human nature. Understanding this challenges our optimistic illusions about the effectiveness of reason and morality in bettering human lives. But abandoning these illusions is vitally important because they are obstacles to countering the threat of evil. The aim of this book is to explain why people act in these ways and what can be done about it."—John KekesThe first part of this book is a detailed discussion of six horrible cases of evil: the Albigensian Crusade of about 1210; Robespierre's Terror of 1793–94; Franz Stangl, who commanded a Nazi death camp in 1943–44; the 1969 murders committed by Charles Manson and his "family"; the "dirty war" conducted by the Argentinean military dictatorship of the late 1970s; and the activities of a psychopath named John Allen, who recorded reminiscences in 1975. John Kekes includes these examples not out of sensationalism, but rather to underline the need to hold vividly in our minds just what evil is. The second part shows why, in Kekes's view, explanations of evil inspired by Christianity and the Enlightenment fail to account for these cases and then provides an original explanation of evil in general and of these instances of it in particular.

The Atrocity Paradigm

Download The Atrocity Paradigm PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0199881790
Total Pages : 299 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (998 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Atrocity Paradigm by : Claudia Card

Download or read book The Atrocity Paradigm written by Claudia Card and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2002-09-12 with total page 299 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What distinguishes evils from ordinary wrongs? Is hatred a necessarily evil? Are some evils unforgivable? Are there evils we should tolerate? What can make evils hard to recognize? Are evils inevitable? How can we best respond to and live with evils? Claudia Card offers a secular theory of evil that responds to these questions and more. Evils, according to her theory, have two fundamental components. One component is reasonably foreseeable intolerable harm -- harm that makes a life indecent and impossible or that makes a death indecent. The other component is culpable wrongdoing. Atrocities, such as genocides, slavery, war rape, torture, and severe child abuse, are Cards paradigms because in them these key elements are writ large. Atrocities deserve more attention than secular philosophers have so far paid them. They are distinguished from ordinary wrongs not by the psychological states of evildoers but by the seriousness of the harm that is done. Evildoers need not be sadistic:they may simply be negligent or unscrupulous in pursuing their goals. Cards theory represents a compromise between classic utilitarian and stoic alternatives (including Kants theory of radical evil). Utilitarians tend to reduce evils to their harms; Stoics tend to reduce evils to the wickedness of perpetrators: Card accepts neither reduction. She also responds to Nietzsches challenges about the worth of the concept of evil, and she uses her theory to argue that evils are more important than merely unjust inequalities. She applies the theory in explorations of war rape and violence against intimates. She also takes up what Primo Levi called the gray zone, where victims become complicit in perpetrating on others evils that threaten to engulf themselves. While most past accounts of evil have focused on perpetrators, Card begins instead from the position of the victims, but then considers more generally how to respond to -- and live with -- evils, as victims, as perpetrators, and as those who have become both.

Evil in Modern Thought

Download Evil in Modern Thought PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 0691168504
Total Pages : 408 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (911 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Evil in Modern Thought by : Susan Neiman

Download or read book Evil in Modern Thought written by Susan Neiman and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2015-08-25 with total page 408 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Whether expressed in theological or secular terms, evil poses a problem about the world's intelligibility. It confronts philosophy with fundamental questions: Can there be meaning in a world where innocents suffer? Can belief in divine power or human progress survive a cataloging of evil? Is evil profound or banal? Neiman argues that these questions impelled modern philosophy. Traditional philosophers from Leibniz to Hegel sought to defend the Creator of a world containing evil. Inevitably, their efforts--combined with those of more literary figures like Pope, Voltaire, and the Marquis de Sade--eroded belief in God's benevolence, power, and relevance, until Nietzsche claimed He had been murdered. They also yielded the distinction between natural and moral evil that we now take for granted. Neiman turns to consider philosophy's response to the Holocaust as a final moral evil, concluding that two basic stances run through modern thought. One, from Rousseau to Arendt, insists that morality demands we make evil intelligible. The other, from Voltaire to Adorno, insists that morality demands that we don't.

Eichmann in Jerusalem

Download Eichmann in Jerusalem PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 1101007168
Total Pages : 337 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (1 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Eichmann in Jerusalem by : Hannah Arendt

Download or read book Eichmann in Jerusalem written by Hannah Arendt and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2006-09-22 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The controversial journalistic analysis of the mentality that fostered the Holocaust, from the author of The Origins of Totalitarianism Sparking a flurry of heated debate, Hannah Arendt’s authoritative and stunning report on the trial of German Nazi leader Adolf Eichmann first appeared as a series of articles in The New Yorker in 1963. This revised edition includes material that came to light after the trial, as well as Arendt’s postscript directly addressing the controversy that arose over her account. A major journalistic triumph by an intellectual of singular influence, Eichmann in Jerusalem is as shocking as it is informative—an unflinching look at one of the most unsettling (and unsettled) issues of the twentieth century.

Rethinking Political Thinkers

Download Rethinking Political Thinkers PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0198847394
Total Pages : 783 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (988 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Rethinking Political Thinkers by : Manjeet Ramgotra

Download or read book Rethinking Political Thinkers written by Manjeet Ramgotra and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2023-03-30 with total page 783 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rethinking Political Thinkers explores a uniquely diverse set of political thinkers, from traditionally canonical theorists such as Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, and Mill, to marginalized women and thinkers of color, such as hooks, Du Bois, Butler, Fanon, Firestone, Said, and Goldman. Placing traditional thinkers alongside and in conversation with neglected and unheard voices opens up important debates, and presents political thought in a new light. Each thinker is examined within the contexts of patriarchy, white supremacy, and imperialism, and the relations and structures of race, gender, and class which different theories have reflected, defended, or challenged. The text is organized thematically, rather than simply chronologically, in order to explore central ideas such as social contract theory and its critics, freedom and revolution, the liberal self and black consciousness, colonial domination, and the environment. In each chapter students are encouraged to think through ideas in relation to their everyday experiences, and to understand that political thought occurs in many formats, so that they develop a more inclusive, intercultural, and critical awareness of the development of social and political thought. Original and timely, Rethinking Political Thinkers is designed to support the study of a decolonised political theory curriculum, revitalising political thought as a practice that belongs to us all. The online student resources include links to relevant videos, articles, blogs, and useful websites, which help students further develop their research interests. Additionally, detailed thinker biographies provide further social, political, and cultural context for each theorist covered in the text.

After Evil

Download After Evil PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Columbia University Press
ISBN 13 : 0231150377
Total Pages : 546 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (311 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis After Evil by : Robert Meister

Download or read book After Evil written by Robert Meister and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2011 with total page 546 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The way in which mainstream human rights discourse speaks of such evils as the Holocaust, slavery, or apartheid puts them solidly in the past. Its elaborate techniques of "transitional" justice encourage future generations to move forward by creating a false assumption of closure, enabling those who are guilty to elude responsibility. This approach to history, common to late-twentieth-century humanitarianism, doesn't presuppose that evil ends when justice begins. Rather, it assumes that a time before justice is the moment to put evil in the past. Merging examples from literature and history, Robert Meister confronts the problem of closure and the resolution of historical injustice. He boldly challenges the empty moral logic of "never again" or the theoretical reduction of evil to a cycle of violence and counterviolence, broken only once evil is remembered for what it was. Meister criticizes such methods for their deferral of justice and susceptibility to exploitation and elaborates the flawed moral logic of "never again" in relation to Auschwitz and its evolution into a twenty-first-century doctrine of the Responsibility to Protect.

Students and Society in Early Modern Spain

Download Students and Society in Early Modern Spain PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : JHU Press
ISBN 13 : 1421430908
Total Pages : 364 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (214 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Students and Society in Early Modern Spain by : Richard L. Kagan

Download or read book Students and Society in Early Modern Spain written by Richard L. Kagan and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 2019-12-01 with total page 364 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Originally published in 1974. The close connection between universities and bureaucratic institutions such as church and state was perhaps first noticed by Max Weber. Such institutions, he observed, require a dependable source of cadres to run them. Thus, the size and composition of university enrollments are often a function of bureaucratic needs. Richard Kagan examines the dynamics of this relationship historically by racing the growth and decline of the university system in Castile, the heart of the Spanish monarchy, between 1500 and 1809. This period marked the emergence of a strong Habsburg state and a militant Catholic church, both of which looked to the universities for "educated" men. Accordingly, the universities grew rapidly, and by 1600 Castile was perhaps the best-educated kingdom in Europe. But this did not last. Jobs were increasingly filled through nepotism, causing students to abandon the universities in search of other careers. By 1700, the universities were small, backward institutions. Kagan begins by examining the nature and position of primary, secondary, and university institutions in Hapsburg Spain, concentrating on the extent and purpose of literacy. In Part II, Kagan discusses the growth and development of the ruling hierarchies in the bureaucratic world and gives special consideration to the criteria used to recruit officials. The author concludes with an assessment of the impact of bureaucratic changes in church and state on the universities of Castile. The data he collects on changes in the curriculum, the professorate, and the social and geographical backgrounds of the students are used to support hypotheses about the spectacular rise and collapse of university education in Spain, the process of modernization, the development of bureaucracies, and the crisis of the Spanish monarchy. Students and Society in Early Modern Spain demonstrates that institutions of higher learning often collapse when they become over-professionalized and fail to respond to changing conditions. Thus, Kagan provides a study of education and social change—of why educational institutions are central to a society in one century but only peripheral to it in the next. The author casts new light not only on the short lived educational revolution of the sixteenth century but also on education in other societies, both past and present.