Horror: A Very Short Introduction

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Author :
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0191072095
Total Pages : 144 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis Horror: A Very Short Introduction by : Darryl Jones

Download or read book Horror: A Very Short Introduction written by Darryl Jones and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2021-06-24 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Very Short Introductions: Brilliant, Sharp, Inspiring Four o'clock in the morning, and the lights are on and still there's no way we're going to sleep, not after the film we just saw. The book we just read. Fear is one of the most primal human emotions, and one of the hardest to reason with and dispel. So why do we scare ourselves? It seems almost mad that we would frighten ourselves for fun, and yet there are thousands of books, films, games, and other forms of entertainment designed to do exactly that. As Darryl Jones shows, the horror genre is huge. Ranging from vampires, ghosts, and werewolves to mad scientists, Satanists, and deranged serial killers, the cathartic release of scaring ourselves has made its appearance in everything from Shakespearean tragedies to internet memes. Exploring the key tropes of the genre, including its monsters, its psychological chills, and its love affair with the macabre, this Very Short Introduction discusses why horror stories disturb us, and how society responds to literary and film representations of the gruesome and taboo. Should the enjoyment of horror be regarded with suspicion? Are there different levels of the horrific, and should we distinguish between the commonly reviled carnage of contemporary torture porn and the culturally acceptable bloodbaths of ancient Greek tragedies? Analysing the way in which horror manifests multiple personalities, and has been used throughout history to articulate the fears and taboos of the current generation, Darryl Jones considers the continuing evolution of the genre today. As horror is mass marketed to mainstream society in the form of romantic vampires and blockbuster hits, it also continues to maintain its former shadowy presence on the edges of respectability, as banned films and violent internet phenomena push us to question both our own preconceptions and the terrifying capacity of human nature. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable. First published in hardback as Sleeping with the Lights on.

The Gothic: A Very Short Introduction

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Author :
Publisher : OUP Oxford
ISBN 13 : 0191642398
Total Pages : 184 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (916 download)

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Book Synopsis The Gothic: A Very Short Introduction by : Nick Groom

Download or read book The Gothic: A Very Short Introduction written by Nick Groom and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2012-09-27 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Gothic is wildly diverse. It can refer to ecclesiastical architecture, supernatural fiction, cult horror films, and a distinctive style of rock music. It has influenced political theorists and social reformers, as well as Victorian home décor and contemporary fashion. Nick Groom shows how the Gothic has come to encompass so many meanings by telling the story of the Gothic from the ancient tribe who sacked Rome to the alternative subculture of the present day. This unique Very Short Introduction reveals that the Gothic has predominantly been a way of understanding and responding to the past. Time after time, the Gothic has been invoked in order to reveal what lies behind conventional history. It is a way of disclosing secrets, whether in the constitutional politics of seventeenth-century England or the racial politics of the United States. While contexts change, the Gothic perpetually regards the past with fascination, both yearning and horrified. It reminds us that neither societies nor individuals can escape the consequences of their actions. The anatomy of the Gothic is richly complex and perversely contradictory, and so the thirteen chapters here range deliberately widely. This is the first time that the entire story of the Gothic has been written as a continuous history: from the historians of late antiquity to the gardens of Georgian England, from the mediaeval cult of the macabre to German Expressionist cinema, from Elizabethan Revenge Tragedy to American consumer society, from folk ballads to vampires, from the past to the present. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Film: A Very Short Introduction

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Author :
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0192803530
Total Pages : 153 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (928 download)

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Book Synopsis Film: A Very Short Introduction by : Michael Wood

Download or read book Film: A Very Short Introduction written by Michael Wood and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2012-01-26 with total page 153 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Offers a wealth of insight into the paradoxical nature of film, considering its role and impact on society in the 20th century as well as its future in the digital age. Original.

Evil: a Very Short Introduction

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Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0198819277
Total Pages : 129 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (988 download)

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Book Synopsis Evil: a Very Short Introduction by : Luke Russell

Download or read book Evil: a Very Short Introduction written by Luke Russell and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2022-10-27 with total page 129 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Very Short Introductions: Brilliant, Sharp, Inspiring We regularly encounter appalling wrongdoing, with the media offering a depressing parade of violent assault, rape, and murder. Yet sometimes even the cynical and world-weary amongst us are taken aback. Sometimes we confront a crime so terrible, so horrendous, so deeply wrong, that we reach for the word 'evil'. The 9/11 terrorist attacks were not merely wrong, but evil. A serial killer who tortures his victims is not merely a bad person. He is evil. And as the Holocaust showed us, we must remain vigilant against the threat of evil. But what exactly is evil? If we use the word 'evil', are we buying into a naive Manichean worldview, in which two cosmic forces of good and evil are pitted against one another? Are we guilty of demonizing our enemies? How does 'evil' go beyond what is merely bad or wrong? This Very Short Introduction explores the answers that philosophers have offered to these questions. Luke Russell discusses why some philosophers think that evil is a myth or a fantasy, while others think that evil is real, and is a concept which plays an important role in contemporary secular morality. Along the way he asks whether evil is always horrific and incomprehensible, or if it can be banal. Considering if there is a special psychological hallmark that sets the evildoers apart from the rest of us, Russell also engages with ongoing discussions over psychopathy and empathy, analysing the psychology behind evildoing. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Science Fiction: A Very Short Introduction

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Author :
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0199557454
Total Pages : 161 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (995 download)

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Book Synopsis Science Fiction: A Very Short Introduction by : David Seed

Download or read book Science Fiction: A Very Short Introduction written by David Seed and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2011-06-23 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: David Seed examines how science fiction has emerged as a popular genre of literature in the 20th century, and discusses it in relation to themes such as science and technology, space, aliens, utopias, and gender. Looking at some of the most influential writers of the genre he also considers the wider social and political issues it raises.

Why Horror Seduces

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Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 019066651X
Total Pages : 201 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (96 download)

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Book Synopsis Why Horror Seduces by : Mathias F. Clasen

Download or read book Why Horror Seduces written by Mathias F. Clasen and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2017 with total page 201 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why do humans feel the need to scream at horror films? In Why Horror Seduces, author Matthias Clasen looks to evolutionary social science to show how the horror genre is a product of human nature

The Philosophy of Horror

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Author :
Publisher : University Press of Kentucky
ISBN 13 : 0813173701
Total Pages : 270 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (131 download)

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Book Synopsis The Philosophy of Horror by : Thomas Fahy

Download or read book The Philosophy of Horror written by Thomas Fahy and published by University Press of Kentucky. This book was released on 2010-04-30 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sitting on pins and needles, anxiously waiting to see what will happen next, horror audiences crave the fear and exhilaration generated by a terrifying story; their anticipation is palpable. But they also breathe a sigh of relief when the action is over, when they are able to close their books or leave the movie theater. Whether serious, kitschy, frightening, or ridiculous, horror not only arouses the senses but also raises profound questions about fear, safety, justice, and suffering. From literature and urban legends to film and television, horror’s ability to thrill has made it an integral part of modern entertainment. Thomas Fahy and twelve other scholars reveal the underlying themes of the genre in The Philosophy of Horror. Examining the evolving role of horror, the contributing authors investigate works such as Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818), horror films of the 1930s, Stephen King’s novels, Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of The Shining (1980), and Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960). Also examined are works that have largely been ignored in philosophical circles, including Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood (1965), Patrick Süskind’s Perfume (1985), and James Purdy’s Narrow Rooms (2005). The analysis also extends to contemporary forms of popular horror and “torture-horror” films of the last decade, including Saw (2004), Hostel (2005), The Devil’s Rejects (2005), and The Hills Have Eyes (2006), as well as the ongoing popularity of horror on the small screen. The Philosophy of Horror celebrates the strange, compelling, and disturbing elements of horror, drawing on interpretive approaches such as feminist, postcolonial, Marxist, and psychoanalytic criticism. The book invites readers to consider horror’s various manifestations and transformations since the late 1700s, probing its social, cultural, and political functions in today’s media-hungry society.

Networks: A Very Short Introduction

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Author :
Publisher : OUP Oxford
ISBN 13 : 0191642738
Total Pages : 136 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (916 download)

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Book Synopsis Networks: A Very Short Introduction by : Guido Caldarelli

Download or read book Networks: A Very Short Introduction written by Guido Caldarelli and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2012-10-25 with total page 136 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From ecosystems to Facebook, from the Internet to the global financial market, some of the most important and familiar natural systems and social phenomena are based on a networked structure. It is impossible to understand the spread of an epidemic, a computer virus, large-scale blackouts, or massive extinctions without taking into account the network structure that underlies all these phenomena. In this Very Short Introduction, Guido Caldarelli and Michele Catanzaro discuss the nature and variety of networks, using everyday examples from society, technology, nature, and history to explain and understand the science of network theory. They show the ubiquitous role of networks; how networks self-organize; why the rich get richer; and how networks can spontaneously collapse. They conclude by highlighting how the findings of complex network theory have very wide and important applications in genetics, ecology, communications, economics, and sociology. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Black Holes: A Very Short Introduction

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Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0191653942
Total Pages : 120 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (916 download)

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Book Synopsis Black Holes: A Very Short Introduction by : Katherine Blundell

Download or read book Black Holes: A Very Short Introduction written by Katherine Blundell and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2015-12-10 with total page 120 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Black holes are a constant source of fascination to many due to their mysterious nature. In this Very Short Introduction, Katherine Blundell addresses a variety of questions, including what a black hole actually is, how they are characterized and discovered, and what would happen if you came too close to one. She explains how black holes form and grow - by stealing material that belongs to stars, as well as how many there may be in the Universe. She also explores the large black holes found in the centres of galaxies, and how black holes give rise to quasars and other spectacular phenomena in the cosmos. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Fairy Tale

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Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 019953215X
Total Pages : 193 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (995 download)

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Book Synopsis Fairy Tale by : Marina Warner

Download or read book Fairy Tale written by Marina Warner and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2018 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Marina Warner guides us through the rich world of fairy tale, from Cinderella and Hansel and Gretel to Snow White and Pan's Labyrinth. Exploring pervasive themes of folklore, myth, the supernatural, imagination, and fantasy, Warner highlights the impact of the genre on human understanding, history, and culture.

The Future: A Very Short Introduction

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Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0191054240
Total Pages : 144 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis The Future: A Very Short Introduction by : Jennifer M. Gidley

Download or read book The Future: A Very Short Introduction written by Jennifer M. Gidley and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2017-03-16 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the beginning of time, humans have been driven by both a fear of the unknown and a curiosity to know. We have always yearned to know what lies ahead, whether threat or safety, scarcity or abundance. Throughout human history, our forebears tried to create certainty in the unknown, by seeking to influence outcomes with sacrifices to gods, preparing for the unexpected with advice from oracles, and by reading the stars through astrology. As scientific methods improve and computer technology develops we become ever more confident of our capacity to predict and quantify the future by accumulating and interpreting patterns form the past, yet the truth is there is still no certainty to be had. In this Very Short Introduction Jennifer Gidley considers some of our most burning questions: What is "the future "?; Is the future a time yet to come?; Or is it a utopian place?; Does the future have a history?; Is there only one future or are there many possible futures? She asks if the future can ever be truly predicted or if we create our own futures - both hoped for and feared - by our thoughts, feelings, and actions, and concludes by analysing how we can learn to study the future. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Sleeping with the Lights on

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Author :
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN 13 : 0198826486
Total Pages : 194 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (988 download)

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Book Synopsis Sleeping with the Lights on by : Darryl Jones

Download or read book Sleeping with the Lights on written by Darryl Jones and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2018 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Four o'clock in the morning, and the lights are on and still there's no way we're going to sleep, not after the film we just saw. The book we just read. Fear is one of the most primal human emotions, and one of the hardest to reason with and dispel. So why do we scare ourselves? It seemsalmost mad that we would frighten ourselves for fun, and yet there are thousands of books, films, games, and other forms of entertainment designed to do exactly that.As Darryl Jones shows, the horror genre is huge. Ranging from vampires, ghosts, and werewolves to mad scientists, Satanists, and deranged serial killers, the cathartic release of scaring ourselves has made its appearance in everything from Shakespearean tragedies to internet memes. Exploring the keytropes of the genre, including its monsters, its psychological chills, and its love affair with the macabre, Darryl Jones discusses why horror stories disturb us, and how society responds to literary and film representations of the gruesome and taboo. Should the enjoyment of horror be regarded withsuspicion? Are there different levels of the horrific, and should we distinguish between the commonly reviled carnage of contemporary torture porn and the culturally acceptable bloodbaths of ancient Greek tragedies?Analysing the way in which horror manifests multiple personalities, and has been used throughout history to articulate the fears and taboos of the current generation, Jones considers the continuing evolution of the genre today. As horror is mass marketed to mainstream society in the form of romanticvampires and blockbuster hits, it also continues to maintain its former shadowy presence on the edges of respectability, as banned films and violent internet phenomena push us to question both our own preconceptions and the terrifying capacity of human nature.

History: A Very Short Introduction

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Author :
Publisher : Oxford Paperbacks
ISBN 13 : 019285352X
Total Pages : 152 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (928 download)

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Book Synopsis History: A Very Short Introduction by : John Arnold

Download or read book History: A Very Short Introduction written by John Arnold and published by Oxford Paperbacks. This book was released on 2000-02-24 with total page 152 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Starting with an examination of how historians work, this "Very Short Introduction" aims to explore history in a general, pithy, and accessible manner, rather than to delve into specific periods.

Horror Stories

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Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN 13 : 0199685436
Total Pages : 553 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (996 download)

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Book Synopsis Horror Stories by : Darryl Jones

Download or read book Horror Stories written by Darryl Jones and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2014 with total page 553 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Collects twenty-nine classic nineteenth-century horror tales from American, Irish, British, and European authors, with author information and explanatory notes.

Geometry: a Very Short Introduction

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Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0199683689
Total Pages : 177 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (996 download)

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Book Synopsis Geometry: a Very Short Introduction by : Maciej Dunajski

Download or read book Geometry: a Very Short Introduction written by Maciej Dunajski and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2022-01-27 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The study of geometry is at least 2500 years old, and it is within this field that the concept of mathematical proof - deductive reasoning from a set of axioms - first arose. To this day geometry remains a very active area of research in mathematics.This Very Short Introduction covers the areas of mathematics falling under geometry, starting with topics such as Euclidean and non-Euclidean geometries, and ranging to curved spaces, projective geometry in Renaissance art, and geometry of space-time inside a black hole. Starting from the basics,Maciej Dunajski proceeds from concrete examples (of mathematical objects like Platonic solids, or theorems like the Pythagorean theorem) to general principles. Throughout, he outlines the role geometry plays in the broader context of science and art.Very Short Introductions: Brilliant, Sharp, InspiringABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, andenthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Complexity

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Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN 13 : 0199662541
Total Pages : 121 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (996 download)

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Book Synopsis Complexity by : John Henry Holland

Download or read book Complexity written by John Henry Holland and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2014 with total page 121 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this very short introduction, John Holland presents an introduction to the science of complexity. Using examples from biology and economics, he shows how complexity science models the behaviour of complex systems.

Slang

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Author :
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0198729537
Total Pages : 145 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (987 download)

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Book Synopsis Slang by : Jonathon Green

Download or read book Slang written by Jonathon Green and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2016 with total page 145 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "In this Very Short Introduction Jonathon Green asks what words qualify as slang, and whether slang should be acknowledged as a language in its own right. Looking forward, he considers what the digital revolution means for the future of slang."--Cover flap.