Against the bleak backdrop of pressing issues in today’s world, civil societies remain vibrant, animated by people’s belief that they should and can solve such issues and build a better society. Their imagination of a good society, their understanding of their engagement, and the ways they choose to act constitute the cultural aspect of civil society. Central to this cultural aspect of civil society is the “culture of democracy,” including normative values, individual interpretations, and interaction norms pertaining to features of a democratic society, such as civility, independence, and solidarity. The culture of democracy varies in different contexts and faces challenges, but it shapes civic actions, alters political and social processes, and thus is the soul of modern civil societies. The Culture of Democracy provides the first systematic survey of the cultural sociology of civil society and offers a committed global perspective. It shows that, as everyone is eager to have their voice heard, cultural sociology can serve as an “art of listening,” a thoroughly empirical approach that takes ideas, meanings, and opinions seriously, for people to contemplate significant theoretical and public issues.

Thirteen previously published essays, notes, and interviews, by Olu Oguibe, with revisions, with an additional list of where the contributions were originally published and a cumulative index for this anthology as a whole.

In The Problem of the Idea of Culture in John Paul II: Exposing the Disruptive Agency of the Philosophy of Karol Wojtyła, John Corrigan provides a new lens with which to view and understand the philosophy of Karol Wojtyła/John Paul II. He exposes Wojtyła as a major player in contemporary philosophical debates. The work reformulates the “problem of experience” in light of the questions surrounding our idea of culture. Corrigan argues that for Wojtyła the drama of the “problem of experience” manifests in the apparently divergent accounts of the meaning of human experience as presented by the philosophies of being and of consciousness. Solving this conundrum results in an idea of the person capable of explaining human experience in relation to human culture,unfolding the experiences of self-knowledge, conscience, and the ontic-causal relationship of the person to human culture. The first part of the book concerns formal considerations regarding the constitutive aspects of Wojtyła’s approach, while the second part deals with pragmatic considerations drawn from his comments on culture.

This volume emphasizes the economic aspects of art and culture, a relatively new field that poses inherent problems for economics, with its quantitative concepts and tools. Building bridges across disciplines such as management, art history, art philosophy, sociology, and law, editors Victor Ginsburgh and David Throsby assemble chapters that yield new perspectives on the supply and demand for artistic services, the contribution of the arts sector to the economy, and the roles that public policies play. With its focus on culture rather than the arts, Ginsburgh and Throsby bring new clarity and definition to this rapidly growing area. - Presents coherent summaries of major research in art and culture, a field that is inherently difficult to characterize with finance tools and concepts - Offers a rigorous description that avoids common problems associated with art and culture scholarship - Makes details about the economics of art and culture accessible to scholars in fields outside economics

America, like other modern nations, is characterized by its diversity and can be seen as a complex and fragmented nation-state. Yet an American culture defined by those beliefs, and behaviors that all Americans do share, irrespective of their other cultural affiliations, does exist. This book presents an innovative approach to the issues and aspects in the study of America's unique culture. The real diversity of America is lost in the practice of categorizing people into social (racial or ethnic) groups and then attributing culture to them. While not an exhaustive treatment of the culture, this volume serves as a point of departure for discussions of American culture in a variety of courses both within and outside the discipline of anthropology. Each chapter is accompanied by suggested readings to enable the student to pursue a more in-depth study of any individual topic.

One of the least known but culturally rich and complex regions located at the heart of Asia, Xinjiang was a hub for the Silk Roads, serving international links between cultures to the west, east, north and south. Trade, artefacts, foods, technologies, ideas, beliefs, animals and people traversed the glacier covered mountain and desert boundaries.

Innovation is the key to making your business go the distance. Innovate or die they say. But where does innovation lie? The answer is in your people. Far from being the privilege of the unicorns of Silicon Valley, innovation isn't dependent on business model, structure or even budget. By harnessing your people's power through a corporate culture of innovation, you unlock business opportunities that your competition won't have access to. The Culture Advantage is a blueprint to designing, implementing and sustaining a culture that will not only celebrate innovation, but will imbue it in everything your company, and its people, do. Culture evangelist, Daniel Strode, with the help of some of the world's historically most inspiring and innovative businesses like The Walt Disney Company and The LEGO Group, as well as newer companies like Art Blocks from the Web 3.0 and blockchain space, breaks down the innovation puzzle. Through evaluating your business model; daring to chip away at it; empowering your people through technologies; psychological safety and leadership; putting constraints onto their creative efforts; and hiring and collaborating with the right types of innovators, you'll discover how to enhance your adaptability and futureproof your business.

Excellence in student learning is dependent upon cross-cultural understanding--having a broader view of people and the world than the traditional western-oriented view. This is a vital contextual resource for learning how and why to employ the recommended classroom practices outlined in the three classroom practice volumes. The presentation builds cultural competence. Readers become more observant and open to questioning why certain practices exist in schools. Through the process in this and in additional volumes of the series, readers gain new knowledge, deeper insights, and a way of thinking about schooling that will extend to the classroom and beyond.

Developing and executing marketing strategies is a vital aspect of any business and few books currently cover this with relation to creative industries. This textbook provides students and managers in the creative industries with a solid grounding in how to maximize the impact of their marketing efforts across a range of business types in the creative and cultural industries. The author, an experienced cultural marketing educator, provides sector-contextual understanding to illuminate the field by: • taking a strategic approach to developing marketing plans; • bringing together strategic planning, market research, goal setting, and marketing theory and practice; • explaining how content marketing on social media encourages a relationship with consumers so that they co-promote the creative product. With a range of learning exercises and real-life examples throughout, this text shows students how to create successful marketing plans for their creative businesses. This refreshed edition is a valuable resource for students and tutors of creative, cultural and arts marketing worldwide.