These thirteen original essays are provocative explorations in the construction and representation of self in America's colonial and early republican eras. Highlighting the increasing importance of interdisciplinary research for the field of early American history, these leading scholars in the field extend their reach to literary criticism, anthropology, psychology, and material culture. The collection is organized into three parts--Histories of Self, Texts of Self, and Reflections on Defining Self. Individual essays examine the significance of dreams, diaries, and carved chests, murder and suicide, Indian kinship, and the experiences of African American sailors. Gathered in celebration of the Institute of Early American History and Culture's fiftieth anniversary, these imaginative inquiries will stimulate critical thinking and open new avenues of investigation on the forging of self-identity in early America. The contributors are W. Jeffrey Bolster, T. H. Breen, Elaine Forman Crane, Greg Dening, Philip Greven, Rhys Isaac, Kenneth A. Lockridge, James H. Merrell, Donna Merwick, Mary Beth Norton, Mechal Sobel, Alan Taylor, Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, and Richard White.

Suffering, the sacred, and the sublime are concepts that often surface in humanities research in an attempt to come to terms with what is challenging, troubling or impossible to represent. These intersecting concepts are used to mediate the gap between the spoken and the unspeakable, between experience and language, between body and spirit, between the immanent and the transcendent, and between the human and the divine. The twenty-five essays in Through a Glass Darkly: Suffering, the Sacred, and the Sublime in Literature and Theory, written by international scholars working in the fields of literary criticism, philosophy, and history, address the ways in which literature and theory have engaged with these three concepts and related concerns. The contributors analyze literary and theoretical texts from the medieval period to the postmodern age, from the works of Chaucer, Shakespeare, Donne, and Herbert to those of Endô Shûsaku, Alice Munro, Annie Dillard, Emmanuel Levinas, and Slavoj Žižek. This book will be of particular interest to scholars of religion and literature, philosophy and literature, aesthetic theory, and trauma studies.

'Leon...has once again, apparently effortlessly, produced a wholly absorbing read.' Sunday Telegraph It is a luminous spring day in Venice, as Commissario Brunetti and Inspettore Vianello take a break from the Questura to come to the rescue of Vianello's friend Marco Ribetti, who has been arrested while protesting against chemical pollution of the Venetian lagoon, only to be faced by the fury of Marco's father-in-law, owner of a glass factory on the island of Murano. But it is not Marco who has uncovered the guilty secret of the polluting glass foundries of the island of Murano, nor he whose body is found dead in front of the furnaces which burn at 1400 degrees, night and day. The victim has left clues in a copy of Dante and Brunetti must descend into an inferno to discover who is burning the land and fouling the waters of the lagoon... 'As usual, Leon's witty portrayal of modern Venetian life, and Brunetti's model marriage, are as entertaining as the working out of the whodunnit. A joy from start to finish.' Evening Standard 'A smart and stylish, fast-paced case of intrigue and corruption, written with wit, affection and authority. . . . Impressive.' Los Angeles Times

Phil, an only child is finding his way through life. Girls confuse but excite him. He discovers, as he grows that they, and boys too, are more complex than expected. His growing up is hard and painful. During Army service he serves in Kenya and kills. He falls in love with the country and a local girl. They marry and he farms in Africa. Anne, not all she seems, produces a life-threatening crisis for him. The resolution of this crisis causes drastic action that affects the rest of his story. The problem is not resolved until the final pages.

Nolan explores the way Roman and medieval authors used the mirror as both instrument and metaphor

This collection of essays arose from a workshop held in Canberra in 2013 under the auspices of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia to consider the impact of the encroachment of the market on public universities. While the UK tripled fees in 2013 and determined that the teaching of the social sciences and the humanities would no longer be publicly funded, it was feared that Australia would go further and deregulate fees altogether. In the best tradition of the social sciences, the contributors have assumed the role of critic and conscience of society to present penetrating analyses of the ramifications of the corporatisation of the university as neoliberalism continues to occupy the ascendant position in the political firmament. The dramatis personae in these analyses are students, academics, managers and political mandarins with the gendered character of corporatisation an important sub-theme.

Gisela von Hohenems joins the teaching staff of an exclusive girls' school in upstate New York, where she befriends fellow newcomer Faustina Coyle. But a climate of fear surrounds Faustina, and after several strange incidents that defy rational explanation, she is forced to resign. Gisela asks her fiancé, detective-psychologist Dr Basil Willing, to investigate in this highly acclaimed horror-mystery with shades of M. R. James.

Radley Middleton is a down to earth kind of guy. His love life, though, is non-existent, and lately, the dreams he’s had for years no longer seem to be just dreams. The day he found the mirror was the day everything started to change. In its reflection he catches glimpses of other men from different eras. And his dreams grow stronger. Curious about what’s going on, Rad investigates and learns of a terrible tragedy in which he may play a part. But if Rad manages to change the course of history and prevent the century-old tragedy, will he destroy his own chance at happiness?

Through a Glass Darkly: Reflections on the Sacred is a collection of research articles on the influence of religion on music, literature and art. The book was edited by Frances Di Lauro with an introduction by Victoria Barker.

THE STORY: Karin is a young wife, an older sister and an only daughter. In her kaleidoscopic internal world, the boundaries between different realities blur and shift. Karin's family goes on their annual holiday together, and on a bleak, beautiful island