Society & Politics

This book explores the contribution that five conservative, voluntary and popular women's organisations made to women's lives and (read more)

This book explores the contribution that five conservative, voluntary and popular women's organisations made to women's lives and to the campaign for women's rights throughout the period 1928-64. The book challenges existing histories of the women's movement that suggest the movement went into decline during the inter-war period, only to be revived by the emergence of the Women's Liberation Movement in the late 1960s. It is argued that the term 'women's movement' must be revised to allow a broader understanding of female agency encompassing feminist, political, religious and conservative women's groups who campaigned to improve the status of women throughout the twentieth century.

The book provides a radical re-assessment of this period of women's history and in doing so makes a significant contribution to ongoing debates about the shape and impact of the women's movement in twentieth-century Britain. (hide)

Israel is surrounded by an array of ever-changing threats. But what if its most serious challenge comes from within? There was once (read more)

Israel is surrounded by an array of ever-changing threats. But what if its most serious challenge comes from within? There was once a national consensus in Israeli society: politics was split between left and right, but its people were broadly secular and liberal. Over the past decade, the country has fractured into tribes--disparate groups with little shared understanding of what it means to be a Zionist, let alone an Israeli.

A once-unified population fights internecine battles--over religion and state, war and peace, race and identity--contesting the very notion of a 'Jewish and democratic' state. While this shift has profound implications for Israel's relationship with the broadly liberal Jewish diaspora, the greatest consequences will be felt at home. Israel's tribes increasingly lead separate lives; even the army, once a great melting-pot, is now a political and cultural battleground.

Published:18 Jun 2017 (hide)

Nobody deals with challenging subjects more interestingly and compellingly than Adam Rutherford, and this may be his best book yet. (read more)

Nobody deals with challenging subjects more interestingly and compellingly than Adam Rutherford, and this may be his best book yet. This is a seriously important work' BILL BRYSON Race is real because we perceive it. Racism is real because we enact it.

But the appeal to science to strengthen racist ideologies is on the rise - and increasingly part of the public discourse on politics, migration, education, sport and intelligence. Stereotypes and myths about race are expressed not just by overt racists, but also by well-intentioned people whose experience and cultural baggage steer them towards views that are not supported by the modern study of human genetics. Even some scientists are uncomfortable expressing opinions deriving from their research where it relates to race. (hide)

In this urgent, authoritative book, Bill Gates sets out a wide-ranging, practical - and accessible - plan for how the world can get (read more)

In this urgent, authoritative book, Bill Gates sets out a wide-ranging, practical - and accessible - plan for how the world can get to zero greenhouse gas emissions in time to avoid a climate catastrophe. Bill Gates has spent a decade investigating the causes and effects of climate change. With the help of experts in the fields of physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, political science, and finance, he has focused on what must be done in order to stop the planet's slide toward certain environmental disaster. (hide)

We all want to live in a better world, but sometimes it feels that we lack the ability or influence to make a difference. John-Paul (read more)

We all want to live in a better world, but sometimes it feels that we lack the ability or influence to make a difference. John-Paul Flintoff offers a powerful reminder that through the generations, society has been transformed by the actions of individuals who understood that if they didn't like something, they could change it. Combining fresh new insights from history, politics and modern culture, this book will give you a sense of what might just be possible, as well as the inspiration and the courage you need to go about improving and changing the world we live in.

One in the new series of books from The School of Life, launched May 2012: How to Stay Sane by Philippa Perry How to Find Fulfilling Work by Roman Krznaric How to Worry Less About Money by John Armstrong How to Change the World by John-Paul Flintoff How to Thrive in the Digital Age by Tom Chatfield How to Think More About Sex by Alain de Botton. (hide)

Who are the "Nones"? What does humanism say about race, religion and popular culture? How do race, religion and popular culture inform (read more)

Who are the "Nones"? What does humanism say about race, religion and popular culture? How do race, religion and popular culture inform and affect humanism? The demographics of the United States are changing, marked most profoundly by the religiously unaffiliated, or what we have to come to call the "Nones". Spread across generations in the United States, this group encompasses a wide range of philosophical and ideological perspectives, from some in line with various forms of theism to those who are atheistic, and all sorts of combinations in between. Similar changes to demographics are taking place in Europe and elsewhere.

Humanism: Essays on Race, Religion and Popular Culture provides a much-needed humanities-based analysis and description of humanism in relation to these cultural markers. Whereas most existing analysis attempts to explain humanism through the natural and social sciences (the "what" of life), Anthony B. Pinn explores humanism in relation to "how" life is arranged, socialized, ritualized, and framed. (hide)

This book explains the existence of illicit markets throughout human history and provides recommendations to governments. Organized (read more)

This book explains the existence of illicit markets throughout human history and provides recommendations to governments. Organized criminal networks increased in strength after the enforcement of prohibition, eventually challenging the authority of the state and its institutions through corruption and violence. Criminal networks now organize under cyber-infrastructure, what we call the Deep or Dark Web.

Published:12 Sep 2018 (hide)

What are the imagined communities that compel men to kill or to die for an idea of a nation? This notion of nationhood had its origins (read more)

What are the imagined communities that compel men to kill or to die for an idea of a nation? This notion of nationhood had its origins in the founding of the Americas, but was then adopted and transformed by populist movements in nineteenth-century Europe. It became the rallying cry for anti-Imperialism as well as the abiding explanation for colonialism. In this scintillating, groundbreaking work of intellectual history Anderson explores how ideas are formed and reformulated at every level, from high politics to popular culture, and the way that they can make people do extraordinary things.

In the twenty-first century, these debates on the nature of the nation state are even more urgent. As new nations rise, vying for influence, and old empires decline, we must understand who we are as a community in the face of history, and change. (hide)

The Immigration Act of 1965 was one of the most consequential laws ever passed in the United States and immigration policy continues (read more)

The Immigration Act of 1965 was one of the most consequential laws ever passed in the United States and immigration policy continues to be one of the most contentious areas of American politics. As a "nation of immigrants," the United States has a long and complex history of immigration programs and controls which are deeply connected to the shape of American society today. This volume makes sense of the political history and the social impacts of immigration law, showing how legislation has reflected both domestic concerns and wider foreign policy.

John S. W. Park examines how immigration law reforms have inspired radically different responses across all levels of government, from cooperation to outright disobedience, and how they continue to fracture broader political debates. (hide)

This book examines how and to what extent academic research in politics and international studies has had 'impact' - in doing so, (read more)

This book examines how and to what extent academic research in politics and international studies has had 'impact' - in doing so, it also considers what might characterise 'world-leading' research impact. International Relations was always meant to have impact - it was intended to make a difference in the world, when the subject was formally founded to understand and prevent war in 1919. This volume addresses the concept of 'impact' and offers a typology of the term - instrumental, conceptual, capacity building and procedural.

Published:14 Aug 2020 (hide)