African American Culture


Book Description

"Covering everything from sports to art, religion, music, and entrepreneurship, this book documents the vast array of African American cultural expressions and discusses their impact on the culture of the United States"--




American Catholics, American Culture


Book Description

Essays by scholars, journalists, lawyers, business and labor leaders, church administrators and lobbyists, novelists, activists, policymakers and politicians address the most critical issues facing the Catholic Church in the United States.







Ethnic American Food Today


Book Description

Ethnic American Food Today introduces readers to the myriad ethnic food cultures in the U.S. today. Entries are organized alphabetically by nation and present the background and history of each food culture along with explorations of the place of that food in mainstream American society today. Many of the entries draw upon ethnographic research and personal experience, giving insights into the meanings of various ethnic food traditions as well as into what, how, and why people of different ethnicities are actually eating today. The entries look at foodways—the network of activities surrounding food itself—as well as the beliefs and aesthetics surrounding that food, and the changes that have occurred over time and place. They also address stereotypes of that food culture and the culture’s influence on American eating habits and menus, describing foodways practices in both private and public contexts, such as restaurants, groceries, social organizations, and the contemporary world of culinary arts. Recipes of representative or iconic dishes are included. This timely two-volume encyclopedia addresses the complexity—and richness—of both ethnicity and food in America today.




Culture and Customs of the United States [2 volumes]


Book Description

American life and culture is truly unique in that it was born from many other cultures around the world. When immigrants migrated to the Land of Opportunity, they brought with them pieces of their own heritage: foods, religions, holidays, festivals, music, and art, just to name a few. Through time, these customs have developed into what we now know as American life. Explore how even within the US, various cultures and customs differ from New England to the Midwest to the Pacific. Discover how many religions are practiced all over the country, and how each sect differs in its celebration. Learn how gender plays an important role in American society, and how things have changed and progressed in the past century. Readers will learn about American holidays-religious, federal, and even those fabricated by Hallmark and television! Sports, leisure activities, and fashion also play a major role in American culture, as discussed in this all-encompassing work. Discover how American cuisine has evolved from other cultures, such as Italian, Greek, Mexican, Chinese, Indian, and West Africa, and how each region has its own indigenous dishes, including New England clam chowder, Southern jambalaya, and Mid-western lutefisk. Contemporary and classic literature is also discussed, along with the evolution of poetry. Readers will learn about the development of mass media, as well as the growth of cinema and films from the first silent film to today's popular blockbuster trilogy Pirates of the Caribbean. Music and dance are also discussed in detail, covering the New York Philharmonic to Woodstock. Contemporary art and architecture is discussed as well as types of housing across all the regions of the U.S. This unique two-volume addition to the Culture and Customs of the World series gives high school students, both national and international, the chance to examine the United States from the outside in. The mosaic of American culture comes to life in this expansive yet detailed study of what makes the United States a complex blend of customs and traditions. Each volume in this comprehensive two-volume study offers chapters that detail how American life was born and how it has grown, covering the history of customs as well as how traditions are now celebrated in New England, the South, the Midwest, the Pacific Northwest, and the Southwest, as well as Alaska and Hawaii. Narrative chapters include the following:




Asian American History and Culture: An Encyclopedia


Book Description

With overview essays and more than 400 A-Z entries, this exhaustive encyclopedia documents the history of Asians in America from earliest contact to the present day. Organized topically by group, with an in-depth overview essay on each group, the encyclopedia examines the myriad ethnic groups and histories that make up the Asian American population in the United States. "Asian American History and Culture" covers the political, social, and cultural history of immigrants from East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Pacific Islands, and their descendants, as well as the social and cultural issues faced by Asian American communities, families, and individuals in contemporary society. In addition to entries on various groups and cultures, the encyclopedia also includes articles on general topics such as parenting and child rearing, assimilation and acculturation, business, education, and literature. More than 100 images round out the set.




Arts and Culture: An Introduction to the Humanities


Book Description

For an undergraduate introductory level course in humanities. An introduction to the world’s major civilizations. This Fourth Edition is an introduction to the world’s major civilizations–to their artistic achievements, their history, and their cultures. Through an integrated approach to the humanities, Arts and Culture offers an opportunity to view works of art, read literature, and listen to music in historical and cultural contexts. In studying the humanities, we focus our attention on works of art, literature, and music that reflect and embody the central values and beliefs of particular cultures and specific historical moments.




Cultural Encyclopedia of the Body: M-Z


Book Description

Explores the human body alphabetically by part, detailing practices and beliefs from the past and present and from around the world.




Learning Chinese Language and Culture


Book Description

Learning Chinese Language and Culture is an intermediate level textbook, which was intended to be used throughout the entire school year and designed mainly for students who have completed introductory courses of Chinese as a foreign language. Written in English, Traditional and Simplified Chinese, this book illustrates Chinese language knowledge and introduces Chinese culture in twentytwo lessons, covering a variety of cultural content, including customs and manners, holidays and festivals, poems and idioms, calligraphy and couplets, myths and legends, feng shui and superstitions, and historical relics and sceneries and many others. In every lesson, the authors have strived to maintain a clear topic and a coherent structure. They have also endeavored to keep the contents lively and achieve a fluent writing style while closely controlling the structure and grammar of every lesson.




A History of the Book in America


Book Description

The fifth volume of A History of the Book in America addresses the economic, social, and cultural shifts affecting print culture from World War II to the present. During this period factors such as the expansion of government, the growth of higher education, the climate of the Cold War, globalization, and the development of multimedia and digital technologies influenced the patterns of consolidation and diversification established earlier. The thirty-three contributors to the volume explore the evolution of the publishing industry and the business of bookselling. The histories of government publishing, law and policy, the periodical press, literary criticism, and reading--in settings such as schools, libraries, book clubs, self-help programs, and collectors' societies--receive imaginative scrutiny as well. The Enduring Book demonstrates that the corporate consolidations of the last half-century have left space for the independent publisher, that multiplicity continues to define American print culture, and that even in the digital age, the book endures. Contributors: David Abrahamson, Northwestern University James L. Baughman, University of Wisconsin-Madison Kenneth Cmiel (d. 2006) James Danky, University of Wisconsin-Madison Robert DeMaria Jr., Vassar College Donald A. Downs, University of Wisconsin-Madison Robert W. Frase (d. 2003) Paul C. Gutjahr, Indiana University David D. Hall, Harvard Divinity School John B. Hench, American Antiquarian Society Patrick Henry, New York City College of Technology Dan Lacy (d. 2001) Marshall Leaffer, Indiana University Bruce Lewenstein, Cornell University Elizabeth Long, Rice University Beth Luey, Arizona State University Tom McCarthy, Beirut, Lebanon Laura J. Miller, Brandeis University Priscilla Coit Murphy, Chapel Hill, N.C. David Paul Nord, Indiana University Carol Polsgrove, Indiana University David Reinking, Clemson University Jane Rhodes, Macalester College John V. Richardson Jr., University of California, Los Angeles Joan Shelley Rubin, University of Rochester Michael Schudson, University of California, San Diego, and Columbia University Linda Scott, University of Oxford Dan Simon, Seven Stories Press Ilan Stavans, Amherst College Harvey M. Teres, Syracuse University John B. Thompson, University of Cambridge Trysh Travis, University of Florida Jonathan Zimmerman, New York University