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Joseph Shatzmiller's Collected Studies (Volume 3): Maimonidean Argument in France is a comprehensive compilation of his research on the intellectual and mental history of the Jews in Provence. The central focus of the book is the ongoing conflict between adherents of Maimonidean philosophy and its opponents, which persisted throughout the thirteenth century due to the movement of translations from Arabic to Hebrew. Additionally, the book delves into other important aspects of Provence Jewry, including their attitudes towards the Albigensian heresy and the intellectual contributions of figures such as Kalonymus ben Kalonymus, Jacob ben Eliyahu, and the renowned biblical commentator, astronomer, and philosopher Gersonides. Shatzmiller's research illuminates the significance of Provence Jewry within the larger framework of Jewish communities in the Mediterranean and western Europe during the Middle Ages."The collection of studies that these four volumes offer is the result of more than sixty years of commitment to scholarship. Like many colleagues, I relied in the beginning on printed material in books that dealt with law, religion, and secular literature. Then, as a disciple of George Duby, I discovered the world of archives and hand-written Latin manuscripts. The present collection relies, to a great extent, on previously unknown information discovered during years of search in the archives of Southern France, mostly on those of the county of Provence. They are situated in the cities of Marseille and Aix-en-Provence as well as the town of Digne. The legal registers of the High Middle Ages (1250-1350) as well as those produced by the counties' administration introduce us to the ordinary people of the region, to their daily life and to their preoccupations; their names are spelled out, the dates are recorded and the localities in which they were active are designated. At times these documents encourage us to endorse information found in contemporary literary sources and to overcome our hesitation and excessive caution concerning their value as historical evidence."- Joseph Shatzmiller

In Collected Studies (Volume 2): Christian Majority-Jewish Minority, Joseph Shatzmiller, the preeminent scholar of the Jews in Provence, examines the complex relationship between Christians and Jews during the Middle Ages. Through a careful analysis of historical documents and primary sources, Shatzmiller sheds light on the diverse experiences of the Jewish minority in Provence, from their legal status in Christian courts to the persecution and violence they faced during times of crisis. This book provides a nuanced understanding of the relationship between Christians and Jews in medieval Western Europe, and the role of the Jewish community in shaping the social and political landscape of the region."The collection of studies that these four volumes offer is the result of more than sixty years of commitment to scholarship. Like many colleagues, I relied in the beginning on printed material in books that dealt with law, religion, and secular literature. Then, as a disciple of George Duby, I discovered the world of archives and hand-written Latin manuscripts. The present collection relies, to a great extent, on previously unknown information discovered during years of search in the archives of Southern France, mostly on those of the county of Provence. They are situated in the cities of Marseille and Aix-en-Provence as well as the town of Digne. The legal registers of the High Middle Ages (1250-1350) as well as those produced by the counties' administration introduce us to the ordinary people of the region, to their daily life and to their preoccupations; their names are spelled out, the dates are recorded and the localities in which they were active are designated. At times these documents encourage us to endorse information found in contemporary literary sources and to overcome our hesitation and excessive caution concerning their value as historical evidence."? Joseph Shatzmiller

In Collected Studies (Volume 1): The Jews of Provence, Joseph Shatzmiller, the foremost expert on Provençal Judaism, offers a comprehensive overview of the medieval history of the Jews in Provence. Through an analysis of community regulations, tax distribution, rabbinic leadership, and everyday life, Shatzmiller provides a rich and powerful mosaic of Jewish society in Provence. This masterful work sheds light on the diverse experiences of Jews in the region, from their interactions with Christian neighbors to their internal conflicts and struggles. With its insightful analysis and meticulous research, The Jews of Provence is an essential read for anyone interested in the history of Jewish communities in medieval Europe."The collection of studies that these four volumes offer is the result of more than sixty years of commitment to scholarship. Like many colleagues, I relied in the beginning on printed material in books that dealt with law, religion, and secular literature. Then, as a disciple of George Duby, I discovered the world of archives and hand-written Latin manuscripts. The present collection relies, to a great extent, on previously unknown information discovered during years of search in the archives of Southern France, mostly on those of the county of Provence. They are situated in the cities of Marseille and Aix-en-Provence as well as the town of Digne. The legal registers of the High Middle Ages (1250-1350) as well as those produced by the counties' administration introduce us to the ordinary people of the region, to their daily life and to their preoccupations; their names are spelled out, the dates are recorded and the localities in which they were active are designated. At times these documents encourage us to endorse information found in contemporary literary sources and to overcome our hesitation and excessive caution concerning their value as historical evidence."- Joseph Shatzmiller

Noonomy explores the effect of modern technological shifts on human society. The author shows that technologies are about to undergo qualitative changes which will create new opportunities for personal development and the satisfaction of wants and, simultaneously, engender risks associated with growth opportunities of human interference with nature and technogenic stress on the environment. Based on the study of cutting-edge technologies and resulting socioeconomic shifts, Bodrunov makes the conclusion about the upcoming civilizational crisis. The crisis can be overcome through the formation of a new industrial society of the second generation reliant on knowledge-intensive material production and gradual removal of humans from immediate material production processes. These two trends can fully develop only subject to the transition from the current socioeconomic formation to a non-economic one-the noonomy.

The book explores the effect of modern technological shifts on human society, showing that technologies are undergoing qualitative changes that open up new opportunities for personal development and satisfaction of wants and, simultaneously, engender risks associated with growing opportunities of human interference with nature and technogenic stress on the environment.

Standing at the intersection of Visual Studies and Queer Studies, the volume Queer(ing) Russian Art: Realism, Revolution, Performance exposes and explores the queer imagery and sensibilities in works of visual art in pre-Soviet, Soviet and post-Soviet contexts and beneath the surface of conventional histories of Russian art.

This volume examines the intertwined lives of six women and three men, Russian Jews in the first half of the twentieth century, as their belief in the Soviet dream unraveled. Under what circumstances did they bow to political pressures, and under what circumstances did they resist, even heroically?

From their privileged childhood in Egypt, the paths of once-inseparable twins Taher and Aisha diverge early: When the USSR invades Afghanistan, Taher abandons their shared plans to study medicine in Europe, instead joining their cousin, Ahmed, as a medic for the mujahideen fighting the Soviets. As Aisha's Western perspective grows, so does her fear for her brother, who is becoming increasingly radicalized during the civil war between the Taliban and the Northern Alliance. With powerful imagery, Danuta Hinc's When We Were Twins shows how innocence and loyalty to those we love can be twisted by political forces, leading a young man to choose a fateful path that changes the course of history.

"Empress Catherine II produced a body of written material so vast and diverse that it seems impossible to provide a general characterization of the works contained in the authoritative twelve-volume collection assembled by A. N. Pypin from handwritten source material. This book does not attempt an all-embracing review of Catherine's entire literary output, which consists of works in multiple genres and languages. The Russian empress's writings have been the repeated subject of serious analysis for nineteenth- and twentieth-century researchers; all of these in one way or another demonstrate that across a variety of genres and formats, with a greater or lesser degree of independence and originality, the literary works of Catherine II always express her politics and ideology. If Catherine's policy had the transfer of imperial power to Russia, a kind of translatio imperii, as its strategic goal, then the literary and cultural accomplishments of the empress had to establish a translatio studii, that is, the transfer of the Roman cultural paradigm, knowledge, and civilization onto Russian soil. This book will be devoted to an analysis of these paradigms as they emerged between Catherine II's creations on the page and in the empire itself"--

Where Everyone Leaves, Never to Return is a captivating collection of poems in which Czech poet Bronislava Volková, a jongleur of contemporary verse, masterfully combines voice and nuance as she saunters through love, loss, mortality, and eternal life. With a sharp wit, her verses render playful catechisms of why "a loving God can make an unloving man " but they also dive deep into self-discovery, achieving, even if just for an instant, the hard-earned right to a "joyous spirit of inner being." Her work is a testament to her life lived in full--a diverse and all-encompassing experience.

This interdisciplinary study of cosmopolitan spaces in Odesa explores topical issues in cultural diversity, ethnicity, literature, and socio-economic history. The book brings together leading scholars in a ground-breaking discussion of relations between Russians, Jews, and Ukrainians in one of the most fascinating multiethnic cities in eastern Europe.

The studies gathered in the collection present the Russian-language Israeli literature that has been forming over the past hundred years in all the variety of genres and aesthetic movements. In every generation and in every aliyah, Russian-Israeli authors tirelessly search for new forms, born of the encounter with the new land.

A sequel to Gellman's trilogy with Academic Studies Press of constructive Jewish theology, this book presents a new concept of the Jews as God's Chosen People; a reply to an argument for the reliability of Torah history; and provides an approach to the problem of evil for troubled believers and want to be believers, without trying to solve the problem.

Klavdia Smola explores how the Jewish tradition was reinvented in Russian-Jewish literature after a long period of assimilation, the Holocaust and decades of Communism. The process of reinventing the tradition began in the counter-culture of Jewish dissidents, in the midst of the late-Soviet underground of the 1960-1970s, and it continues to the present day.

The volume focuses on violence during the breakdown of East Central European states brought by one of the most violent periods in modern European history: from the start of the Great War in 1914 until 1923 when Europe, finally, achieved peace after a series of civil conflicts and interstate wars.

“Elegant yet shattering… Rendered in plainspoken yet devastating prose, Masson’s historical narrative is intercut with startling present-day moments… This is haunting.” — Publishers Weekly“This heart-wrenching recollection views the traumatic events and close calls that punctuate the author’s memories… A brief, rare, and powerful testimony.” — Library JournalThis short, beautifully-written memoir is a rare first-hand account of a child’s life in the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II. The author weaves together memories from her wartime childhood, reflections on the burdens and damages she carried into her adult life, and accounts of her travel to contemporary Warsaw seeking to find traces of the past. Written vividly and honestly, this unique tapestry of time and perspective not only stands out in the vast literature that discusses the Holocaust, but also appeals to anyone interested in the lasting impact of childhood trauma, as well as the human potential for resiliency.

Longlisted for the 2024 PEN Award for Poetry in Translation, this prize-winning historical-lyrical poem of 1985, on the unequal power-relations between Russia and Ukraine, darkly resonates in 2023.Alexei Parshchikov's long historical poem, which dates 1985, is one of the major literary documents of the last years of the USSR. Alexandra Smith, in an article of 2006, has called it "perhaps the most important achievement of Russian post-perestroika poetry." Its significance is historical in its irony towards Peter the Great and Charles XII of Sweden in their 1709 battle at Poltava and towards the writer's own dual allegiance to Ukrainian soil and the Russian language. While all previous translations of parts of the poem are in free verse, translator Donald Wesling here carries over the rhyme and meter of the original whole poem. To aid the reader, this volume contains the Russian text, and also the translator's commentary and notes.

Longlisted for the 2024 PEN Award for Poetry in Translation, this prize-winning historical-lyrical poem of 1985, on the unequal power-relations between Russia and Ukraine, darkly resonates in 2023.Alexei Parshchikov's long historical poem, which dates 1985, is one of the major literary documents of the last years of the USSR. Alexandra Smith, in an article of 2006, has called it "perhaps the most important achievement of Russian post-perestroika poetry." Its significance is historical in its irony towards Peter the Great and Charles XII of Sweden in their 1709 battle at Poltava and towards the writer's own dual allegiance to Ukrainian soil and the Russian language. While all previous translations of parts of the poem are in free verse, translator Donald Wesling here carries over the rhyme and meter of the original whole poem. To aid the reader, this volume contains the Russian text, and also the translator's commentary and notes.

"Elegant yet shattering... Rendered in plainspoken yet devastating prose, Masson's historical narrative is intercut with startling present-day moments... This is haunting." -- Publishers Weekly"This heart-wrenching recollection views the traumatic events and close calls that punctuate the author's memories... A brief, rare, and powerful testimony." -- Library JournalThis short, beautifully-written memoir is a rare first-hand account of a child's life in the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II. The author weaves together memories from her wartime childhood, reflections on the burdens and damages she carried into her adult life, and accounts of her travel to contemporary Warsaw seeking to find traces of the past. Written vividly and honestly, this unique tapestry of time and perspective not only stands out in the vast literature that discusses the Holocaust, but also appeals to anyone interested in the lasting impact of childhood trauma, as well as the human potential for resiliency.

The Comics of Asaf Hanuka: Telling Particular and Universal Stories traces how Asaf Hanuka's comics and graphic novels reflect his own experiences of being an insider (as a Jew and Israeli) and an outsider (as a Mizrahi or Judeo-Arab) in Israeli society alongside what it means to be a parent and a spouse in contemporary Western society.

"Bethea's book conveys the story of an amazingly ambitious attempt to preserve the humanities while also saving the future of disadvantaged high school students in Chicago. ... Highly recommended." - Library Journal (starred review)The Pushkin Project tells the story of how a Russian studies professor changes course late in his career by reeducating himself in evolutionary thought and founding a summer institute that partners with inner-city high schools to implement a new set of learning strategies for underserved youth.These "cognitive cross-training" strategies involve introducing students from Hispanic and Black neighborhoods in the west and south sides of Chicago to the Russian culture and language, with an emphasis on poet, playwright, and novelist Alexander Pushkin. Through the lens of modern evolutionary thought, students adopt not only a new and different language and culture, but also a different sort of literary hero, one whose African heritage within the majority culture speaks to them directly. This inspiring and compelling story provides fascinating insights into Russia's national poet, brings the sciences and humanities together, and provides new directions in teaching young people from historically disadvantaged backgrounds.

"Extraordinary storytelling about unfathomable horror." - Library Journal (starred review)"[A] worthy tribute to the extraordinary bravery of a remarkable woman." -- Publishers WeeklyIn World War II's Poland, thirty year old Zofia Sterner and her husband Wacek refuse to be classified as Jews destined for extermination.Instead, they evade the Nazis and the Soviets in several dramatic escapes and selflessly rescue many Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto and a labor camp, later becoming active participants in the Warsaw Uprising where they are taken prisoner. This retelling, captured through diaries, interviews, war crime trial testimonies, and letters, detail the Sterners' heroic rescues, escapes, and ultimate survival. A true story of hope amid horrifying tragedy, How We Outwitted and Survived the Nazis illustrates how war brings out the worst and the best in people, and how true humanity and heroism of ordinary people are revealed by their willingness to risk everything and help others. This story is about being human under the most inhumane conditions.

This book is inspired by the author's work as part of a major international and interdisciplinary research group at the University of Konstanz, Germany: "What If-On the Meaning, Relevance, and Epistemology of Counterfactual Claims and Thought Experiments." Having contributed to great discoveries, such as those by Galileo and Einstein, thought experiments are especially topical in the twenty-first century, since this is a concept that bridges the gap between the arts and the sciences, promoting interdisciplinary innovation. To study thought experiments in literature, it is imperative to examine relevant texts closely: this has rarely been done to date and this is precisely what this book does as a pilot study focusing on selected works of philosophy and literature. Specifically, thought experiments by Thomas Malthus are analyzed side by side with short stories and novels by Vladimir Odoevsky and Nikolai Chernyshevsky, Alexander Bogdanov and Aleksei Tolstoy, Alexander Chaianov and Nina Berberova.

Defining the Others, "them", in relation to one's own reference group, "us", has been an essential phase in the formation of collective identities. This volume examines the development and contexts of various images, perceptions and categories of the external and internal Others in Russia from the 16th century Muscovy to the collapse of the Russian empire.