Bøker utgitt av Peter Lang

This volume offers an important examination of the ways in which artistic manipulations of time can lead to a different perception of time as nonsynchronous and anti-chronological. The range of media (philosophical essays, film, plays, novels, autobiographical narratives) and periods (medieval, early modern, contemporary) explored here testify to the enduring significance of so-called «delays» and the need to rethink these as anachronies. The spectral presence of the notion of «Kairos» throughout this volume connects different attempts to subvert linear time, on occasion allowing events and temporalities to coexist and compete or, alternately, asking the mind to stretch itself and experience the uneasiness of time by attempting and failing to encompass diverse spaces and temporalities concomitantly. The resulting essays interrogate, test and contest the limits of the possible and enable a rethinking of what time could represent across disciplines and genres.

In diesem Buch wird die wechselvolle Geschichte von Demokratien von der Antike bis heute behandelt. Die zentrale Ausgangsfrage besteht darin, ob Demokratien in der Lage waren und sind, Gerechtigkeit, Freiheit und Menschenwürde sowie materiellen Wohlstand für den größten Teil ihrer Bevölkerungen zu verwirklichen. Um zu überprüfen, wie weit diese Forderungen in verschiedenen Staaten erfüllt wurden, behandele ich zuerst die athenische 'Demokratie', die ich wegen ihrer fehlenden demokratischen Institutionen 'Polykratie' nenne. Danach untersuche ich die Entstehungsbedingungen der ersten modernen Demokratie auf unserem Globus, den USA, die wegen ihrer frühen Errichtung im 18. Jahrhundert bis heute mit demokratischen Mängeln zu kämpfen haben. Die übrigen Kapitel gehen detailliert auf einzelne Ausprägungen von Regierungen und Parteien in Deutschland, Europa und der Welt ein und offerieren realistische Lösungen für gefährdete Demokratien.

«These influential essays by one of the world¿s leading experts in the field revisit the central methodological debates in Utopian Studies over the past half century. They include recent commentary on the development of key disagreements respecting the concepts of utopia, eutopia and dystopia, as well as the relations between the three ¿faces¿ of the subject, literature, ideas or theory, and intentional communities. Sargent¿s encyclopaedic knowledge of utopianism is deployed throughout to illuminate many areas of concern. This collection provides an essential starting-point for any student of this vibrant, controversial, increasingly popular, and ever-mutating subject.»(Gregory Claeys, Professor Emeritus of History, University of London)«Utopia is about change, and how better to promote it than to model it? Here a world-leading bibliographer and scholar reconsiders his considerable opus with an open mind but no less passion for his urgently timely topic. The imperfect, critical utopia ¿ whether in fiction, practice, or theory, whether as dystopian warning or eutopian inspiration ¿ is the only one we can trust. Sargent rejects the naysaying of cynics and anti-utopians, urging us to envision and struggle for betterment. ¿Utopias will not go away,¿ he contends. ¿They will always remain the conscience of the world.¿ Indeed they won¿t, and indeed they will.»(Michael S. Cummings, Distinguished Teaching Professor Emeritus ofPolitical Science, University of Colorado, Denver)«This collection makes available Professor Sargent¿s most important essays on utopia, particularly those dealing with attempts to define and delimit the genre. This is an absolutely essential work which reveals the full breath of Sargent¿s contributions to the study of utopia.»(Peter Fitting, Professor Emeritus of French, University of Toronto)«Sargent¿s contribution to the emergence of Utopian Studies as a distinct field is unparalleled. It comprises encyclopaedic knowledge, theoretical rigour, and tireless support of new work. This volume contains seminal essays notable for their impact, but also for their clarity, originality, and erudition. To have them together in one place, with his reflections on them, is an invaluable resource for both young and established scholars ¿ and essential reading for anyone working in the field.»(Ruth Levitas, Emeritus Professor of Sociology, University of Bristol)Utopianism envisions a significantly different society than the current one and includes utopian literature, intentional communities, and utopian social theory. This volume reprints some of the author¿s articles on utopianism together with two not previously published and notes on how they came to be written and his reflections from 2021.

En el presente volumen se han tomado en consideración testimonios y manifestaciones escritas desde el Medioevo tardío hasta el siglo XX con el fin de contribuir al avance en el estudio de las relaciones entre Gran Bretaña e Irlanda y la Península Ibérica. El patrimonio documental se pone en valor en un escenario internacional, ligado a fenómenos políticos, económicos y sociales, así como a dinámicas transnacionales, para sostener la innovación y el progreso de las sociedades que lo acogen. Los trabajos que aquí se reúnen favorecen la transmisión de este patrimonio heredado, así como la inmersión en una realidad diversa y cambiante que promueve el acceso a la cultura en toda su riqueza. En ellos se dan a conocer aspectos inéditos sobre conversaciones diplomáticas, diálogos políticos y económicos, intercambios culturales y patrimoniales, y encuentros militares y navales, en ocasiones con motivo del enfrentamiento y del conflicto, que dotan de una base sólida a la construcción de la identidad y de los encuentros entre los pueblos.