University of Chicago Press: New Titles from 'Intellect Ltd'

Reaching Audiences

Julia Knight; Peter Thomas — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 06:00:00 GMT

From Hollywood blockbusters to art films, distributors play an important role in getting films in front of audiences and thus in shaping the nature of film culture. Of central concern to Reaching Audiences are the distribution practices developed to counter Hollywood’s dominance of the marketplace, designed to ensure audiences have access to a more diverse moving image culture. Through a series of case studies, the book tracks the inventive distribution and exhibition initiatives developed over the last forty years by small companies on the periphery of the United Kingdom’s film industry—practices now being replicated by a new generation of digital distributors. Although largely invisible to outsiders, the importance of distribution networks is widely recognized in the industry, and this book is a key contribution to our understanding of the role they play.

Amateur Images and Global News

Kari Andén-Papadopoulos; Mervi Pantti — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 06:00:00 GMT

Modern technology has enabled anyone with a digital camera or cell phone to capture images of newsworthy events as they develop, and news organizations around the world increasingly depend on these amateur images for their coverage of unfolding events. However, with globalization facilitating wider circulation, critics have expressed strong concern over exactitude and objectivity. The first book on this topic, Amateur Images and Global News considers at length the ethical and professional issues that arise with the use of amateur images in the mainstream news media—as well as their role in producing knowledge and framing meanings of disasters in global and national contexts.

Radio Content in the Digital Age

Angeliki Gazi,; Guy Starkey; Stanislaw Jedrzejewski — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 06:00:00 GMT

The traditional radio medium has seen significant changes in recent years as part of the current global shift toward multimedia content, with both digital and FM making significant use of new technologies, including mobile communications and the Internet. This book focuses on the important role these new technologies play—and will play as radio continues to evolve. This series of essays by top academics in the field examines new options for radio technology as well as a summary of the opportunities and challenges that characterize academic and professional debates around radio today.

Signifying Europe

Johan Fornäs — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 06:00:00 GMT

Signifying Europe provides a systematic overview of the wide range of symbols used to represent the Europe and Europeanness, both by the political elite and the broader public. Through a critical interpretation of the meanings of the various symbols—and their often contradictory or ambiguous dimensions—Johan Fornäs uncovers illuminating insights into how Europe currently identifies itself and is identified by others outside its borders. While the focus is on the European Union’s symbols, those symbols are also interpreted in relation to other symbols of Europe. Offering insight into the cultural dimensions of European unification, this volume will appeal to students, scholars, politicians interested in European policy issues, cultural studies, and postnational cultural identity.

Artist Scholar

G. James Daichendt — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 06:00:00 GMT

Artist Scholar: Reflections on Writing and Research is part history, introduction, and discussion for artists and designers entering, graduating, and employed by the contemporary art academy in the United States. The evolution of art education in the university continues to expand in the 21st century as the variables of craft, skill, technique, theory, history and criticism shift and expand as the perspective of arts-based research is introduced into this professionalized environment. Given this context: what can M.F.A. students do to improve their understanding of writing and research without sacrificing their commitment to their studio art process?

Through a series of essays, the text argues for better writing at the M.F.A. level with the purpose of becoming better artists. By contextualizing art practice in the university and providing a foundation for future artist scholarship, it serves as an invitation to artist scholars to push their work further and develop the confidence to situate their art in the university context.

Narrating the Catastrophe

Jac Saorsa — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 06:00:00 GMT

An extraordinary collaboration between contemporary art and critical discourse, Narrating the Catastrophe guides readers through unfamiliar textual landscapes where “being” is defined as an act rather than a form. Drawing on Paul Ricoeur’s notion of intersubjective narrative identity as well as the catastrophe theory of Gilles Deleuze, Jac Saorsa establishes an alternative perspective from which to interpret and engage with the world around us. A highly original—and visually appealing—take on a high-profile issue in contemporary critical debate, this book will appeal to all those interested in visual arts and philosophy.

Directory of World Cinema: East Europe

Adam Bingham — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 06:00:00 GMT

Since the 1970s, the works of filmmakers from the nations of Eastern Europe— among them, Krzysztof Kieslowski, Béla Tarr, István Szabó, and Jirí Menzel—have experienced an international upsurge in popularity. Charting the trends of the national cinemas of Poland, Hungary, and Yugoslavia, as well as the lesser-known industries of Serbia, Slovakia, and Romania, this new volume in the Directory of World Cinema series explores important genres in the cinema of Eastern Europe, including war films, new wave, comedies, and surrealist art cinema, with essays on the most prolific filmmakers, in-depth reviews of key titles, and suggested resources for further study. Fifty full-color stills round out this invaluable guide to the burgeoning cinema of Eastern Europe.

China's Environment and China's Environment Journalists

Hugo de Burgh; Zeng Rong — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 06:00:00 GMT

Environmental issues are of growing concern in China, with numerous initiatives aimed at cultivating dialogue and increasing awareness. And key to these initiatives is the environmental journalist. The first English-language study of this burgeoning new field, this book investigates Chinese environmental journalists—their methodologies, their attitudes toward the environment, and their views on the significance of their work—and concludes that most respond enthusiastically to government promptings to report on the environment and climate change. Additional chapters demonstrate journalists’ impact in helping to shape governmental decision making.

Far Field

Andrea Polli; Jane Marsching — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 06:00:00 GMT

Human understanding of the rapidly changing environments of the North and South Poles—and the realities of climate change—has been radically transformed by a host of innovations afforded by the digital technologies. Far Field presents essays from artists and scholars who address the shift in our collective cultural understanding through a selection of the most significant artistic, scientific, technological, and philosophical interpretations of the poles over the past decade. Amply illustrated and including fascinating first person accounts of projects at the poles, this cutting-edge volume will have important implications for contemporary cultural studies and the critical study of climate change.

Directory of World Cinema: Spain

Lorenzo J. Torres Hortelano — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Though loved by moviegoers worldwide, Spanish cinema has thus far suffered from a relative lack of critical attention. Focusing on the vast corpus of films that have left their marks on generations of spectators, Directory of World Cinema: Spain returns the national cinema of Spain rightfully to the forefront with numerous full-color stills and essays establishing the key players and genres in their sociopolitical context, including civil war films, romances, comedies, and the cinema of the transition. From the award-winning big-budget productions of Pedro Almodóvar in Madrid to Pere Portabella’s experimental documentaries and the influential Barcelona School, reviews cover individual titles in considerable depth. Essential reading for aficionados of Spanish cinema at all levels, this volume provides an accessible overview of the main trends and issues in Spanish film.

New Zealand Film and Television

Trisha Dunleavy; Hester Joyce — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Despite challenges arising from a limited population and the difficulty of obtaining adequate funding, both the film and television industries of New Zealand have been the source of significant achievements and profound cultural influence. Charting their emergence and subsequent development through five decades, New Zealand Film and Television looks at these two increasingly vibrant cultural and creative industries. While there is a growing body of academic work on film and television in New Zealand, relatively little exists that examines the specific cultural concerns, local industries, institutions, and policies involved, which this book addresses in full.