The Porcupine's Quill
Livres Canada Books
View Rights PortalVentura Press is one of Sydney’s leading independent publishers and has become synonymous with high quality titles and internationally respected authors. Our list covers a unique and specific market – books to enhance life. The Ventura mission is to provide boutique, innovative and exciting publishing in Australia and world wide – with particular focus on bringing strong, female Australian voices to the global stage.
View Rights PortalTurkey facing east is about the importance of Turkey's relations with its Eastern neighbours - Azerbaijan, Armenia and the Soviet Union - during the emergence of the modern Turkish nation-state from the ruins of the Ottoman Empire. The principal strength of this book is that it not only combines historical and theoretical arguments in order to provide a better understanding of the foreign relations of a predominantly Muslim country from a critical and interdisciplinary perspective, but it also applies the new approach to the analysis of Turkish foreign policy towards the South Caucasus between 1918 and 1921. Hence, it stands out with its original interdisciplinary approach to the Turkish transition and foreign policy-making that offers perspectives on the extant possibilities for the particular transitional states resulting from the Arab spring uprisings.
Assisted suicide has been the subject of much passionate debate in many societies. The philosopher and theologian Jean-Pierre Wils does not deny autonomy, but asks – on the basis of his profound historical and ethical knowledge – about the social consequences. Does the right to assisted suicide not in the long run lead to the obligation to decide for or against it? And does not the pressure towards a supposedly reasonable decision increase, as soon as the causation of one‘s own death is seen as a final act of self-realisation and emancipation, or even commended as such? Wils makes a strong plea for the debate to be held in a broader context, to remove our finiteness from cultural amnesia – and in doing so, lays the foundation for a contemporary discussion on assisted suicide.
African research played a major role in transforming the discipline of anthropology in the twentieth century. Ethnographic studies, in turn, had significant effects on the way imperial powers in Africa approached subject peoples. Ordering Africa provides the first comparative history of these processes. With essays exploring metropolitan research institutes, Africans as ethnographers, the transnational features of knowledge production, and the relationship between anthropology and colonial administration, this volume both consolidates and extends a range of new research questions focusing on the politics of imperial knowledge. Specific chapters examine French West Africa, the Belgian and French Congo, the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Italian Northeast Africa, Kenya, and Equatorial Africa (Gabon) as well as developments in Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland. A major collection of essays that will be welcomed by scholars interested in imperial history and the history of Africa.
Doing psychiatry engages with the history of European psychiatry in the second half of the twentieth century through a close and fresh look at the practices that contributed to reshape the mental health field. Case studies from across Europe allow readers to appreciate how new 'ways of doing' contributed to transform the field, beyond the watchwords of deinstitutionalisation, the prescription of neuroleptics, centrality of patients and overcoming of asylum-era habits. Through a variety of sources and often adopting a small-scale perspective, the chapters take a close look at the way new practices emerged and at how they installed themselves, eventually facing resistance, injecting new purposes and contributing to enlarging psychiatry's fields of expertise, therefore blurring its once-more-defined boundaries.
This is an original, full length biography of Britain's first twentieth-century black feminist - Una Marson - poet, playwright, and social activist and BBC broadcaster. Una Marson is recognised today as the first major woman poet of the Caribbean and as a significant forerunner of contemporary black writers; her story throws light on the problems facing politicised black artists. In challenging definitions of 'race' and 'gender' in her political and creative work, she forged a valiant path for later black feminists. Her enormous social and cultural contributions to the Caribbean and Britain have, until now, remained hidden in archives and memoirs around the world. Based on extensive research and oral testimony, this biography embraces postcolonial realities and promise, and is a major contribution to British cultural history. ;
Interventions on behalf of Armenia and Armenians have come to be identified by scholars and practitioners alike as defining moments in the history of humanitarianism. This book reassesses these claims, critically examining a range of interventions by governments, international and diasporic organizations, and individuals that aimed to 'save Armenians'. Drawing on multidisciplinary perspectives, it traces the evolution of these interventions from the late-nineteenth century to the present day, paying particular attention to the aftermaths of the genocide and the upheavals of the post-Soviet period. The contributions connect diverse places (the Caucasus, Russia, the Middle East, Europe, North America, South America, and Australia) to reveal shifting transnational networks of aid and intervention. Aid to Armenia explores this history, and engages critically with contemporary humanitarian questions facing Armenia, the South Caucasus region and the wider diaspora.
The relationship between Germany and Russia is Europe's most important link with the largest country on the continent. But despite Germany's unparalleled knowledge and historical experience, its policymakers struggle to accept that Moscow's efforts to rebalance Europe at the cost of the cohesion of the EU and NATO are an attack on Germany's core interests. This book explains the scale of the challenge facing Germany in managing relations with a changing Russia. It analyses how successive German governments from 1991 to 2014 misread Russian intentions, until Angela Merkel sharply recalibrated German and EU policy towards Moscow. The book also examines what lies behind efforts to revise Merkel's bold policy shift, including attitudes inherited from the GDR and the role of Russian influence channels in Germany.
This book rigorously investigates the contemporary state of children's rights and the multifaceted challenges facing children, uncovering the complexities at their core. In 1989, the United Nations introduced the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), ratified by 196 nations, promising a world where children's rights would reign supreme. In practice, however, realising these rights proves intricate and often precarious. Policies may shine on paper, but their implementation grapples with the challenges posed by global governance structures, national strategies, and local factors. Over three decades since the CRC's inception, this book scrutinises the true efficacy of international commitments, shedding light on underexplored issues and revealing shortcomings in both discourse and actions. With diverse, interdisciplinary perspectives, it recognises the profound influence of global and transnational forces in generating outcomes that impact children's rights and welfare.
Victorian touring actresses brings new attention to women's experience of working in nineteenth-century theatre by focusing on a diverse group of largely forgotten 'mid-tier' performers, rather than the usual celebrity figures. It examines how actresses responded to changing political, economic and social circumstances and how the women were themselves agents of change. Their histories reveal dynamic patterns of activity within the theatrical industry and expose its relationship to wider Victorian culture. With an innovative organisation mimicking the stages of an actress's life and career, the volume draws on new archival research and plentiful illustrations to examine the challenges and opportunities facing the women as they toured both within the UK and further afield in North America and Australasia. It will appeal to students and researchers in theatre and performance history, Victorian studies, gender studies and transatlantic studies.
This collection sets out a range of perspectives on the challenges that the Caribbean is facing today, showing how the arts hold a crucial role in forging a more sustainable Caribbean community. It forcefully attests to the view that visual art in particular has a specific contribution to make and that this in turn means striving to foster a sustainable arts community that can contend with an environment of uneven infrastructure, opportunity and public awareness. Spanning the scholarly, artistic and professional fields of arts and heritage, this book compares two of the Caribbean's key linguistic regions - the Anglophone and the Dutch - to address the themes of global-local relations, capital, patronage, morality, contestation, sustainability and knowledge exchange. The result is a milestone of collaboration from diverse global settings of the Caribbean and its diaspora, including Jamaica, the Bahamas, Barbados, Suriname, Curaçao, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Germany and the United States.
The world of work is tightly entwined with the world of things. Hot metal illuminates connections between design, material culture and labour between the 1960s and the 1980s, when the traditional crafts of hot-metal typesetting and letterpress were finally made obsolete with the introduction of computerised technologies. This multidisciplinary history provides an evocative rendering of design culture by exploring an intriguing case: a doggedly traditional Government Printing Office in Australia. It explores the struggles experienced by printers as they engaged in technological retraining, shortly before facing factory closure. Topics explored include spatial memory within oral history, gender-labour tensions, the rise of neoliberalism and the secret making of objects 'on the side'. This book will appeal to researchers in design and social history, labour history, material culture and gender studies. It is an accessible, richly argued text that will benefit students seeking to learn about the nature and erosion of blue-collar work and the history of printing as a craft.
In some European countries, one in four children is now diagnosed with ADHD (attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder) due to their socially disruptive behaviour. The treatment usually consists of suppressing the symptoms with psychostimulants such as Ritalin. This treatment does not improve school performance, but it curbs the children’s creativity and may stigmatise them for their entire lives. Taking an opposing viewpoint, ADHD expert Dr. Amrei Wittwer focuses on the physical and psychological well-being of the affected children. Because almost all “ADHD patients“ are facing difficulties in relationships with adults, she considers that a solution begins with the children’s domestic and school environments, instruction of parents and teachers, and by using therapeutic approaches rather than simply sedating the children. “Children are our future”, is a common theme in Sunday speeches. Anyone who takes this point seriously, whether or not they themselves are immediately affected, should think about this important topic.
Clearly written and detailed, Trauma Practice provides the reader with an array of techniques, protocols and interventions for effectively helping trauma survivors. This book helps address the (cognitive, behavioral, body-oriented, and emotional/ relational) aftermath of trauma using impactful care approaches. In addition to presenting the foundations of CBT trauma treatment, the authors also provide step-by-step explanations of many popular and effective CBT techniques developed through the lens of phased trauma therapy. Interventions include Trigger List Development, 3-6 Breath Training, Layering, Systematic Desensitization, Exposure Therapy, Story-Telling Approaches, as well as new approaches inspired by recent research on neuroplasticity such as Picture Positive, Corrective Messages from Old Storylines, and Thematic Map. Completely new sections are devoted to forward-facing trauma therapy, and clinician self-care which makes this book an essential reference and tool-kit for treating trauma survivors. Target Group: Clinical psychologists Trauma therapists Counselors Psychiatrists
— How politics are increasingly influencing the rule of law in Germany — Systematic failures of democracy to protect itself — Based on numerous interviews with different members of Germany's legal system Ever since the right-wing party “Alternative for Germany” (AfD) secured representation in the Bundestag and in all state parliaments, Germany’s judiciary is facing a new challenge for which it is unprepared: AfD-affiliated judges and public prosecutors are attracting attention through right-wing biased decisions and investigations. Other members of the legal system cause further damage by ignoring the right-wing extremist and anti-Semitic background of crimes and thus punishing offenders too leniently or not at all. Both the judiciary and policy-makers have so far underestimated the new danger from the right. As a result protection against the appointment of right-wing legal professionals has been insufficient. Joachim Wagner systematically analyses numerous examples from German courts in recent years. He calls on the democratic judiciary to remember the principles of a well-fortified democracy.
European citizenship, identity and immigration are constitutive issues facing the European polity and have important consequences for domestic political systems. There has been a great deal published about citizenship within the setting of the nation-state and comparative immigration policies, but relatively little has been written on their theorisation in a post-national, post-statist context, such as the EU, and on alternative European institutional designs. Now available in paperback, this volume blends normative political theory with European integration, and develops an original theoretical framework for European Union citizenship, identity and immigration as well as a set of policy proposals for institutional reform. Challenging the conventionally held views in these areas, the author argues that a constructive model of European citizenship and identity is vital to the construction of a democratic, heterogeneous and inclusive European polity. The book will appeal to academics and political actors concerned with issues of European governance as well as to undergraduate and postgraduate students of European politics, European integration, European Union Law, political theory and sociology.
For a brief moment in 2019 Britain's politics looked like it might be transformed. Just when it seemed that the divisions within and across British political parties over Brexit could not get any more intense, 7 Labour and 3 Conservative MPs broke away to form The Independent Group (TIG) - later Change UK. This is the first book to explore the meteoric lifespan of that party, within the wider context of the experiences of other small political groupings in the House of Commons. Ultimately, it shows why the party failed and disbanded after just a few months. Timely and thoroughly researched, Louise Thompson's book takes us deep inside the struggles facing MPs who leave behind the comforts of the large political parties. Drawing on interviews with current and former politicians, it explores the practicalities of being a small party MP in the Commons. What challenges face you? Who can you turn to? And just how can you make an impact? Crisply written for the non-specialist reader, this fascinating book opens a window onto the perilous world of parliamentary politics.
This book recovers the lost history of colonial Algeria's communist movement. Meticulously researched - and the only English-language book on the Parti Communiste Algérien - it explores communism's complex relationship with Algerian nationalism. During international crises, such as the Popular Front and Second World War years, the PCA remained close to its French counterpart, but as the national liberation struggle intensified, the PCA's concern with political and social justice attracted growing numbers of Muslims. When the Front de Libération Nationale launched armed struggle in November 1954, the PCA maintained its organisational autonomy - despite FLN pressure. They participated fully in the national liberation war, facing the French state's wrath. Independence saw two conflicting socialist visions, with the PCA's incorporated political pluralism and class struggle on the one hand, and the FLN demand for a one-party socialist state on the other. The PCA's pluralist vision was shattered when it was banned by the one-party state in November 1962. This book is of particular interest to students and scholars of Algerian history, French colonial history and communist history.