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      • Trusted Partner
        February 2022

        The Great Rift

        How Society Drifts Apart and How to Counter It. An Essay

        by Jean-Pierre Wils

        Chaos flourishes beneath the surface – a deep fissure runs through our society Inside the pressure-cooker of the coronavirus pandemic, we see more clearly the volatile status of how we live together. Why were we unprepared, in spite of the numerous warnings over the years? Jean-Pierre Wils speculates that our society, which is already marked by tension and hectic stalemate, is riven by a deep division. In this case, the reality of the crisis triggered by the pandemic is only the prelude to a much deeper crisis: climate change. But how can we manage it? To do so Wils advocates for a “culture of interim solutions” – a culture of thoughtfulness, soul-searching, slowing down and reorienting towards social and ecological sustainability ...

      • Trusted Partner
        March 2021

        Facing Death

        Suicide as last emancipation?

        by Jean-Pierre Wils

        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.

      • Trusted Partner
        March 2023

        Why We Need Comfort

        On the trail of a human need

        by Jean-Pierre Wils

        — The accompanying book to the Kassel exhibition "Trost" ("Comfort") in spring 2023 — A book to counter desolation in these challenging times — What comfort is and why people need it "Comfort" is one of those words that has a somewhat tarnished reputation: cold comfort, false comfort, consolation prize, someone is not to be comforted ... "Action instead of comfort" is the maxim; "therapy instead of resignation" the variant. There is something old-fashioned about comfort. And still we long for it; people have always looked for "sources of comfort". In the midst of the climate and global political upheavals of our time, in the middle of a Ukraine war, a play recently celebrated at the Salzburg Festival is called, "Crazy for Consolation". People seek comfort because just helping is no longer helping; they are at the end of their abilities. "Comfort" would appear to be a gift in both senses of the word. But "comfort" is a mystery. Jean-Pierre Wils attempts to solve it in this essay.

      • Trusted Partner
        June 2004

        Pierre und Jean

        Die Geschichte zweier Brüder

        by Guy Maupassant, Ernst Weiß

        Pierre und Jean ist einer der berühmtesten Romane von Maupassant neben Bel Ami (it 280), Stark wie der Tod und Ein Leben. Es ist die Geschichte zweier rivalisierender Brüder vor dem Hintergrund der normannischen Küstenlandschaft.Die Brüder Pierre und Jean sind von Kindheit an auffallend verschiedenartig – in ihrem Temperament nicht weniger als in ihrem Äußeren: Pierre, ein scharfer Analytiker mit höchsten Ansprüchen an sich und andere, Jean, eine allseits beliebte Frohnatur. Als ein Freund der Familie eines Tages Jean zum Alleinerben seines Vermögen bestimmt, regen sich in Pierre Mißtrauen und Neid …

      • Trusted Partner
        October 2024

        Renunciation and Freedom

        Survivial in the future

        by Jean-Pierre Wils

        The situation in our society is precarious. The ecological shocks are omnipresent. The mere continuation of our lifestyles fixated on expansion and self-development has long since reached its limits. As if intoxicated by ourselves, we consume our world voraciously and without restraint. We need moderation and frugality that lead us out of the ecological and social dead ends and hold both the individual and Politics to account. We are by no means powerless and are perfectly capable of leading a life that offers prospects for a humane future. However, our idea of freedom needs urgent correction. For this endeavour to succeed, we need the courage to face reality and the willingness, in a spirit of solidarity, to say goodbye to a false life and join the alliance of renunciation and freedom. Then we will be free – differently and better.

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        Literature & Literary Studies
        May 2024

        David, Donne and Thirsty Deer

        Selected Essays of Anne Lake Prescott

        by Anne Lake Prescott, Roger Kuin, William A. Oram

        For nearly half a century Anne Lake Prescott has been a force and an inspiration in Renaissance studies. A force, because of her unique blend of learning and wit and an inspiration through her tireless encouragement of younger scholars and students. Her passion has always been the invisible bridge across the Channel: the complex of relations, literary and political, between Britain and France. The essays in this long-awaited collection range from Edmund Spenser to John Donne, from Clément Marot to Pierre de Ronsard. Prescott has a particular fondness for King David, who appears several times; and the reader will encounter chessmen, bishops, male lesbian voices and Roman whores. Always Prescott's immense erudition is accompanied by a sly and gentle wit that invites readers to share her amusement. Reading her is a joyful education.

      • Trusted Partner
        Humanities & Social Sciences
        April 2009

        Food, risk and politics

        Scare, scandal and crisis - insights into the risk politics of food safety

        by Ed Randall

        This is a book about the risk politics of food safety. Food-related risks regularly grab the headlines in ways that threaten reasoned debate and obstruct sensible policy making. In this book, Ed Randall explains why this is the case. He goes on to make the case for a properly informed and fully open public debate about food safety issues. He argues that this is the true antidote to the politics of scare, scandal and crisis. The book skilfully weaves together the many different threads of food safety and risk politics and offers a particularly rewarding read for academics and students in the fields of politics and media studies. It will also appeal to scholars from other disciplines, particularly social psychology and the food sciences. The book is a lively and exceptionally readable account of food safety and risk politics that will engage policy makers and the general reader. It promises to help us all manage food safety issues more intelligently and successfully. ;

      • Trusted Partner
        The Arts
        January 2019

        Jean Renoir

        by Martin O'Shaughnessy

        Accessible and original analysis of all Jean Renoir's sound films, including those he made in Hollywood - this is the first major study to appear for a number of years and brings new light on some of the director's most celebrated films.. Illuminating account of critical debates concerning Renoir, and focusing on hitherto neglected areas such as gender, nation and ethnicity the book asks us to rethink our understanding of Renoir's political commitment.. Traces his output from the silent period to the age of television, tying his work into a fast-shifting, socio-historical context.. Detailed analyses of his sound films map his evolving style while individual chapters cover Renoir's career and writings, critical debates, the silent and early sound films, the Popular Front period, Renoir amèricain and the later films.

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      • Trusted Partner
        May 1994

        Jüdisches Denken in Frankreich

        Gespräche mit Jacques Derrida, Emmanuel Lévinas, Jean-François Lyotard u. a.

        by Elisabeth Weber, Elisabeth Weber, Luc Rosenzweig, Pierre Vidal-Naquet, Jacques Derrida, Rita Thalmann, Emmanuel Lévinas, Léon Poliakov, Jean-François Lyotard, Elisabeth Weber

        Elisabeth Weber im Gespräch mit Pierre Vidal-Naquet, Jacques Derrida, Rita Thalmann, Emmanuel Lévinas, Léon Poliakov, Jean-François Lyotard, Luc Rosenzweig.

      • Trusted Partner
        2019

        Why ADHD is Not a Disease

        A polemic

        by Amrei Wittwer

        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.

      • Trusted Partner
        October 1975

        Der Fall Rivière herausgegeben von Michel Foucault

        Materialien zum Verhältnis von Psychiatrie und Strafjustiz

        by Michel Foucault, Wolf Heinrich Leube

        Michel Foucault und seine Mitarbeiter sind im Zusammenhang von Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der Beziehungen zwischen Psychiatrie und Strafjustiz auf den Fall Rivière gestoßen, über den 1836 eine ungewöhnlich umfangreiche Dokumentation publiziert worden war, u. a. ein Memoire Pierre Rivières über die Beweggründe zu seiner Tat: der Ermordung seiner Mutter, seiner Schwester und seines Bruders. Warum hat sich über diese Dokumentation – und insbesondere über das Memoire Pierre Rivières –, nachdem sie einmal das lebhafte Interesse der Ärzte erregt hatte, alsbald wieder absolutes Schweigen gebreitet? Die Autoren der »Anmerkungen« zu den im ersten Teil des vorliegenden Bandes abgedruckten Dokumenten analysieren einige auf den ersten Blick verdeckte Funktionen der vielfach sich überlagernden, sich kreuzenden und gegeneinander gerichteten Diskurse, die scheinbar alle von derselben Sache sprechen – einem Fall von Verwandtenmord –, gleichzeitig aber Gefechte sind. So kämpfen die Ärzte gegeneinander, gegen die Justiz und gegen Rivière; so kämpft die Justiz u. a. um die Anerkennung medizinischer Gutachten und die Zuerkennung mildernder Umstände; so sind die Zeugenaussagen von Dorfbewohnern auch Versuche, mit dem in ihrer Mitte begangenen Verbrechen fertig zu werden … Das Dossier wurde zusammengestellt, bearbeitet und mit Anmerkungen versehen im Rahmen einer Kollektivarbeit am Collège de France von: Blandine Berret-Kriegel, Gilbert Burlet-Torvic, Robert Castel, Jeanne Favret, Alexandre Fontana, Michel Foucault, Georgette Legée, Patricia Moulin, Jean-Pierre Peter, Philippe Riot, Maryvonne Saison.

      • Trusted Partner
        The Arts
        January 2019

        Jean-Jacques Beineix

        by Philip Powrie

        This volume is the first to examine, in either French or English, the films of Jean-Jacques Beineix, often seen as the best example of the 1980s cinéma du look, with cult films, such as Diva and Betty Blue (37º 2 le matin) .. After an introduction which places Beineix in the context of the 1980s and the arguments centering on a postmodern cinema, the volume devotes a chapter to each of Beineix's feature films, including the film which marked his return to feature film making after a break of a decade, Mortel Transfert (2001). Prefaced by an excellent foreword by the director himself, which includes a broad condemnation of French critics. Includes many illustrations direct from the director's own collection, complementing the interviews Powrie made with him and his collaborators.

      • Trusted Partner
        Health & Personal Development
        June 2016

        Studying Successfully with ADHD

        A Pratical Guide for Parents

        by Stefanie Rietzler, Fabian Grolimund

        For children with ADHD and their parents, the school years are often difficult. Children may avoid homework they dislike, involve their parents in endless discussions of the point or pointlessness of particular exercises, dawdle and daydream their time away, or explode with frustration if they get something wrong or cannot do something.   This book provides parents with concrete and practical help. It shows you how you can:   • improve your child’s concentration and stamina• increase your child’s motivation to learn and study• reduce frustration, arguments, and tears over homework• control chaos and forgetfulness• help your child succeed by using smart learning methods• develop your child’s strengths• help your child cope with failure and maintain self-confidence• establish a good relationship with the school.     For: • parents / relatives of children with ADHD• therapists• learning coaches• teachers

      • Trusted Partner
        September 2023

        Being Able to Stop

        Against the delusion of permanent growth

        by Edited by Jean-Pierre Wils

        We moderns were the inhabitants of an age of impetuous forward movement and voracious discontent. Our main virtue was to increase our reach. Increasing our having and accelerating our being were the signposts towards the future. We just could not get enough. Using the blinkers of ignorance and self-anaesthesia, however, we managed to forget the tremendous costs incurred by this intoxication. Now disillusionment has set in. We look to the future with anxiety. We know that we have long since crossed a line and that a revision of our lifestyle is imminent. We have a bad feeling, and doubts about progress often give way to anger and rebellion. Which stocks of the modern narrative should we defend; which would we do better to let go? How will we even "be able to stop"? The path to a different society needs an attractive goal, because without the prospect of a different, better life, we will not move forward. We should start practising immediately. There is no time to lose.

      • Trusted Partner
        August 2005

        Pierre Bourdieu: Deutsch-französische Perspektiven

        by Catherine Colliot-Thélène, Etienne François, Gunter Gebauer

        Pierre Bourdieus Werk hat die französische und deutsche Soziologie nachhaltig beeinflußt. Obgleich kein Großtheoretiker im deutschen Sinne, haben seine Konzepte und Theoreme rasch Eingang in Philosophie, Geschichts-, Kultur- und Sozialwissenschaften gefunden. Seine zahlreichen empirischen Studien gelten als Paradigma soziologischer Analyse diesseits und jenseits des Rheins. Wie kaum ein französischer Soziologe vor ihm hat er immer wieder das Schnittfeld von Philosophie und Soziologie problematisiert wie auch das Verhältnis von Wissenschaft und Politik reflektiert. Anläßlich seines 75. Geburtstages setzen sich renommierte Philosophen und Sozialwissenschaftler aus Frankreich und Deutschland mit diesem facettenreichen Werk auseinander.

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