Permitted and Prohibited Desires: Mothers, Comics, and Censorship in Japan Review

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(More customer reviews)I was very pleased with this book , but also somewhat disappointed. The way Allison delves into each subject is astounding, and her own personal experiences illustrate the culture so that an American can understand it. What disappointed me, however, was how Allison becomes bogged down in explaining everything in psychological jargon. I know as an anthropologist, she must address certain things, but I ended up just skimming the sections.
The first chapters of the book cover Japanese comics, or manga. It does not cover popular manga, but rather how certain running themes reflect on Japanese culture. She particuarly looks into "ero manga," which is erotic, adult comics. She makes some shocking insights, but nothing that isn't mirrored in the U.S. She also briefly looks into children's television shows and hostess clubs.
The second part deals with mothers in Japan. This section of the book was so thoroughly interesting it made me wish the entire book covered the topic. The amount of work that the women must do is incredible. She also looks into Japanese schools, especially nursery schools. Allison's own personal experiences and her interviews with Japanese women really flavor this section.
The third section wraps up with censorship in Japan. Allison delves more into politics here, and the section didn't grab me as much as the others. It is still interesting, and the information is well delivered.
If you can put aside her psychological ramblings and concentrate on the actual writings, this book is wonderfully informative. Recommended.

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This provocative study of gender and sexuality in contemporary Japan investigates elements of Japanese popular culture including erotic comic books, stories of mother-son incest, lunchboxesor obentosthat mothers ritualistically prepare for schoolchildren, and children's cartoons. Anne Allison brings recent feminist psychoanalytic and Marxist theory to bear on representations of sexuality, motherhood, and gender in these and other aspects of Japanese culture. Based on five years of fieldwork in a middle-class Tokyo neighborhood, this theoretically informed, accessible ethnographic study provides a provocative analysis of how sexuality, dominance, and desire are reproduced and enacted in late-capitalistic Japan.

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Outline of a Theory of Practice (Cambridge Studies in Social and Cultural Anthropology) Review

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(More customer reviews)For anyone interested in cultural studies or in ethnology/ anthropology/ sociology, _Outline_ is a must read.
Bourdieu, a teacher of Foucault, has been rated France's 2nd most influential scholar (after Foucault) and for good reason. In _Outline_, Bourdieu provides a well-grounded introduction to his main concepts and gives a great deal of supporting detail to support his interpretations.
At times, his descriptions of the Kabyle culture seem to be far too long for persons who are reading him as a general social theorist. If you do not have a deep-rooted love of sociology or other culturally-immersive social sciences, you might prefer his _Logic of Practice_, which has less ethnology in it, or _Practical Reason_, which has nearly none.
If you are a student of culture, however, you will find these extended examples to be excellent background material and useful illustrations of Bourdieu's concepts.
In terms of writing style, Bourdieu is uneconomical, but the payoff is worth slogging through his difficult prose.

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Outline of a theory of practice is recognized as a major theoretical text on the foundations of anthropology and sociology. Pierre Bourdieu, a distinguished French anthropologist, develops a theory of practice which is simultaneously a critique of the methods and postures of social science and a general account of how human action should be understood. With his central concept of the habitus, the principle which negotiates between objective structures and practices, Bourdieu is able to transcend the dichotomies which have shaped theoretical thinking about the social world. The author draws on his fieldwork in Kabylia (Algeria) to illustrate his theoretical propositions. With detailed study of matrimonial strategies and the role of rite and myth, he analyses the dialectical process of the 'incorporation of structures' and the objectification of habitus, whereby social formations tend to reproduce themselves. A rigorous consistent materialist approach lays the foundations for a theory of symbolic capital and, through analysis of the different modes of domination, a theory of symbolic power.

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PeaceJam: How Young People Can Make Peace in Their Schools and Communities Review

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(More customer reviews)I had the opportunity to read this and it was exactly as I stated in the title. The obstacles that these young people have overcome is amazing. It gives hope to others who feel they are alone and misunderstood. It fits wonderfully together and the opportunity to meet and interact with Nobel Peace Laureates is something that young students should try to experience. I cannot say enough about this book. It is a definite must-read. Hope and peace are things that everyone wants but doesn't have. This book will give you hope to make a difference and understand the building blocks of peace and what can be done to provide a safe and meaningful upbringing for youth today.

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Based on the highly acclaimed PeaceJam program--an educational action plan built around the spirit, skills, and wisdom of Nobel Peace laureates--this is a practical and motivational guide that will inspire a generation of peacemakers. PeaceJam traces the lives of five American teens who, by applying the skills and techniques from the PeaceJam program and developing personal relationships with Nobel Peace laureates such as the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu, begin to sense their own potential for greatness. Discover Why People Are Talking About PeaceJam "PeaceJam is about youth learning to do a better job than we did--you have the opportunity to show us up and get it right! I am confident that you will--go for it!” --Archbishop Desmond Tutu, 1984 Nobel Peace Prize Winner "These stories of Rudy, Jes, Richard, Shannon, and Shelby give us all an opportunity to reflect on the truth of hope.” --Rigoberta Menchu Tum, 1992 Nobel Peace Prize Winner "Young, cool, and edgy--y ou go, PeaceJam!” --Andrei Codrescu, National Public Radio "PeaceJam will help thousands of young people to gain a greater understanding about the world and about themselves, therefore helping them to have a better way of life, which is an extremely important task.” --The Dalai Lama, 1989 Nobel Peace Prize Winner "Anyone who wants to understand the building blocks of peace must read this book!” --Jody Williams, 1997 Nobel Peace Prize Winner "Parents and students, teachers and school leaders, and anyone who cares about youth and our future will benefit from reading PeaceJam.” --Dr. Kate Cumbo, Colorado Department of Education

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Culture Jam: The Uncooling of America Review

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(More customer reviews)I currently live in Japan where I have seen the dark side of the American Cultural Machine. Thousands of years of tradition have been swallowed up in a couple years by a dominant American system that uses insidious and underhanded techniques to sell its products and become rich. This is a wonderful attack on the current dominant paradigm- Work Work Work Buy Buy Buy(and if this continues unabated we are asking for a global environmental nightmare). I am not an environmentalist but this book uses solid arguments and puts forth interesting ideas. PLEASE READ THIS BOOK. It will give you a chance against the mega-corporations. Take back your mind and free will! This book is fun, interesting, and it could one day be seen as the book that started the newest counter culture: The Anti-consumer.

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