This book demonstrates how Japanese Americans have developed traditions of complex silences to survive historic moments of racial and religious oppression and how they continue to adapt these traditions today. Brett Esaki offers four case studies of Japanese American art-gardening; origami; jazz; and monuments-and examines how each artistic practice has responded to a historic moment of oppression. He finds that these artistic silences incorporate and convey obfuscated and hybridized religious ideas from Buddhism; Christianity; Confucianism; Shinto; indigenous religions; and contemporary spirituality. While silence is often thought of as the binary opposite and absence of sound; Esaki offers a theory of non-binary silence that articulates how multidimensional silences are formed and how they function. He argues that non-binary silences have allowed Japanese Americans to disguise; adapt; and innovate religious resources in order to negotiate racism and oppressive ideologies from both the United States and Japan. Drawing from the fields of religious studies; ethnic studies; theology; anthropology; art; music; history; and psychoanalysis; this book highlights the ways in which silence has been used to communicate the complex emotions of historical survival; religious experience; and artistic inspiration.
#846170 in Books Rose E M 2015-07-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 5.80 x 1.20 x 8.40l; .0 #File Name: 0190219629416 pagesThe Murder of William of Norwich The Origins of the Blood Libel in Medieval Europe
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. A work of historical research that -- at its best -- reads like a novel.By Robert GorchovE.M. Rose's "The Murder of William of Norwich: The Origins of the Blood Libel in Medieval Europe" is a work of scrupulous historical research that -- at its best -- reads like a novel. Rose has amassed a great number of relevant facts but interwoven throughout these facts is the story of a murdered young apprentice leatherworker; William; who later was made a saint; William of Norwich; whose murder was blamed on local Jews. Rose traces the subsequent influence of what might be called the "cult" of William of Norwich and the idea of the "blood libel" in other areas of England and in France. Behind the religious spectacle; Rose has discovered economic; social; and political factors. If you have the patience to navigate the maze of historical fact; which is supported by extensive footnotes and a 36 page bibliography; you will find this story very interesting. It opens a window onto medieval European life.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Highly RecommendedBy ChristineThis was an excellent history of the murder of William of Norwich and the rise of blood libel in Western culture. E. M. Rose is very detailed in her history; but the book is never boring because her her writing is so engaging. The book is a surprisingly quick read and I highly recommend it.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. The surprising roots of the blood libelBy Van DornA carefully researched; dispassionate look at the origins of an enduring antisemeitic myth. Serious history.
