A Q&A and book signing at Ben McNally Books, Toronto, with Mark A. Cheetham, author of Artwriting, Nation, and Cosmopolitanism in Britain

Published May 29, 2012 Art and Visual Studies , Authors Leave a Comment

Posted by Luana Life, Marketing Coordinator, Literary, Music, and Art & Visual Studies

Join Mark A. Cheetham, author of Artwriting, Nation, and Cosmopolitanism in Britain: The ‘Englishness’ of English Art Theory since the Eighteenth Century for a Q & A and book signing at Ben McNally Books (366 Bay Street, Toronto) Wednesday, June 6, from 6–8 pm.

“In this revisionist and superbly erudite study, Mark Cheetham rigorously articulates the implicit theoretical armature of English artwriting, revealing the unacknowledged play of national and transnational themes in a body of discourse and criticism that typically attempts to obscure its conceptual and political commitments. The ‘imperial empiricism’ that Cheetham detects among English artists and critics—from William Hogarth and Joshua Reynolds to Clive Bell, Roger Fry and beyond—emerges from the shadows with great clarity. It will no longer be possible to imagine that the English art world of the last three hundred years maintained an insular independence from concepts of ‘theory’ that it imagined as foreign and continental.” — Gary Shapiro, University of Richmond

Learn more about Artwriting, Nation, and Cosmopolitanism in Britain

About the Author: Mark A. Cheetham is a professor of art history at the University of Toronto

The Ashgate Research Companion to Corporate Social Responsibility

Published May 28, 2012 Business Leave a Comment
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The Ashgate Research Companion to Corporate Social Responsibility is edited by David Crowther, De Montfort University, UK and Nicholas Capaldi, Loyola University New Orleans, USA.

This is an edited extract from the introduction to the book. You can read the full introduction on our website.

One of the implications of the current concern with corporate misbehaviour is that this is a new phenomenon – one which has not been of concern previously. Issues of socially responsible behaviour are not, of course, new and examples can be found from throughout the world and at least from the earliest days of the Industrial Revolution and the concomitant founding of large business entities and the divorce between ownership and management – or the divorcing of risk from rewards.

It was as long ago as 1967 that Marshall McLuhan first stated that we now live in a global village and that technology was connecting everyone together. Marshall McLuhan was prophetic. When he was talking about this global village he also said that war would continue to be a feature of the world but that there would be an increasing emphasis upon economic war rather than physical war.

Physical war has not gone away but it might be argued that the reasons for wars in the present are to do with economic reasons at least as much as they are to do with imperialistic or ideological reasons – at least as far as governments and countries are concerned. But governments, as the epitome of the nation state, are becoming less important.

What is becoming more important than governments and nation states is the multinational company, operating in a global environment. Some of these multinationals are very large indeed – larger than many nation states and a good deal more powerful. Arguably it is here that the economic war for the global village is taking place.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been one of the most debated management issues, with both academics and practitioners trying to give proper meaning to the concept and justifying why corporations should adopt ethical and socially responsible behaviour, yet there is lack of consensus on what the concept means, what it entails, why it should be embraced, how it should be operationalised, what its roles are in achieving organisational effectiveness or performance and many other issues bordering on the concept.

At the same time the development of a theoretical underpinning for CSR has been given increased priority, with a critique of utilitarianism and its antecedent, classical liberalism, featuring prominently.

The purpose of this book is to explore a wide variety of aspects of Corporate Social Responsibility. So all the contributions in this book are concerned with different aspects of CSR but are united through their concern with the effect of corporate activity upon the various stakeholders to that corporation, although all of the contributors consider this issue through differing theoretical lenses and are concerned with different stakeholder groupings.

Part of the intention is to show the diversity of concerns which fall under the umbrella term of corporate social responsibility. It is equally part of the objective of this book to show that a concern with corporate social responsibility is a worldwide issue which is being addressed by scholars in many countries. This volume presents a spectrum of approaches from a variety of scholars from different countries and from different disciplines in order to show the diversity of the debate and the diversity of contributors.

It is necessary to treat the various issues under discussion in separate chapters, each contributed by different experts in various locations throughout the world. One implication of this is that these are discrete topics whereas there is considerable overlap in the topics. Thus many topics are referred to in the context of various chapters about seemingly diverse subjects. For example, sustainability is such an important concept, and so central to any discussion of corporate social responsibility, that it features extensively in the various contributions to this volume. So too are concepts such as accountability and governance.

It is important to recognise that this volume is not encyclopaedic in the coverage of corporate social responsibility – such a task would be impossible – but it seeks to highlight a number of important debates which are taking place in the arena. The choice of topics is, of course, that of the editors; in making this choice we recognise, of course, that many readers will disagree with what has been included or, more significantly, what has been excluded.

More about the Ashgate Research Companion to Corporate Social Responsibility

A new series – Southeast European Studies

Published May 24, 2012 Authors , Politics and International Relations Leave a Comment

Southeast European Studies is a new series from Ashgate. The Series Editor is Florian Bieber, from the Centre for Southeast European Studies, University of Graz, Austria

New scholarship is emerging which seeks to move away from the focus on violence and war with which the Balkan region has been widely associated over the past decades. Beyond this violence, the region has experienced rapid change in recent times, including democratization, economic and social transformation.

The Southeast European Studies Series seeks to provide a forum for this new scholarship. Through contemporary perspectives the series aims to explain the past and seeks to examine how it shapes the present.

Focusing on original empirical research and innovative theoretical viewpoints on the region the series includes original monographs and edited collections. It is interdisciplinary in scope, publishing high-level research in political science, history, anthropology, sociology, law and economics and accessible to readers interested in Southeast Europe and beyond.

For more information on how to submit a proposal to this series, please contact Rob Sorsby, Senior Commissioning Editor for Politics.

The Shakespearean International Yearbook prepares a special section on digital Shakespeares – papers are invited

Published May 23, 2012 Authors , Literary Studies Leave a Comment

Guest post from Alexander Huang

Co-edited by Hugh Craig and Brett D. Hirsch, a special section on “Digital Shakespeares” is planned for the 2013 Shakespearean International Yearbook.

If data is “the next big idea in language, history and the arts”, as Patricia Cohen has suggested, where are we now in Shakespeare studies? Are we being “digital” yet?

The guest editors of this special issue of The Shakespearean International Yearbook invite papers to critically explore digital innovations, interventions, and mediations in Shakespeare studies, in particular, the application of digital technologies and methodologies — such as computational stylistics, data mining and visualization, 3D virtual modelling, electronic publishing, etc. — and their impact on Shakespeare research, performance, and pedagogy.

Papers theorizing “digital”, “networked”, or “new media” Shakespeares, as well as papers interrogating the ways in which the digital influences the performance of Shakespeare on both stage and screen, are also welcomed.

Edited by Alex Huang (George Washington University) and Tom Bishop (University of Auckland), The Shakespearean International Yearbook surveys the present state of Shakespeare studies, addressing issues that are fundamental to our interpretive encounter with Shakespeare’s work and his time, across the whole spectrum of his literary output. Each issue includes a special section under the guidance of a specialist Guest Editor, as well as a production diary or record of a notable Shakespeare performance.

Congratulations to Nan Goodman and Michael P. Kramer

Published May 22, 2012 Authors , Literary Studies Leave a Comment

Posted by Luana Life, Marketing Coordinator

Ashgate wishes to congratulate Nan Goodman and Michael P. Kramer on the “highly recommended” review of their book, The Turn Around Religion in America, in Choice magazine.

“…this collection addresses Bercovitch’s characteristic themes during a long career at Columbia and, ultimately, Harvard…This reviewer cannot imagine the Americanist who will not need to refer to this book at least once in his/her career…Highly recommended.”   —Choice, May 2012

Learn more about The Turn Around Religion in America

To browse other newly reviewed Ashgate books in Choice see www.ashgate.com/choice

Ashgate Publishing will be supporting the 2012 European Aviation Conference, Berlin

Published May 21, 2012 Aviation Leave a Comment

Ashgate Publishing is pleased to be supporting the new European Aviation Conference, scheduled to be held for the first time in Berlin, Germany, this November.

The initial theme will be ‘Re-Engineering the Aviation Value Chain’.

Several of our aviation authors are on the conference’s scientific advisory board and their publications are listed below. More information on this exciting new event will follow later in the year.

Ashgate titles to be displayed at the European Aviation Conference include:

More about Ashgate’s Aviation books

Ashgate’s Cultural and Heritage Management publishing programme is growing

Published May 17, 2012 Authors , Cultural and Heritage Management Leave a Comment
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Posted by Nigel Farrow, Chairman of the Ashgate Publishing Group

Our new catalogue of books on the policies, practice and history of culture and heritage management is now available. It represents Ashgate’s commitment to publish widely in these fields.

In the year of the London Olympic Games it is hardly necessary to stress the economic importance or international impact of major cultural events and institutions in contemporary society.

The new and recent titles in the Cultural and Heritage Management catalogue reflect scholarship and experience from many different parts of the world.

It is, perhaps, appropriate that an international, British-based publisher such as Ashgate should focus on this subject. Britain is an old country with long established and justly celebrated cultural institutions.

However, it is in the more recently developed or developing regions of the world that some of the most exciting new cultural initiatives are being made. And everywhere there is a challenge to present and preserve the heritage of humanity for future generations in the face of economic turbulence and physical conflicts.

Museum experience for the attendees has greatly improved in recent times as museums strive to widen the access to their collections and exhibitions.

Frank den Oudsten’s space.time.narrative: the exhibition as post-spectacular stage presents new and important insights into this experience and has contributions from Europe’s leading exhibition designers.

Archives, Museums and Collecting Practices in the Modern Arab World is a pioneering survey of practice in region that is rich in historical and cultural artefacts.

Among a range of new Heritage Studies titles are two which deal with the impact of iconic historical events and myths on national indentities today. Ireland’s 1916 Rising explores history-making and commemoration as the centenary of one of Ireland’s great events approaches. The Dracula Dilemma looks at the way that Romania has negotiated ‘Dracula tourism’ over the last four decades.

The catalogue lists the first titles in two important new or revived series.

Handbooks in International Art Business is a series published by our Lund Humphries imprint in association with Sotheby’s Institute of Art. This series draws upon the knowledge and experience of members of the faculties of the Sotheby’s Institute of Art in London, New York and Singapore. The first two titles are Chinese Antiquities: an introduction to the art market and Corporate Art Collections: a handbook to corporate buying.

The other series is an old friend who has much grown and is now dressed in a splendid new suit of clothes. Practical Building Conservation is a fully revised series of practical handbooks that is published in association with English Heritage. The original titles were published in 1988 and established themselves as standard reference books. The new series has extended the number of titles to a 10-volume set and all the books copiously illustrated in colour. The series covers all the main materials and building processes to be found in historic buildings.

The main contribution to the catalogue from our Gower business books imprint is The Cultural Leadership Handbook: how to run a creative organization. This title reflects the course of study for future leaders of cultural and heritage institutions that has been pioneered by the authors, Robert Hewison and John Holden, at the City University, London.

Several of the publishing programmes and series listed here are in their infancy. There is much more to come. So I hope that next time you hear the word culture you reach not for your gun* but for the Ashgate catalogue.

Nigel Farrow

Chairman, Ashgate Publishing Group

*As this is a scholarly catalogue for scholarly people, one should correct the general attribution this much used and abused remark. It may have been used by Göring, or Hess or Himmler, to name some very unpleasant people, but it actually originates in Hanns Johst’s 1933 play, Schlageter, “Wenn ich Kultur höre … entsichere ich meinen Browning” (“Whenever I hear of culture … I release the safety-catch of my Browning”).

View a pdf version of the Cultural and Heritage Management catalogue on our website

Do you have a book proposal?

We are actively commissioning new books in many areas of Cultural and Heritage Management. To discuss new ideas and proposals please contact the relevant commissioning editor:

Museums and Heritage Management – Dymphna Evans, Imogen Abed

Heritage and Identity series, Cultural Geography – Val Rose

Cultural Policy and Leadership – Martin West (Gower)

The Business of Art – Lucy Myers (Lund Humphries)

Reflections on the Shakespeare conference in Prague, July 2011

Published May 16, 2012 Authors , Literary Studies Leave a Comment
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A guest post from Alex Huang, General Editor, The Shakespearean International Yearbook

The 9th World Shakespeare Congress was held in the beautiful old town of Prague, July 17-22, 2011. Held once every four years and organized by the International Shakespeare Association with local hosts, this conference has become the convention of record and a cultural event in its own right. Shakespearean scholars, educators, directors, actors, and students from all over the world descended on Prague for a week of engaging conversation and performances.

As part of the Prague Shakespeare Summer Festival, the outdoor performance of Henry IV (both parts abridged, in Czech, for one evening) at the Prague Castle was one of the highlights, featuring a simple but creative, tiered stage set populated by high-back chairs that were more than props. In the final scene they took on the air of live characters.

Professor Marjorie Garber’s talk in the visually striking Estates Theatre provided insights into Shakespeare and Kafka, two men of letters who never met but nonetheless seem to be on the same wavelength. Her talk is wittily titled “Czech Mates: When Shakespeare Met Kafka.” Conference delegates not only eagerly attended performances and talks, but jumped at the opportunity to engage in debates about topics that shape the future of the field. The renowned Canadian playwright Djanet Sears’ candid reflection on her Othello-inspired play “Harlem Duet” set in motion a heated debate about early modern and postmodern conceptions of race and critical and artistic approaches to racial discourses in Shakespeare.

Ashgate authors and editors had a major presence in Prague. As the co-founder and co-editor of Global Shakespeares, I led a workshop on digital Shakespeare and international performances with Peter Donaldson (co-founder and editor-in-chief) at the conference. The workshop, “Global Shakespeares in the Digital Archive,” was attended by more than 100 participants. We presented a report on the current status of the open-access digital video archive, demonstrated how it can be used in research and teaching, and outlined many ways in which scholars and students can become involved in the project. I also offered a dynamic visual model of how the project can function to shift academic practice toward close comparative readings of performance through the making and sharing of video sequences.

Nicholas Clary (Editor of HamletWorks and of the MLA New Variorum Edition of Hamlet) and Peter Donaldson took the audience through a tour of how the rich commentary notes and textual annotations of HamletWorks might be combined with the image and video resources of  Global Shakespeares and MIT’s Shakespeare Electronic Archive.  Choosing a single line from Hamlet that exists in two distinct forms in the early texts, they showed how in an integrated interface a user might move from that variant line to more than 50 commentary notes from the 17th to 20th centuries, through numerous illustrations and art works depicting the moment at which Hamlet comes upon the King in prayer and has an opportunity to take revenge, then through the corresponding moments in Olivier’s 1947 film, the Ryutopia Company’s 2007 production (in Japanese) and in Ham-Let, a Brazilian production of 1993.Liana Leao, Anna Camati and Celia Arns, Global Shakespeares editors for Brazil gave a report on their work on the archive including video extracts from the director interviews they are conducting, and Poonam Trivedi, editor for India discussed the difficulties as well as the successes in her work on the archive, and raised theoretical issues concerning the “global,” how that term structures our current understanding of the project, and how we might make the site more international.   Discussion was intense and productive.

Global Shakespearean performances in our times often move across various media (such as incorporating cinematic elements into stage productions and vice versa) and reference other adaptations. For these reasons, we have spent the past decade building Global Shakespeares (launched in 2010; suite of teaching tools launched in 2011). Based at MIT, http://globalshakespeares.org/ offers full videos of recorded performances and video highlights of select productions, many of which have English subtitles. At present, the archive covers Shakespeare in India, East Asia, Brazil, the Arab world, the U.S. and U.K.

With an extensive collection of full video records and video highlights of theatrical performances (many with English subtitles), stage photos, and play scripts and interviews from Asia, the U.S., and Europe, the digital project is designed to serve as a core resource that is free for students, teachers, and researchers.

Our goal is to provide both a video-driven and a more familiar catalogue and filtered search method of moving through the collection, with the option to switch modes at any time. We believe that a digital, video-based global Shakespeare archive, beginning with a substantial body of work in Asia, with new tools for annotating, replaying and sharing user-defined video segments has the potential to transform how we think about Asia, Shakespeare, and the world, and how we use performance materials.

The IALL International Handbook of Legal Information Management, edited by Richard A. Danner and Jules Winterton, receives the Joseph L. Andrews Bibliographical Award

Published May 14, 2012 Authors , Information Management , Law , prizes Leave a Comment

Posted by Nora Weber, Senior Marketing Co-ordinator

Ashgate is honored that editors Richard A. Danner and Jules Winterton will receive the Joseph L. Andrews Bibliographical Award for The IALL International Handbook of Legal Information Management. The awards will be presented July 24 at the Association Luncheon during the Annual Association of American Law Schools (AALL) Meeting in Boston.

This International Handbook describes the legal environments in which librarians work and policy issues with which they need to engage. It provides resources, analysis, and considered studies for seasoned international law librarians, those about to enter the field, and anyone interested in the evolution of legal information in the twenty-first century.

Visit Ashgate’s website for more information about this award-winning book…

Does flying lead to loose talk?

Published May 11, 2012 Aviation , Human Factors Leave a Comment

Posted by Luigi Fort, Senior Marketing Executive, Aviation and Human Factors

A recent extensive article in the New York Times investigated the propensity for business travellers on commercial flights to disclose information better kept within the confines of the office. Is this owing to carelessness, ignorance of the risks or perhaps something to do with the passenger cabin environment?

In the article, Rob Bor, Ashgate author of Passenger Behaviour, suggests that the emotional and physical strains on passengers makes them susceptible to being indiscrete. He says: “Being at 35,000 feet for more than two hours is going to make you mildly hypoxic, and slightly less oxygen will make you euphoric or may give slightly poorer judgment.”

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