This is a long overdue addition to a series of books and edited collections spawned initially from Immanuel Wallerstein's "The Modern World-System." These 12 theoretically informed case studies' from a 1987 conference add considerable insight to the heavy emphasis of the World-Systems approaches on macroeconomic determinism with the inclusion of ideological and cultural factors. Most cases address how capital uses social categories to cheapen industrial labor costs in Asia and the US. Two illuminating chapters analyze the minoritization of immigrants' and variations in masculinity norms as...

Current social and political theories, which tend to dismiss religious resurgence as a deviant occurrence in the broad sweep of history, do not provide an adequate framework for the study of the dramatic resurgence of religion as a worldwide political force. This book is the first to address the interplay of religion and politics systematically and on a global scale. Offering interpretive essays as well as quantitative comparative analyses, it develops a comprehensive theoretical framework and presents the most complete comparative account available of the realities of religious politics...

This massive work, the last of a three-volume set, represents a phenomenal effort in information gathering. One's first reaction to the three volumes is to wish they were on a database, more a commentary on today's research habits than the author's skill in presenting the material. The 518 pages of tightly packed references are arranged by country, then by broad categories, e.g., Status of Women, ' Family Planning and Contraception, ' History.' . . . This is a valuable research tool. The researcher in a hurry might be put off by its sheer volume and the densely packed arrangement, but the...

This incisive work reviews the salient aspects of the demographic, social, and economic characteristics of the aging of the population of the United States. It deals not only with the past and current aspects of population aging but also emphasizes the future outlook with regard to characteristics of the elderly and relative size and composition of the future older population. The book begins with a retrospective review of the population aging process of the United States throughout the twentieth century and continues with a prospective view of aging through most of the next century....

Must a folktale be connected to its culture? Can a tale with universal applications be transmitted from one culture to another without loss? Does a teller from one culture have the ability--or even the right--to relate a tale from another culture? What happens to a tale when it leaves the oral and adult arenas and appears in print for children? Is it legitimate for a reteller to create variants to suit a child audience?

Children's literature is today the major conduit for folklore, and professionals in the field must consider these questions. Editors Gary Schmidt and Donald Hettinga...

Coalition formation is mounting among Latinos as they acquire greater strength in U.S. politics. This collection of essays is the first complete study of Latino political coalitions. It elaborates on "Latino Empowerment: Progress, Problems, and Prospects" (Greenwood Press, 1988), an earlier collection by the same editors that studied Latino empowerment in general. The contributors to "Latinos and Political Coalitions" detail how coalitional politics have become a major avenue of empowerment for the Latino community.

The contributors illuminate the historical and cyclical changes in the...

The current restructuring of the world-economy under global capitalism has further integrated international trade and production. It thus has brought to the fore the key role of commodity chains in the relationships of capital, labor, and states. Commodity chains are most simply defined as the link between successive processes of manufacturing that result in a final product available for individual consumption. Each production site in the chain involves organizing the acquisition of necessary raw materials plus semifinished inputs, the recruitment of labor power and its provisioning,...

Nineteen ninety-five is the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the death camps and of the martyrdom of the Protestant theologian and resistance leader, Dietrich Bonhoeffer. The author weaves together the stories of his studies at the Shoah archives and former death camps in Central and Eastern Europe and at the Israeli Holocaust memorial. Following the reflections and narratives there is a lengthy compilation of resources for worship services, interfaith observances, and both study and dialogue programs. The unique section on liturgical resources includes models for seasonal services,...