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This Element weaves together literatures on autochthony and belonging and on African urbanism to shed new light on the ability of the African state to undertake development interventions in some of the most important urban centers on the continent. It explains variations in levels of trust in the African state that shape neighborhoods' responses to states' development interventions. Focusing on the Senegalese state's construction of the VDN 2 highway on the outskirts of the capital, Dakar, the author argues that in major African cities with colonial origins, whether neighborhoods project themselves as 'autochthonous' or 'migrant' communities shapes general attitudes toward the state and influences the capacity of the state to carry out development interventions in these areas. In these cities, states are more likely to successfully intervene in neighborhoods dominated by 'new' migrants to the city than in those neighborhoods that portray themselves as 'autochthones' of these cities.

We humans are diverse. But how to understand human diversity in the case of cognitive diversity? This Element discusses how to properly investigate human behavioural and cognitive diversity, how to scientifically represent, and how to explain cognitive diversity. Since there are various methodological approaches and explanatory agendas across the cognitive and behavioural sciences, which can be more or less useful for understanding human diversity, a critical analysis is needed. And as the controversial study of sex and gender differences in cognition illustrates, the scientific representations and explanations put forward matter to society and impact public policy, including policies on mental health. But how to square the vision of human cognitive diversity with the assumption that we all share one human nature? Is cognitive diversity something to be positively valued? The author engages with these questions in connection with the issues of neurodiversity, cognitive disability, and essentialist construals of human nature.

Early twentieth-century Persia and the Persian Gulf presented a largely blank slate to the British, best known only as a vital conduit to India and a site of contest ? the ''great game'' ? with the Russian Empire. As oil discoveries and increasing trade brought new attention, the expanding telegraph and river shipping industries attracted resourceful men into junior positions in remote outposts. Love, Class and Empire explores the experiences of two of these men and their families. Drawing on a wealth of personal letters and diaries, A. James Hammerton examines the complexities of expatriate life in Iran and Iraq, in particular the impact of rapid social mobility on ordinary Britons and their families in the late imperial era. Uniquely, the study blends histories of empire with histories of marriage and family, closely exploring the nature of expatriate love and sexuality. In the process, Hammerton discloses a tender expatriate love story and offers a moving account of transient life in a corner of the informal empire.

This Element explores the transformative power of reading as a deeply imaginative, embodied process. It challenges conventional views of reading as mere decoding and argues that reading involves a dynamic interplay between perception, imagination, and the body. Drawing from ecological-embodied theories and cross-disciplinary insights, it introduces the concept of 'breaks' in reading – moments of pause, disruption, and reflection – as essential to fostering rich imaginative engagement. By focusing on multiscalar attention, pacemaking, and material engagement, the Element proposes a novel framework for understanding reading as an active, creative process that enhances cognitive and emotional depth. Through a cognitive ethnography of reading, the Element demonstrates how these imaginative breaks can cultivate more meaningful and sustained interactions with texts, offering insights for education and reading practices. Ultimately, the Element seeks to reimagine the role of reading in enhancing imaginative capacities and navigating today's complex social and global challenges.

Lord Byron was the most celebrated of all the Romantic poets. Troubled, handsome, sexually fluid, disabled, and transgressive, he wrote his way to international fame ? and scandal ? before finding a kind of redemption in the Greek Revolution. He also left behind the vast trove of thrilling letters (to friends, relatives, lovers, and more) that form the core of this remarkable biography. Published to coincide with the 200th anniversary of Byron''s death, and adopting a fresh approach, it explores his life and work through some of his best, most resonant correspondence. Each chapter opens with Byron''s own voice ? as if we have opened a letter from the poet himself ? followed by a vivid account of the emotions and experiences that missive touches. This gripping life traces the meteoric trajectory of a poet whose brilliance shook the world and whose legacy continues to shape art and culture to this day.

This concise and interpretative book digs under the surface events of the Wars of the Roses to explore the underlying dynamics of a typical civil war. Beginning with a demonstration of why the well-worn storylines of the Wars are so misleading, it moves on to expose the pressure for reform that animated the conflict and helped to shape its outcomes. It continues by looking at the logics of division and the reasons why the Wars, once started, were so hard to resolve. It concludes by returning to debates long discussed by historians: the role of the economy in the conflict, and the interaction between English affairs and the politics of the British Isles and the near continent. Throughout, a central concern is to emphasise the fluidity and uncertainty of these civil wars: once authority broke down, anything could happen.

The first book of its kind, Less than Victory explores both the impact the Vietnam War had on American Catholics, and the impact of the nation's largest religious group upon its most controversial war. Through the 1960s, Roman Catholics made up one-quarter of the population, and were deeply involved in all aspects of war. In this book, Steven J. Brady argues that American Catholics introduced the moral, as opposed to the prudential, argument about the war earlier and more comprehensively than other groups. The Catholic debate on morality was three cornered: some saw the war as inherently immoral, others as morally obligatory, while others focused on the morality of the means – napalm, torture, and free-fire zones – that the US and the Army of the Republic of Vietnam were employing. These debates presaged greater Catholic involvement in war and peace issues, provoking a shift away from traditional ideas of a just war across American Catholic thinking and dialogue.

Luigi Cardorna remains one of the most controversial generals in Italian history. Appointed chief of the armed forces in 1914, he led the Italian army in the field from May 1915 until the aftermath of their calamitous defeat at Caporetto in 1917. In this major new biography, Marco Mondini traces Cardorna''s rise, the nature of his command, the course of the Isonzo campaign, and the battles over his post-war reputation. He brings a new cultural perspective to Cardorna''s life, demonstrating the role of Italy''s military and national culture, the myths of the Risorgimento, and the mobilization of propaganda in creating an effective cult of personality. Utilizing ego-documents, memoirs, letters and public writings, Mondini delves into the ideology and psychology that combined to create such an untouchable autocrat, arguing that the history of fascism in Italy cannot be fully understood without appreciating Cardorna''s role in the First World War.

The Bhagavad Gita is a world classic often considered to be not just the 'Hindu Bible' but sometimes the 'Indian Bible' as well. Over the last two centuries, it has attracted much scholarly attention from Indologists. Ithamar Theodor's bold and revisionist monograph aspires to further develop their scholarship by treating the Gita as a discrete philosophy and by offering a systematic survey of its main topics and doctrines, in so doing emphasising their philosophical potential. A major innovation here is the articulation of the Gita's structure extracted from Vedantic and Yogic pattens of thought, presented in a modern fashion. This centres on the Gita's Vedantic concept of hierarchical reality and its Yogic concept of a ladder. Beyond its overarching philosophical and holistic approach to the Bhagavad Gita, the book addresses major themes such as dharma, rebirth, Yoga and Sankhya, bhakti, the Upanishadic nature of the text, and concepts of divinity.

Ancient Christians understood themselves to be enslaved to God, an attitude that affected their ethics, theology, and self-understanding. This widespread belief is made especially clear in the Shepherd of Hermas, an overlooked early Christian text written by an enslaved person, which was nearly included in the New Testament. In this book, Chance Bonar provides a robust analysis of the ancient discourses and practices of slavery found in the Shepherd of Hermas. He shows how the text characterizes God's enslaved persons as useful, loyal property who could be put to work, surveilled, and disciplined throughout their lives – and the afterlife. Bonar also investigates the notion that God enslaved believers, which allowed the Shepherd to theorize key early Christian concepts more deeply and in light of ancient Mediterranean slavery. Bonar's study clarifies the depth to which early Christians were entrenched – intellectually, practically, and theologically – in Roman slave society. It also demonstrates how the Shepherd offers new approaches to early Christian literary and historical interpretation.

What are we? Are we, for example, souls, organisms, brains, or something else? In this book, Andrew Brenner argues that there are principled obstacles to our discovering the answer to this fundamental metaphysical question. The main competing accounts of personal ontology hold that we are either souls (or composites of soul and body), or we are composite physical objects of some sort, but, as Brenner shows, arguments for either of these options can be parodied and transformed into their opposites. Brenner also examines arguments for and against the existence of the self, offers a detailed discussion of the metaphysics of several afterlife scenarios - resurrection, reincarnation, and mind uploading -- and considers whether agnosticism with respect to personal ontology should lead us to agnosticism with respect to the possibility of life after death.

Crime fiction first emerged in the Victorian era and its series form continues to dominate the genre. Despite the prevalence of crime series, very little research has been done on how character is conceived. The Element's focus is contemporary, from the 1970s onward, and it determines the theory and conventions behind writing the detectives in these modern meganarratives. Exemplary series and a range of subgenres are analysed, thriller to cosy crime, professional investigator to amateur sleuth, embracing diversity and different gender identities. Previous examinations have tended to interpret the detective figure as either mythic or realist, but the author argues that both modes are combined in the contemporary crime series, generating a mythorealist protagonist. This creative-critical Element celebrates the vibrancy of the form and its capacity to investigate the human condition. It also considers future trends and concludes with the author's own guide to writing a crime fiction series.

Critical thinking (CT) is essential in education, the workplace, and everyday life, yet many struggle to understand or apply it effectively. This book breaks down the ''what, how, and when'' of CT in a clear, accessible way, making it practical for readers from all walks of life. Drawing on over fifteen years of researching CT, Dwyer presents accessible evidence-based lessons and strategies for using CT in real-world situations, helping readers navigate the overwhelming flood of information we face daily. Written in an informal, engaging tone, this book makes CT approachable for anyone looking to improve their decision-making skills.

This Element examines the roles and activities of women and their contributions to the Platonic tradition from Plato's time-fourth century BCE- through to the sixth century CE. Drawing on recent research on female agency, gender studies and the connections between ancient philosophy and religious traditions, this Element re-assesses the multi-faceted roles of women within Platonism. Methodologically, any assessment of ancient women philosophers must consider the contexts of the production, transmission and (partial) survival of the range of evidence attesting to their activities, and the historical minimisation or elision of women's intellectual contributions within the western philosophical tradition, science and the academy. As such, this Element argues that the existing evidence allows us to glimpse a much wider pattern of female philosophical and intellectual activity within the Platonic tradition and that we should be careful not to underestimate or minimise the significance of ancient women within the history of Platonism.

From First Job to Career is an anthology that weaves together inspiring first-job stories from people across diverse industries and backgrounds, offering career seekers of all ages the chance to connect with relatable experiences and hard-earned wisdom. This collection reveals the different paths people take in shaping their careers and serves as a resource for readers to identify with and learn from others'' journeys. Paired with a comprehensive review of research in vocational psychology and career counseling, the book distills key principles and provides actionable resources for navigating the job search and building a meaningful career.

This Element brings work from the philosophy of technology into conversation with media, religion, culture studies, and work in digital religion studies to explore examples of how popular media and emerging technologies are increasingly framed and understood through a distinct range of spiritual myths, metaphors, images, and representations of God. Working with three case studies about how internet memes, popular films, and media coverage of public philosophy link ideas about God and technology, this Element draws attention to common conceptions that describe a perceived relationship between religion and technology today. It synthesizes these discussions and categories and presents them in four distinct models, showing a range of ways in which the relationship between God and technology is commonly depicted. The Element seeks to create a platform for scholarly study and critical discourse on technology's religious and spiritual representation in digital and emerging media cultures and contexts through this work.