Search

"Pop Masculinities: The Politics of Gender in Twenty-First Century Popular Music" by Kai Arne Hansen explores the changing landscape of gender identity in popular music. The book analyzes the performances of various pop artists, including Zayn Malik, Lil Nas X, Justin Bieber, The Weeknd, and Take That, and examines how they challenge or conform to traditional gender norms. Hansen's analysis includes close readings of music videos, lyrics, and celebrity images, and draws on the work of key scholars in the field. While the book is not comprehensive and does not cover all aspects of pop masculinity, it offers valuable insights into the complex negotiations of gender in contemporary popular music. [Extracted from the article]

"China in Central Europe: seeking allies, creating tensions" by Gabriela Pleschová provides a comprehensive analysis of the evolving relationship between Central European countries and China in the twenty-first century. The book examines China's soft power efforts, as well as the specific responses of countries such as Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia. Pleschová emphasizes the need to theorize these ties and adjust conceptual frameworks to each country's unique circumstances. While the book highlights China's failures in the region, it also acknowledges the influence of global dynamics and the constraints on China's ability to shape relations with Central European countries. Overall, the book offers valuable insights into China's efforts to influence international politics in Central Europe. [Extracted from the article]

The article discusses the book "Critical Perspectives on Contemporary Plays by Women: The Early Twenty-First Century," edited by Peggy Farfan and Lesley Ferris. The book is a collection of twenty-eight chapters that explore the field of feminist theatre criticism and the significance of plays by women. It highlights the influence of feminist scholarly approaches in the academy and the need to articulate the importance of women's plays and research in the larger fields of theatre and performance. The book offers diverse essays that analyze texts from around the world through various methodologies, making it a valuable resource for students and instructors. However, the article notes that the book could have benefited from a discussion on the category of "women playwrights" and its complexities. Overall, the book is praised for its comprehensive scope and skillful treatment of feminism's intersectionalities. [Extracted from the article]

Media criticism is one of the key skills we need to acquire for living in the 21st century and we cannot start early enough enabling our young people to acquire that competence. With its methods and approach, the project Die FakeHunter provides the basis for a critical attitude towards multimedia information.Embedded in a simulation game, the students are introduced to five testing tools they can use to identify fake news. The project is extremely flexible in terms of extent and duration. It can be carried out on a single day in the library or over several weeks. Students work on a password-protected news portal with exclusive access for each class. Due to the success and international demand for the FakeHunters from grade 8, a version for fourth and fifth graders has also been developed, which approaches the topic in a more playful way.The project was financed with public funds and all working aids and materials are provided under creative commons licence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sharkey echoes Harris and Curtis's critique of neo-liberalism and the negative effects that that version of capitalism has had on black communities, in particular. As pointed on numerous times in Harris and Curtis's collection, there are multiple policy options available to reshape capitalism in ways that uplift traditionally marginalized groups, particularly African Americans. Keywords: race; mobility; twentieth century; capitalism EN race mobility twentieth century capitalism 444 449 6 02/04/22 20220301 NES 220301 Sharkey, Patrick (2013). [Extracted from the article]

How does China employ the Silk Road discourse to realize a BRI future in Eurasia? Tim Winter's I Geocultural Power i provides, in a very readable text, answers these questions through new theoretical and analytical ways to examine the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). In the wake of China's rise as a leader in world politics and economy, how does cultural production figure into and shape narratives of history, connectivity, and worldmaking?. [Extracted from the article]

Chapter 1 provides the context and argument of this book before Chapter 2 explores the multiple militarisms that have emerged in Japan since the Meiji period through a whistle-stop historical review. In concluding, Chapter 8 discusses one of late-Prime Minister Abe Shinzo's signature policies, the proactive contribution to peace, and argues in light of the preceding chapters that it is still firmly located within Japan's antimilitarism ecosystem. Japan's Aging Peace: Pacifism and Militarism in the Twenty-First Century: Tom Phuong Le, New York: Columbia University Press, 2021, xvi, 368 pp. [Extracted from the article]

The article reviews a concert took place on February 23, 2020 at the Foellinger Great Hall, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, on the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Illinois.