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Black ghost of empire : the long death of slavery and the failure of emancipation / by Manjapra, Kris,1978-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."The 1619 Project illuminated the ways in which every aspect of life in the United States was and is shaped by the existence of slavery. Black Ghost of Empire focuses on emancipation and how this opportunity to make right further codified the racial caste system-instead of obliterating it. To understand why the shadow of slavery still haunts society today, we must not only look at what slavery was, but also the unfinished way it ended. One may think of "emancipation" as a finale, leading to a new age of human rights and universal freedoms. But in reality, emancipations everywhere were incomplete. In Black Ghost of Empire, acclaimed historian and professor Kris Manjapra identifies five types of emancipation--explaining them in chronological order--along with the lasting impact these transitions had on formerly enslaved groups around the Atlantic. Beginning in 1770s and concluding in 1880s, different kinds of emancipation processes took place across the Atlantic world. These included the Gradual Emancipations of North America, the Revolutionary Emancipation of Haiti, the Compensated Emancipations of European overseas empires, the War Emancipation of the American South, and the Conquest Emancipations that swept across Sub-Saharan Africa. Tragically, despite a century of abolitions and emancipations, systems of social bondage persisted and reconfigured. We still live with these unfinished endings today. In practice, all the slavery emancipations that have ever taken place reenacted racial violence against Black communities, and reaffirmed commitment to white supremacy. The devil lurked in the details of the five emancipation processes, none of which required atonement for wrongs committed, or restorative justice for the people harmed. Manjapra shows how, amidst this unfinished history, grassroots Black organizers and activists have become custodians of collective recovery and remedy; not only for our present, but also for our relationship with the past. Timely, lucid, and crucial to our understanding of the ongoing "anti-mattering" of Black people, Black Ghost of Empire shines a light into the deep gap between the idea of slavery's end and its actual perpetuation in various forms--exposing the shadows that linger to this day"--
Subjects: Liberty; Race relations; Slavery;

Near abroad : Putin, the West, and the contest over Ukraine and the Caucasus / by Toal, Gerard,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."Vladimir Putin's intervention into the Georgia/South Ossetia conflict in summer 2008 was quickly recognized by Western critics as an attempt by Russia to increase its presence and power in the "near abroad", or the independent states of the former Soviet Union that Russia still regards as its wards. Though the global economic recession that began in 2008 moved the incident to the back of the world's mind, Russia surged to the forefront again six years later when they invaded the heavily Russian Crimea in Ukraine and annexed it. In contrast to the earlier Georgia episode, this new conflict has generated a crisis of global proportions, forcing European countries to rethink their relationship with Russia and their reliance on it for energy supplies, as Russia was now squeezing natural gas from what is technically Ukraine. In Near Abroad, the eminent political geographer Gerard Toal analyzes Russia's recent offensive actions in the near abroad, focusing in particular on the ways in which both the West and Russia have relied on Cold War-era rhetorical and emotional tropes that distort as much as they clarify. In response to Russian aggression, US critics quickly turned to tried-and-true concepts like "spheres of influence" to condemn the Kremlin. Russia in turn has brought back its long tradition of criticizing western liberalism and degeneracy to grandly rationalize its behavior in what are essentially local border skirmishes. It is this tendency to resort to the frames of earlier eras that has led the conflicts to "jump scales," moving from the regional to the global level in short order. The ambiguities and contradictions that result when nations marshal traditional geopolitical arguments-rooted in geography, territory, and old understandings of distance-further contributes to the escalation of these conflicts. Indeed, Russia's belligerence toward Georgia stemmed from concern about its possible entry into NATO, an organization of states thousands of miles away. American hawks also strained credulity by portraying Georgia as a nearby ally in need of assistance. Similarly, the threat of NATO to the Ukraine looms large in the Kremlin's thinking, and many Ukrainians themselves self-identify with the West despite their location in Eastern Europe."--
Subjects: Geopolitics; Geopolitics; Geopolitics; South Ossetia War, 2008.;

Firebrand : a tobacco lawyer's journey / by Knelman, Joshua,author.;
"Mad Men meets Bad Blood in this addictive, behind-the-scenes globe-trotting narrative of moral ambiguity, law, public policy, and big tobacco. "Given everything the lawyer knew up to that point about smoking, as far as he could tell, cigarettes shouldn't even have been available as a mass market product ..." It's the start of the new millennium and a young lawyer is recruited to work for an unnamed multinational company. It isn't until his second interview that the product the company produces is revealed to him: cigarettes. Possibly the most controversial consumer product in human history: seductive, addictive, and deadly--yet completely legal. Over the next decade, he travels the world as he works as legal counsel to successfully market cigarettes in dozens of countries. Firebrand ventures into the heart of the tobacco industry and the icy paradoxes of capitalism, each chapter a counterintuitive lesson on how cigarette companies, the target of anti-smoking campaigns by health authorities, pivoted and recovered after the seismic 1964 Surgeon General's Report and 200-billion-dollar debt of the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement--and are now thriving, drenched in profits from their one billion smokers worldwide. As Mad Men did for the alcohol-fuelled, oversexed, corrupt world of New York advertising, Firebrand does for the even more despised world of big tobacco, in an addictive piece of storytelling that spans the globe. The lawyer's work takes him from manufacturing factories to hocking "sticks" at UK corner store counters; from tacky resorts in Spain and pirate city-states to luxury hotels and Grand Prix events across European and Asian cities. A contemporary tale of our ambiguous times, told through the eyes of an anti-hero created by our corporate age. Written with the character-based gusto and narrative flare akin to Michael Lewis, and the behind-the-scenes intrigue of Bad Blood and Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, Firebrand is a compelling paradox of corporate responsibility, public health, and an engrossing tale of a morally dubious yet completely legal enterprise."--
Subjects: Biographies.; Personal narratives.; Knelman, Joshua.; Cigarette industry.; Cigarette industry; Corporate lawyers; Social responsibility of business.; Tobacco industry.; Tobacco industry;

Dead and alive : essays / by Smith, Zadie,author.;
"A profound and unparalleled literary voice, Zadie Smith returns with a resounding collection of essays. In the past two decades, few writers have been able to master the craft and art of the essay in the way that Zadie Smith has. Her discerning eye and singularly intimate perspective emblazon Smith as a preeminent critic of our generation, society, and culture. In her inimitable honesty and poignant voice, Smith studies the fault lines that divide us and consistently finds within them grounds for solidarity and compassion. This eagerly awaited new collection brings Zadie Smith's unique skills as an essayist to bear on a range of subjects that have captured her attention in recent years. Organized in five sections -- eyeballing, considering, reconsidering, mourning, and confessing -- she unspools personal dialogues with various sources of inspiration. She takes an exhilaratingly close look at artists Toyin Ojih Odutola and Kara Walker. She invites us along to the movies in her review of Tár, a Pulitzer Prize finalist, and to her desk when researching the Tichborne trial and writing her New York Times bestselling novel The Fraud. She asks us to look at the young Michael Jackson and to mourn with her the passing of writers Joan Didion, Martin Amis, Hilary Mantel, Philip Roth, and Toni Morrison. And she shows us once again in Dead and Alive her unrivalled ability to think through critically and humanely some of the most urgent preoccupations and tendencies of our troubled times. A master of perception always in search of a lesser-known reality, Smith continually assesses, and reassesses, what it means to identify with the contemporary world, and how we choose to remember the history that brought us here"--
Subjects: Essays.;

Edith Bruck. by Mally, Michele,film director.; Bruck, Edith,actor.; Risi, Marco,actor.; Film Movement (Firm),dst; Kanopy (Firm),dst;
Edith Bruck, Marco RisiOriginally produced by Film Movement in 2023.EDITH BRUCK: THE WOMAN AND THE SHOAH is an intimate and touching documentary of inestimable historical value, directly narrated by writer and poetess Edith Bruck, who is one of the last survivors of the Holocaust. Her books have been successfully published in Italy, France, Hungary, Croatia, UK, Germany, Israel, Poland and Holland. Through her firsthand experience of the violence of Nazism and the lagers, as well as her ongoing struggle against persecution, antisemitism, and racism, Edith’s story serves as a powerful reminder of the atrocities committed during World War II. Her voice, as both a writer and a survivor, offers a unique and invaluable perspective on this dark chapter of history.Mode of access: World Wide Web.
Subjects: Documentary films.; Literature.; Arts.; Social sciences.; History, Modern.; Judaism.; Documentary films.; Ethnicity.; Women's studies.; Artists.; Poetry.; Authors, European.; Women authors.; Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945).; History.; Jews.; Biography.; Jews--Biography.; Authors.; Art and architecture.;

Pet Farm. by Walther, Finn,film director.; A. Walther, Martin,film director.; Journeyman Pictures (Firm),dst; Kanopy (Firm),dst;
Originally produced by Journeyman Pictures in 2024.Inspired by a 1970s Russian science experiment on fox domestication, Joakim embarks on the art of selective breeding and intricate training, realizing his childhood dream of owning his own pack of foxes. However, his pet project abruptly halts when local authorities declare the farm a violation of wildlife law, threatening to euthanize his beloved fox pack. To what extent will Joakim go to protect what he holds dear?Mode of access: World Wide Web.
Subjects: Documentary films.; Science.; Social sciences.; Balts (Indo-European people).; Foreign study.; Zoology.; Sociology.; Documentary films.; Current affairs.; Animals.; Farmers.; Animal welfare.; Animal intelligence.; Norway.;

Act & Punishment. by Mitta, Yevgeni,film director.; MVD Entertainment Group (Firm),dst; Kanopy (Firm),dst;
Originally produced by MVD Entertainment Group in 2015.Russian activists Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Ekaterina Samutsevich left Viona, an established activist collective, in order to form their own feminist punk rock group dubbed Pussy Riot. A public performance of an original song accusing Russian authorities of sexism quickly drew international media attention; undeterred by the arrest of several members, Pussy Riot then decided to conduct a punk rock church service in the Moscow Cathedral of Christ the Savior. Three of the girls were again arrested and threatened with seven years in prison. Initially offered liberty if they agreed to confess and repent for their "crimes," the women refused to budge and were sentenced to two years in prison. This defeat in court becomes their moral victory, as Pussy Riot is cheered on by thousands of new-found fans and worldwide supporters."… A busy and interesting documentary that will provide international audiences with a much richer appreciation of the Pussy Riot phenomenon." - Jennie Kermode, Eye for FilmMode of access: World Wide Web.
Subjects: Documentary films.; Political science.; Social sciences.; Arts.; Music.; Balts (Indo-European people).; Foreign study.; Human rights.; Gender identity.; Documentary films.; Women's studies.; Current affairs.; Russia (Federation).; Political participation.; Social problems.; Businesswomen.; Sex role.; Women's rights.; Women social reformers.; Political activists.; Current events.; Performing arts.;

Act & Punishment. by Mitta, Yevgeni,film director.; MVD Entertainment Group (Firm),dst; Kanopy (Firm),dst;
Originally produced by MVD Entertainment Group in 2015.Russian activists Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Ekaterina Samutsevich left Viona, an established activist collective, in order to form their own feminist punk rock group dubbed Pussy Riot. A public performance of an original song accusing Russian authorities of sexism quickly drew international media attention; undeterred by the arrest of several members, Pussy Riot then decided to conduct a punk rock church service in the Moscow Cathedral of Christ the Savior. Three of the girls were again arrested and threatened with seven years in prison. Initially offered liberty if they agreed to confess and repent for their "crimes," the women refused to budge and were sentenced to two years in prison. This defeat in court becomes their moral victory, as Pussy Riot is cheered on by thousands of new-found fans and worldwide supporters."… A busy and interesting documentary that will provide international audiences with a much richer appreciation of the Pussy Riot phenomenon." - Jennie Kermode, Eye for FilmMode of access: World Wide Web.
Subjects: Documentary films.; Political science.; Social sciences.; Arts.; Music.; Balts (Indo-European people).; Foreign study.; Human rights.; Gender identity.; Documentary films.; Women's studies.; Current affairs.; Russia (Federation).; Political participation.; Social problems.; Businesswomen.; Sex role.; Women's rights.; Women social reformers.; Political activists.; Current events.; Performing arts.;