The end of ethnic nationalism — building societies that promote civic nationalism with universally accepted value systems — seems eminently sensible. But something is going wrong. In these 2007 Massey Lectures, Alberto Manguel takes a fresh look at the problems that come with creating new societies. Race riots in France, political murder in The Netherlands, bombings in Britain — all appear to be symptoms of a multicultural experiment gone awry. Politicians and sociologists are puzzled; why is it so hard for people to live together given the grim alternatives? Is blood still more important than peaceful coexistence? In The City of Words Manguel proposes a different approach: look at what writers have to say — maybe books and stories hold secret keys to the human heart, keys that social planners can’t find. With his trademark wit and erudition, Manguel suggests looking on the library shelf marked “fiction” for the book titled How to Build a Better Society.

Product Description: Oscar Kenshur combines trenchant analyses of important early-modern texts with a powerful critique of postmodern theories of ideology. He thereby contributes both to our understanding of Enlightenment thought and to contemporary debates about cultural studies and critical theory...read more

Product Description: Describes the creation of developmentally appropriate criteria used to identify and screen Arabic-language works for children that promote tolerance and critical thinking and the characteristics of the materials that were found. The authors present several examples of works that met the criteria, discuss barriers that prevent the development and dissemination of more such works, and suggest ways to address and overcome these barriers...read more

Discusses how the customs of modern Judaism may be incorporated into everyday life and describes the holidays and life-cycle ceremonies central to Judaism

Product Description: Montaigne's Essais (1580-1592) are one of the most remarkable works of the European Renaissance. The Essais' innovative open-mindedness is at odds with the dogmatism and intolerance of their times, the decades of civil and religious wars in France, and their tolerant and searching human questions and ethics of difference remain compelling for twenty-first century readers...read more

Product Description: Toleration has become a keystone of liberal political philosophy, but with liberalism under attack today as inadequate for dealing with all the problems of a pluralistic world, other resources are needed. Cary Nederman directs our attention to the creative thinking about toleration that preceded the rise of liberalism and canvasses the diverse ideas proposed then within Christianity as a response to religious, cultural, national, and ethnic differences...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)