Columbia University Press

Wondrous Brutal Fictions presents eight seminal works from the seventeenth-century Japanese sekkyo and ko-joruri puppet theaters, many translated into English for the first time. Both poignant and disturbing, these whimsical narratives contain stories of cruelty and brutality, as well as love, charity, and outstanding filial devotion,...

Illuminates the complex issues and policy choices surrounding clashes between international society and states that challenge the majority's espoused interests and values. This work considers states' deviant behavior through two stages including, the initial decision to defy the international normative order. ...

For more than forty years, Gianni Vattimo, one of Europe's most important and influential postwar philosophers, has shaped and challenged perceptions of Nietzsche. In "Dialogue with Nietzsche", a reflection of his remarkable engagement with Nietzsche's legacy, Vattimo explores the German philosopher's most important works and ideas. He draws on and...

Georges Vigarello maps the evolution of Western ideas about fat and fat people from the Middle Ages to the present, paying particular attention to the role of science, fashion, fitness crazes, and public health campaigns in shaping these views. While hefty bodies were once a sign of power, today those who struggle to lose weight are considered poor...

Marxism's collapse in the twentieth century profoundly altered the style and substance of Western European radical thought. To build a more robust form of democratic theory and action, prominent theorists moved to reject revolution, abandon class for more fragmented models of social action, and elevate the political over the social. Acknowledging...

Erich Fromm was a political activist, psychologist, psychoanalyst, philosopher, and one of the most important intellectuals of the twentieth century. Known for his theories of personality and political insight, Fromm dissected the sadomasochistic appeal of brutal dictators while also eloquently championing love -- which, he insisted, was nothing if...