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Comment on Intercultural Competence: Interpersonal Communication Across Cultures (6th Edition) by ChibiNeko "Sooo many books, so little time!"

ChibiNeko "Sooo many books, so little time!" — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 10:19:34 +0000

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Decent..., March 14, 2010

ChibiNeko "Sooo many books, so little time!" (Whereever I go, here I am.) -

This review is from: Intercultural Competence: Interpersonal Communication Across Cultures (6th Edition) (Paperback)

This was a required text for one of my classes, so needless to say... this was something I had to read cover to cover. Since there's not much one can really say about a textbook (unless its extreme in one direction or another), I'll keep this short.

PROS:

1) Easy to read, this was great for taking notes from. The chapters had the key terms bolded & colored, so it was easy to get the definitions. Many of my college texts no longer do this, so this was a nice treat. Plus all of the topics & definitions are listed in the beginning of each chapter.
2) Good layout. The information was clearly defined & laid out in a way that went nicely from topic to topic.
3) Durable & easy to open. Seriously, you wouldn't believe how many textbooks out there can't lay flat or crumble in one semester. I purchased mine used & its obviously been through a lot of wear & tear. If you want something that you want to last a long time as a reference book or just want something that can be sold back by your students easily, this is a good one to choose.

CONS:

1) While I'm not really qualified to pass judgment on some of the things in this book, at times I didn't entirely agree with some of the concepts in this book. But like I said, I'm not a pro in this stuff yet, so I might be wrong. (One course does not a pro make.)
2) Occasionally the book would ramble on a bit, using 2-3 paragraphs to make a point that could be made in 2-3 sentences. (I'm not including examples in this.) That just irritated me a little when it came to note taking, that I'd have to glean what was pertinent & what wasn't.

Unfortunately I didn't splurge for the online code as it wasn't a requirement for my class, so I can't really say anything about that. Some of my classmates swore by it, so it sounded like it was rather helpful for them.

This book was easy to learn from, so I recommend it if you are looking for a textbook for your students. If you're a student wondering how easy this will be to learn from, rest assured that this is an easy text to learn from.

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Comment on Intercultural Competence: Interpersonal Communication Across Cultures (6th Edition) by D. du Plooy

D. du Plooy — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 09:29:17 +0000

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

Academically Sound, August 20, 2007

D. du Plooy (Cape Town, South Africa) -

This review is from: Intercultural Competence: Interpersonal Communication Across Cultures (5th Edition) (Paperback)

I have been teaching Intercultural Communication using this text (previous edition). After completing my MPhil in Intercultural Communication and being exposed to alot of texts in the field, I am still confident that this text is a very good introduction for college students. I have been teaching groups of students that are very diverse, with up to 14 different cultures at one time, and we always have fun with this book, because we are able to discuss the concepts very broadly. I still have to find a better book in its class.

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Comment on Sexual Dissidence: Augustine to Wilde, Freud to Foucault by "chriserb"

"chriserb" — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 10:21:13 +0000

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

Sexuality uncovered, June 19, 2000

"chriserb" (New Brunswick, New Jersey) -

This review is from: Sexual Dissidence: Augustine to Wilde, Freud to Foucault (Paperback)

With this book Dollimore analyzes sexuality in terms of the differing conceptions of Andre Gide and Oscar Wilde. Where Wilde saw surface and performance, Gide saw a representation of essential self. Taking Wilde's side in the argument, Dollimore uses this analysis to deconstruct sexuality as it appears in early texts.

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Comment on The Power of Observation (How To) Reviews by Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 12:35:04 +0000

Powerful Information, January 11, 2012

Corey -

This review is from: The Power of Observation (How To) (Kindle Edition)

This book is filled with the kind of information that no one has ever told you about why people fail to see what is right in front of them and why they fail to hear what has been clearly said. The author has done a fantastic job of going behind the scenes to spell out the obstacles to seeing, hearing and experiencing what is going on around us. The first part of the book is interesting and useful but the second part of the book is what make this book truly a cut above other books that aim to explain the power of observation. In the second half of the book the author gives us the tools that we need to be better listeners, better observers, more persuasive, better communicators, more intelligent and intuitive and ultimately more successful. I cannot imagine anyone leaving this book without an arsenal of new information that will improve their home life, their work life and the quality of their life in general.

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Comment on The Power of Observation (How To) Reviews by J. Carpenter

J. Carpenter — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 12:20:21 +0000

Practical Guide for Using Your Powers of Observation, January 12, 2012

Sandy -

This review is from: The Power of Observation (How To) (Kindle Edition)

Never before have I read the many ways that the simple act of really observing can make a difference in your relationships and your work. This book is not really a self help book but once you read it you realize how many times in your life you have experienced something without really 'getting it'. The problem is that if you do not 'get it', you then have no way to make this experience useful, productive or even meaningful to you. The author explains how many great opportunities are lost because we simply did not give the experience the attention that it should have received. You will leave this book a better person because you will not walk into a room again and superficially 'see'. This author gives you the tools to see deeply, efficiently and effectively. I got a lot out of this book and I feel that most people would as well. I feel that everyone needs to to read this book as all of us would benefit from improving our power of observation whether we know it or not.

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Comment on Journal to the Self: Twenty-Two Paths to Personal Growth – Open the Door to Self-Understanding by Writing, Reading, and Creating a Journal of Your Life by Julie Lovisa

Julie Lovisa — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 12:30:47 +0000

90 of 93 people found the following review helpful:

The 79-cent therapist, September 28, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Journal to the Self: Twenty-Two Paths to Personal Growth - Open the Door to Self-Understanding by Writing, Reading, and Creating a Journal of Your Life (Paperback)

That is what the author calls her journal, the 79-cent therapist. Nowdays, when even those tiny 3x2 memo notebooks cost nearly a full dollar, and when a regular notepad will go for almost three, calculate the cost of therapy: the price of this book + shipping + some paper & pencil = ...? Compare to $150 per hour at the local shrink.
This book helped me overcome the misery of a sad breakup. I was in college. After the heart-break, I spent my free hours between classes hiding in a library cubicle, crying. Then I found the book by mistake at the local bookstore, and added a journaling time to the crying and hiding. Using just a few of the techniques in the book, it only took me a couple of months to get over the guy who broke my heart. My self esteem improved. I recommend this book as a Self-Help tool. I am into writing anyway, but I'm sure that the tricks will work even if you're only a beginner or can't even spell well.
Sometimes you feel like you can't tell anyone what's going on. When no one else will listen, paper will. Paper can handle even the craziest thoughts. I recommend this book to you.

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Comment on Journal to the Self: Twenty-Two Paths to Personal Growth – Open the Door to Self-Understanding by Writing, Reading, and Creating a Journal of Your Life by joy

joy — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 12:18:43 +0000

102 of 105 people found the following review helpful:

Excellent, "must have" writing resource, August 2, 2000

joy -

This review is from: Journal to the Self: Twenty-Two Paths to Personal Growth - Open the Door to Self-Understanding by Writing, Reading, and Creating a Journal of Your Life (Paperback)

"Journal to the Self" is a wonderful smorgasbord of ideas for personal journal writing and for writing in general. Taking proven journaling techniques from a myriad of resources and condensing them into a single tome, Kathleen Adams effectively gives her readers the opportunity to explore different facets of journal writing.

Whether you have fifteen minutes or five hours, Kathleen Adams has an approach for you. From "Topics du Jour" to Dr. Ira Progroff's Steppingstones, both veteran journal keepers looking for clever methods of journaling and novices trying to find interesting ways to get going will find this book invaluable. Even if you aren't a journal keeper now, this book has a wealth of information to jumpstart your writing and will convince you to start journaling!

As a veteran journal keeper, I have enjoyed a better understanding of myself and found a greater depth of writing outside of my journal using the different prompts and exercises in this book. Although the perspective is written primarily from a self-help journal "therapy" point of view, I highly recommend it as an excellent, "must have" resource for any writer's personal library.

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Comment on Hegemony or Survival: America’s Quest for Global Dominance (American Empire Project) by Carlos Pessoa

Carlos Pessoa — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:13:53 +0000

47 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

Politics After Modernism, May 17, 2000

Carlos Pessoa -

This review is from: Hegemony & Socialist Strategy: Towards a Radical Democratic Politics (Paperback)

Hegemony and Socialist Strategy is an excelent book. It will become a classic for not only those involved in politics, but to understand the very process of political formations. For Laclau and Mouffe, the Left is in a `crossroads', where new social fragmentation questions the core of leftist paradigms. The task, then, becomes how to renovate a theoretical paradigm that can open the possibility for the Left to articulate the various fragmented social struggles into its political project. It with such aim, that the authors remodel a notion of hegemony to fit in with the present social circumstance and leftist paradigm impediments. The authors see themselves as post-Marxists, where the post fits in with the theoretical tools coming from the work situated at the post-structuralist thought such as Derrida, Foucault, etc; and Marxists where Gramsci' notion of hegemony becomes a important point of departure. There are at least two main intervention in this book: the author question the supposedly `leading role' of the working class given traditionally by the Left, and the link of socialism with democracy (or as they see it, radical democracy).

The first two chapters reconstruct the emergence of the concept of hegemony going back all the way to the Second and Third Internationals. They look at the work of Rosa Luxemburg, Kautsky, among other to demonstrate how the social fragmentation was continually repressed by the classist paradigm of the orthodox Marxism. For the authors, the problem was the belief that economic relations are somehow more `real' than other political conditions. They aim at essentialist reasoning behind such belief, and how subjective identities are overdetermined by various relations that partly overlap one another.

In the last two chapters, Laclau and Mouffe re-work a notion of hegemony though the concept of articulation. Here, actors are brought together in a way that their differences makes them equivalent in a negative dimension, against a system of oppressive relation of power. In this way, their identity is split between their positive difference and the wider articulation that they become engaged with it. What one see here is a way to do politics that does not oppress the particular differences and at the same time does not loose the very ability to create a wider structural change. The author finally links such possibility with a radical democratic way of doing politics. One on the problems with the book, however is the language in which many of the argument makes necessary for one to be familiar with the post-structuralism jargons. Also, it is a bit odd that a book on the Marxism discourse does not a have a single reference to the work of Marx himself. At any case, Hegemony and Socialist Strategy is a brilliant tour de force of argument. It shows the wide variety of excellent books that the Amazon has on its `shelf'.

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Comment on Hegemony or Survival: America’s Quest for Global Dominance (American Empire Project) by Michael Spivey, Ph.D.

Michael Spivey, Ph.D. — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:24:50 +0000

68 of 76 people found the following review helpful:

Worth The Struggle With the Language, September 2, 2001

Michael Spivey, Ph.D. (Kean a horror movie fan from Wagram ,NC) -

This review is from: Hegemony and Socialist Strategy: Towards a Radical Democratic Politics (Paperback)

I studied this text as a graduate student at York University. I must admit that I did not understand the terse theoretical language for a long time. However, I had the good fortune of finding a fellow graduate student in Political Thought who was so well versed in Hegemony and Socialist Strategy that he could extol the hidden meanings of the text for hours on end! I called his ranting, "bible thumping"! But in all seriousness, once you understand the conceptual relationships presented in the book, you find a whole new way of conceptualizing the social, not as an accomplished fact, but as an ongoing practice of articulation. The problem with orthodox forms of Marxism? The fixing of the meaning of the "working class" at the point of production. During the whole development of Marxism up to the theoretical work of Gramsci, we have witnessed the "undoing" of the essentialist meaning/construction of the working class as determined by pure economistic forces. The problem? The larger mediating role of politics and culture. Working class identity is not fixed at the point of production, but is fragmented across other discursive spaces, e.g. nationalism, sports fan, father, mother, reader, lover, etc. There is no neccessary articulation between any of these. The moral lesson behind all this is thus: The Right has been very successful in practicing articulation, providing a broad-based appeal in relation to identities; on the other hand, the left has been "left" with a worn-out, 19th century, industrial model of "working class" identity. The second half of Hegemony and Socialist Strategy takes the reader into a post-Gramscian theoretical muse on the subject of emerging social movements and the discursive (poststructuralist) construction of subject positions, which are always open to new articulations, (both to the left and right), and are never finally fixed. From this theoretical standpoint, the social is open to ongoing struggles over meanings. For the Left to revitalize itself and become a viable force in the new century, it must become more sophisticated in the area of cultural politics and begin to strategically articulate discursive equivalents across social movements--to find common ground in what seems to be a multiple and fragemented emergence of movements. My only criticism is that, by reifying social movements, we lose site of the very complexity and pluralism found within such movements. Does this mean that by its macro perspective it loses sight of the mirco, everyday? On the contrary, no! The model given by Laclau and Mouffe has an applicability well beyond the study of social movement discourses. I utilized the notion of articulation found in the text and the notion of the openness of the social in my critical ethnography of a non-federally recognized Native American group and their struggles over the meaning of their contested identity, (Book Title: Native Americans in the Carolina Borderlands: A Critical Ethnography, Carolinas Press, 2000). The model can be applied in ethnographic works concerned with the social effectivity of larger articulated, social movement discourses. It is the type of contingent theorizing that is itself unfinished and open to new articulations! A must for students, academics, and cultural workers interested in the politics of culture, cultural studies, critical theory, social movements, and social theory in general.

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Comment on Hegemony or Survival: America’s Quest for Global Dominance (American Empire Project) by Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:09:15 +0000

800 of 945 people found the following review helpful:

Watch out for the facts, they may change your mind., January 17, 2004

By A Customer

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This review is from: Hegemony or Survival: America's Quest for Global Dominance (The American Empire Project) (Hardcover)

I shall not repeat what several other reviewers have said, but here is a personal reactive view.

I have read a fair amount of modern history, and was only vaguely aware (like most Americans) of the many of Chomsky's facts and assertions. Some were so startling that I felt I needed to verify. After researching four and finding them unassailable, I stopped trying to fault the facts. The indictment of US foreign policy that Chomsky devolves from these facts is at such variance with our view of ourselves that one is inclined to look for an explanation. If the facts are not false, then perhaps the interpretation is the problem, so I examined the logic by re-reading the book with careful attention to the relationship between facts and conclusion. There are weaknesses in some places where an argument depends on "respected commentator" or some other unsupported assertion. However, even if one throws out all of the marginal cases, he is still left with a great deal for which to account--a paradigm changer for the honest and open minded, and something to be reviled and suppressed for those determined to believe that Americans are the good guys who go around the world altruistically stamping out evil.

Chomsky stops short of a monolithic conspiracy theory, but the pattern of behavior of the US over the last 60 years that is painted by this book is remarkably consistent and disturbing.

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