essays in political and cultural criticism

Current Volume:
Atsuko Ichijo
, The Balancing Act
  • New: readers' blog:
  • Darwinian Conservatism
  • Knowledge Monopolies
  • Editorial advisory board
  • Current and forthcoming series titles
  • Occasional papers
  • Subscription information
  • Special offer
  • Contemporary public debate has been impoverished by two competing trends. On the one hand the increasing commercialisation of the visual media has meant that in-depth commentary has given way to the ten-second soundbite. On the other hand the explosion of scholarly knowledge has led to such a degree of specialisation that academic discourse has ceased to be comprehensible to everyone else. As a result writing on politics and culture tends to be either superficial or incomprehensible and the concept of the ‘public intellectual’ has lost its currency.

    This was not always so—especially in the field of politics. The high point of the English political pamphlet was the seventeenth century, when a number of small printer-publishers responded to the political ferment of the age with an outpouring of widely-accessible pamphlets and tracts. Indeed Imprint Academic publishes a reprint series under the banner of ‘The Rota’, offering facsimile editions of works such as The World’s Mistake in Oliver Cromwell and Gangræna, or a Catalogue and Discovery of Many of the Errours, Herecies . . .

    In recent years the tradition of the political pamphlet has declined—with publishers (other than think-tanks) rejecting anything under 100,000 words as uneconomic. The result is that many a good idea has ended up drowning in a sea of verbosity. However the introduction of the digital press makes it possible to re-create a more exciting age of publishing. Imprint Academic is proud to announce Societas: essays in political and cultural criticism to fill the lacuna in public debate. The authors are all experts in their own field, either scholarly or professional, but the essays are aimed at a general audience and contain the minimum of academic paraphernalia. Each book should take no more than an evening to read.

    EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD

    Professor Jeremy Black (University of Exeter)
    Professor Robert Grant (University of Glasgow)
    Professor John Gray (London School of Economics and Political Science)
    Professor Robert Hazell (Constitution Unit, University College London)
    Professor Anthony O’Hear (University of Bradford)
    Professor Nicholas Humphrey (London School of Economics and Political Science)
    Dr. Efraim Podoksik (Hebrew University of Jerusalem)

    CURRENT AND FORTHCOMING 2007-8 TITLES

    Current Issue:
    Atsuko Ichijo, The Balancing Act: National Identity and Sovereignty for Britain in Europe (November 2008)
    Forthcoming Titles:
    John Haldane, Seeking Meaning and Making Sense (January 2009)
    Richard Berry, Independent: The Rise of the Non-Aligned Politician (March 2009)
    Tom Rubens, Progressive Secular Society (May 2009)
    Backlist Titles:
    Edzard Ernst, Healing, Hype or Harm? Complementary or Alternative Medicine
    R.A. Sharpe, Forgiveness: How Religion Endangers Morality
    Austin Williams, The Enemies of Progress
    John Coleman, Froude Today
    Colin Beckley and Elspeth Waters, Who Holds the Moral High Ground?
    Kieron O'Hara, Joseph Conrad Today
    Mary Midgley (ed.), Earthy Realism: The Meaning of Gaia
    David Hay, Why Spirituality is Difficult for Westerners
    Iain Brassington, Public Health and Globalisation
    Alfred Sherman, Paradoxes of Power: Reflections on the Thatcher Interlude
    Tibor Machan, The Right Road to Radical Freedom
    Dolan Cummings (ed.), Debating Humanism
    John Papworth, Village Democracy
    Richard D. Ryder, Putting Morality Back Into Politics
    Henry Haslam, The Moral Mind
    Kieron O'Hara, The Referendum Roundabout
    Alan and Marten Shipman, Knowledge Monopolies: The Academisation of Society
    Paul Robinson, Doing Less With Less: Making Britain more secure
    Larry Arnhart, Darwinian Conservatism
    Neil MacCormick, Who's Afraid of a European Constitution?
    Alex Deane, The Great Abdication
    J.H. Grainger, Tony Blair and the Ideal Type
    Colin Talbot, The Paradoxical Primate
    Raymond Tallis, Why the Mind is Not a Computer: A pocket lexicon of neuromythology
    Mark Garnett, The Snake That Swallowed Its Tail: Some contradictions in modern liberalism
    Rob Weatherill, Our Last Great Illusion, A radical psychoanalytical critique of therapy culture
    Keith Sutherland, The Party's Over
    William Irwin Thompson, Self and Society
    Bruce Charlton and Peter Andras, The Modernization Imperative
    Charles Banner and Alexander Deane, Off With Their Wigs! Judicial revolution in modern Britain
    Ivo Mosley, Democracy, Fascism and the New World Order
    Tibor Machan, The Liberty Option
    Gordon Graham, Universities: The Recovery of an Idea
    Anthony Freeman, God in Us: A Case for Christian Humanism
    Gordon Graham, The Case Against the Democratic State
    Graham Allen MP, The Last Prime Minister: Being Honest About the UK Presidency
    Occasional Papers -- topical polemics in complimentary download format:
    Fake and Farce: the War in Iraq by Citizen Zed  summary/TOC full text (download with right mouse button) contact author

    SOCIETAS SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION

    The books in this series are available individually through the retail trade or direct from the publisher at the price of £8.95/$14.95 each. However Societas is essentially a bi-monthly serial publication and registered subscribers qualify for the discounted price of £5/$10.

    UK Subscribers
    Registered Societas subscribers qualify for the discounted price of £5.00 per title. To qualify for the reduced price, simply sign up for the current title by Direct Debit. We will debit your account £5.00 when each book is actually despatched. Details of the next title will be supplied at the same time, so if you want to unsubscribe you can cancel the direct debit mandate then or at any other time. Your Direct Debit Instruction is subject to the safeguards assured by the Direct Debit Guarantee. To subscribe, please download and complete the Direct Debit Order Form and mail to Imprint Academic, PO Box 200, Exeter EX5 YX, UK.

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    Customers without UK bank accounts can benefit from the reduced subscription prices using our credit card direct debit scheme. We will charge your credit card £5.00/$10 when each book is actually despatched. Details of the next title will be supplied at the same time, so if you want to unsubscribe you can cancel the standing order then or at any time. Imprint Academic has been authorised by Barclays Merchant Services to operate their credit card direct debit system and your consumer rights are protected by your card issuing company. Secure order form

    SPECIAL OFFER: HALF PRICE BACK VOLUMES

    Register your new Societas subscription and purchase backlist titles at half price (£2.50/$5.00).