The Dictionary of Global Culture
by Kwame Anthony Appiah (Editor), Henry Louis Gates (Editor), Michael Colin Vazquez (Editor)
On This Page
Description
Ranging from the Abakwa Society to zydeco music, The Dictionary of Global Culture provides a vast survey of cultural subjects from all over the world - East Asia, India, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and Australasia, as well as Europe and North America. The book's more than 1,200 entries - on writers, musicians, deities, rulers, philosophies, literary forms - have been prepared by a team of regional experts from every part of the world, including scholars from other cultures in show more addition to Western scholars of other cultures. While no work of its kind can be even remotely exhaustive, The Dictionary of Global Culture provides an essential starting point for those who would participate in the emerging global civilization. For students, businesspeople, and informed Americans from all walks of life, here is an invitation to journey through the range of human cultures, many of whose traditions we are only beginning to learn ... and to learn to respect. show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Reviews
If you like to have huge amounts of utterly useless information at your fingertips, this book is one you should have. I have spent many happy hours simply thumbing through my copy, simply opening the book at random places and reading what the pages hold. For example, pages 260 and 261 have information on the Great Wall of China (continued from p. 259), El Greco, Edward Grieg, W. W. Griffith, and the Grimm Brothers. Unfortunately, I didn't learn much from these entries because I already knew about these places and people.
But another random opening brought me to Louis Kosseth (1802-1894), Ivan Petrovych Kotliarevsky, Mykhailo [Mykhailovych] Kotsiubnsky, and the beginning of the the article on the Kremlin. Bingo! I do know about the show more Kremlin -- it would have been surprising if I didn't since I grew up during the Cold War -- but the three men are all strangers.
In any case, this is a great "bathroom" book -- and my husband enjoyed it there for several months. In fact, it's one of the few times I ever see him read. Since I assume that anyone reading this can automatically be described as a bibliophile, I'm sure you all would read this Dictionary in many rooms of your house. I highly recommend that, if you find a copy while wandering your local used book store, you buy it. You'll have some fun and probably learn a few things at the same time. show less
But another random opening brought me to Louis Kosseth (1802-1894), Ivan Petrovych Kotliarevsky, Mykhailo [Mykhailovych] Kotsiubnsky, and the beginning of the the article on the Kremlin. Bingo! I do know about the show more Kremlin -- it would have been surprising if I didn't since I grew up during the Cold War -- but the three men are all strangers.
In any case, this is a great "bathroom" book -- and my husband enjoyed it there for several months. In fact, it's one of the few times I ever see him read. Since I assume that anyone reading this can automatically be described as a bibliophile, I'm sure you all would read this Dictionary in many rooms of your house. I highly recommend that, if you find a copy while wandering your local used book store, you buy it. You'll have some fun and probably learn a few things at the same time. show less
I bought this as I have a weak spot for dictionaries, and the reviews said it to be good. But in my opinion it is too marked by the culture that spawned it - it is US centered to say the least, and a lot of entries that should be there are missing.
Culture/Global
Ratings
Members
- Recently Added By
Author Information
Kwame Anthony Appiah was born in 1954 in London and raised in Ghana. After graduating with a degree in philosophy from Cambridge University, he taught at Yale, Duke, and Cornell universities. He is currently a professor of Philosophy and African American Studies at Harvard University. Appiah has written on such topics as language in Assertion and show more Conditional and For Truth in Semantics, and racial philosophy and identities in Color Conscious and In My Father's House. In addition to his scholarly publications, Appiah is the author of the popular Sir Patrick Scott Series of mysteries. In this series, which includes Avenging Angel and Another Death in Venice, Barrister Patrick Scott uses his intellectual skills to solve murders in a most British fashion. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. was born on September 16, 1950, in Keyser, West Virginia. He received a degree in history from Yale University in 1973 and a Ph.D. from Clare College, which is part of the University of Cambridge in 1979. He is a leading scholar of African-American literature, history, and culture. He began working on the Black Periodical show more Literature Project, which uncovered lost literary works published in 1800s. He rediscovered what is believed to be the first novel published by an African-American in the United States. He republished the 1859 work by Harriet E. Wilson, entitled Our Nig, in 1983. He has written numerous books including Colored People: A Memoir, A Chronology of African-American History, The Future of the Race, Black Literature and Literary Theory, and The Signifying Monkey: Towards a Theory of Afro-American Literary Criticism. In 1991, he became the head of the African-American studies department at Harvard University. He is now the director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African-American Research at the university. He wrote and produced several documentaries including Wonders of the African World, America Beyond the Color Line, and African American Lives. He has also hosted PBS programs such as Wonders of the African World, Black in Latin America, and Finding Your Roots. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Dictionary of Global Culture
- Original publication date
- 1997
- Disambiguation notice
- Full title (1997): The dictionary of global culture / edited by Kwame Anthony Appiah and Henry Louis Gates, Jr. ; Michael Colin Vazquez, associate editor
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 284
- Popularity
- 113,734
- Reviews
- 3
- Rating
- (3.44)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 6
- ASINs
- 3
