This volume addresses a theme of special significance for Byzantine studies. Byzantium has traditionally been deemed a civilisation which deferred to authority and set special store by orthodoxy; canon and proper order. Since 1982 when the distinguished Russian Byzantinist Alexander Kazhdan wrote that the history of Byzantine intellectual opposition has yet to be written; scholars have increasingly highlighted cases of subversion of correct practice and correct belief in Byzantium. This innovative scholarly effort has produced important results; although it has been hampered by the lack of dialogue across the disciplines of Byzantine studies.The 43rd Spring Symposium of Byzantine Studies in 2010 drew together historians; art historians; and scholars of literature; religion and philosophy; who discussed shared and discipline-specific approaches to the theme of subversion. The present volume presents a selection of the papers delivered at the symposium enriched with specially commissioned contributions. Most papers deal with the period after the eleventh century; although early Byzantium is not ignored. Theoretical questions about the nature; articulation and limits of subversion are addressed within the frameworks of individual disciplines and in a larger context. The volume comes at a timely junction in the development of Byzantine studies; as interest in subversion and nonconformity in general has been rising steadily in the field.
#1171494 in eBooks 2000-07-01 2000-07-01File Name: B00G28UX06
Review
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. After 40 Years: It Just Gets Better!By Jim EigoI read the first edition of The Shakespearean Stage as an undergraduate; in 1972; just a couple of years after it first appeared. It was already being treated like the classic text in the field. I have recently been re-steeping myself in the theater of the English Renaissance; and when I saw that this book had been through a relatively recent fourth edition; I bought it. Irsquo;ve now reread it; and compared many key sections of the fourth edition to the first. But so much new material has been added since the first edition and so much of the old material has been reconsidered that; except when I read a few set pieces that have substantially withstood the red pen of the intervening years; reading it now felt like reading a new book.Lucky us. Gurr is a better writer now than then. And the field has progressed by four decades since the first edition. Much has been discovered. Gurr folds that new knowledge into the sturdy scaffold that survives from the original: Overview; The Companies; The Players; The Playhouses; The Staging and The Audience. In the years since the first edition; Gurr has written books on Shakespearersquo;s company and the audience of Shakespearersquo;s time. The sections of the fourth edition of The Shakespearean Stage that deal with companies and the audience have benefited from Gurrrsquo;s fresh knowledge and insights. The section on The Playhouses makes use of intervening excavations of two of the outdoor theaters of the time and other material. And there are so many more illustrations in this edition!I am reasonably well-read in the field but hardly an expert. Yet there were a few times while reading the text that I found myself withholding my wholehearted support for an assertion of Gurrrsquo;s. (I think; for example; that dramatists like Marlowe and Shakespeare; right from the beginning; had more literary ambition; even with respect to their play texts; than Gurr finds in the playwrights of Elizabethrsquo;s reign.) But mostly I was just grateful to have between two covers so much useful; entertaining information. Not only does this fourth edition manage to hold onto its classic text status after forty years. It is arguably more authoritative than ever. And it is alsomdash;dare I say it?mdash;frequently a very fun read.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Theatre History ClassicBy Dr. R.Andrew Gurr is the leading authority on the theatres of Shakespeares times. The newest edition of his THE SHAKESPEAREAN STAGE is a welcome updating based on recent archeological and archival discoveries.1 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Very specific and technical; but a good bookBy BrontinaI would not suggest this book unless you have a specific interest in the Elizabethan theater. It is very well researched and illustrated; although the author occasionally makes some points that I didnt really find supported by enough evidence. However; I found it extremely useful and informative for my purposes.