Much of what we know of Greco-Roman comedy comes from the surviving works of just four playwrightsmdash;the Greeks Aristophanes and Menander and the Romans Plautus and Terence. To introduce these authors and their work to students and general readers; this book offers a new; accessible translation of a representative play by each playwright; accompanied by a general introduction to the authors life and times; a scholarly article on a prominent theme in the play; and a bibliography of selected readings about the play and playwright.This range of material; rare in a single volume; provides several reading and teaching options; from the study of a single author to an overview of the entire Classical comedic tradition. The plays have been translated for readability and fidelity to the original text by established Classics scholars. Douglas Olson provides the translation and commentary for Aristophanes Acharnians; Shawn OBryhim for Menanders Dyskolos; George Fredric Franco for Plautus Casina; and Timothy J. Moore for Terences Phormio.
#118080 in eBooks 2013-08-01 2013-08-01File Name: B00EDOQ5DU
Review
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful. Warning: Not useful outside a university campusBy Harald GrovenIf you are writing a thesis in media studies or sociology and need a reference to an updated work on the most current theories of social media; this book is probably perfect.However if you are a practitioner building websites (like me) or a large (pro-/con-)sumer of social media; this books offer nothing but theories; theories and more theories. There is nearly no (new) empirical data. A lot of examples; many of the exiting; but half of them well known and possible worn out if you have read books in the same genre.1 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Fantastic book about social interface design - even for non-designers.By Rey JuncoDonath (who is a colleague and friend) writes an engaging and wonderful book on how to design online social spaces. Donath inspired me to think about the difficulty in designing user interfaces that are innovative; legible; and socially beneficial. Donath begins the book by explaining how difficult it was to create a whois interface that made sense in the early days of networked computers. This thread is continued as a metaphor throughout-- how do we represent space; place; and person online? As a person who is not a designer (and quite far from it I may add); the examples and explanations throughout the book were incredibly vivid and easy to understand. Indeed; Donath excels here- bringing all audiences along the path of learning how we visualize things offline and how they can be represented online. Her explanations of interface design made me realize how difficult it is to develop and refine the social interfaces we take for granted today like Facebook and Twitter and how these designs have been shaped by their predecessors. Donath asks and astutely answers the question "How do online spaces accurately capture and represent the nuance and dynamics of the offline world?" There are wonderful examples throughout showing how humans use metaphors to think about time; space; and money and how metaphors can be applied in the social interface design process. She reminds us that there can be a lot of values inherent in interface design-- and one of the funnier examples was when she discusses how CERN scientists used Comic Sans in their presentation announcing the discovery of the Higgs boson. Was it an intentional design decision (probably not)? This book is a wonderful read for non-designers and designers alike and should be required reading for all graduate degrees in digital design.6 of 8 people found the following review helpful. A beautiful book; a key set of concepts; a veritable textbook for building better online spacesBy Ethan Zuckerman(Disclosure - Judith Donath is an admired friend; and I have had the pleasure of talking to her about this book over the years shes worked to craft it.)The internet allows us to interact with other people in ways that were previously impossible. We can be virtually present with people who are continents away; interact with groups larger than could fit in any room or carry out clandestine conversations in the midst of a public discussion. While these new forms of interaction of possible; theyre not always comfortable - we are still learning how to take part in these digital spaces and designers are still learning how to build spaces we understand and navigate.Judith Donath has been thinking about these problems since she was an undergraduate at MITs Media Lab in the early 1990s; before the rise of the graphical Web. As a student and then a celebrated professor at the Media Lab; she worked on dozens of systems to visualize online social interactions and make visible subtle; but important; human dynamics like turn-taking in conversations. Her work; and the work of her students; has influenced the design of online community systems for the past two decades.The Social Machine is both a tour through this work and the work of other designers of social media systems; as well as a set of principles for design of online spaces. Judith urges us to consider the "legibility" on online spaces; the challenges users have in understanding whats possible in these systems and how they should interact with them. This insistence on clarity and simplicity over innovation for innovations sake characterizes the designs she showcases and serves as a critical principle for all designers of online interactions.One of Donaths most important points is the need to move "beyond being there". She is critical of online spaces that slavishly recreate the details of physical spaces as a way of signifying how people should behave online - i.e.; why create a virtual desk with chairs to signify a meeting room if theres no need to sit in the virtual space? (Shes not a big fan of Second Life or other virtual realities that mimic the offline.) Freed from the design cliche of mimicking the physical world; Donath demonstrates that we can make visible other aspects of online communication; offering spaces for conversation and interaction that are richer than are available in physical space.Concepts like "beyond being there" are the key reason for reading this book - Donath has thought through these ideas in great detail and used her insights to design innovative systems. These ways of approaching design problems will bear fruit for other designers and programmers; and the head start she offers in unpacking these complex problems is a gift for people just starting to ponder the implications of these spaces. The directions these insights can lead in is most visible in Donaths work on portraiture; considering the ways in which we construct portraits of ourselves and others based on data we share and suppress. In an examination that considers both the portrayal of characters in multiplayer online games to the beautiful artistic interventions Donath and collaborators have undertaken; she offers a language and set of concepts likely to be deeply helpful to anyone else exploring the space of profiles and online representation.The Social Machine is a beautiful object - it is replete with illustrations of the projects Donath is reflection on; her own and those from the broader technical and artistic world. Its deeply satisfying to flip through; looking for provocation and inspiration. Its at least as rewarding for those who dig into the close examination Donath offers of her own work; the work of students; peers and of legendary artists; illustrating a set of concepts helpful for anyone who cares about the future of online spaces.