This new addition to Routledge's acclaimed Contemporary Culture series features authoritative and engaging coverage of post-1945 Italian culture, from major political, economic and legal concerns to previously neglected issues and locations.
With 1,000 entries by an international group of expert contributors, the Encyclopedia covers virtually every aspect of Italian culture.

Barbados is unique and fascinating, a mГ©lange of Africa and Britain in the Caribbean. The easternmost of all the Caribbean islands, Barbados is uniquely situated so as to avoid virtually all hurricanes. Its 166 square miles of forests, cliffs, fishing villages, wildlife, nightlife, and, of course beaches are surrounded by miles of coral reef teeming with an incredible array of sea life and shipwrecks. Some of the best sailing in the Caribbean is here, with southeasterly trade winds to carry you across the water. This is a land rich in history and culture, with an abundance of wildlife, beauty and nature. There are only four guidebooks on the island and most are badly out-of-date. With 500,000 tourists visiting per year, Barbados is a major attraction with very little guidebook competition. Details the best diving spots, all types of accommodations, dining, tours, local lore and festivals, services. Extensive background on the history, government and economy of the island. The author has been a regular visitor for over 20 years. Filled with inside information on which festivals are worth your time, where to find the best Bajan music, classes that will teach you the local cooking and artistic styles, Other guides are mostly out of date. None takes the Adventure Guide perspective that this one does, immersing you in the local culture and in the active things to do on the island. Today s traveler is eager to explore not just sit on a beach.

Media Culture develops methods and analyses of contemporary film, television, music and other artifacts to discern their nature and effects, argueing that media culture is the dominant form of culture which socializes us and provides materials for identity, social reproduction and change. Through studies of Reagan and Rambo, horror films and youth films, rap music and African American culture, Madonna, fashion, television news and entertainment, MTV, Beavis and Butt-Head, the Gulf-War as cultural text, cyberpunk fiction and postmodern theory, Kellner provides a series of lively studies that both illuminate contemporary culture and provide methods of analysis and critique.

This book examines the place of the Middle Ages in modern popular culture, exploring the roots of the stereotypes that appear in films, on television and in the press. The book also asks whether "medieval" is indeed a useful category in terms of historical periodization. It investigates some of the particular challenges posed by medieval sources and the ways in which they have survived, and concludes with an exploration of the relevance of medieval history in today's world.
Thinking Medieval is targeted to an introductory academic audience, but it is so well written, easy to read and fascinating it would appeal to anyone with an interest in the Middle Ages. This is really a book about "medievalism" - the Middles Ages in popular culture and modern scholarship - which is extremely helpful in better understanding how to approach and read medieval history. Dr. Marcus Bull is a professor at Bristol University in England.