Books about Offends from Amazon.com

The issue of censorship has never been hotter. The boundary between artistic freedom and incitement is becoming ever more blurred, and the modes of objection by political and religious fundamentalists to the art they deem offensive are turning ever more extreme. God, Mohammed, Jesus, the Quran and the Torah have all been at one point or another subjected to artistic interpretation, as have more liberal values, such as friendship, education and the nation-state. The responses these images have provoked have ranged from indifference, to, in the case of Theo Van Gogh, murder. Through an examination of a broad range of contentious imagery in art, this book questions the status of blasphemy in a world ever more divided in its views of what is acceptable, and provides an intriguing vantage point from which to view the interrelations between religion, politics and the visual arts.

With works including Andres Serrano's Piss Christ, Faith Ringgold's The Flag Is Bleeding and Theo Van Gogh's Submission, as well as popular films such as The Last Temptation of Christ and Life of Brian, and historical material from artists such as Hieronymus Bosch, this book takes a broad view of what is perceived as controversial, idolatrous or obscene. Elaborating on subjects such as the public funding of art, flag desecration, religious tolerance, and challenges to the secular nation state, this is a timely consideration of art and its relationship to authority.

Clearly written and thouroughly researched, this book will appeal to both the general reader and the expert in contemporary art. With an appendix of related articles and commentary-from media coverage to political posturing and religious dogmatic assertions-this book provides an important resource for anyone interested in the debates surrounding freedom of expression. The book's content has wide-ranging relevance, running parallel with recent world events such as the ongoing conflict and polarisation in the Middle East; the Taliban in Afganistan; the Christian right in the United States; radical clerics in the UK and Europe; and the dismantling of formerly Soviet States.

Theorist of religion and visual culture, S. Brent Plate, currently teaches at Texas Christian University and is the author/editor of numerous publications including Re-Viewing the Passion: Mel Gibson's Film and Its Critics (Palgrave Macmillan, 2004)..
Price: $27.00 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Presenting research that will underpin effective practice with women who offend, this unique and thought-provoking text aims to help professionals meet the needs of this group as well as providing a theoretical resource for policy makers and academics. The authors, coming from a variety of professional and research perspectives, discuss important issues concerning women in the criminal justice system, including: *the increase in custodial sentences for women *black women in prison *patterns of female offending *drug use and the criminal justice system *the needs of women on release from prison. Calling into question the relevance to female offenders of research conducted with men who commit crime, the contributors provide a comprehensive knowledge base on women and crime for professionals who work in this area. With a broad range of contributions, this book will be helpful to probation officers, social workers, policy makers and others who work with female offenders..
Price: $39.23 [Notify me when price goes down.]

This book focuses on what is probably the most frequently asked question about crime: Why do criminals offend? Renowned criminologist Robert Agnew draws on a broad range of crime theories and the latest research to present a general theory of crime and delinquency, rich with student-accessible examples. The general theory integrates the essential arguments from social learning, social control, self-control, strain, labeling, social support, bio-psychological, and other theories. And it draws on the latest research examining the relationship between crime, individual traits, and the social environment--including family, school, peer, and work environments.
Agnew's general theory is concise and written at a level readily accessible to undergraduates. It provides a good sense of the major causes of crime and how they mutually influence and interact with one another to affect crime. Key points are illustrated with examples from qualitative and quantitative research, and each chapter ends with a set of thought-provoking discussion questions.
While the book focuses on explaining why some individuals are more likely than others to offend, the general theory is also used to explain group differences in crime rates and patterns of offending over the life course. Further, the theory is used to evaluate current efforts to control crime and suggest new crime control initiatives..
Price: $40.54 [Notify me when price goes down.]

In the postwar era, producers and consumers of cinema began to demand more freedom to make and view movies that accurately portrayed the complexities of real life. In "Freedom to Offend", Raymond J. Haberski Jr. details the battles, fought largely in New York City, to secure "freedom of the screen" for film audiences. In the libertine 1970s, arguments supporting the right to see challenging films were twisted to provide intellectual cover for movies created solely to lure viewers with outrageous or titillating material. Haberski exposes the unquestioning defense of free expression as an absolutist approach that mirrors the censorial impulse found among the postwar era's restrictive moral guardians..
Price: $6.06 [Notify me when price goes down.]

This digital document is an article from First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life, published by Institute on Religion and Public Life on June 1, 1998. The length of the article is 3758 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

From the supplier: Christians' fear of offending members of other religions such as Islam or Buddhism should not prevent Christians from affirming that salvation can only be attained through union with the triune God. This responsibility can be understood according to three levels of moral culpability: natural knowledge of God, spiritual revelation of God and knowledge of the entire divine revelation.

Citation Details
Title: Must the truth offend? An exchange. (Christianity as the one true religion)
Author: Jerry L. Walls
Publication:First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life (Refereed)
Date: June 1, 1998
Publisher: Institute on Religion and Public Life
Issue: n84 Page: p34(7)

Distributed by Thomson Gale.
Price: $5.95 [Notify me when price goes down.]

This digital document is an article from First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life, published by Institute on Religion and Public Life on May 1, 1998. The length of the article is 1162 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

From the supplier: Changing the language of the Bible according to the dictates of modern fashion will cause people to lose touch with an ancient and historical continuum. Man is no long a synonym for humankind, but original writings do not fall into the same categories as historical writings. Historical writings cannot be discarded because they are archaic.

Citation Details
Title: Go ahead, offend me. (sexism in biblical language)
Author: Frederica Mathewes-Green
Publication:First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life (Refereed)
Date: May 1, 1998
Publisher: Institute on Religion and Public Life
Issue: n83 Page: p12(2)

Distributed by Thomson Gale.
Price: $5.95 [Notify me when price goes down.]

This digital document is an article from Catholic Insight, published by Catholic Insight on June 1, 2004. The length of the article is 1401 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Bush's "God talk" offends Nader, elites.(United States)
Publication:Catholic Insight (Magazine/Journal)
Date: June 1, 2004
Publisher: Catholic Insight
Volume: 12 Issue: 6 Page: 32(1)

Distributed by Thomson Gale.
Price: $5.95 [Notify me when price goes down.]