James Donald

Reprint of the original, first published in 1872. The publishing house Anatiposi publishes historical books as reprints. Due to their age, these books may have missing pages or inferior quality. Our aim is to preserve these books and make them available to the public so that they do not get lost.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1872. The publishing house Anatiposi publishes historical books as reprints. Due to their age, these books may have missing pages or inferior quality. Our aim is to preserve these books and make them available to the public so that they do not get lost.

Some of These Days proffers a compelling cultural history of the Harlem Renaissance's vast influence abroad, with a dual focus on the world's first two major African American stars: Josephine Baker and Paul Robeson. But Donald's book extends beyond pure dual biography to recreate the rich community of actors, architects, poets, directors, and musicians who interacted with--and were influenced by--each other. James Donald highlights how the sense of excitement and artistic renewal ushered in with the "New Negro Movement"' reverberated far beyond Harlem to cities such as London, Paris, Berlin, and Vienna. Throughout his chronicle, Donald underscores the relationship of African American aesthetics to the modernist movement that flourished from the 1920s until the end of World War II. Vivid portraits of eccentric and popular artists like the T. S. Eliot, HD, Andre Gide, Carl Van Vechten, Marlene Dietrich, Josef von Sternberg, Jean Gabin, and Adolf Loos, among others, animate the sweeping narrative. Traversing countries and artforms, Some of These Days illustrates the immense cross-cultural collaboration of film, song, dance, and literature that coalesced to create modernist culture--where the new rhythms of the machine age were gleefully embraced, allowing art to consider the new possibilities of cosmopolitanism in a modern world.

Considering the cultural and political implications of the urban imaginary, Donald explores the pleasures and challenges of modern living, contending that the imagined city remains the best lens for a future democratic community.'

What sort of institution is education? In this iconoclastic study, James Donald restores the school to its proper place at the heart of post-Enlightenment culture and politics. He traces the emergence of education as an apparatus designed-forlornly-to shape the souls of citizens. He also draws illuminating analogies between education and broadcasting, showing how both conjure up publics and structure the everyday lives of individuals. To balance this focus on the institution of cultural norms, Donald emphasizes the dynamics of fantasy and desire in their negotiation. He therefore juxtaposes the normative practices of education and broadcasting against more transgressive forms of popular culture: pornography, racist thrillers like Fu Manchu, vampire films, and what he calls the vulgar sublime. Finally, drawing on postmodern debates about community and democracy, he sketches a context for reforms in broadcasting and presents a provocative alternative to orthodox progressive ideas about education from the primary school to the university.

First Published in 1987. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.