Does everyone think in the same way? Until recently most 20th-century authorities would have answered 'Yes: though what we think varies enormously, the processes of thought are the same.' Here Don LePan challenges this assumption through an examination of a particular mental faculty - expectation. The book is broad-ranging, focusing on historical and anthropoligcal as well as literary developments. What the evidence in all these areas suggests, LePan concludes, is that certain forms of expectation simply did not exist in in the minds of most medieval people - any more than they do in the minds of children or those of adults in many primitive societies even today. LePan shows that the more complex forms of expectation depend on a person's having developed ways of thinking in probabilities rather than certainties, and ways of projecting multiple chains of cause and effect - often unravelling simultaneously in different places - into a hypothetical future. Today this sort of projection seems like second nature to us, but such abilities are not innate; though the potential to develop them may be, that potential is realised only as fomal education becomes widespread and as societies invent or become familiar with such things as clocks, calendars, and complex economic systems. An acceptance of the notion that human cognitive processes may vary among different peoples and different eras has profound implications, not only for the study of our own history and literature, but also for our approach to other contemporary societies. The deeper understanding of our own ancestors may also help us to understand better the differences that separate the developed and the less-developed world today. Don LePan is the author of "The Broadview Book of Common Errors in English".

The Cognitive Revolution in Western Culture: The Birth of Expectation (1)

History

LePan, Don

World

Broadview Pr

Animals is an impressive book that makes a powerful statement I think it is the Animal Farm of these times. Its also an accomplished work formally; a flowing narrative forms its central current, but brilliant shifts in style and narrative voice keep swirling within that current, and strong commentaries that are moral yet not homiletic keep forming eddies around it. Victor Ramraj, Professor of English Literature, University of Calgary, editor of Concert of Voices: An Anthology of World Writing in English""""""""As an analysis of the human capacity to reconcile sentiment with savagery, it's spot on: psychologically incisive, admirably disquieting . . . Le Pan may openly grind his axe, but what makes the book powerful is just how keenly that axe cuts through our ethical hypocrisy."""""""

Animals

Literature & Fiction

ReadHowYouWant

The ESL edition of Common Errors in English offers a comprehensive survey of the sorts of difficulties second language learners most often experience with English―and provides real help to students in overcoming them. The body of the book is organized according to grammatical categories, covering such topics as Verb Tense difficulties; Word Order Problems; Negation; Gerunds and Direct Objects; Singular and Plural Difficulties; and Direct and Indirect Speech. Included as well is a comprehensive section on usage and meaning, and a list of words commonly misspelled. The authors take care to avoid the harshly prescriptive; the book is informed throughout by a sympathetic understanding both of the difficulties that face every ESL student and of the particular problems faced by individuals from different linguistic backgrounds as they learn the peculiarities of English grammar and usage. The book includes a generous selection of exercises informed by these principles, and an accompanying answer key. Common Errors in English: ESL Edition will be an invaluable reference text for second language learners at a wide variety of levels.

The Broadview Book of Common Errors in English - ESL Edition

Reference

Boyne, Martin

Foreign Language Study & Reference

Broadview Press

Why are the plots of Shakespeare and his contemporaries so different from those of his predecessors? This book argues that the answer is in part that certain forms of expectation were largely undeveloped in the medieval period. More broadly, it suggests that many of the causal and temporal thought processes that are second nature to us operated very differently or had not been developed in the minds of most medieval people. And conversely, it suggests that other mental faculties (such as the ability to respond to some of the elemental appeal of poetry) may have become dulled by the post-renaissance rationalist emphasis in our culture.   In addition to drawing on a broad range of etymological and literary evidence (from the 10th century Gnomic verses to 16th-century drama) the book delves into medieval history, and draws many anthropological parallels. This is a significant study in the nature of narrative and an important investigation into the mental and cultural worlds of Shakespeare and his predecessors.

The Cognitive Revolution in Western Culture

Europe

Publication of a fourth edition of this popular reference guide only eighteen months after the appearance of the third is occasioned by the accelerating pace of change in the interaction of the world of writing with the electronic world; the chapter on using computers has now been expanded to provide coverage of such issues as referencing Internet sources and following guidelines of 'netiquette.' As in previous editions, this book offers full coverage of such common mistakes as comma splices, sentence fragments, words frequently confused, words frequently misspelled, mixed metaphors, and subject-verb agreement errors. In each case the problem is clearly explained, with examples illustrating both the nature of the trouble and how to put it right. In addition to the updates for the fourth edition the chapters have been re-ordered and the book is produced with a lay-flat binding. And there is a new preface dealing at greater length than previously with the issue of what constitutes correctness in English. Unlike many guides to grammar and usage, 'Common Errors in English' refrains from dogmatism; it treats correctness in English not as an unchanging objective standard laden with moral overtones, but rather as a code of convenience that is extraordinarily useful in helping humans to communicate effectively and even elgantly. It thus retains an openness to the inevitable process of change in the English language, and recognizes that change does not always imply debasment.

The Broadview Book of Common Errors in English: A Guide to Righting Wrongs

Words, Language & Grammar

The Broadview Guide to Writing is a concise yet uncommonly thorough text with a fresh approach to the craft of essay writing. The first part of the book discusses the style and structure of essay writing, and includes a useful discussion of the intangibles involved in the writing processâ??such as confidence, perseverance, and a willingness to deal with criticism constructively. The second part of the book provides thorough coverage of grammar and usage in a comprehensive reference guide, ranging from the simplest mechanical issues (such as subject verb agreement) to subtle distinctions between words that have similar meanings. A wide range of examples is included throughout the book.The fifth edition incorporates the 2008 changes to MLA Style guidelines for documentation and includes a number of other changes that make it far better suited than previous editions to the needs of American writers in the twenty-first century.

The Broadview Guide to Writing 2/e

Doug

BABINGTON

The Broadview Book of Common Errors in English offers full coverage of such common mistakes as commas splices, sentence fragments, words frequently confused, words frequently misspelled, mixed metaphors, and subject-verb agreement errors. In each case the problem is clearly explained, with examples illustrating both the nature of the trouble and how to put it right. Unlike many guides to grammar and usage, The Broadview Book refrains from dogmatism; it treats correctness in English not as an unchanging objective standard laden with moral overtones, but rather as a code of convenience that is extraordinarily useful in helping humans to communicate effectively and even elegantly. It thus retains an openness to the inevitable process of change in the English language, and recognizes that change does not imply debasement. The fifth edition has been updated throughout, and includes new material on capitalization; on the connections between clear writing and clear arguments; on academic citation systems; on business writing; and on particular difficulties experienced by those whose first language is not English.

The Broadview Book of Common Errors in English: A Guide to Righting Wrongs, 5th Edition

The Broadview Pocket Guide to Writing presents in concise form essential material from the more comprehensive text, The Broadview Guide to Writing. Included are summaries of key grammatical points and a reference guide to basic grammar; a glossary of usage; tips on writing style; a guide to bias-free writing; coverage of punctuation and writing mechanics; helpful advice on writing by computer and on Internet research; and much more. For the second edition the section on citation and documentation in four commonly used styles (MLA, APA, Chicago, and CBE) has been expanded and thoroughly revised, and a substantial new section on writing in various disciplines has been added.

The Broadview Pocket Guide to Writing, second edition

Babington, Doug

Writing, Research & Publishing Guides

The Broadview Guide to Writing is a concise yet uncommonly thorough text with a fresh approach to the craft of essay writing. The first part of the book discusses the style and structure of essay writing, and includes a useful discussion of the intangibles involved in the writing process―such as confidence, perseverance, and a willingness to deal with criticism constructively. The second part of the book provides thorough coverage of grammar and usage in a comprehensive reference guide, ranging from the simplest mechanical issues (such as subject-verb agreement) to subtle distinctions between words that have similar meanings. A wide range of examples is included throughout the book. The new edition includes a new sample essay (on the "Sensation" exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum), which is referred to frequently throughout the first section of the text in discussions of style and the writing process. Also included are entirely new sections on the writing conventions of different academic disciplines, and on special difficulties experienced by those whose first language is not English. Areas in which coverage has been significantly expanded include problems with capitalization; the subjunctive and conditional constructions; and the chapter on MLA style and other citation and documentation systems. In more modest ways the book has been updated and revised throughout. Exercises (previously available only in a separate short exercise book), will now also be available through the Broadview adjunct website.

The Broadview Guide to Writing: U.S. Edition

The Broadview Pocket Guide to Writing is a concise volume presenting essential material from the fourth edition of the full Broadview Guide to Writing. Included are summaries of key grammatical points and a reference guide to basic grammar; a glossary of usage; tips on writing style; a guide to bias-free writing; coverage of punctuation and writing mechanics; helpful advice on Internet research; and much more. For the third edition the section on citation and documentation (in four commonly-used styles―MLA, APA, Chicago, and CSE) has been extensively revised and updated.

The Broadview Pocket Guide to Writing - Third Edition

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