At the end of the nineteenth century; Germany turned toward colonialism; establishing protectorates in Africa; and toward a mass consumer society; mapping the meaning of commodities through advertising. These developments; distinct in the world of political economy; were intertwined in the world of visual culture.David Ciarlo offers an innovative visual history of each of these transformations. Tracing commercial imagery across different products and media; Ciarlo shows how and why the “African native†had emerged by 1900 to become a familiar figure in the German landscape; selling everything from soap to shirts to coffee. The racialization of black figures; first associated with the American minstrel shows that toured Germany; found ever greater purchase in German advertising up to and after 1905; when Germany waged war against the Herero in Southwest Africa. The new reach of advertising not only expanded the domestic audience for German colonialism; but transformed colonialism’s political and cultural meaning as well; by infusing it with a simplified racial cast. The visual realm shaped the worldview of the colonial rulers; illuminated the importance of commodities; and in the process; drew a path to German modernity. The powerful vision of racial difference at the core of this modernity would have profound consequences for the future.
#290424 in Books Belknap Press 2010-03-30 2009-10-26Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.30 x 1.00 x 5.56l; 1.03 #File Name: 0674034880384 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Both insightful and limitedBy K. CrawfordAs a convert to Catholicism going on 20 years; having a history of the American Church laid out before me filled in a lot of blanks for me and some of the odd vestiges of the Church now make more sense. That said; from my other research I know that much was left out and I'm left wondering how much of that was bias in trying to tell a narrative to the author's liking or just the difficulties of trying to write a popular book without getting bogged down in the minutia.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Mostly engaging history of Catholic laityBy Susan C. CloptonO'Toole is mostly clear and engaging; but the way he strings together anecdotes; correspondence; and statistics sometimes feel random.Some glaring omissions: People of color hardly warrant more than a paragraph mention; until the final chapter; which condescendingly explains that the future Catholic of the US is "a woman named Maria". There is proportionately much more information about the northeast than the south or west.The book is statistics heavy; which readers might see as either a feature or a bug.Despite these hesitations; I would say O'Toole's book draws attention to interesting trends in US-ian Catholicism: the changing relationship of the priests and the laity; the decline in popularity of Confession and the rise in popularity of receiving the Eucharist; the Church's beginnings in the colonies as largely priestless and led by the laity; to the height of clerical power; to the reality at the beginning of this century--fewer and fewer priests and sisters are present to minister to US Catholics; so once again; the laity are assuming many important responsibilities in the parish.Good discussion also of Catholic social action; and movements like Voice of the Faithful; Call to Action; and Catholic Worker.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy Francisco PenelaGreat book.
