following world war ii, german antifascists and nationalists in buenos aires believed theater was crucial to their highly politicized efforts at community-building, and each population devoted considerable resources to competing against its rival onstage. competing germanies tracks the paths of several stage actors from european theaters to buenos aires and explores how two of argentina's most influential immigrant groups, german nationalists and antifascists (jewish and non-jewish), clashed on the city's stages. covered widely in german- and spanish-language media, theatrical performances articulated strident nazi, antifascist, and zionist platforms. meanwhile, as their thespian representatives grappled onstage for political leverage among emigrants and argentines, behind the curtain, conflicts simmered within partisan institutions and among theatergoers. publicly they projected unity, but offstage nationalist, antifascist, and zionist populations were rife with infighting on issues of political allegiance, cultural identity and, especially, integration with their argentine hosts.

competing germanies reveals interchange and even mimicry between antifascist and nationalist german cultural institutions. furthermore, performances at both theaters also fit into contemporary invocations of diasporas, including taboos and postponements of return to the native country, connections among multiple communities, and forms of longing, memory, and (dis)identification. sharply divergent at first glance, their shared condition as cultural institutions of emigrant populations caused the antifascist free german stage and the nationalist german theater to adopt parallel tactics in community-building, intercultural relationships, and dramatic performance.

its cross-cultural, polyglot blend of german, jewish, and latin american studies gives competing germanies a wide, interdisciplinary academic appeal and offers a novel intervention in exile studies through the lens of theater, in which both victims of nazism and its adherents remain in focus.

over the last 75 years, superheroes have been portrayed most often as male, heterosexual, white, and able-bodied. today, a time when many of these characters are billion-dollar global commodities, there are more female superheroes, more queer superheroes, more superheroes of color, and more disabled superheroes--but not many more.

superwomen investigates how and why female superhero characters have become more numerous but are still not-at-all close to parity with their male counterparts; how and why they have become a flashpoint for struggles over gender, sexuality, race, and disability; what has changed over time and why in terms of how these characters have been written, drawn, marketed, purchased, read, and reacted to; and how and why representations of superheroes matter, particularly to historically underrepresented and stereotyped groups.

specifically, the book explores the production, representations, and receptions of prominent transmedia female superheroes from their creation to the present: wonder woman; batgirl and oracle; ms. marvel and captain marvel; buffy the vampire slayer; star wars' padm amidala, leia organa, jaina solo, and rey; and x-men's jean grey, storm, kitty pryde, rogue, and mystique. it analyzes their changing portrayals in comics, novels, television shows, and films, as well as how cultural narratives of gender have been negotiated through female superheroes by creators, consumers, and parent companies over the last several decades.

unlike the benevolent orphan found in charlie chaplin's the kid or the sentimentalized figure of little orphan annie, the orphan in postwar eastern european cinema takes on a more politically fraught role, embodying the tensions of individuals struggling to recover from war and grappling with an unknown future under soviet rule. by exploring films produced in postwar hungary, the german democratic republic, czechoslovakia, romania, and poland, parvulescu traces the way in which cinema envisioned and debated the condition of the post-world war ii subject and the "new man" of soviet-style communism. in these films, the orphan becomes a cinematic trope that interrogates socialist visions of ideological institutionalization and re-education and stands as a silent critic of the system's shortcomings or as a resilient spirit who has resisted capture by the political apparatus of the new state.

free-roaming killer drones stalk the battlespace looking for organic targets. human combatants are programmed to feel no pain. highpower microwave beams detonate munitions, jam communications, and cook internal organs.

is this vision of future war possible, or even inevitable? in this timely new book, everett carl dolman examines the relationship between science and war. historically, science has played an important role in ending wars - think of the part played by tanks in breaching trench warfare in the first world war, or atom bombs in hastening the japanese surrender in the second world war - but to date this has only increased the danger and destructiveness of future conflicts. could science ever create the con-ditions of a permanent peace, either by making wars impossible to win, or so horrific that no one would ever fight? ultimately, dolman argues that science cannot, on its own, end war without also ending what it means to be human.

in the centennial cure, the second volume in the studies in atlantic canada history series, meaghan elizabeth beaton critically examines the intersection of state policy, cultural development, and commemoration in nova scotia during canada's centennial celebrations.

beaton's engaging and insightful analysis of four case studies-- the establishment of the cape breton miners' museum, the construction of halifax's centennial swimming pool, the community improvement program, and the 1967 nova scotia highland games and folk festival--reveals the province's attempts to reimagine and renew public spaces. through these case studies beaton illuminates the myriad ways in which nova scotians saw themselves, in the context of modernity and ethnic identity, during the post-war years. the successes and failures of these infrastructure and cultural projects, intended to foster and develop cultural capital, reflected the socio-economic realities and dreams of local communities. the centennial cure shifts our focus away from the dominant studies on expo'67 to provide a nuanced and tension filled account of how canada's 1967 centennial celebrations were experienced in other parts of canada.

in his prose fiction, memoirs, poetry, and drama, thomas bernhard (1931-1989)-one of the twentieth century's most uniquely gifted writers-created a new and radical style, seemingly out of thin air. his books never "tell a story" in the received sense. instead, he rages on the page, he rants and spews vitriol about the moral failures of his homeland, austria, in the long amnesiac aftermath of the second world war.

yet this furious prose, seemingly shapeless but composed with unparalleled musicality, and taxing by conventional standards, has been powerfully echoed in many writers since bernhard's death in 1989. these explorers have found in bernhard's singular accomplishment new paths for the expression of life and truth.

thomas bernhard's afterlives examines the international mobilization of bernhard's style. writers in italian, german, spanish, hungarian, english, and french have succeeded in making bernhard's austrian vision an international vision. this book tells that story.