As a year-long participant-observer, Born studied the social and cultural economy of an institution for research and production of avant-garde and computer music. She gives a unique portrait of IRCAM's composers, computer scientists, technicians, and secretaries, interrogating the effects of the cultural philosophy of the controversial avant-garde composer, Pierre Boulez, who directed the institute until 1992.

An engaging argument about what experimental music can tell us about being human. In Experimenting the Human, G Douglas Barrett argues that experimental music speaks to the contemporary posthuman, a condition in which science and technology decenter human agency amid the uneven temporality of postwar global capitalism. Time moves forward for some during this period, while it seems to stand still or even move backward for others. Some say we’re already posthuman, while others endure the extended consequences of never having been considered fully human in the first place. Experimental music reflects on this state, Barrett contends, through its interdisciplinary involvements in postwar science, technology, and art movements. Rather than pursuing the human's beyond, experimental music addresses the social and technological conditions that support such a pursuit. Barrett locates this tendency of experimentalism throughout its historical entanglements with cybernetics, and in his intimate analysis of Alvin Lucier’s neurofeedback music, Pamela Z’s BodySynth performances, Nam June Paik’s musical robotics, Pauline Oliveros’s experiments with radio astronomy, and work by Laetitia Sonami, Yasunao Tone, and Jerry Hunt. Through a unique meeting of music studies, media theory, and art history, Experimenting the Human provides fresh insights into what it means to be human.

Never before published, American Society is the product of Talcott Parsons' last major theoretical project. Completed just a few weeks before his death, this is Parsons' promised 'general book on American society'. It offers a systematic presentation and revision of Parson's landmark theoretical positions on modernity and the possibility of objective sociological knowledge. Even after the passage of many years, American Society imparts a remarkably provocative interpretation of US society and a creative approach to social theory.

`Cummings′ book is very interesting, refreshing and intellectually stimulating... It should be a mandatory textbook for all serious students of management′ - Management Learning `Stephen Cummings′ Recreating Strategy is currently the best book on strategy, combining a holistic and critical understanding of the issue′ -Stewart Clegg, University of Technology, Sydney `An imaginative attempt to bring together and apply the many analytical frameworks relating to the organization as a whole into strategy theory and practice. Written for students on strategy, change management and more general management and organization theory courses. Encourages students to question assumptions and think creatively about strategy and management. Stimulating and original′ - Long Range Planning `In this intriguing book [Cummings] claims to be surprised that academics critical of management theory don′t critique its history, and proposes a kind of liberation theology in response, but this is not as doctrinaire. It′s more like replacing some well-justified habits with a refreshing originality of approach. The outcome is stimulating.... The author offers a cogently argued deconstruction of some well-known frameworks in strategy, and delivers his own reinterpretation of strategic discourse. There are five longer case studies in the book and several shorter vignettes scattered throughout early chapters, as well as pedagogical aids at the end of each chapter′ - Best of Biz, The Business Information Site `Do you worry about organizations becoming slaves to markets? Do you wish that organizations had the nerve to build their own ethos rather than just grubbing for profit? Do you aspire to inspiration rather than perspiration? Why does management practice get in the way of thinking and creativity? Stephen Cummings provides insight and guidance in a book of genuine scholarship and creativity′ - John McGee, President of the Strategic Management Society, USA `Management courses need more of what Stephen is offering. He wants us to go on an `unlearning curve′, one which leads to fresh thinking about strategy and the emerging roles and responsibilities of business and companies. This book not only tells us where we are coming from but, more importantly, it inspires us to think profoundly about where we could go. It′s also a very good read′ - Josephine Green, Director of Trends and Strategy, Philips `ReCreating Strategy provides a challenging examination of the emergence of management which combines postmodern and orthodox perspectives. Stephen Cummings is able to provide not only a fresh treatment of strategy and ethics but also to engage with a variety of potential audiences. He provokes and informs in equal measure′ - Richard Whipp, Cardiff University ′A truly eclectic approach to strategy! Intellectually capturing, the book is great fun to read at the same time. A must for those who want to discuss management beyond styles, fads and fashions′ - Hubert Wagner, Qonsult ReCreating Strategy is written for students of strategy, change management and more general management and organization theory courses. It will provide a better understanding of how to bring together and apply the many analytical frameworks relating to the organization as a whole. Stephen Cummings challenges the view that there is never one best framework and shows why the latest theory is not necessarily better than earlier ones. The textbook includes short and long case studies, interesting pictorial aids and examples, and a generally more participative and rewarding approach than that offered by more mainstream texts. PowerPoint slides to accompany the book are now also available by clicking on the link to `Sample Chapters and Resources′ in the left hand margin. The book also offers more scope for individual lecturers who wish to encourage students to question assumptions and think creatively about strategy and management.

What is postmodernism? How does it relate to music? This introduction clarifies the concept, providing ways of interpreting postmodern music.

The Routledge Reader on the Sociology of Music offers the first collection of source readings and new essays on the latest thinking in the sociology of music. Interest in music sociology has increased dramatically over the past decade, yet there is no anthology of essential and introductory readings. The volume includes a comprehensive survey of the field’s history, current state and future research directions. It offers six source readings, thirteen popular contemporary essays, and sixteen fresh, new contributions, along with an extended Introduction by the editors. The Routledge Reader on the Sociology of Music represents a broad reference work that will be a resource for the current generation of sociologically inclined musicologists and musically inclined sociologists, whether researchers, teachers or students.

In twenty essays on subjects such as noise, acoustics, music, and silence, Keywords in Sound presents a definitive resource for sound studies, and a compelling argument for why studying sound matters. Each contributor details their keyword's intellectual history, outlines its role in cultural, social and political discourses, and suggests possibilities for further research. Keywords in Sound charts the philosophical debates and core problems in defining, classifying and conceptualizing sound, and sets new challenges for the development of sound studies. Contributors. Andrew Eisenberg, Veit Erlmann, Patrick Feaster, Steven Feld, Daniel Fisher, Stefan Helmreich, Charles Hirschkind, Deborah Kapchan, Mara Mills, John Mowitt, David Novak, Ana Maria Ochoa Gautier, Thomas Porcello, Tom Rice, Tara Rodgers, Matt Sakakeeny, David Samuels, Mark M. Smith, Benjamin Steege, Jonathan Sterne, Amanda Weidman