First published in 1980, this reissue is a study of the sociology of language, which aims to bridge the gap between textbook and monograph by alternating chapters of explication and analysis. A chapter outlining a particular theory and suggesting general criticisms is followed by a chapter offering an original application of that theory. The aim of the authors is to treat text and talk as the site of specific practices which sustain or subvert particular relations between appearance and reality.

This Catechism is divided into three parts: The first part treats of faith, the second of morals, the third of the means of grace. In the first part Our Lord appears in His character of Teacher; in the second in His character of King; and in the third in His character of High Priest. And since this Catechism proposes as its primary object to answer the question, for what purpose are we here upon earth, thereby emphasizing and giving prominence to man's high calling and destiny, it is especially suited to the present day, when the pursuit of material interests, self-indulgence and pleasure, engrosses the attention of so many. This Catechism is in fact nothing more nor less than an abstract of Our Lord's teaching, and may be called a guide book for the Christian on the road to heaven. - Preface.

Over the course of the last decade, Ronald Hill has dedicated his research efforts to answering the question: How do the poor survive in America's material world? Hill identifies six subgroups among the poor, including the "hidden homeless," homeless families living in shelters, poor children, and the rural poor. Approximately 13 percent of Americans (35 million people) live in poverty. That rate soars for children: it is estimated that nearly one in five young people lives in a home without adequate income, shelter, food, and health care. Bearing in mind the specific needs of each community, Hill proposes solutions that attack the roots of poverty by utilizing impoverished groups' strengths and understanding their weaknesses.

This study examines the structural similarities between English mercantile treatises and drama c1600-1642. Bradley D. Ryner analyses the representational conventions of plays and mercantile treatises written between the chartering of the English East India Company in 1600 and the closing of the public playhouses at the outset of the English Civil War in 1642. He shows that playwrights' manipulation of specific elements of theatrical representation - such as metaphor, props, dramatic character, stage space, audience interaction, and genre - exacerbated the tension between the aspects of the world taken into account by a particular representation and those aspects that it neglects.