This open access book examines the depiction of Korean history in recent South Korean historical films. Released over the Hallyu (“Korean Wave”) period starting in the mid-1990s, these films have reflected, shaped, and extended the thriving public discourse over national history. In these works, the balance between fate and freedom—the negotiation between societal constraints and individual will, as well as cyclical and linear history—functions as a central theme, subtext, or plot device for illuminating a rich variety of historical events, figures, and issues. In sum, these highly accomplished films set in Korea’s past address universal concerns about the relationship between structure and agency, whether in collective identity or in individual lives. Written in an engaging and accessible style by an established historian, Fate and Freedom in Korean Historical Films offers a distinctive perspective on understanding and appreciating Korean history and culture.

This book provides a richly documented account of the historical, cultural, philosophical and practical dimensions of feng shui. It argues that where feng shui is entrenched educational systems have a responsibility to examine its claims, and that this examination provides opportunities for students to better learn about the key features of the nature of science, the demarcation of science and non-science, the characteristics of pseudoscience, and the engagement of science with culture and worldviews. The arguments presented for feng shui being a pseudoscience can be marshalled when considering a whole range of comparable beliefs and the educational benefit of their appraisal. Feng shui is a deeply-entrenched, three-millennia-old system of Asian beliefs and practices about nature, architecture, health, and divination that has garnered a growing presence outside of Asia. It is part of a comprehensive and ancient worldview built around belief in chi (qi) the putative universal energy or life-force that animates all existence, the cosmos, the solar system, the earth, and human bodies. Harmonious living requires building in accord with local chi streams; good health requires replenishment and manipulation of internal chi flow; and a beneficent afterlife is enhanced when buried in conformity with chi directions. Traditional Chinese Medicine is based on the proper manipulation of internal chi by acupuncture, tai-chi and qigong exercise, and herbal dietary supplements. Matthews has produced another tour de force that will repay close study by students, scientists, and all those concerned to understand science, culture, and the science/culture nexus. Harvey Siegel, Philosophy, University of Miami, USA With great erudition and even greater fluidity of style, Matthews introduces us to this now-world-wide belief system. Michael Ruse, Philosophy, Florida State University, USA The book is one of the best research works published on Feng Shui. Wang Youjun, Philosophy, Shanghai Normal University, China The history is fascinating. The analysis makes an important contribution to science literature. James Alcock, Psychology, York University, Canada This book provides an in-depth study of Feng Shui in different periods, considering its philosophical, historical and educational dimensions; especially from a perspective of the ‘demarcation problem’ between science and pseudoscience. Yao Dazhi, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China

What is luck? The chances are you don’t really know, but you probably believe in it, and I bet you invoke the word every day of your life ... ‘Bad luck!’ ‘That was lucky!’ ‘You should be so lucky!’ ‘What a lucky escape!’– said with varying degrees of intensity, relief, sarcasm, amusement, incredulity or disgust. But what is luck? This book tries to determine what luck is, how it operates in our lives, and how far the individual is at its mercy – favoured by good luck or cursed by bad? Is there any justice or fair play in life, or are these merely human concepts that don’t exist in the laws governing the universe? Whatever you think you believe, by the time you have read this book, the odds are that you will have changed your mind. James M Killeen’s analysis ranges from Astrology to Zoroastrianism and everything in between: the big bang and the butterfly effect, destiny and determinism, fortune-telling and feng shui, gambling and game theory, miracles and Murphy’s Law, oracles and ordeals, philosophy and religion, precognition and the placebo effect, serendipity and synchronicity. A Matter of Luck is a highly readable yet thought-provoking work, interspersed with illuminating and amusing examples to illlustrate each facet of this fascinating subject: for example, the true stories of the man who broke the bank at Monte Carlo, King Umberto and the chef, James Dean’s car, and the woman who simultaneously chose the winning numbers for both the Massachusetts and Rhode Island lotteries (although the numbers she chose for the Rhode Island lottery were the winning numbers for the Massachusetts lottery, and vice versa). Lucky or unlucky – you decide, if you can.

From housewives to students and high-ranking officials, people from all social backgrounds in China and Taiwan visit fate calculation masters to learn about their destiny. How do clients assess the diviner’s skills? How does one become a fortune-teller? How is a person’s fate calculated? The Art of Fate Calculation explores how conceptions of fate circulate in Chinese and Taiwanese societies while resisting uniformization and institutionalization. This is not only due to the stigma of “superstition” but also to the internal dynamic of fate calculation practice and learning.

Curious About Feng Shui? Your space holds the key to your health, happiness and prosperity, and A Little Bit of Feng Shui provides a useful guide to its teachings. This book will teach you how to understand and use Feng Shui—all the way from its history and basic principles to practical skills that can be used immediately. Author and Feng Shui practitioner Ai Matsui Johnson illustrates how and why to make basic changes in the layout of your home in order to promote positive energy for you, your friends, and family. Readers will learn how to assess and then design their space to unlock its hidden potential, and even apply Feng Shui principles to improve their relationships and lifestyle.

Hailed by one reviewer as "the bible of the integration movement," the inaugural edition of Handbook of Psychotherapy Integration was the first compilation of the early integrative approaches to therapy. Since its publication psychotherapy integration has grown into a mature, empirically supported, and international movement, and the current edition provides a comprehensive review of what has been done. Reflecting the considerable advances in the field since the previous edition's release in 2005, this third edition of Handbook of Psychotherapy Integration continues to be the state-of-the-art description of psychotherapy integration and its clinical practices by some of its most distinguished proponents. Six chapters new to this edition describe growing areas of psychotherapy research and practice: common factors therapy, principle-based integration, integrative psychotherapy with children, mixing psychotherapy and self-help, integrating research and practice, and international themes. The latter two of these constitute contemporary thrusts in the integration movement: blending research and practice, and recognizing its international nature. Also closely examined are the concepts, history, training, research, global themes, and future of psychotherapy integration. Each chapter includes a new section on cultural considerations, and an emphasis is placed throughout the volume on outcome research. Charting the remarkable evolution of psychotherapy integration itself, the third edition of this Handbook will continue to prove invaluable to practitioners, researchers, and students alike.