This collection examines how the Society of Jesus used art and architecture in its missionary efforts in the Lands of the Bohemian Crown from the sixteenth century to the eighteenth. The Jesuits used a variety of visual media to re-invigorate the cult of miraculous images, saints, and local Catholic customs in the Central European region, where a tradition of religious dissent went back to the legendary Hussites of the 15th century. Jesuit art is seen as resulting from the transfer, local adaptation, and visualization of ideas about image theology, the order's global mission, its self-promotion, and the construction of the religious past. Examining the architecture, statues, images, murals, and decorative programs of Jesuit complexes and other visual media (devotional prints, medieval images), the essays here demonstrate how the Jesuit Order cultivated the subjects and functions of art to promote concepts of Catholic piety as they grew into one of the most successful agents of Catholic Reform in the Bohemian kingdom.

This book describes the status of women in the former German Democratic Republic, and their transition from a socialist (communist) economy to the capitalist free market system of united Germany. Women After Communism outlines the provisions which East Germany's socialist regime made for integrating women into the workplace, and also describes women's losses with the collapse of socialism, abortion rights, and secure employment. The comprehensive background of Women After Communism is complemented by the inclusion of provocative personal narratives.

The emergence of Russia or Rus’, as it was known, from a group of scattered Slavic tribes into one of the most powerful states of medieval and modern European history is an extraordinary story. It is a story filled with much struggle as there were historical periods when Russia almost ceased to exist as it underwent invasion and conquest. Historical Dictionary of Medieval Russia, Second Edition contains a chronology, an introduction, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has more than 300 cross-referenced entries on important personalities as well as aspects of the country’s politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about medieval Russia.

While Iceland is the second largest inhabited island in Europe, with only 313,000 inhabitants in 2007, the Icelanders form one of the smallest independent nations in the world. Around two-thirds of the population lives in the capital, Reykjavík, and its suburbs, while the rest is spread around the inhabitable area of the country. Until fairly recently the Icelandic nation was unusually homogeneous, both in cultural and religious terms; in 1981, around 98 percent of the nation was born in Iceland and 96 percent belonged to the Lutheran state church or other Lutheran religious sects. In 2007, these numbers were down to 89 and 86 percent respectively, reflecting the rapidly growing multicultural nature of Icelandic society. The A to Z of Iceland traces Iceland's history and provides a compass for the direction the country is heading. This is done through its chronology, introductory essays, appendixes, map, bibliography, and hundreds of cross-referenced dictionary entries on important persons, places, events, and institutions and significant political, economic, social, and cultural aspects.

Once part of the Kalmar Union-along with Denmark and Norway-the Kingdom of Sweden broke free in order to govern itself in the early 1500s, and for more than a century afterwards it was a force to be reckoned with. At its peak, it was twice the size that it is today, but with the secession of Finland in 1809 and the rise of Russia, Sweden changed its path and instead turned toward neutrality and a peaceful existence. Today, Sweden boasts a healthy economy, and it is an important member of the European Union, as well a major contributor to international activities. The A to Z of Sweden relates the history of Sweden through a chronology, a list of acronyms and abbreviations, an introductory essay, a bibliography, appendixes, and hundreds of cross-referenced dictionary entries on significant persons, events, and institutions, this dictionary provides information ranging from politics to economics, from education to religion, and from music to literature.

Corina Snitar examines the student protests in Timisoara in 1956 following the Hungarian uprising of the same year. Snitar analyzes the students’ demands regarding Soviet occupation, the situation in Hungary, and insufficient student accommodations. This book shows how the Hungarian revolt was the catalyst for opposition during a time of social duress. Snitar examines the methods of repression against real and imaginary opposition to the Communist rule and shows how the fates of students were tied to the political goals of the Romanian leadership.

The forty-one years between the Society of Jesus’s papal suppression in 1773 and its eventual restoration in 1814 remain controversial, with new research and interpretations continually appearing. Shore’s narrative approaches these years, and the period preceding the suppression, from a new perspective that covers individuals not usually discussed in works dealing with this topic. As well as examining the contributions of former Jesuits to fields as diverse as ethnology—a term and concept pioneered by an ex-Jesuit—and library science, where Jesuits and ex-Jesuits laid the groundwork for the great advances of the nineteenth century, the essay also explores the period the exiled Society spent in the Russian Empire. It concludes with a discussion of the Society’s restoration in the broader context of world history.