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Alien Chic sets out to provide a cultural history of the alien since the 1950s, asking why our attitudes to aliens have changed from fear to affection, and what this can tell us about how we now see ourselves and others.

Human-alien encounters --- Martians --- Humanism --- Science fiction films --- Extraterrestrial beings --- Alien encounters with humans --- Alien-human contacts --- Alien-human encounters --- Close encounters of the third kind --- Contacts of humans with extraterrestrial beings --- Encounters of humans with extraterrestrial beings --- Extraterrestrial encounters with humans --- Extraterrestrial-human encounters --- Human-alien contacts --- Human contacts with extraterrestrial beings --- Human encounters with extraterrestrial beings --- Unidentified flying objects --- Public opinion --- History. --- History and criticism. --- Sightings and encounters

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UFO phenomena entered American consciousness at the beginning of the Cold War, when reports from astonished witnesses of encounters with unknown aerial objects captured the attention of the United States military and the imagination of the press and the public. But when UFOs appeared not to be hostile, and when some scientists pronounced the sightings to be of natural meteorological phenomena misidentified due to "Cold War jitters," military interest declined sharply and, with it, further overt scientific interest. Yet sighting reports didn't stop and UFOs entered the public imagination as a cultural myth of the twentieth century. Brenda Denzler's comprehensive, clearly written, and compelling narrative provides the first sustained overview and valuation of the UFO/alien abduction movement as a social phenomenon positioned between scientific and religious perspectives. Demonstrating the unique place ufology occupies in the twentieth-century nexus between science and religion, Denzler surveys the sociological contours of its community, assesses its persistent attempt to achieve scientific legitimacy, and concludes with an examination of the movement's metaphysical or spiritual outlook. Her book is a substantial contribution to our understanding of American popular culture and the boundaries of American religion and to the debate about the nature of science and religion. Denzler presents a thorough and fascinating history of the UFO/abduction movement and traces the tensions between those who are deeply ambivalent about abduction narratives that seemingly erode their quest for scientific credibility, and the growing cultural power of those who claim to have been abducted. She locates the phenomenon within the context of American religious history and, using data gathered in surveys, sheds new light on the social profile of these UFO communities. The Lure of the Edge succeeds brilliantly in repositioning a cultural phenomenon considered by many to be bizarre and marginal into a central debate about the nature of science, technology, and the production of a modern myth.

Alien abduction. --- Human-alien encounters. --- Unidentified flying objects --- Religion and science --- Abduction of humans by aliens --- Alien abductions --- Alien kidnapping --- Close encounters of the fourth kind --- Extraterrestrial abduction --- UFO abduction --- Kidnapping --- Human-alien encounters --- Christianity and science --- Geology --- Geology and religion --- Science --- Science and religion --- Flying saucers (in religion, folk-lore, etc.) --- Unidentified flying objects (in religion, folklore, etc.) --- Alien encounters with humans --- Alien-human contacts --- Alien-human encounters --- Close encounters of the third kind --- Contacts of humans with extraterrestrial beings --- Encounters of humans with extraterrestrial beings --- Extraterrestrial encounters with humans --- Extraterrestrial-human encounters --- Human-alien contacts --- Human contacts with extraterrestrial beings --- Human encounters with extraterrestrial beings --- Extraterrestrial beings --- Religious aspects. --- Religious aspects --- Sightings and encounters --- 20th century. --- abductions. --- alien abduction. --- alien encounters. --- alien myth. --- aliens. --- american history. --- cold war. --- cultural history. --- cultural studies. --- fringe science. --- intelligent life. --- military. --- myth. --- mythology. --- phenomenon. --- popular culture. --- scientific. --- scientists. --- social history. --- social studies. --- theology. --- ufo. --- ufology. --- united states history. --- universe. --- us history.

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American society has changed dramatically since A Culture of Conspiracy was first published in 2001. In this revised and expanded edition, Michael Barkun delves deeper into America's conspiracy sub-culture, exploring the rise of 9/11 conspiracy theories, the "birther" controversy surrounding Barack Obama's American citizenship, and how the conspiracy landscape has changed with the rise of the Internet and other new media. What do UFO believers, Christian millennialists, and right-wing conspiracy theorists have in common? According to Michael Barkun in this fascinating yet disturbing book, quite a lot. It is well known that some Americans are obsessed with conspiracies. The Kennedy assassination, the Oklahoma City bombing, and the 2001 terrorist attacks have all generated elaborate stories of hidden plots. What is far less known is the extent to which conspiracist worldviews have recently become linked in strange and unpredictable ways with other "fringe" notions such as a belief in UFOs, Nostradamus, and the Illuminati. Unraveling the extraordinary genealogies and permutations of these increasingly widespread ideas, Barkun shows how this web of urban legends has spread among subcultures on the Internet and through mass media, how a new style of conspiracy thinking has recently arisen, and how this phenomenon relates to larger changes in American culture. This book, written by a leading expert on the subject, is the most comprehensive and authoritative examination of contemporary American conspiracism to date. Barkun discusses a range of material-involving inner-earth caves, government black helicopters, alien abductions, secret New World Order cabals, and much more-that few realize exists in our culture. Looking closely at the manifestations of these ideas in a wide range of literature and source material from religious and political literature, to New Age and UFO publications, to popular culture phenomena such as The X-Files, and to websites, radio programs, and more, Barkun finds that America is in the throes of an unrivaled period of millenarian activity. His book underscores the importance of understanding why this phenomenon is now spreading into more mainstream segments of American culture.

Millennialism --- Conspiracies --- Human-alien encounters --- Alien encounters with humans --- Alien-human contacts --- Alien-human encounters --- Close encounters of the third kind --- Contacts of humans with extraterrestrial beings --- Encounters of humans with extraterrestrial beings --- Extraterrestrial encounters with humans --- Extraterrestrial-human encounters --- Human-alien contacts --- Human contacts with extraterrestrial beings --- Human encounters with extraterrestrial beings --- Unidentified flying objects --- Extraterrestrial beings --- Amillennialism --- Chiliasm --- Millenarianism --- Millennianism --- Postmillennialism --- Premillennialism --- Dispensationalism --- Fundamentalism --- Millennium (Eschatology) --- Sightings and encounters --- Millennialism -- United States.. --- Conspiracies -- United States.. --- Human-alien encounters -- United States. --- 2001 terrorist attacks. --- 9 11. --- american culture. --- anthropology. --- apocalyptic. --- birther. --- christian eschatology. --- christian millennialists. --- comparative religion. --- conspiracist worldviews. --- conspiracy theories. --- conspiracy. --- crime. --- dark. --- engaging. --- hidden plots. --- historical. --- history. --- intense. --- kennedy assassination. --- lively. --- new world order cabals. --- nostradamus. --- oklahoma city bombing. --- political. --- religion. --- right wing conspiracy theorists. --- social sciences. --- sociopolitical. --- sub culture. --- the illuminati. --- ufo aliens. --- ufo believers. --- urban legends.

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The international importance of David Malouf's writing has been acknowledged by several prestigious international awards, including the inaugural Dublin IMPAC literary award, in 1996, and the Neustadt International Prize for Literature, in 2000. Don Randall's comprehensive study situates Malouf within the field of contemporary international and postcolonial writing, but without losing sight of the author's affiliation with Australian contexts. The book presents an original reading of Malouf, finding the unity of his work in the continuity of his ethical concerns: for Malouf, human lives find their value in transformations, specifically in instances of self-overcoming that encounters with difference or otherness provoke. However, the book is fully aware of, and informed by, the quite ample body of criticism on Malouf, and thus provides readers with a broad-based understanding of how Malouf's works have been received and assessed. It is an effective companion volume for studies in postcolonial or Australian literature, for any study project in which Malouf figures prominently. Malouf's poetry receives chapter-length attention; however, the greater part of Randall's criticism examines, in chronological order, the prose fictions that are the basis of Malouf's current international reputation. Randall measures each work's specific concerns and achievements, but also situates each in the process of Malouf's writerly development, which is shown to be quite remarkably continuous and cumulative. The criticism reveals Malouf's distinctive contribution to key topics that have given shape to contemporary literary studies. Malouf explores the making of subjectivity, focusing on the role of the other, of place, of language, of memory and history. Randall's study discovers Malouf as a particularly engaging case of postcolonial authorship.

English --- Languages & Literatures --- English Literature --- Malouf, David, --- Criticism and interpretation. --- Australian literature. --- David Malouf. --- encounters with difference. --- ethical concerns. --- international writing. --- otherness. --- postcolonial writing. --- self-overcoming. --- transformations. --- unity.

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This book offers insights into the demands made on staff in service encounters in tourism, events and hospitality roles. Using data from research completed in these industries, it hinges upon storied incidents offered by workers about which the reader can reflect and apply theoretical knowledge. A key feature of this volume is that it focuses on staff perspectives and perceptions of service encounters and delivery rather than on customer or management perspectives. This will provide students, lecturers, management and customers with fresh and clear understandings of the demands made on staff, but also the perspectives from which the demands are seen. The chapters clarify to students how to apply academic knowledge within customer service contexts and include learning objectives, questions and summaries.

Tourism --- Special events industry --- Hospitality industry --- Customer relations. --- Customer services. --- Staff perspective in service encounters. --- events. --- hospitality staff. --- hospitality. --- human resources. --- service encounter. --- staff stories. --- tourism.