Dominic Johnson Books

Theatre & the Visual argues that theatre studies' preoccupation with problems arising from textual analysis has compromised a fuller, political consideration of the visual.

Drawing on new research from anthropology, evolutionary biology, experimental psychology, and neuroscience, Dominic Johnson presents a new theory of supernatural punishment that offers fresh insight on the origins and evolution of not only religion, but human cooperation and society.

"At the heart of much work in international relations is the attempt to understand why citizens and leaders act as they do-and over the last decade, a growing body of research has shown that the "rational choice theory" that has long guided this understanding is insufficient. People do not always behave rationally; instead, most of us have psychological biases that cause us to behave "irrationally." As political science has integrated this new behavioral research, the literature has tended to view such biases as source of errors or mistakes. Yet for other fields-most notably evolutionary biology-the same psychological biases are recognized as adaptive heuristics that evolved to improve our decision-making, not to undermine it. In this book, Johnson uses his cross-disciplinary training to push this evolutionary understanding of biases into the study of politics. Specifically, he asks: when and how can psychological biases cause or promote success in the realm of international relations? Johnson focuses on three of the most prominent psychological biases-overconfidence, the fundamental attribution error (the tendency to see others' actions as motivated by personality rather than the influence of external/situational factors) and in-group/out-group bias (favoring members of group one identifies with over those one does not). He outlines the scientific research on each bias, explores its adaptive advantages, and then gives detailed historical examples where the bias seems to have caused strategic advantages, focusing on the American Revolution (overconfidence), the UK and the appeasement of Hitler (fundamental attribution error) and the Pacific campaign in WW2 (group bias). He then circles back to acknowledge the "dark side" of biases when taken to the extreme, considering how confidence becomes hubris, the attribution error becomes paranoia and group bias becomes racism. Ultimately, Johnson argues that this evolutionary perspective is the crucial next step in bringing psychological insights to bear on the foundational questions in the field"-- Provided by publisher

Exploring themes of trauma, gender identity, and empowerment, this monograph showcases the work of Kat Toronto, a prominent feminist photographer. Through her alter ego 'Miss Meatface,' Toronto captures 250 Polaroid images that challenge traditional notions of femininity and sexuality. After a life-altering cancer diagnosis, she uses self-portraiture and fetish aesthetics to navigate her relationship with her body and societal norms. The photographs depict a subversive take on domesticity, emphasizing control and power dynamics within her art.

Glorious catastrophe presents the first detailed critical analysis of the visual art, film, performance and writing of Jack Smith, an icon of the New York avant-garde, from the early 1960s until his AIDS-related death in 1989. It uses his personal papers, and unpublished interviews with friends and collaborators. -- .

Across a series of twelve in-depth interviews with a diverse range of major artists, Dominic Johnson presents a new oral history of performance art. From uses of body modification and physical extremity, to the creation of all-encompassing personae, to performance pieces lasting months or years, these artists have provoked and explored the vital limits between art and life. Their discussions with Johnson give us a glimpse of their artistic motivations, preoccupations, processes, and contexts. Despite the diversity of art forms and experiences featured, common threads weave between the interviews: love, friendship, commitment, death and survival. Each interview is preceded by an overview of the artist's work, and the volume itself is introduced by a thoughtful critical essay on performance art and oral history. The conversational tone of the interviews renders complex ideas and theoretical propositions accessible, making this an ideal book for students of Theatre and Performance, as well as for artists, scholars and general readers.

Extremity might suggest violence, pornography, criminality, misanthropy, danger, recklessness, eccentricity or obscurantism. How has art exceeded its own example through performance art? How have artists used performance to question and overextend the limits of form in the 1970s? And with what effects? -- .

Seit zwei Jahrzehnten ist der Kongo von bewaffneten Konflikten zerrissen. Die Spannungen und Probleme, die zu den Kongokriegen führten, sind auch heute nicht gelöst. Obwohl reich an Rohstoffen, zählt der Kongo zu den ärmsten Ländern der Welt. Demokratische Entwicklungen werden immer wieder von den Machthabern sabotiert. In Kongos Ostregion Kivu tobt bis heute ein grausamer Milizenkrieg, der auch nach dem Ende der M23-Rebellion nicht vorbei ist. Doch die Kongolesen haben nie die Kunst des Überlebens verlernt und organisieren ihren Alltag in eigenen informellen Strukturen. Dominic Johnson legt ein gründlich recherchiertes Buch vor zur Geschichte des noch relativ jungen Staates und seiner politischen Entwicklung bis heute. Für diese dritte Auflage wurde das Buch umfassend überarbeitet, erweitert und auf den neuesten Stand gebracht.

In anschaulich und lebendig geschriebenen Reportagen und kenntnisreichen Analysen diskutieren die Autoren, sachkundige Afrika-Journalisten, die Chancen und Risiken für Afrika an der Schwelle zum Jahr 2000. (Quelle: Katalog SBE).