Archaeological culture

An archaeological culture is a recurring assemblage of artifacts from a specific time and place, which may constitute the material culture remains of a particular past human society. The connection between the artifacts is based on archaeologists' understanding and interpretation and does not necessarily relate to real groups of humans in the past. The concept of archaeological culture is fundamental to culture-historical archaeology.

Concept

Different cultural groups have material culture items which differ both functionally and aesthetically due to varying cultural and social practices. This notion is observably true on the broadest scales. For example, the equipment associated with the brewing of tea varies greatly across the world (see images). Social relations to material culture often include notions of identity and status.

Advocates of culture-historical archaeology use this notion to argue that sets of material culture can be used to trace ancient groups of people that were either self-identifying societies or ethnic groups. The classic definition of this idea comes from Gordon Childe:

4Culture

4Culture is a tax-exempt public development authority (PDA), with a fifteen member Board of Directors, who are nominated by the King County Executive and confirmed by the King County Council. A Public Development Authority is a public entity created by cities or counties to accomplish public purpose activities without assuming them into the regular functions of County government.

Background

4Culture evolved from the Office of Cultural Resources, a department of King County government, which housed King County's arts, heritage, preservation and public art office. In 2001, in reaction to the post-9/11 economic recession and subsequent elimination of its Current Expense (CX) funding, the Office of Cultural Resources staff proposed to the King County Executive and Council that they transition the office to a Public Development Authority (PDA). This structure would allow dedicated public funds to be stretched further through business innovations and allow access to other revenues, including grants and earned income through consulting services, that are traditionally beyond the reach of a government agency. The County Executive agreed and the County Council adopted an Ordinance approving the establishment of the Cultural Development Authority of King County in September 2002, effective January 1, 2003.

Culture 2000

Culture 2000 was a 7-year European Union (EU) programme, which had among its key objectives to preserve and enhance Europe's cultural heritage. Its duration was between 2000 and 2006, and it had a budget of €236.5 million.

Culture 2000 provided grants to cultural cooperation projects in all artistic and cultural fields (performing arts, plastic and visual arts, literature, heritage, cultural history, etc.).

The objective of Culture 2000 was to promote a common cultural area characterised by its cultural diversity and shared cultural heritage. Its stated aims were to encourage creativity and mobility of artists, public access to culture, the dissemination of art and culture, inter-cultural dialogue and knowledge of the history and cultural heritage of the peoples of Europe.

The program contributed to the financing of European Community co-operations in all artistic fields: performing arts, visual arts, literature, music, history and cultural heritage, etc. Equipped with €240 million over the period 2000-2006, this program aimed to develop the cultural diversity of the European Union, the creativity and the exchange between European cultural actors, whilst making culture more accessible to a larger public. Financial support was granted to projects which were selected on the basis of an annual Call for Proposals.

Outcast

Outcast may refer to:

Literature

Outcast (Ballas novel)

Outcast, is a 1991 novel by Baghdad-born Mizrahi Israeli author Shimon Ballas. The novel was translated into English in 2005.

Plot introduction

The subject of Outcast is a Jewish convert to Islam, Ahmad (Haroun) Soussan, based on the historical figure, Ahmad (Nissim) Soussa. After converting in the 1930s the real-life Soussa became a tool for propaganda under the Ba'athist regime. Ballas presents Soussan in a sympathetic light, giving voice to his complex relations with his Jewish family and friends, and his struggle as he moves from genuine conviction in Islam to the realization that he will never be fully at home in the Muslim sphere, just as he was not comfortable in the Jewish sphere. Ballas' treatment of Soussan suggests that the reader should attempt to comprehend the quandaries faced by those few Jews who sought to remain in Iraq in the years after 1948.

Explanation of title

In Hebrew the novel is titled "V Hu Aher" ('And He is An Other,' or 'And He is a Different One') an apt expression of Soussan's ambiguous status between Jewish and Muslim identity, as a Jewish convert to Islam whose Jewishness is exploited for propaganda purposes by his cohorts within the Ba'athist political sphere. The word "Aher" refers to the ancient Jewish figure of Elisha ben Abuya, an apostate rabbi.

Outcast (TV series)

Outcast is an upcoming American horror drama television series based on the comics of the same name by Robert Kirkman. A ten-episode first season will debut on Cinemax in 2016.

Cast

Main cast

Recurring cast

Production

Cinemax picked up the rights to produce a show based on the comic in 2013. Ten episodes were announced to be produced with lead cast Patrick Fugit as Kyle Barnes and Philip Glenister as Reverend Anderson for the television series along with Gabriel Bateman, while Adam Wingard was hired to direct the pilot produced by Fox International Channels. More cast was announced including David Denman as Mark Holter, Melinda McGraw as Patricia MacCready, Grace Zabriskie as Mildred, Catherine Dent as Janet Anderson, Lee Tergesen as Blake Morrow, and Brent Spiner.