Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
  1. Home
  2. Publications
  3. Cambridge Elements
  4. Published Elements

Refine listing

Refine listing

Access:
Content type:
Publication date:
Apply   From and To filters
Subject: Show more
Journals Show more
Publishers: Show more
Societies Show more
Series: Show more
Collections: Show more

Actions for selected content:

Select all | Deselect all
  • View selected items
  • Export citations
  • Download PDF (zip)
  • Save to Kindle
  • Save to Dropbox
  • Save to Google Drive

Save Search

You can save your searches here and later view and run them again in "My saved searches".

Please provide a title, maximum of 40 characters.
Cancel
×

2525 results in Cambridge Elements

Page 4 of 127

A Franciscan Tombstone in Fourteenth-Century China

A Franciscan Tombstone in Fourteenth-Century China
  • A Global History
  • Nancy Wu
  • Published online:
    25 May 2026
    Print publication:
    18 June 2026
  • This Element examines the tombstone for Andrew of Perugia (d. 1332?), the sole surviving object from the 14C Franciscan mission in China. The narrative begins in Zayton, where diverse groups brought to this maritime entrepot old antagonisms and new alliances. The discovery of Andrew's tombstone and that of other Christian monuments over the centuries, demonstrate how various Christian churches interacted with their host society from the eighth through the fourteenth centuries. Relying to the extent possible on words of the protagonists, this Element scrutinizes the Nestorian cross-and-lotus motif and questions prevailing interpretations about this quintessential Nestorian iconography and its presence on a Franciscan tombstone: the interreligious borrowing of art and symbolism, the mode through which ideas and traditions were transmitted, the function and purpose of adaptation, and the plausible contribution of local artisans to the creation of the earliest Christian art in China.
Christology and the Enactment of Jesus Christ's Presence

Christology and the Enactment of Jesus Christ's Presence
  • Victor I. Ezigbo
  • Published online:
    22 May 2026
    Print publication:
    18 June 2026
  • This Element examines a phenomenon that reflects a distinctive and insightful Christological imagination, yet one that has received little sustained attention within the field of Christology. Specifically, it focuses on the sphere of deputation, characterized by Jesus' authorization of his disciples to serve as his proxies. In their deputized capacity, Christians engage in activities that reflect the dynamics through which Jesus' presence is enacted in his post-earthly life, albeit within the limits of his prerogatives. Jesus may choose, through such enactment, to act by means of his disciples, both individually and collectively as the church. I argue that attention to this sphere of deputation moves both formal Christology and informal, grassroots Christology beyond the traditional Christological concentration on ontology, function, and significance.
Microlearning with GenAI

Microlearning with GenAI
  • Enhancing Second Language Education
  • Lucas Kohnke
  • Published online:
    21 May 2026
    Print publication:
    04 June 2026
  • This Element explores the innovative integration of microlearning and generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in second-language education. Designed for language teachers, teacher trainers, and future educators, it offers research-informed insights and actionable strategies for designing learner-centred, technology-enhanced instruction. The Element introduces the evolution and applications of GenAI in language learning, examines its synergy with microlearning, and presents pedagogical frameworks rooted in SLA theory, cognitive load theory, and multimodal learning. Practical guidance is provided for designing, implementing, and evaluating AI-assisted microlearning tasks, focusing on interactivity, accessibility, and ethical use. The Element also explores GenAI's role in teacher professional development and considers future trends shaping language education. While celebrating the transformative potential of GenAI, it critically engages with the challenges and limitations of emerging technologies. Through a balanced blend of theory and practice, this Element equips educators with the knowledge and tools to navigate and harness the evolving AI-enhanced language learning landscape.
Spinoza on Free Will

Spinoza on Free Will
  • Matthew J. Kisner
  • Published online:
    21 May 2026
    Print publication:
    11 June 2026
  • In recent writings on popular science, there has been much handwringing about the apparently deterministic picture of human decision making suggested by the latest scientific research. Robert Sapolsky's bestselling Determined boldly argues that morality must be reformed because free will has been effectively refuted. But the question of whether free will and morality can be reconciled with a causally determined world is nothing new, nor is it the sort of question that can be answered by scientists. This Element examines how these questions were answered by Spinoza, history's most forceful defender of the claim that all things are necessarily determined, who also was keenly interested in the prospects for morality in a determined world. The Element aims to show that this figure from the past offers a timely and insightful explanation of how we can be free and responsible even if our actions are inevitable.
Popular Music and Football

Popular Music and Football
  • Nicolai Jørgensgaard Graakjær
  • Published online:
    20 May 2026
    Print publication:
    21 May 2026
  • Popular music and football rank among the most globally widespread and culturally significant practices in contemporary society. While neither defines the other, their intersections reveal a rich site of musical interaction. This Element investigates how and why popular music and football interact within the context of elite-level national league matches. Grounded in observations from several European case matches over the past decade, the Element examines these interactions as they unfold in stadium environments, focusing on three primary modes: intra-type music interactions, inter-type music interactions, and music–match interactions. In doing so, it engages with one of the most pervasive, multi-layered, and contested arenas for the distribution and significance of popular music in everyday life. Particular attention is given to emotionally charged, identity-infused mega-performances by musical amateurs – many of whom may be otherwise musically inactive and overlooked but embrace the stadium as a space for emotional release and collective expression.
Language, Water, Power

Language, Water, Power
  • Alastair Pennycook
  • Published online:
    20 May 2026
    Print publication:
    18 June 2026
  • This Element is about language, water and power. It challenges the terracentric bias of much scholarship in language studies, suggesting instead that oceans and rivers should be central in investigations of language, history, culture, society and politics. Working through different engagements with water – swimming, surfing, sailing and diving – this Element explores how thinking in and with water can transform our understandings of justice, power and language. By taking water seriously as both a social and material category, hydrosocial perspectives draw attention to the ways modern water and language are controlled, restricted, standardized and contained. A hydrocolonial lens focuses on the centrality of water in colonial regimes, the oceanic origins of creoles and the need to decolonize control and conceptions of water. For critical hydrosocial language studies language is entangled in an inequitable watery world, and language study from below is a form of spiritual, material and embodied engagement.
Border Control without Walls

Border Control without Walls
  • Managing Migration with Foreign Aid
  • Jonas Gamso, Farhod Yuldas
  • Published online:
    20 May 2026
    Print publication:
    18 June 2026
  • Immigration to Western nations has risen sharply, fueling political backlash and the ascent of far-right, nativist policymakers who favor restrictive migration policies. Yet such restrictions are unlikely to succeed over the long term because they fail to address the root causes that drive people to seek better lives abroad. Foreign aid has long been viewed as a tool for tackling these underlying causes, though its effectiveness in shaping migration remains contested. The recent curtailment of aid by the same governments advancing migration restrictions creates a pivotal moment to reconsider the role and design of aid programs. This volume contributes to that effort by offering a systematic assessment of the intersections between aid and international migration. It identifies four distinct pathways through which aid affects migration and a fifth feedback pathway through which migration influences the allocation of aid, providing a comprehensive framework for future research and policymaking.
Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age Economies of Mesopotamia

Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age Economies of Mesopotamia
  • 4th and 3rd Millennia BCE
  • Marcella Frangipane, Lucia Mori
  • Published online:
    19 May 2026
    Print publication:
    11 June 2026
    • Element
      • You have access
    • PDF
    • HTML
    • Export citation
  • The Element reconstructs economic developments in the crucial phase of State formation in Mesopotamia, from the 4th to early 3rd millennium BCE, trying to understand how interrelating environmental, social, economic, and political factors in the two main areas of Mesopotamia profoundly changed the structures of societies and transformed the relations between social components, giving rise to increasing inequality and strengthening political institutions. The interrelation between economic changes and state formation and urbanization is analyzed. Mesopotamia represents a foundational case study to understand the processes that transformed the function of economy from being an instrument to satisfy community needs to become a means of producing “wealth” for privileged categories. These processes varied in characteristics and timescales depending on environmental conditions and organizational forms. But wherever they took place, far-reaching changes occurred resulting in emergent hierarchies and new political systems. Reflecting on these changes highlights phenomena still affecting our societies today.
Meritocracy in Early Chinese Political Thought

Meritocracy in Early Chinese Political Thought
  • Eirik Lang Harris
  • Published online:
    19 May 2026
    Print publication:
    21 May 2026
  • This Element explores a range of conceptions of politically relevant merit found in the philosophical texts of pre-Qin China (before 221BCE). It demonstrates both that the role accorded to political merit was substantial and that the ideas of what constituted politically relevant merit were heavily contested. Through a focus on four texts, the Xunzi, the Mozi, the Laozi, and the Han Feizi, it sketches out a long-standing debate over questions including the appropriate source of merit, the relationship between political merit and moral merit, and how merit should be nurtured and directed in the political arena. In doing so, it hopes to show why contemporary discussions of Asian-inspired political meritocracy, its promise, and its perils, are impoverished if they limit themselves to 'Confucian' notions of meritocracy rather than exploring more fully the wider variety on offer.
New Forms of Democratic Erosion in Latin America

New Forms of Democratic Erosion in Latin America
  • Laura Gamboa, Rachel A. Schwartz
  • Published online:
    19 May 2026
    Print publication:
    18 June 2026
  • This Element seeks to unpack the varied modalities of democratic erosion in Latin America by proposing a novel analytical framework that breaks down backsliding episodes into their constituent parts: (1) the actors that promote autocratization and those that resist it, (2) the strategies that autocratizers and oppositions employ, (3) the arenas of contention in which they struggle over democratic norms and institutions, and (4) the objectives that these different actors pursue in the promotion of or resistance to democratic erosion. This framework is applied to five contemporary cases that reflect a new, diversified wave of democratic erosion, including El Salvador, Mexico, Peru, Guatemala, and Honduras. Through comparative analysis, we derive preliminary insights on the kinds of strategies pursued by different constellations of autocratizers and opposition actors, in hopes of stimulating future avenues of research and contributing to scholar and practitioner efforts to reverse alarming autocratic trends in the region.
A Behavioral Finance Approach to International Monetary and Financial Analysis

A Behavioral Finance Approach to International Monetary and Financial Analysis
  • Implications and Evidence
  • Thomas D. Willett
  • Published online:
    18 May 2026
    Print publication:
    11 June 2026
  • Efficient market theory has made an important contribution to economic and financial analysis, but markets do not always behave according to the theory's predictions. The behavioral finance approach advocated in this Element is a complement to efficient market theory. The Element stresses the effects of perverse incentives, complexity, and uncertainty, as well as the roles of mental models or narrative and behavioral biases. It emphasizes limits to arbitrage, suggesting that international capital mobility is often far from perfect. It reviews popular models and considers alternatives in areas such as currency crises, exchange rates and the balance of payments, the international monetary trilemma, capital flow surges and sudden stops, and the discipline effects of international financial markets. The behavioral approach of the Element also helps to explain why governments often fail to undertake necessary policy adjustments in time to head off currency and financial crises.
From Collective Punishment to Constraints on Authority

From Collective Punishment to Constraints on Authority
  • Rethinking the Impact of US Sanctions on Venezuela
  • Miguel Angel Santos, José Morales-Arilla, Zinedine Partipilo Cornielles
  • Published online:
    16 May 2026
    Print publication:
    11 June 2026
    • Element
      • You have access
      • Open access
    • PDF
    • HTML
    • Export citation
  • This Element critically examines the claim that United States economic sanctions on Venezuela constituted 'collective punishment' of the Venezuelan population, contributing significantly to the country's economic collapse and humanitarian crisis. Through comprehensive analysis of economic, developmental, and welfare indicators from 2013 to 2023, it demonstrates that the bulk of Venezuela's economic devastation - including 52 percent of GDP losses and 98 percent of import declines - largely occurred before financial sanctions were imposed in August 2017. Key welfare indicators such as infant mortality, undernourishment, and life expectancy had deteriorated substantially by 2017 and subsequently stabilized or improved following sanctions implementation, contradicting narratives that attribute Venezuela's collapse primarily to external economic pressure. The Element provides a timeline of Venezuelan economic and political events around sanctions and a critical review of the literature on their economic effects. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.
New Religious Movements in Islam

New Religious Movements in Islam
  • Mark Sedgwick
  • Published online:
    15 May 2026
    Print publication:
    11 June 2026
  • New Religious Movements (NRMs) have emerged periodically from the formative period of Islam to the present day. This Element considers a representative sample, organized by chronological period and then by type. In earlier periods, particular features of Islam either encouraged or discouraged the emergence of NRMs. Modernity brought new conditions that led to new types of NRM, the focus of this Element. Initially, NRMs arose in resistance to modernity or in support of it. Then came NRMs adjusted to the age of mass modernity. The Element also examines Western NRMs of Islamic origin or coloring. All these NRMs are understood in terms of their relationship with the dominant religious community, the host society, and political authority, as well as the novelty of their beliefs and practice.
Small Probabilities and High Stakes

Small Probabilities and High Stakes
  • Christian Tarsney
  • Published online:
    15 May 2026
    Print publication:
    11 June 2026
  • What price should you be willing to pay for a tiny probability of an astronomically large gain, or to avoid a tiny probability of an astronomically large loss? Should you be willing to pay any finite price, if the potential gains or losses are large enough? Fanaticism says you should, while anti-fanaticism says you should not. Focusing on morally motivated decision-making, this Element explores arguments for and against both positions, ultimately defending the intermediate view that rationality permits a range of dispositions toward extreme risks, while ruling out the most comprehensive forms of both fanaticism and anti-fanaticism. The final section considers practical implications, arguing that under real-world circumstances any view satisfying a minimal principle of rationality must very often rank options by expected value, and thus sometimes give great weight to intuitively small probabilities, but that we nonetheless retain rational flexibility in sufficiently extreme cases.
Sikh Ethics

Sikh Ethics
  • Keshav Singh
  • Published online:
    15 May 2026
    Print publication:
    11 June 2026
    • Element
      • You have access
      • Open access
    • PDF
    • HTML
    • Export citation
  • Like many other world religious and spiritual traditions, the Sikh tradition is philosophically rich. However, its contributions have been wholly unrepresented in Western analytic philosophy. The goal of this Element is to present a central aspect of Sikh philosophy, its ethics, by using the tools and methods of analytic philosophy to reconstruct it in a form that is understandable to Western audiences, while still accurately capturing its unique and autochthonous features. On the interpretation of Sikh ethics this Element presents, the Sikh ethical theory understands ethics in terms of truthful living – in particular, living in a way that is true to the fundamental Oneness of all existence. Features of the Sikh ethical theory discussed include its account of vice and virtue, its account of right conduct, and the philosophical relationship between ethical theory and practice. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.
Decolonial Disruptions in Central Asia

Decolonial Disruptions in Central Asia
  • Discussion, Practices, and Networks
  • Erica Marat, Aizada Arystanbek
  • Published online:
    15 May 2026
    Print publication:
    04 June 2026
  • A consequential shift is taking place in Central Asian studies today. What started as a slow rejection of the idea that the region benefited from Soviet control has turned into a decentralized, collective effort to revise the region's relationship to its colonial identity and to search for indigenous interpretations of the self. This Element explores the current decolonial disruptions in Central Asia-how the region is being redefined by its inhabitants, both in discourse and in practice. It captures the main areas of activism in memory studies, language activism, art installations, and transnational solidarity networks. Decolonial discussions are gaining traction, challenging political elites' hegemony over national identity formation. Such changes harbour the potential to profoundly alter Russia's influence in the areas it once controlled. Decolonial disruptions are reshaping how Central Asians think about their past and imagine their future.
Cognitive and Socio-Cultural Development of Religious Belief in Children

Cognitive and Socio-Cultural Development of Religious Belief in Children
  • Emily Rachel Reed Burdett
  • Published online:
    15 May 2026
    Print publication:
    11 June 2026
  • Our knowledge of how children come to understand God and engage in religion has changed dramatically in the past century. This Element describes research from the past few decades of how children use both cognitive tools and socio-cultural experience to understand supernatural concepts and will argue that future work needs to examine the complexity and diversity of religious cognition. It begins with a historical overview (Section 1), followed by four different approaches that propose how children develop a concept of God (Section 2). Early studies on the development of God concepts are examined (Section 3), along with children's views of other divine attributes (Section 4), and other key aspects of children's understanding of religion (Section 5). Then, Section 6 examines how the content and context of religious concepts impact religious cognition. The Element concludes with recent work on socio-cultural input (Section 7) and recommendations for future directions (Section 8).
Emerging Questions in AI Welfare

Emerging Questions in AI Welfare
  • Geoff Keeling, Winnie Street
  • Published online:
    12 May 2026
    Print publication:
    11 June 2026
    • Element
      • You have access
      • Open access
    • PDF
    • HTML
    • Export citation
  • This Element investigates whether artificial intelligence (AI) systems could ever be welfare subjects. Some people argue that AIs could plausibly have or soon have features such as consciousness, agency and the capacity for social relationships, which could provide a basis for AI welfare. These arguments have massive significance for the societal conversation on AI, raising profound ethical and political questions about what if anything we owe to these new technologies. The authors here provide the philosophical groundwork for a scientific, philosophical and ultimately democratic inquiry into the potential for AI welfare, addressing key questions that cut across different arguments: what welfare is, how to interpret behavioural evidence of AI welfare, what kinds of entities might qualify as candidate AI welfare subjects, the potential grounds for welfare in AI and the practical ethical challenges that arise from our uncertainty. This title is also available as open access on Cambridge Core.
Bribery as a Third Path to Power?

Bribery as a Third Path to Power?
  • Political Selection in China Beyond Performance and Patronage
  • Jiangnan Zhu
  • Published online:
    12 May 2026
    Print publication:
    04 June 2026
    • Element
      • You have access
      • Open access
    • PDF
    • HTML
    • Export citation
  • While bribery has been extensively studied, the dynamics of personnel corruption in the public sector, often known as 'buying and selling of government offices,' remain underexplored. This form of corruption involves leaders' accepting or soliciting bribes from subordinates to influence recruitment, appointment, and promotion decisions, significantly impacting political selection and governance quality. This Element employs a dual perspective – corruption and elite mobility – to analyze the distribution of office-selling across the Chinese administrative matrix and its various forms and implications. Using two novel self-compiled datasets, it proposes a tripartite framework of performance, patronage, and purchase to reimagine political selection in China, highlighting the coexistence of multiple governance models: a meritocratic state prioritizing competence, a clientelist state emphasizing loyalty, and an investment state bound by money. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.
Surveillance Noir

Surveillance Noir
  • Being Watched in Twenty-First-Century Film and Literature
  • David Riddle Watson
  • Published online:
    11 May 2026
    Print publication:
    04 June 2026
  • In the preface to Feminist Surveillance, Mark Andrejevic argues: 'if in the physical environment the pressing issue of the next several decades is likely to be the dramatic transformation of the global climate, in the social realm, the main issue will be the shifting surveillance climate.' This Element outlines this emerging climate by articulating a subgenre that may be termed 'Surveillance Noir.' Surveillance Noir traces the effects of living in a world where individuals are judged through their data, which is continually and often invisibly collected, interpreted, and redistributed throughout a network. This installment examines these effects by exploring the relationship between contemporary fiction – including The Candy House, Against a Loveless World and Shadow Ticket – and developments in international politics. Specifically, it considers the impact of surveillance regimes on the bodies of women and minority groups, as well as the broader threat that surveillance technologies pose to individual agency.

Page 4 of 127