Christof Decker Livres

Mathematical models are the decisive tool to explain and predict phenomena in the natural and engineering sciences. With this book readers will learn to derive mathematical models which help to understand real world phenomena. At the same time a wealth of important examples for the abstract concepts treated in the curriculum of mathematics degrees are given. An essential feature of this book is that mathematical structures are used as an ordering principle and not the fields of application. Methods from linear algebra, analysis and the theory of ordinary and partial differential equations are thoroughly introduced and applied in the modeling process. Examples of applications in the fields electrical networks, chemical reaction dynamics, population dynamics, fluid dynamics, elasticity theory and crystal growth are treated comprehensively.

In American visual culture, the 1930s and 1940s were a key transitional period shaped by the era of modernism and the global confrontation of World War II. Christof Decker demonstrates that the war and its iconography of destruction challenged visual artists to find new ways of representing its consequences. Dealing with trauma and war crimes led to the emergence of complex aesthetic forms and media crossovers. Decker shows that the 1940s were a pivotal period for the creation of horrific yet also innovative representations that boosted American visual modernism and set the stage for debates about the ethics of visual culture in the post-9/11 era.

In the 20th and 21st centuries, American media have been continually received, adapted, and transformed by European cultures. Initially based on the competition among the early film industries and continuing with today’s global dominance of American web-based companies, these productive exchanges entail complex economic, aesthetic, and cultural negotiations. The dynamic and scope of these negotiations has been ambiguous, ranging from instances of cultural imperialism to the subversion of social and cultural hierarchies. More often than not, they have furthered the exchange of creative ideas and the cross-fertilization of media and art productions. This publication highlights core arenas of transnational cultural encounters including photography, film, fashion, advertising, television, and the new media. It asks not merely how American media productions were received in different European cultural contexts but how they shaped the idea of distinct yet interconnected European identities.

Die USA sind ein Land der Bilder und visuellen Symbole. Western-Landschaft, Weißes Haus, Wolkenkratzer - nationale Ikonografien haben globale Bedeutung erlangt. Was ist das Spezifische der amerikanischen Bilder? Und wie hat es die Fantasien und Selbstbilder der amerikanischen Kultur, aber auch global zirkulierende Bildwelten geprägt? In fünf Überblicksdarstellungen mit zahlreichen Abbildungen entwirft das Buch die Geschichte der amerikanischen visuellen Kultur. Es beschreibt erstmalig in gebündelter Form die Entwicklung von Malerei, Fotografie, Film, Fernsehen und Neuen Medien vom 17. Jahrhundert bis in die Gegenwart. Mit Beiträgen von Astrid Böger, Christof Decker, Bettina Friedl, Randi Gunzenhäuser und Ralph J. Poole.

Das amerikanische Kino präsentiert sich gerne glamourös und unterhaltsam. Doch Hollywood war stets nicht nur um Profite, sondern auch um kulturelles Prestige bemüht. Christof Decker zeigt, wie in der ersten Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts im sozialen Melodrama beide Bedürfnisse zusammentrafen. Es ermöglichte eine kritische Auseinandersetzung mit der amerikanischen Gesellschaft und brachte avancierte künstlerische Formen hervor. Regisseure wie King Vidor, Frank Capra oder Fritz Lang machten den Film damit zu einem zentralen Faktor innerhalb der amerikanischen Kultur.