- New Books to Check Out
- Posted February 10, 2009
The library is constantly adding new exciting books to its collection. Subjects range from the political implications of feminism to the pop-cultural fascination with Nancy Drew.With so many new titles to choose from, students and faculty alike are certain to discover a new favorite. Come check them out!
Here are just a few of the new titles:
All descriptions are courtesy of the publishers.
Different Wavelengths: Studies of the Contemporary Women's Movement
The original essays in this collection ground the shifting terrain of
feminism in the 21st century. The contributors define and examine the
complexity of the Third Wave by answering questions like: how
appropriate is a "third wave" label for contemporary feminism; are the
agendas of contemporary feminism and the "second wave" really all that
different; does the wave metaphor accurately describe the difference
between contemporary feminists and their predecessors; how do women of
color fit into this notion of contemporary feminism; and what are the
future directions of the feminist movement?
The Friendly Liquidation of the Past: The Politics and Diversity in Latin America
Constitutional reform has been one of the most significant aspects of
democratization in late twentieth century Latin America. In The Friendly Liquidation of the Past--one
of the first texts to examine this issue comprehensively --Van Cott
focuses on the efforts of Bolivia and Colombia to incorporate ethnic
rights into their fragile democracies.
In the 1990s, political leaders and social movements in Bolivia and Colombia expressed dissatisfaction with the quality of democracy--its exclusionary nature, the distance and illegitimacy of the state, and the empty promise of citizenship. The highly symbolic act of constitution making elevated a public struggle for rights to the level of a discussion on the meaning of democracy and the nature of the state.
Based on interviews with more than 100 participants in the reforms, Van Cott demonstrates how issues promoted by social movements--recognizing ethnic diversity, expanding political participation and improving representation, and creating spheres of cultural and territorial autonomy--were placed on the constitutional reform agenda and transformed through strategic interaction with political power-brokers into the nation's highest law. The analysis follows each reform through five years of implementation to assess the early results of what Van Cott suggests is an emerging regional model of multicultural constitutionalism.
The Friendly Liquidation of the Past fills an important gap in the study of ethnic politics and constitutional reform in the Andes, linking the literature on institutions and political reform to work in political theory on participatory democracy and multiculturalism.
New Orleans Cuisine
With contributions from Karen Leathem, Patricia Kennedy Livingston, Michael Mizell-Nelson, Cynthia LeJeune Nobles, Sharon Stallworth Nossiter, Sara Roahen, and Susan Tucker
Dream Homes: From Cairo to Katrina, an Exile's Journey
An Egyptian-Jewish Under the Tuscan Sun, Dream Homes chronicles Joyce Zonana's quest to find a sense of home among people, foods, and places as far from her native Cairo as Oklahoma and Katrina-stricken New Orleans.
After the Arab-Israeli war of 1948, newlyweds Felix and Nellie Zonana flee Cairo with their infant daughter Joyce, ending up in Brooklyn. Growing up, Joyce swiftly realizes that her Jewish family and their Egyptian culture are neither typically American nor typically American-Jewish; they eat kobeba instead of kugel and speak French instead of Yiddish. Struggling with her feelings of isolation from other Americans and frustrated by never getting full access to Egyptian-Jewish culture, Zonana strikes out on a life-long journey to find her place in the world.
She meets her extended family living in Colombia and Brazil and travels to Cairo to get a glimpse of her parents' past. After she and her mother survive the devastation of Katrina, Zonana comes to see that "home" is not a location, but a spiritual state of mind. Zonana's heritage and quest are also evoked in numerous photos and family recipes.
Joyce Zonana earned her PhD in English at the University of Pennsylvania and is currently an associate professor of English and women's studies at the Borough of Manhattan Community College, CUNY. Before coming to BMCC, she taught for fifteen years at the University of New Orleans, where she was also the director of women's studies.
The essays in this anthology explore the full spectrum of Plato's philosophy and are representative of the variety of perspectives within feminist criticism. The essays in the first section focus primarily on Plato's social and political theory, and in particular the place of women within the state. The second section concentrates on examining the role of the feminine within Plato's metaphysics and epistemology. Tuana introduces both sections and a detailed bibliography is included.
From Bananas to Buttocks: The Latina Body in Popular Film
From the exuberant excesses of Carmen Miranda in the "tutti frutti hat" to the curvaceous posterior of Jennifer Lopez, the Latina body has long been a signifier of Latina/o identity in U.S. popular culture. But how does this stereotype of the exotic, erotic Latina "bombshell" relate, if at all, to real Latina women who represent a wide spectrum of ethnicities, national origins, cultures, and physical appearances? How are ideas about "Latinidad" imagined, challenged, and inscribed on Latina bodies? What racial, class, and other markers of identity do representations of the Latina body signal or reject?
In this broadly interdisciplinary book, experts from the fields of Latina/o studies, media studies, communication, comparative literature, women's studies, and sociology come together to offer the first wide-ranging look at the construction and representation of Latina identity in U.S. popular culture. The authors consider such popular figures as actresses Lupe Vélez, Salma Hayek, and Jennifer Lopez; singers Shakira and Celia Cruz; and even the Hispanic Barbie doll in her many guises. They investigate the media discourses surrounding controversial Latinas such as Lorena Bobbitt and Marisleysis González. And they discuss Latina representations in Lupe Solano's series of mystery books and in the popular TV shows El Show de Cristina and Laura en América. This extensive treatment of Latina representation in popular culture not only sheds new light on how meaning is produced through images of the Latina body, but also on how these representations of Latinas are received, revised, and challenged.
The Blackwell Guide to Feminist Philosophy
The Blackwell Guide to Feminist Philosophy is a definitive introduction to the field, consisting of 15 newly-contributed essays that apply philosophical methods and approaches to feminist concerns.
American Sweethearts: Teenage Girls in Twentieth Century Popular Culture
Teenage girls seem to have been discovered by American pop culture in the 1930s. From that time until the present day, they have appeared in books and films, comics and television, as the embodied fantasies and nightmares of youth, women, and sexual maturation. Looking at such figures as Nancy Drew, Judy Graves, Corliss Archer, Gidget, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Britney Spears, American Sweethearts shows how popular culture has shaped our view of the adolescent girl as an individual who is simultaneously sexualized and infantilized. While young women have received some positive lessons from these cultural icons, the overwhelming message conveyed by the characters and stories they inhabit stresses the dominance of the father and the teenage girl's otherness, subordination, and ineptitude. As sweet as a cherry lollipop and as tangy as a Sweetart, this book is an entertaining yet thoughtful exploration of the image of the American girl. Ilana Nash is an Assistant Professor of English at Western Michigan University, where she teaches courses on the literature of adolescence and multiculturalism. Her research continues to explore the intersecting histories of adolescence, gender construction, and popular culture.
