Foucault’s Critical Ethics
Fordham University Press, Sept. 2016
By Richard A. Lynch, DePauw University
Plan II Honors alumnus (1991)
Tracing the evolution of Foucault’s analysis of power from his early articulations of disciplinary power to his theorizations of biopower and governmentality, Lynch shows how Foucault’s ethical project emerged through two interwoven trajectories: analysis of classical practices of the care of the self, and engaged practice in and reflection upon the limits of sexuality and the development of friendship in gay communities. These inquiries allowed Foucault to develop contrasting yet interwoven aspects of his ethics; they also underscored how ethical practice emerges within and from contexts of power relations.
Science, Culture, and the Search for Life on Other Worlds
Springer Publishing, Sept. 2016
By John Traphagan, professor,
Department of Religious Studies
Traphagan considers the junction of science and culture with a focus on two main themes: the underlying assumptions, many of which are tacitly based upon cultural values common in American society, that have shaped the ways researchers in astrobiology and SETI have conceptualized their endeavor and represented ideas about the potential influence contact might have on human civilization. The empirical evidence of the social impact that contact with alien intelligence might have for humanity.
Rome: An urban history from antiquity to the present
Cambridge University Press, Sept. 2016
By Rabun Taylor, associate professor, Department of Classics; Katherine Rinne, and Spiro Kostof
Spanning the history of the city of Rome from Iron Age village to modern metropolis, this book examines the urban processes by which its residents and leaders shaped and conditioned its urban fabric and identity over time.
Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Schooling: The Nexus of Research, Practice, and Policy
Oxford Press, Sept. 2016
Edited by Stephen T. Russell, professor, Department of Human Development and Family Sciences and Population Research Center; and Stacey S. Horn
This book includes previously unpublished empirical, case, field, and policy studies, and highlights new international models for educational practice. It features practical strategies and recommendations for policy and practice and discusses timely topics such as LGBTQ-related bullying, transgender rights and education, queer rights globally, and the Every Student Succeeds Act.
Brain Briefs: Answers to the Most (and least) Pressing Questions about Your Mind
Sterling Publishers, Oct. 2016
By Art Markman, professor, Department of Psychology; Bob Duke, professor, School of Music
Why do we love kitten videos so much? Does time speed up as we get older? Should we play brain games? Can we make ourselves happy? Art Markman and Bob Duke, hosts of the popular Austin-based KUT radio show and podcast Two Guys on Your Head, answer all your questions about how the brain works and why we behave the way we do. Featuring the latest empirical findings, this is science served up in fun and revelatory bite-size bits, along with a complete set of references for further study.
Words Matter: Communicating Effectively in the New Global Office
University of California Press, Oct. 2016
By Elizabeth Keating, professor, Department of Anthropology;
Sirkka L. Jarvenpaa, Department of Information, Risk, and Operations Management
An anthropology and a business professor traveled together to four continents to research communication problems in cross-cultural work settings that reduce profitability and job satisfaction. Technological environments allow people to instantly share information across the world, but it can hide critical variations in belief systems and behavior expectations. Trusting another’s judgment and finding their claims believable, which is facilitated by face-to-face observations, is made difficult and risky in technologically-mediated interactions, making cross-cultural communication skills even more critical.
The General Vs. The President
Doubleday, Oct. 2016
By H.W. Brands, professor,
Department of History
From master storyteller and historian H.W. Brands, twice a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, comes the riveting story of how President Harry Truman and General Douglas MacArthur squared off to decide America’s future in the aftermath of World War II.
Tense Bees and Shell-Shocked Crabs: Are Animals Conscious?
Oxford University Press, Nov. 2016
By Michael Tye, professor,
Department of Philosophy
Do birds have feelings? What about fish? Can fish feel pain? Do insects have experiences? Can a honeybee feel anxious? Are caterpillars conscious? If trees aren’t conscious but fish are, what’s the objective difference that makes a difference? How do we decide which living creatures have experiences and which are zombies? Can there be a conscious robot? These are among the questions that this book addresses.
Sustainable Security: Rethinking American National Security Strategy
Oxford University Press, Nov. 2016
Edited by Jeremi Suri, professor, Department of History and LBJ School of Public Affairs;
Benjamin Valentino, Dartmouth College
As the world shifts away from the unquestioned American hegemony following the Cold War, the US is likely to face new kinds of threats and sharper resource constraints than it has in the past. However, the country’s alliances, military institutions, and national security strategy have changed little since the Cold War. American foreign and defense policies, therefore, should be assessed for their fitness for achieving sustainable national security amidst the dynamism of the international political economy, changing domestic politics, and even a changing climate. This interdisciplinary volume sets an agenda for future scholarship that links politics, economics, and history in pursuit of sustainable security for the US – and greater peace and stability for Americans and non-Americans alike.
Eugenics: A Very Short Introduction
Oxford University Press, Nov. 2016
By Philippa Levine, professor,
Department of History
Early in the twentieth century, the new science of eugenics set out to improve and strengthen humankind. Eugenicists claimed their methods would result in healthier, fitter babies, prevent or discourage the weak and sick from reproducing, and dramatically limit human suffering. In reality eugenics targeted those with little power or influence, whose lives were sometimes dramatically shaped by eugenic policies. This book traces this history and asks whether eugenics still influences reproductive and genetic science today.
Translating the Queer: Body Politics and Transnational Conversations
Zed Books, Nov. 2016
By Héctor Domínguez Ruvalcaba, associate professor, Department of Spanish and Portuguese
This book focuses on the contributions of queer criticism and theory to Latin Americanist scholarship and how this perspective has transcended the field of sex and gender studies to affect politics, norms, tastes, economy, and language. My focus is to understand how the debates on coloniality, modernity, politics, aesthetics, and ethics of sex and bodies became one of the most transgressive meaning producers in contemporary Latin America.
Freedom From Work: Embracing Financial Self-Help in the United States and Argentina
Stanford University Press, Nov. 2016
By Daniel Fridman, assistant professor,
Department of Sociology and LLILAS Benson
Fridman paints a vivid portrait of Americans and Argentinians who practice the advice from financial success best-sellers. The author delves into a world of financial self-help in which books, seminars, and board games suggest that there’s something fundamentally wrong with participants and that they must struggle to correct it. Popular resources that transform the people trying to survive—and even thrive have accompanied the global economic transformations of the last few decades.
The Seven Keys to Communicating in Brazil: An Intercultural Approach
Georgetown University Press, Nov. 2016
By Orlando R. Kelm, associate professor and David A. Victor, professor,
Department of Spanish and Portuguese
Orlando Kelm and David Victor provide a guide through Victor’s LESCANT model (Language, Environment, Social Organization, Context, Authority, Nonverbal, and Time). Each chapter addresses one of these topics and demonstrates how they come into play when dealing with Brazilians. Numerous photographs provide visual examples, and their descriptions focus on how to avoid common communication mistakes. The authors complete the book with a case study, in which various US and Brazilian professionals provide insights about the cultural vignette.
The Travels of Hildebrand Bowman
Broadview Press, Nov. 2016
Edited by Lance Bertelsen, professor, Department of English
The Travels of Hildebrand Bowman (1778) tells the story of a fictional midshipman abandoned in Queen Charlotte Sound, New Zealand, during Captain Cook’s second voyage. The novel weaves together sensational conceptions of the Pacific, stadial theories of human development, topical satire on London life, and a fanciful castaway tale.
The Endangered West: Myopic Elites and Fragile Social Orders in a Threatening World
Transaction Publishers, Nov. 2016
By John Higley, professor emeritus, Departments of Government and Sociology
Bold political elites and unique forms of social order brought the West to world dominance, but both are weakening dramatically in the contemporary period. Higley lays out the main policy lines to preserve and strengthen Western societies. These include avoiding futile involvements in the internal problems of non-Western countries and preserving sufficient social order to permit public and private organizations to function.
Asian American History: A Very Short Introduction
Oxford University Press, Dec. 2016
By Madeline Y. Hsu, associate professor,
Department of History
This book presents a sophisticated look at the history of Asian Americans that emphasizes Asian immigrants’ crucial role in America’s journey toward racial equity. It charts the historical significance of Asian contributions to American culture and considers critical themes of contemporary relevance such as immigration policy, socioeconomic inequality of the minorities, refugee policy, integration of immigrants, and international labor markets.
Naturaleza y Sociedad: perspectivas socio-ecológicas sobre cambios globales en América Latina
DESCO, Instituto de Estudios Peruanos, INTE-Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Dec. 2016
Edited by Julio C. Postigo; Kenneth R. Young, professor, Department of Geography and the Environment (48 co-authors)
This edited collection provides empirical and conceptual evaluation of research using a socio-ecological perspective, in studies done in Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Argentina and Chile. It evaluates the effects of land use on landscapes, the consequences of climate change for society, and more broadly, the interactions of people and their natural resources.
Sleeping Mask: Fictions
Bellevue Literary Press, Jan. 2017
By Peter LaSalle, professor,
Department of English
LaSalle’s tantalizing “fictions” are evocative of many of the great innovators of postmodern literature, from Borges to Nabokov, while charting a path entirely their own. Through all of their stylistic pyrotechnics these stories never forsake rich characterization and plotting to probe the deepest parts of the contemporary human condition, such as the nature of erotic desire, the legacy of art and artistry, the power of grief and fear, and the horror of war and violence.
The Price for Their Pound of Flesh: The Value of the Enslaved, from the Womb to the Grave, in the Building of a Nation
Beacon Press, Jan. 2017
By Daina Ramey Berry, associate professor,
Department of History
This book is the first book to explore the economic value of enslaved people through every phase of their lives — including from before birth to after death — in the American domestic slave trades. Covering the full “life cycle” (including preconception, infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, the senior years, and death), historian Daina Berry shows the lengths to which slaveholders would go to maximize profits.
The Evolution of Desire: Strategies of Human Mating
Basic Books, Jan. 2017 (revised and updated)
By David M. Buss, professor, Department of Psychology
Based one of the largest studies of human mating ever undertaken, encompassing more than 10,000 people of all ages from thirty-seven cultures worldwide, The Evolution of Desire is the first work to present a unified theory of human mating behavior. Drawing on a wide range of examples of mating behavior — from lovebugs to elephant seals, from the Yanomamö tribe of Venezuela to online dating apps — Buss reveals what women want, what men want, and why their desires radically differ. Fully revised and updated to reflect the very latest scientific research on human mating, this classic work of evolutionary psychology explains the powerful forces that shape our most intimate desires.