Broadview Press
Canadian cases in the philosophy of law, 4th ed.
Bickenbach (philosophy, law, and medicine, Queen's U., Ontario, Canada) offers Canadian students 49 excerpted cases illustrating central issues in that country's political, legal, and social philosophies. The cases, accompanied by editor's reflections, address topics including the scope of judicial review and legitimate powers of the courts, separation of powers, Aboriginal rights, rights of speech, equality and its pursuit in a free and democratic society, and legitimate punishment. This fourth edition contains updates to old cases, a new chapter on group self-determination, and twelve new cases addressing mercy killing, the "battered wife" defense, and the extradition of accused persons to jurisdictions where they may be liable to the death penalty, among other topics. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Introducing archaeology.
Muckle (archaeology, Capilano College, Vancouver, BC) offers a concise and economical text for introductory archaeology courses as they are taught in most colleges and universities in North America: with a focus on methods. The development of the book has been guided by recent principles of curriculum reform set form by the Society for American Archaeology. In addition, it aims to situate archaeology in the contemporary world much more than similar textbooks, including contextualizing the field in academia, industry, global social movements, politics, and popular culture; places greater emphasis on heritage resources management; and openly identifies disagreements, ambiguities, and gray areas within the discipline. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Not for sale; decommodifying public life.
As Laxer (sociology, U. of Alberta, Canada) and Soron (sociology, Brock U., Canada) describe in their introduction, the debut of trendy "oxygen bars" in major metropolitan areas of the developed world are emblematic of the commodification of the commons that is part and parcel of "neoliberal globalism." They present 12 papers that both explore the dynamics of commodification of labor, services, human body parts, and water and profile democratic struggles against commodification around the world. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Reading the Middle Ages; sources from Europe, Byzantium, and the Islamic world.
Rosenwein (history, Loyola U. Chicago) has collected a very lively set of Western, Byzantine and Islamic documents and readings from the later Roman world to the beginning of the sixteenth century. She includes commentary and contexts for each, covering such topics as imperial politics, orthodoxy, thought, the emergence of sibling cultures and the creating of new identities, political reorganizations, the expansion of the concept of "Europe," the Crusades, the Norman conquest of England, the institutionalization of aspiration, catastrophe, creativity and the New World. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Uneasy partnership; the politics of business and government in Canada.
Hale (U. of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada) offers students, scholars and academics an examination of the multiple, overlapping, and sometimes conflicting relations between government and business in Canada. Coverage includes the influence of political, economic, and social ideas on government's place in the economy and the history of Canada's economic development; the effects of political and economic structures and institutions both on the workings of the economy and on relations between businesses and governments; and the organization of the policy process and the groups that attempt to influence it from inside and outside the government, including the effect of interest group politics on public opinion, the role of the courts and tribunals on law and policy, and political parties. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
