Ohio University Press
Art in context; understanding aesthetic value.
Writing for undergraduates in art history or philosophy as well as interested general readers, Fenner (dean, graduate school, U. of North Florida) presents an overview of the arguments about the importance of considering relevant context in determining the merit of a work of art. Nine chapters discuss a theory of "the aesthetic," the value of art, Disinterest Theory and Formalist Theory, Contextualist Theory, issues of definition, issues concerning the power of art, issues of meaningfulness, science and contextualist aesthetics, and a review; subdivisions within the chapters provide the main tenets or theories of individual theorists or ideas. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Bead International 2008 & Beyond Basketry.
Ohio U. Press combines two catalogues in one book, representing two juried exhibitions held at the Dairy Barn Arts Center in Athens, Ohio, from May 23 to September 1, 2008. The Bead International 2008 features 68 works created by 52 artists, using a variety of items, from barrettes to bullets, from the edible to the industrial, from the tiniest beads to large handmade glass beads, to create works demonstrating the variety of techniques in contemporary beadwork. The Beyond Basketry exhibit showcases 67 works by 42 artists, working in a variety of styles, colors, and shapes, building on traditional forms and infusing them with modern visions and techniques. The majority of the works are accompanied by the artists' statements. Both catalogues are edited by Dairy Barn Arts Center executive director, Andrea R. Lewis, and illustrated with full-color photographs. No subject index. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Constructive engagement?; Chester Crocker & American policy in South Africa, Namibia & Angola, 1981-8.
Davies (formerly, international relations, U. of Wales — Swansea, UK) critically examines the idea of "constructive engagement" — which posits that governments can put pressure on other countries to improve human rights while maintaining diplomatic and economic relations — by discussing the example of the Reagan administration's "constructive engagement" with South Africa (and involving Namibia, then occupied by South Africa, and Angola, where South Africa was involved in a civil war through the proxy forces of UNITA) as conducted by Reagan's Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Chester Crocker. He examines the conceptual underpinnings of Crocker's policy, the explicit and implicit goals of the policy, the policy's implementation, and the results of the policy. Significant themes that emerge out of the discussion include the extent to which the policy was formulated in recognition of the interests of other governments and actors in the region, the impact of bureaucratic infighting on policy implementation, and the influence of commercial and business interests on the aims of foreign policy. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Hanging by a thread; cotton, globalization, and poverty in Africa.
For Moseley (geography, Macalester College) and Gray (environmental studies, Santa Clara U.), the cotton production and supply chain represents an interesting thread connecting African rural livelihoods, national-scale politics, and international markets. They present 11 studies that use cotton as a means of exploring the dynamics between African livelihoods and the global economy. Specific topics include power relations and price formation in the cotton commodity chains of West Africa; commodity production and development in Mali; cotton sector reform in East and Southern Africa; cotton production, poverty, and inequality in rural Benin; cotton farmer collectives in Mali and their impact on rural communities; the politics of genetically engineered cotton in West Africa; and organic cotton as a new development paradigm in Sub-Saharan Africa. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
The lawyer myth; a defense of the American legal profession.
Let's hear it for lawyers! No? Well, after reading this book, there may be more people willing to cheer. Strickland (University of Oregon School of Law) and Read (South Texas college of Law) were fed up with lawyers being blamed for the ills of society and the butt of jokes. In clear language, they explain just what lawyers do and why we need them. Anyone who has ever been caught in a legal tangle has reason to be grateful for a caring attorney. The authors also cover some of the myths about lawyers such as the woman who got a fortune because McDonald's made the coffee too hot and others. There is no doubt that some lawyers do not live up to their code. That is true of every profession. Strickland and Read make a good case for the accused and end with a rousing exhortation to future law students. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Praising it new; the best of the New Criticism.
Davis, the founding editor of Contemporary Poetry Review, edits this first anthology from the school of New Criticism in nearly 50 years. Focusing on the modernist age of poetry and criticism, these pieces are written by such notable writers and critics as Ezra Pound, T.S. Eliot and Robert Penn Warren. These essays also present New Criticism in the context of a "golden age," noting that the majority of criticism in the last few decades has evolved as a reaction to these viewpoints. Fans of literary criticism may find many of these entries illuminating and timeless as well. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Realizing the dream of R. A. Kartini; her sisters' letters from colonial Java.
The letters of Raden Ajeng Kartini, Indonesia's first feminist, have been read and studied since their publication in 1911, seven years after her death; in this book author Coté translates and examines the letters of Kartini's sisters and their contributions to carrying out Kartini's ideals, reflecting the lives, attitudes, and politics of these Javanese women in early twentieth century. Instead of being organized chronologically, the letters are presented in four sections, one for each sister, and situated chronologically within its context. A brief appendix lists documents relating to the establishment of the Wismo Pranowo School. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
The sacred door and other stories; Cameroon folktales of the Beba.
Makuchi (English and comparative literature, North Carolina State U.-Raleigh) retells 33 tales her mother told her as a child in West Africa, the literary styles reflecting various modes of oral tradition among the Beba people. The Foolish Leopard; the Man-Eating Lion; Penis, Testicles, and Vagina; and King-of-Scabies are among them. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Slavery in the Great Lakes Region of East Africa.
Médard (history, U. of Paris I Panthéon Sorbonne) and Doyle (history, U. of Leeds, UK) present ten studies themed to enlarge the perceptions of a topic of African history. Essays reveal the connection between the people of the region as well as their interaction with the Europeans, and challenge the idea that domestic slavery increased as a result of international trade. Particular geographic topics include slavery and social change in Unyamwezi; slavery and forced labor in the Eastern Congo; legacies of slavery in Northwest Uganda; human booty, stolen people, and autonomous chief in Buganda; slavery and social oppression in Ankole; the slave trade in Burundi and Rwanda; and Bunyoro and the demography of slavery. One essay in particular focuses on the women's experiences of enslavement and entanglement. Distributed in the US by Ohio U. Press. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
War in pre-colonial eastern Africa; the patterns & meanings of state-level conflict in the nineteenth century.
Challenging one of the most stubborn remnants of Eurocentric thought, Reid (African and Imperial history, U. of Durham) refutes the assumption that war in immediately precolonial eastern Africa comprised primitive tribal outbreaks of savage bloodlust. He looks at the historical and political contexts of war, the tools and organization of armies, war's cost and profit, violence, the role of war in state making, and other aspects. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
The world beyond the windshield; roads and landscapes in the United States and Europe.
Mauch (U. of Munich, Germany) and Zeller (U. of Maryland, College Park) have edited this series of essays on the historical importance of roads, and how they affect the way we see the world. Contributors from both the United States and Western Europe comment upon political ideologies and issues of nationality that affect the ways roads are built, using such topics as the Highway Beautification Act of 1965 and the Autobahn as examples. This volume should have broad appeal to students of many disciplines, such as political science, geography and transportation sciences. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
