CLAS Books

How Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Narratives are Shaped by Sin

By Jason C. Courtmanche, lecturer in English and director, Connecticut Writing Project

Courtmanche explores how Hawthorne uses Biblical typology in his four major works. “One of a new breed of young Hawthorne scholars” – Samuel Coale, professor of English, Wheaton College.

The Edwin Mellen Press, 254 pages

Sophie Mereau: Verbindungslinien in Zeit und Raum (Networks in Time and Space)

Edited by Katharine von Hammerstein, professor of German, and Katrin Horn, Germany

The life and works of German romantic Sophie Mereau are explored and related to the cultural and political events of her time, including changing gender roles around 1800.

Universitätsverlag Winter, Germany, 458 pages

Peter Altenberg, Ashantee.

Edited by Katharine von Hammerstein, professor of German

Peter Altenberg’s 1897 literary impressions of an ethnographic exhibit in Vienna of a group of living Ashanti are edited for the first time in English by von Hammerstein.

Ariadne Press

An Grenzen: Literarische Erkundungen

Edited by Sebastian Wogenstein, assistant professor of German, and others

Borders, both physically and metaphorically, are established to provide orientation, eliminate ambiguity, and control mobility. They conceal complexities, multiple and layered identities, generate polarizing distinctions, and in many cases engender hostility. However, it would be simplistic and narrow to think of borders only in terms of dangerous demarcations. An Grenzen is a collection of previously unpublished essays and literary texts by internationally renowned writers, exploring various forms of reaching or transgressing limits, crossing borders, focusing on social, political, historical, or semantic distinctions.

Wehrhahn publishers, 144 pages, in German

The Quest for Democracy in Iran

Fakhreddin Azimi

History Professor Fakhreddin Azimi's new book, subtitled, "A Century of Struggle Against Authoritarian Rule," begins with the Constitutional Revolution of 1906 and covers the rise of the Pahlavi dynasty, the Anglo-American-backed coup of 1953, the Shah's repressive policies, the revolution of 1979, and current-day Iran.

512 pages, Harvard University Press

Lee and Grant

by William M.S. Rasmussen and Robert S. Tilton, associate professor of English

How should Lee and Grant be evaluated in 2007, the 200th anniversary of Lee’s birth? This study accompanies a nationally touring exhibition funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities that re-assesses the lives, careers, and historical impact of Lee and Grant. Rasmussen is the Lora M. Robins Curator of Art at the Virginia Historical Society and has collaborated on three publications with Robert Tilton.

360 pages, Virginia Historical Society in association with D Giles Ltd., London

Hip-Hop Revolution: The Culture and Politics of Rap

by Jeffrey O.G. Ogbar, associate professor of history

Ranging from the hip-hop of Mos Def to the gangsta rap of 50 Cent and the “underground” sounds of Jurassic 5 and the Roots, Ogbar tracks the history of a cultural phenomenon and challenges notions that it is socially dangerous. “Ogbar successfully balances an insider’s love of the culture with a scholar’s critical eye,” says one reviewer.

216 pages, University of Kansas Press

Decency and Excess: Global Aspirations and Material Deprivation on a Caribbean Sugar Plantation

by Samuel Martínez, associate professor of anthropology and Latin American and Caribbean Studies

Martinez, who studies plantation workers of the Dominican Republic, shows how they cope with the alienation they experience while laboring to produce goods for richer countries. As one reviewer writes, “We come to empathize with the cane workers’ struggles for dignity. Martinez has made a prescient, masterful case for the return of political economy.”

Solitary Goose

by Sydney Landon Plum, lecturer, English

In 1996, Plum encountered a wounded Canada goose on a pond near her home. This collection of essays recounts her experiences with the animal, mixing memoir with closely observed nature writing. “A thought-provoking essay exploring the complex relationship between humans and the natural world,” writes bird authority David Sibley.

The University of Georgia Press, 129 pages

The Photochemistry of Carotenoids

Edited by Harry A. Frank, professor of chemistry, and others

Written by leading experts in the area of carotenoid research, The Photochemistry of Carotenoids gives a comprehensive overview of the field and is being used by researchers in plant physiology, ecology, microbiology, biochemistry, biophysics, and medicine.

420 pages, Kluwer Academic Publishers

Flaunting: Style and the Subversive Male Body in Renaissance England

by Amanda Bailey, assistant professor of English

Flaunting argues that the theater in late sixteenth-century England created the conditions for a subculture of style whose members came to distinguish themselves by their sartorial extravagance and social impudence. Flaunting is a fascinating historical account of drama, fashion, and rebellion with surprisingly close parallels to the contemporary world.

University of Toronto Press, 196 pages

The Study of Tourism: Anthropological and Sociological Beginnings

by Dennison Nash, emeritus professor of anthropology

The aim of The Study of Tourism is to reconstruct the early history of anthropological and sociological thinking in the field of tourism study. Nash uses personal histories of pioneers to describe and analyze the emergence of tourism study among anthropologically oriented scholars. “This will become a very important publication in the field of tourism. It is unique.\\\"

Elsevier, 305 pages

The Ecology and Behavior of Amphibians

by Kentwood D. Wells, professor and department head, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Synthesizing 70 years of research on amphibian biology, world-renowned herpetologist Kentwood D. Wells addresses all major areas of inquiry. Reviewers say, “truly a masterpiece,” and “Wells is probably the only person in the world with such a breadth of knowledge and grasp of the literature in amphibian biology.”

The University of Chicago Press, 1,400 pages

“Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Discovery of Interferon”

by Philip I. Marcus, professor of molecular and cell biology

The journal, edited for many years by Prof. Marcus, who is now senior consulting editor, is celebrating the 50th anniversary of interferon’s discovery. Marcus wrote the forward for what will be a series of articles.

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers

Communication Technology and Social Change: Theory and Research

edited by Carolyn A. Lin, professor of communication sciences, and David J. Atkin, professor in residence, communication sciences

This edited volume provides an understanding of theory and research in emerging communication technologies, focusing on scholarly literature addressing the content, adoption, uses, and effects of new media.

Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 344 pages

Transformations: Women, Gender and Psychology

by Mary Crawford, professor of psychology

Gender is shown as a social system used to categorize people, and it is linked to power and status. “An engaging overview of the psychology of women.”

McGraw-Hill, 480 pages

Dyadic Data Analysis

by David A. Kenny, Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor of Psychology, and others

An examination of data-analytic approaches to investigating relationships in dyads, such as couples, parent-child, teacher-student, and others.

The Guilford Press, 458 pages

Clinical Neuropsychology: A Pocket Handbook for Assessment, Second Edition

edited by Peter J. Snyder, professor of psychology

This updated reference for practicing clinical neuropsychologists guides the complicated decision-making of assessment, diagnosis, and treatment. Diana L. Robins, one of the associate editors, earned a doctoral degree in clinical psychology in CLAS.

American Psychological Association

Black Feminist Voices in Politics

by Evelyn M. Simien, assistant professor of political science

“This book represents a conscious and deliberate effort to chart a course for black women’s studies in political science.”

State University of New York Press, 196 pages

Community Genograms: Using Individual, Family, and Cultural Narratives with Clients

by Sandra Rigazio-DiGilio, professor, human development and family studies, and others

The Community Genogram is presented as one tool that therapists can use to capture the complexity of how clients experience, understand, and manage their world.

American Psychological Association

Time Traveler

by Ronald L. Mallett, professor of physics, with Bruce Henderson

Mallett’s theory that space and time can be manipulated to make time travel possible are presented in simple prose and are described in the context of his personal quest. “An inspirational text for aspiring young scientists.”

Thunder’s Mouth, 240 pages

Brimfield Rush

by Bob Wyss, assistant professor of journalism

Three times a year, the small New England town of Brimfield, Mass., turns into what has been described as a combination of America’s attic and a Middle Eastern bazaar, the Brimfield Antique and Collectibles Show. Wyss interviews the participants and tries to answer the question, why do humans collect stuff?

Commonwealth Editions, 320 pages

Social Movements in Politics: A Comparative Study, Expanded Edition

by Cyrus Ernesto Zirakzadeh, professor of political science and associate dean, College of Liberal Arts

An analysis of four recent social movements, the Greens in Germany, Solidarity in Poland, Shining Path in Peru and the Zapatista Army of National Liberation in Mexico, looks at their traditions, origins, and evolution and proposes a theoretical approach to studying them.

Palgrave Macmillan, 273 pages

Some Holy Weight in the Village Air

by Ira Joe Fisher, adjunct lecturer, English Department, Stamford campus

A new collection of poems by the CBS weather anchor and broadcaster who teaches poetry at the Stamford campus explores small-town life, “its scandals and secret tragedies and small undoings.”

Athanata Arts, Ltd., 92 pages

Judging on a Collegial Court: Influences on Federal Appellate Decision Making

by Virginia A. Hettinger, assistant professor, political science and others

The authors examine dissensus in federal appeals courts, or why judges express disagreement with their peers or with District Court judges on the outcome of cases. The book “helps to illuminate judicial voting and judicial opinion behavior,” according to one reviewer.

University of Virginia Press, 153 pages

Unexpected Power

by Shareen Hertel, assistant professor of political science

Drawing on field research in Bangladesh and Mexico, Unexpected Power explores a series of transnational labor and economic rights campaigns and their implications for democratic struggles in the new global economy. "Cogently and frontally addresses the issue of how ordinary people can affect social change...a superb addition to a growing body of work," writes a review in the Human Rights Quarterly.

Cornell University Press, 176 pages

Family Interaction: A Multigenerational Developmental Perspective 4th edition

by Stephen Anderson and Ronald Sabatelli, professors of human development and family studies

A comprehensive overview of the major conceptual models that are used to understand the patterns and dynamics of interaction in families. It provides an overview of the basic tasks that all families must execute and offers readers an appreciation of the variety and uniqueness of ways that each family develops its patterns of interaction

Sign Language and Linguistic Universals

by Wendy Sandler and Diane Lillo-Martin, professor of linguistics

Comparing sign languages with spoken languages, the authors draw on general linguistic theory and seek the universal properties they share.

Cambridge University Press

Making Sense of International Relations Theory

by Jennifer Sterling-Folker, associate professor, political science

The many “isms” of international relations theory, from realism to liberalism to postmodernisms, are explored in this text designed to help students make sense of international relations theory.

Lynne Rienner Publishers, 421 pages

Visions of the Emerald City: Modernity, Tradition, and the Formation of Porfirian Oaxaca, Mexico

by Mark Overmyer-Velazquez, assistant professor of history

Oaxaca City, known as the Emerald City for its buildings made of green cantera stone, was a commercial hub for southern Mexico and a showcase for modernization under the dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz (1876-1911. Overmyer-Velazquez shows how modernity changed the inhabitants as well as their city. Winner of the 2007 Best Book Award from the New England Council of Latin American Studies.

Duke University Press , 248 pages

Negotiating Ethnicity: Second Generation South Asian Americans Traverse a Transnational World

by Bandana Purkayastha, associate professor of sociology and Asian American Studies

Focusing on second-generation South Asian Americans, Prof. Purkayastha offers fresh insights into the subjective experience of race, ethnicity, and social class in an increasingly diverse America.

Rutgers University Press, 220 pages

Philip Roth: Novels 1967-1972

edited by Ross Miller, Professor of English and Comparative Literature

The second volume of an eight-volume edition of Phillip Roth’s collected fiction, edited by Ross Miller, was published recently by the Library of America. This edition is comprised of four extraordinarily diverse works of Roth’s original fiction in addition to a commentary of Roth’s life by Miller. Novels of interest include Portnoy’s Complaint and Our Gang, Roth’s devastating satire of the Nixon administration.

True to Life: Why Truth Matters

by Michael P. Lynch, associate professor of philosophy

Why does truth matter? “We need to think our way past our confusion and shed our cynicism about the value of truth,” writes Lynch. “Otherwise, we will be unable to act with integrity, to live authentically, and to speak truth to power.”

The MIT Press, 199 pages

The Red Sox Fan Handbook Updated for 2005

by Leigh Grossman, adjunct faculty member, English

Who caught a rat in his glove during a game? Leigh Grossman\\\'s third edition of The Red Sox Fan Handbook, updated for the 2005 season, has the answer, along with updated entries on more than 400 key players, a trove of information about Fenway Park , and a guide for the Sox fan visiting Yankee Stadium (“After the game, keep your head down and move out quietly”).

Rounder Books, 386 pages

Caterpillars of Eastern North America: A Guide to Identification and Natural History

by David L. Wagner, associate professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

This first-of-its-kind, comprehensive guide will help observers identify nearly 700 species of the most common, interesting, and economically important butterfly and moth caterpillars found in eastern North America . Many caterpillars are illustrated here for the first time.

Princeton Field Guides, 1200+ color images

Where is Liberal Passion?

by Michael P. Lynch, associate professor of philosophy

Michael P. Lynch is the author of the cover story in The Chronicle Review section of the April 22 issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education. In “Where is Liberal Passion?” he writes that “Liberals have no inherent problem with passion. They just need to remember to keep passion alive, and not to waiver in the face of spirited opposition.”

Illustration by Dave Plunkert

Defensive Internationalism: Providing Global Public Goods in an Uncertain World

by David B. Bobrow, professor at the University of Pittsburgh and Mark Boyer, professor of political sc

In their new book, Bobrow and Boyer argue for “muted optimism” about the future of international cooperation. “Their well-written, data-rich analysis of such pressing issues as development assistance, debt management, UN peacekeeping, and environmental protection makes Defensive Internationalism a highly original and provocative contribution to the study of global governance.” – Yale H. Ferguson, co-director, Center for Global Change and Governance, Rutgers University University

Michigan Press, 424 pages

Fathoming the Ocean: The Discovery and Exploration of the Deep Sea

by Helen M. Rozwadowski, assistant professor of history, Avery Point

“A fascinating story of how sailors and scientists combined to carry out the first explorations of the ocean depths, showing how these actors and events revolutionized understanding of a hitherto unknown region.” – Margaret Deacon, author of Science and the Sea: The Origins of Oceanography

Harvard University Press

The Hanging of Ephraim Wheeler

by Irene Quenzler Brown, professor emerita, and Richard Brown, professor of history

The Browns’ account of a poor farmer’s trial and hanging in Litchfield County in 1806 is the subject of a rave review in a recent issue of Reviews in American History. Harvard University Press will publish the paperback edition of the book on April 1, 2005. The hardback edition was published in 2003.

Harvard University Press, 388 pages

Black Power: Radical Politics and African American Identity

by Jeffrey Ogbar, associate professor of history

Drawing on archival research and interviews with key participants, Ogbar reconsiders the co-mingled stories of—and popular reactions to—the Nation of Islam, Black Panthers, and mainstream civil rights leaders in the 1960s. He concludes that Black Power had more lasting cultural consequences among African Americans and others than did the civil rights movement, engendering minority pride and influencing the political, cultural, and religious spheres of mainstream African American life for the next three decades.

Johns Hopkins University Press, 258 pages

Exploring Stone Walls: A Field Guide to New England’s Stone Walls

by Robert Thorson, professor of geology

A field guide, Exploring Stone Walls is designed to help observers find clues in the stones to determine a wall’s history, age, and purpose. It also features interesting stone walls to visit throughout New England, based on the explorations of the author, who also wrote Stone by Stone, a history of New England’s stone walls and winner of the 2003 Connecticut Book Award in nonfiction.

Walker & Company, 172 pages

Fortune’s Bones: The Manumission Requiem

by Marilyn Nelson, emeritus professor of English

Connecticut Poet Laureate Marilyn Nelson was commissioned to write a poem to commemorate the life of a slave named Fortune, who was owned by a doctor in Waterbury, CT. After Fortune’s death, the doctor rendered his bones and assembled his skeleton, which was displayed at Waterbury’s Mattatuck Museum. “Nelson’s eulogy for a slave who lived in New England….jolts us out of any feeling we might have that another person’s misfortune is none of our business.” – Theodore Rosengarten, The New York Times Book Review

Front Street, Inc., 32 pages

Catamaran

by Roger Buckley, professor of history

Published by the Asian American Studies Institute: Roger Buckley, professor of history, director; and the Asian American Cultural Center: Angela Rola, director Catamaran is a new semi-annual academic journal featuring essays, poems, short stories, and other writings by or about South Asian Americans. It is the only journal in the U.S. dealing with the experiences of South Asian Americans. South Asians include people from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal.