Hutchins Library News Blog

Check out the newest editions to our Graphic Novel collection! 

Lumberjanes: Volumes 7-9

Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid: Volumes 1-6

The Water Dragon's Bride: Volumes 1-6 

Takane & Hana: Volumes 1-4

Is This Guy For Real? The Unbelievable Andy Kaufman

Lady Killer: Volume 2

Want to find out where these books are? Here are the call numbers and links to the catalog! 

Lumberjanes Vol. 7 by Shannon Watters; Noelle Stevenson (Created by); Grace Ellis (Created by); Brooke Allen (Created by); Kat Leyh; Carey Pietsch (Illustrator); Ayme Sotuyo (Illustrator); Maarta Laiho (As told to)

Call Number: 741.597 S848L (Graphic Novels - Main Floor Circulation Area)

The High Council is coming to camp and counselor Jen is determined to make everything perfect, even though a storm is brewing and kittens from the boys' camp are manifesting magical powers. It's every Lumberjane on deck as the girls do their best to prep the grounds for inspection . . . but there are some storms no one can prepare for. This New York Times bestseller and multiple Eisner Award-winning series is a story of friendship, hardcore lady-types, and kicking a lot of butt. Don't miss out on the continued adventures of the Lumberjanes written by Shannon Watters and Kat Leyh (Super Cakes) with stories illustrated by Carey Pietsch (Adventure Time: Marceline Gone Adrift) and newcomer Ayme Sotuyo.

 

Lumberjanes Vol. 8 by Shannon Watters; Brooke Allen (Created by); Grace Ellis (Created by); Maarta Laiho (As told to); Kat Leyh; Carey Pietsch (Illustrator); Noelle Stevenson (Created by)

Call Number: 741.597 S848L v.8 (Graphic Novels - Main Floor Circulation Area)

Five best friends at summer camp take friendship to the max when they team up to defeat the strange forces lurking within the surrounding forest. Excited to have Barney starting their first week at the camp, the Roanokes run over to the Zodiac cabin, only to find everyone turned to stone! Between strange shadows and Diane being back, it looks like April, Jo, Mal, Molly, and Ripley are going to have their hands full trying to find a cure for their friends . . . as long as they don't look the wrong thing in the eye first.    This New York Times bestseller and multiple Eisner Award-winning series is a story of friendship, hardcore lady-types, and kicking a lot of butt. Don't miss out on the continued adventures of the Lumberjanes written by Shannon Watters and Kat Leyh (Super Cakes) with stories illustrated by Carey Pietsch (Adventure Time: Marceline Gone Adrift).

 

Lumberjanes Vol. 9 by Shannon Watters (Created by); Brooklyn Allen (Created by); Grace Ellis (Created by); Maarta Laiho (As told to); Kat Leyh; Carolyn Nowak; Noelle Stevenson (Created by)

Call Number: 741.597 S848L v.9 (Graphic Novels - Main Floor Circulation Area)

When the Yetis are kicked out of their treehouse, it's up to the Roanokes to win their home back from the Sasquatches that took it over by beating them at roller derby. You just gotta learn to roll with the punches! When the yetis are kicked out of their humble treehouse abode, it's up to Jo, April, Mal, Molly and Ripley to get them back where they belong amongst the trees...and not leeching the camp's power and making all the ice cream melt. To get the sasquatches to clear out, though, the Roanoke girls will have to challenge them to a roller derby match! This New York Times bestseller and multiple Eisner-Award and GLAAD-award winning series is written by Shannon Watters and Kat Leyh (Super Cakes) and illustrated by Carolyn Nowak.

 

The Water Dragon's Bride by Rei Toma

Call Number: 741.597 T655w (Graphic Novels - Main Floor Circulation Area)

VOLUMES 1-6

A modern-day girl gets whisked away to a strange land where she is sacrificed to a water dragon god!  In the blink of an eye, a modern-day girl named Asahi is whisked away from her warm and happy home and stranded in a strange and mysterious world where she is sacrificed to a water dragon god! What plans are in store for her, and what will happen when she comes face to face with this god? A young boy named Subaru comes to Asahi's aid, but despite his help, Asahi must endure a test of survival! Will she be able to make it out alive, or will she end up being sacrificed?

 

Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid Vol. 1 by Coolkyoushinja

Call Number: 741.595 C774m (Graphic Novels - Main Floor Circulation Area)

VOLUMES 1-6

Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid is a delightful, ongoing comedy manga series about a young lady who, after saving a dragon's life, finds herself the object of its indebtedness and undying affection. Miss Kobayashi is your average office worker who lives alone in her small apartment--until a young and adorable dragon girl named Tooru appears before her. Upon saving Tooru's life, the fiesty dragon will do anything to pay off her debt of gratitude, including insisting that she move in with Miss Kobayashi and serve her in any way she does or doesn't desire. Now Miss Kobayashi finds herself with a new, imposing roommate, who is doing her best to help out around the home. But when you're a dragon, nothing is ever simple. Kobayashi's normal life just went off the deep end.

 

Takane and Hana, Vol. 1 by Yuki Shiwasu

Call Number: 741.597 S558t (Graphic Novels - Main Floor Circulation Area)

VOLUMES 1-4

A strong-willed high school girl and a hot, young scion of a business empire can't help trying to outwit each other every chance they get... But could these opposites be conning themselves out of the perfect match?! After her older sister refuses to go to an arranged marriage meeting with Takane Saibara, the heir to a vast business fortune, high schooler Hana Nonomura agrees to be her stand-in to save face for the family. But what happens when Hana meets Takane is an unexpected pairing of utter opposites! The meeting between Takane and Hana ends in an explosive manner, and Hana is convinced that she'll never have to see that awful Takane again. But Takane actually seems interested in Hana! Exasperated by Takane's immature attitude, yet amused and intrigued despite herself, Hana embarks on a hilarious journey with Takane that just might lead to love! A hilarious romance manga about a potential marriage of opposites!

 

Is This Guy for Real? by Box Brown

Call Number: 792.2309 B877i 2018 (Graphic Novels - Main Floor Circulation Area)

Comedian and performer Andy Kaufman's resume was impressive--a popular role on the beloved sitcomTaxi, a high-profile stand-up career, and a surprisingly successful stint in professional wrestling. Although he was by all accounts a sensitive and thoughtful person, he's ironically best remembered for his various contemptible personas, which were so committed and so convincing that all but his closest family and friends were completely taken in. Why would someone so gentle-natured and sensitive build an entire career seeking the hatred of his audience? What drives a performer to solicit that reaction? With the same nuance and sympathy with which he approached Andre the Giant in his 2014 biography, graphic novelist Box Brown'sIs This Guy For Real?takes on the complex and often hilarious life of Andy Kaufman.

Lady Killer 2 by Joelle Jones (Illustrator); Laura Allred (Illustrator)

Call Number: 741.597 J776L 2015 (Graphic Novels - Main Floor Circulation Area)

The Schuller family has moved to Cocoa Beach, where life carries on as usual. Josie continues to juggle Tupperware parties, her kids and a few heads - and things don't get any easier for the entrepreneur hit lady when her past comes back to haunt her. Lady Killer is a black comedy that juxtaposes the wholesome imagery of early 1960s domestic bliss with a tightening web of murder, paranoia, and cold-blooded survival. From rising star author Joelle Jones comes the much anticipated return of Josie Schuller the Lady Killer! 

 

In honor of that spooky month being right around the corner (unless you're me and every month is spooky month), let's talk about the dead. Ah yes, theatre is definitely known for being over the top and melodramatic, especially with the dead, but what if we take that idea to a completely different level. This week on Theatre Thursdays, in honor of both spooky month and Theatre Season™ starting up next week, we're gonna take a look at the zany Sarah Ruhl's Eurydice.

Eurydice, like many other plays, is a take on a Greek story. The Greek story is about Orpheus, who loses his wife (Eurydice) to the Underworld and goes to retrieve her because he loves her SO MuCh. Hades, being the God that he is, tells him he can have her back if, when ascending back to Earth, he does not look at her even once. This almost works until Orpheus gets real anxious and decides that he really wants to see his girl, thus losing her forever to the Underworld. Men, amiright?

But Ruhl's take on the classic tale comes from the perspective of Eurydice herself, who gets tricked into going to the Underworld and can't quite remember anything about herself or where she is. The play mixes modern elements with classic ones, including an elevator that descends the characters into the Underworld, three very eccentric stones, and a whole theme involving water and washing away memories. It's kind of sad, but also a little bit heartwarming. Ruhl even creates a completely different ending from the original tale that I like much better. But you'd have to read it to find out. ;)

If you want to read Eurydice - or any of Sarah Ruhl's works -you can find it in the library circulating on the third floor. And be sure to grab tickets for Dead Man's Cell Phone, a drama/comedy by Sarah Ruhl, at the McGaw Theatre on October 4th, 5th, and 6th (directed by a Berea College student!)

Tune in next Thursday night for another fun theatre read!

The Clean House and Other Plays by Sarah Ruhl

Call Number: 822.92 R933c 2006

Publication Date: 2006-01-01

"Passionate. Show-stopping. Daringly over-the-top and impressively consistent in its delirious excess. The Clean House shines."--New Haven Advocate   "The Clean House is not, by any means, a traditional boy-meets-girl story. In fact disease, death, and dirt are among the subjects it addresses. This comedy is romantic, deeply so, but in the more arcane sense of the word: visionary, tinged with fantasy, extravagant in feeling, maybe a little nuts."--The New York Times   "Touching, inventive, invigoratingly compact, and luminously liquid, Eurydice reframes the ancient myth of ill-fated love to focus not on the bereaved musician but on his dead bride--and on her struggle with love beyond the grave."--San Francisco Chronicle   This volume is the first publication of Sarah Ruhl, "a playwright with a unique comic voice, perspective, and sense of theater" (Variety), who is fast leaving her mark on the American stage. In the award-winning The Clean House--a play of uncommon romance and uncommon comedy--a maid who hates cleaning dreams about creating the perfect joke, while a doctor who treats cancer leaves his heart inside one of his patients. This volume also includes Eurydice, Ruhl's reinvention of the tragic Greek tale of love and loss, Late: A Cowboy Song, and Melancholy Play.   Sarah Ruhl received the prestigious Susan Smith Blackburn Prize in 2004 for her play The Clean House, which has been produced at Yale Repertory Theatre in New Haven, Wilma Theatre in Philadelphia, South Coast Repertory Theatre in Costa Mesa, and Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in Washington, DC. Her play Eurydice has been produced at Madison Repertory Theatre and Berkeley Repertory Theatre.

Affectionately known as "Dr. Dee", Dr. Diane White-Clayton travels extensively as a vocalist, pianist, composer, conductor, workshop clinician, and speaker.As a composer, Dr. Dee is most known for her choral anthems and has won much acclaim with her tremendous stylistic diversity, ranging from atonal classical pieces to contemporary gospel. A classically trained pianist, she weds her virtuosic, mellow, gospel style with her soprano voice, stretching in a three-and-a-half octave range. Her performances captivate audiences. Sponsored by the Willis D. Weatherford, Jr. Campus Christian Center (CCC). Accent on Christian Faith.

Want to listen to Dr. White-Clayton's CD?
Visit the display near Circulation for it, as well as CDs by other contemporary Christian artists!

In stillness by Diane White

Call Number: CD 781.63 W583i

Publication Date: 1990

Harvard law professor Klarman will discuss his recent book, The Framers’ Coup, the first comprehensive account of the background, drafting, and ratification of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Klarman addresses how the Framers managed to write a nationalist and democracy-constraining constitution, and how they convinced ordinary Americans to approve such a constitution.

Check out Klarman's writing at the library! 

From Jim Crow to Civil Rights by Michael J. Klarman

Call Number: 342.7308 K634f 2004

ISBN: 9780195129038

Publication Date: 2004

A monumental investigation of the Supreme Court's rulings on race, From Jim Crow To Civil Rights spells out in compelling detail the political and social context within which the Supreme Court Justices operate and the consequences of their decisions for American race relations. In a highly provocative interpretation of the decision's connection to the civil rights movement, Klarman argues that Brown was more important for mobilizing southern white opposition to racial change than for encouraging direct-action protest. Brown unquestioningly had a significant impact--it brought race issues to public attention and it mobilized supporters of the ruling. It also, however, energized the opposition. In this authoritative account of constitutional law concerning race, Michael Klarman details, in the richest and most thorough discussion to date, how and whether Supreme Court decisions do, in fact, matter.

The Framers' Coup by Michael J. Klarman

Call Number: 342.7302 K634f 2016

ISBN: 9780199942039

Publication Date: 2016

 Based on prodigious research and told largely through the voices of the participants, Michael Klarman's The Framers' Coup narrates how the Framers' clashing interests shaped the Constitution - and American history itself.The Philadelphia convention could easily have been a failure, and the risk of collapse was always present. Had the convention dissolved, any number of adverse outcomes could have resulted, including civil war or a reversion to monarchy. Not only does Klarman capture the knife's-edge atmosphere of the convention, he populates his narrative with riveting and colorful stories: the rebellion of debtor farmers in Massachusetts; George Washington's uncertainty about whether to attend; Gunning Bedford's threat to turn to a European prince if the small states were denied equal representation in the Senate; slave staters' threats to take their marbles and go home if denied representation for their slaves; Hamilton's quasi-monarchist speech to the convention; and Patrick Henry's Herculean efforts to defeat the Constitution in Virginia through demagoguery and conspiracy theories. The Framers' Coup is more than a compendium of great stories, however, and the powerful arguments that feature throughout will reshape our understanding of the nation's founding. Definitive and authoritative, The Framers' Coup explains why the Framers preferred such a constitution and how they managed to persuade the country to adopt it. We have lived with the consequences, both positive and negative, ever since.

From the Closet to the Altar by Michael J. Klarman

Call Number: 346.7301 K634fro 2013

ISBN: 9780199922109

Publication Date: 2012

Same-sex marriage has become one of the most volatile issues in American politics. But if most young people support gay marriage, and if there are clear indicators that a substantial majority of the population will soon favor it, why has the outcry against it been so strong? Bancroft Prize-winning historian and legal expert Michael Klarman here offers an illuminating and engaging account of modern litigation over same-sex marriage. After looking at the treatment of gays in the decades after World War II and the birth of the modern gay rights movement with the Stonewall Rebellion in 1969, Klarman describes the key legal cases involving gay marriage and the dramatic political backlashes they ignited. He examines the Hawaii Supreme Court's ruling in 1993, which sparked a vast political backlash - with more than 35 states and Congress enacting defense-of-marriage acts- and the Massachusetts decision in Goodridge in 2003, which inspired more than 25 states to adopt constitutional bans on same-sex marriage. Klarman traces this same pattern - court victory followed by dramatic backlash - through cases in Vermont, California, and Iowa, taking the story right up to the present. He also describes some of the collateral political damage caused by court decisions in favor of gay marriage - Iowa judges losing their jobs, Senator Majority Leader Tom Daschle losing his seat, and the possibly dispositive impact of gay marriage on the 2004 presidential election. But Klarman also notes several ways in which litigation has accelerated the coming of same-sex marriage: forcing people to discuss the issue, raising the hopes and expectations of gay activists, and making other reforms like civil unions seem more moderate by comparison. In the end, Klarman discusses how gay marriage is likely to evolve in the future, predicts how the U.S. Supreme Court might ultimately resolve the issue, and assesses the costs and benefits of activists' pursuing social reforms such as gay marriage through the courts. From the Closet to the Altar will stand as the definitive one-volume history of the tumultuous emergence of same-sex marriage in American life as well as a landmark study of litigation, social reform, and the phenomenon of political backlash to court decisions.

Are you a theatre nerd who hasn't yet read or watched all of the cool plays that your other theatre friends keep talking about? Do you have a strange interest in reading dramatic lines of text that you'll quickly get invested in? Do you just like theatre in general? Really? Great! Because these posts are for you! Welcome to Theatre Thursdays, where we take a look at a play (or musical, but probably mostly plays) that are both fun reads and fun to talk about. 

Sophocles's Oedipus Rex by Harold Bloom (Introduction by)

Call Number: 882.2 B655s 1988

ISBN: 0877549184

Publication Date: 1988-01-01

-- Presents the most important 20th-century criticism on major works from The Odyssey through modern literature -- The critical essays reflect a variety of schools of criticism -- Contains critical biographies, notes on the contributing critics, a chronology of the author's life, and an index

This week's topic is Oedipus the King, or more commonly known as Oedipus Rex, or sometimes even Oedipus Tyrannus if you're from Ancient Greece. The play was written by Sophocles, also known as a tragedian who sought to make things both very difficult and very sad. Sophocles also wrote Antigone, which is somewhat of a continuation of Oedipus in an also very difficult and sad light. Sophocles was Ancient Greece's version of Ryan Murphy, creating Grecian Horror Stories instead of American ones. 

But Oedipus is about, well, Oedipus. He's a king, whose father has been killed, and he wants to know who did it. But the twist is that [SPOILER ALERT] he did it! (I know, engaging stuff.) However, the real twist comes when Oedipus finds out that not only did he kill his own father, he also married (and had children with) his own mother! I know, it makes you want to poke your own eyes out, huh? (Wink, wink.) This play also had a hand in spearheading Sigmund Freud's most controversial idea about mothers and their children. But I'll let you read about that one yourself. 

Overall, this play is considered a tragic classic among the ranks of Hamlet. It holds the OG title of "Super Messed Up" while almost inviting you to vomit at the thought of it's ending. The play itself has even been talked about in most theatre classes here at Berea College. If you want to start your theatre reading off with a disgusting bang, I recommend this piece as a good starting point.

Tune in next Thursday night for another fun (and maybe a little messed up) theatre read!

Mexican Folk Music Meets Jazz and Classical Music. The Villalobos Brothers use their violins and voices to redefine contemporary Mexican music. Their original compositions masterfully blend elements of jazz, rock, classical and Mexican folk music to deliver a powerful message of love, brotherhood and social justice. Stephenson Memorial Concert.

If you enjoy the music of the Villalobos Brothers, stop by the display near the Circulation Desk and check out cds by other musicians from the Latin Jazz genre!

December's reference book of the month is the Encyclopedia of Humor Studies. The description provided below is from Amazon:

The Encyclopedia of Humor: A Social History explores the concept of humor in history and modern society in the United States and internationally. This work’s scope encompasses the humor of children, adults, and even nonhuman primates throughout the ages, from crude jokes and simple slapstick to sophisticated word play and ironic parody and satire. As an academic social history, it includes the perspectives of a wide range of disciplines, including sociology, child development, social psychology, life style history, communication, and entertainment media. Readers will develop an understanding of the importance of humor as it has developed globally throughout history and appreciate its effects on child and adult development, especially in the areas of health, creativity, social development, and imagination. This two-volume set is available in both print and electronic formats.

~ Recommended for students majoring in Psychology, Sociology, and Communication ~

Encyclopedia of Humor Studies by Salvatore I. Attardo (Editor)

Call Number: 809.7 E563 2014

Publication Date: 2014-01-01

This month's showcase is on a manga and anime by the name of Tokyo Ghoul by Sui Ishida

"Shy Ken Kaneki is thrilled to go on a date with the beautiful Rize. But it turns out that she’s only interested in his body—eating it, that is. When a morally questionable rescue transforms him into the first half-human half-Ghoul hybrid, Ken is drawn into the dark and violent world of Ghouls, which exists alongside our own!" -from the publisher

Check it out!

Tokyo Ghoul, Vol. 1 by Sui Ishida

Call Number: 741.595 I794t (Main Floor Circulation Area)

Ghouls live among us, the same as normal people in every way—except their craving for human flesh. Ken Kaneki is an ordinary college student until a violent encounter turns him into the first half-human half-ghoul hybrid. Trapped between two worlds, he must survive Ghoul turf wars, learn more about Ghoul society and master his new powers.

ROʾSH HA-SHANAH AND YOM KIPPUR, holy days prominent in the Jewish religious calendar, mark the beginning of the new year and set off the special period traditionally designated for self-scrutiny and repentance. They are referred to as Yamim Noraʾim ("days of awe"), the time when the numinous aspect of Judaism comes into its own.

Roʾsh ha-Shanah ("head of the year," i. e., New Year) is the name given in postbiblical times to the biblical festival of the first day of the seventh month (counting from the spring month of the Exodus from Egypt) and described (Lv. 23:23–25, Nm. 19:1–6) as a day of blowing the horn.

Yom Kippur ("day of atonement ") is the culmination of the penitential season, the day of repentance and reconciliation between humanity and God and between people and their neighbors. It is the most hallowed day in the Jewish year and is still observed by the majority of Jews, even those who are otherwise lax in religious practices.

Works Cited:

Jacobs, L. (2005). Roʾsh Ha-Shanah and Yom Kippur. In L. Jones (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Religion (2nd ed., Vol. 12, pp. 7927-7929). Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA. Retrieved from http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CX3424502675/GVRL?u=berea&sid=GVRL&xid=c36bb15b

Check out some of our books below for more information on these two holidays:

The Golem and the Wondrous Deeds of the Maharal of Prague by Yudl Rosenberg; Curt Leviant (Translator)

Call Number: E-Book (Berea College only)

Publication Date: 2008-10-01

Jessica Fisher's Frail-Craft is Louise Gluck's fourth selection for the Yale Series of Younger Poets, the oldest annual literary prize in the United States. Through deft, quietly authoritative lyrics, the poet meditates on the problems and possibilities, the frail craft, of perception for the reader or the dreamer, maintaining that 'if the eye can love - and it can, it does - then I held you and was held'. In her foreword to the book, Louise Gluck writes, 'What gives Jessica Fisher's work its sense of form, of repose, is her perfection of ear. That repose, with its strange mobility, its accommodation of surprise, is Fisher's particular genius. To enter these poems is to be suspended in them: like dreams, they both surround and elude.'

 

Settings of Silver by Stephen M. Wylen

Call Number: 296 W983s - Hutchins Library - Circulating (3rd Floor)

Publication Date: 2000-07-01

An updated edition of the comprehensive introduction to the Jewish faith discusses the holy days of the Jewish year, and the daily observances and beliefs of Judaism. Original.

Ecology and the Jewish Spirit by Ellen Bernstein (Editor, Introduction by)

Call Number: 296.38 E19 - Hutchins Library - Circulating (3rd Floor)

Publication Date: 1998-01-01

What is nature's place in our spiritual lives? In today's modern culture, we've become separated from the sacredness of the natural world. This book offers a different, eye- and soul-opening way of viewing our religion: A perspective grounded in nature, and rich in insights for seekers of all faiths. Respect for the holiness of Creation, our duty to protect the natural world, reverence for the land ... a focus on nature is part of the fabric of Jewish thought. Here, innovative contributors bring us a richer understanding of the long-neglected themes of nature that are woven through the biblical creation story, ancient texts, traditional law, the holiday cycles, prayer, mitzvot (good deeds) and community. Ecology & the Jewish Spirit explores the wisdom that the Jewish tradition has to offer all of us, to help nature become a sacred, spiritual part of our own lives. 

Jewish Family and Life by Yosef I. Abramowitz; Susan Silverman; Elie Wiesel (Foreword by)

Call Number: 296.74 A161j - Hutchins Library - Circulating (3rd Floor)

Publication Date: 1998-09-15

Jewish Family and Life: Traditions, Holidays, and Values for Today's Parents and Children has become the definitive book for parents to turn to for sound advice on important and current parenting issues. It dispenses invaluable information that is relevant to Jewish families today, whether the family has a mixed marriage, two parents, a single parent, or adoptive parents. The book's three parts - Traditions, Holidays and Values - investigate contemporary issues in raising children and show concrete ways in which Judaism can play a practical role in enriching a family's spiritualand moral education. Each chapter includes lively, hands-on activities that you can do with your kids and simultaneously instill vital cultural and religious education. Vetted by a prestigious advisory board that is co-chaired by Nobel Prize-winner Elie Weisel, this book with help unify the family and re-establish rich traditions that have been lost over the generations.

 

The Columbia History of Jews and Judaism in America by Marc Lee Raphael (Editor)

Call Number: E-Book (Berea College only)

Publication Date: 2008-02-12

This collection focuses on a variety of important themes in the American Jewish and Judaic experience. It opens with essays on early Jewish settlers (1654-1820), the expansion of Jewish life in America (1820-1901), the great wave of eastern European Jewish immigrants (1880-1924), the character of American Judaism between the two world wars, American Jewish life from the end of World War II to the Six-Day War, and the growth of Jews' influence and affluence. The second half of the volume includes essays on Orthodox Jews, the history of Jewish education in America, the rise of Jewish social clubs at the turn of the century, the history of southern and western Jewry, Jewish responses to Nazism and the Holocaust, feminism's confrontation with Judaism, and the eternal question of what defines American Jewish culture. Original and elegantly crafted, The Columbia History of Jews and Judaism in America not only introduces the student to a thrilling history, but also provides the scholar with new perspectives and insights.

 

Month 4 of the mini-lesson series about Queer Theory! 

This month is focused on the third letter of the common acronym: LGBTQIA+, as well as a P that rarely makes it into the shortened version. That is to say, we will be looking at bi and pan, both as sexuality and gender.

Vocabulary!

Bisexual: A person whose primary sexual and affectional orientation is toward people of the same and other genders, or towards people regardless of their gender.

Bigender: Having two genders, exhibiting cultural characteristics of masculine and feminine roles

Pansexual, Omnisexual: Terms used to describe people who have romantic, sexual or affectional desire for people of all genders and sexes.  

Questioning: The process of exploring one’s own gender identity, gender expression, and/or sexual orientation. Some people may also use this term to name their identity within the LGBTQIA community.

Have a look at these books to discover more, and check back next month for all things trans*!

Baldwin by James Baldwin; Darryl Pinckney (Editor)

Call Number: B181La 2015

ISBN: 1598534548

Publication Date: 2015

James Baldwin established himself as the indispensable voice of the Civil Rights era, a figure whose prophetic exploration of the racial and sexual fissures in American society raised the consciousness of American readers. This new Library of America volume see's three of Baldwin's later novels collected for the first time; Tell Me How Long the Train's Been Gone (1968) If Beale Street Could Talk (1974) and Just Above My Head (1979).

 

Orlando by Virginia Woolf

Call Number: W913o 1973

ISBN: 015670160X

Publication Date: 1973

In her most exuberant, most fanciful novel, Woolf has created a character liberated from the restraints of time and sex. Born in the Elizabethan Age to wealth and position, Orlando is a young nobleman at the beginning of the story and a modern woman three centuries later. A poetic masterpiece of the first rank (Rebecca West).

 

Call Me by Your Name by André Aciman

Call Number: A181c 2007

ISBN: 0374299218

Publication Date: 2007

Call Me by Your Name is the story of a sudden and powerful romance that blossoms between an adolescent boy and a summer guest at his parents' cliff-side mansion on the Italian Riviera. Unprepared for the consequences of their attraction, at first each feigns indifference. But during the restless summer weeks that follow, unrelenting buried currents of obsession and fear, fascination, and desire, intensify their passion as they test the charged ground between them. What grows from the depths of their spirits is a romance of scarcely six weeks' duration and an experience that marks them for a lifetime. For what the two discover on the Riviera and during a sultry evening in Rome is the one thing both already fear they may never truly find again: total intimacy.   The psychological maneuvers that accompany attraction have seldom been more shrewdly captured than in André Aciman's frank, unsentimental, heartrending elegy to human passion. Call Me by Your Name is clear-eyed, bare-knuckled, and ultimately unforgettable.

The Fifth Sacred Thing by Starhawk Staff

Call Number: S7945f

ISBN: 055337222X

Publication Date: 1993

The best and worst of our possible futures are poised to clash in twenty-first-century California, and the outcome rests on the wisdom and courage of one clan caught in the conflict. Ninety-eight-year-old Maya has helped shape the ecumenical culture of the North by reviving and re-creating an earth-based spiritual tradition. Madrone, the granddaughter of Maya's longtime lovers, is a healer trying to thwart recurring epidemics that she suspects are biological warfare waged by the tyrannical South. Bird, Maya's grandson, returns from ten years in a Southern prison with warnings of the impending invasion and an urgent request for help from the resistance in the hills." "When Madrone travels south to aid the rebels and search for a cure to the deadly viruses, she finds herself fighting for her own life alongside battle-weary guerrillas and beautiful pirates. Meanwhile, in the North debates rage about how to repel the invaders." "All war is first waged in the imagination, first conducted to limit our dreams and visions," Maya says and warns that by killing their enemies, they may themselves become transformed by violence and destroy all they have built. Bird champions her alternative vision and becomes a leader of the faction calling for nonviolent resistance. When he is captured and pressured to cooperate with the enemy, the fate of the North hangs in the balance."

 

Leadership Towards a Just and Equitable Future. Policy expert and strategist Truong, CEO of the social justice organization Dream Corps, addresses intensifying climate catastrophes and increased global wealth inequalities. Truong advocates for lifting people out of poverty while creating an equitable, green economy, stressing the importance of considering race, class, and income inequality whenever addressing environmental health and sustainability issues. 

If you're interested in Truong's speech, here are some additional readings!

Black, White, and Green by Alison Hope Alkon; Deborah Cowen (Contribution by); Nik Heynen (Contribution by); Melissa Wright (Contribution by)

Call Number: 381.41 A415b 2012

ISBN: 0820343897

Publication Date: 2012

Farmers markets are much more than places to buy produce. According to advocates for sustainable food systems, they are also places to ""vote with your fork"" for environmental protection, vibrant communities, and strong local economies. Farmers markets have become essential to the movement for food-system reform and are a shining example of a growing green economy where consumers can shop their way to social change. Black, White, and Green brings new energy to this topic by exploring dimensions of race and class as they relate to farmers markets and the green economy. With a focus on two Bay Area markets--one in the primarily white neighborhood of North Berkeley, and the other in largely black West Oakland--Alison Hope Alkon investigates the possibilities for social and environmental change embodied by farmers markets and the green economy. Drawing on ethnographic and historical sources, Alkon describes the meanings that farmers market managers, vendors, and consumers attribute to the buying and selling of local organic food, and the ways that those meanings are raced and classed. She mobilizes this research to understand how the green economy fosters visions of social change that are compatible with economic growth while marginalizing those that are not. Black, White, and Green is one of the first books to carefully theorize the green economy, to examine the racial dynamics of food politics, and to approach issues of food access from an environmental-justice perspective. In a practical sense, Alkon offers an empathetic critique of a newly popular strategy for social change, highlighting both its strengths and limitations.

Green Capitalism? by Hartmut Berghoff (Editor); Adam Rome (Editor)

Call Number: 338 G795 2017

ISBN: 0812249011

Publication Date: 2017

At a time when the human impact on the environment is more devastating than ever, business initiatives frame the quest to "green" capitalism as the key to humanity's long-term survival. Indeed, even before the rise of the environmental movement in the 1970s, businesses sometimes had reasons to protect parts of nature, limit their production of wastes, and support broader environmental reforms. In the last thirty years, especially, many businesses have worked hard to reduce their direct and indirect environmental footprint. But are these efforts exceptional, or can capitalism truly be environmentally conscious? Green Capitalism? offers a critical, historically informed perspective on building a more sustainable economy. Written by scholars of business history and environmental history, the essays in this volume consider the nature of capitalism through historical overviews of twentieth-century businesses and a wide range of focused case studies. Beginning early in the century, contributors explore the response of business leaders to environmental challenges in an era long before the formation of the modern regulatory state. Moving on to midcentury environmental initiatives, scholars analyze failed business efforts to green products and packaging--such as the infamous six-pack ring--in the 1960s and 1970s. The last section contains case studies of businesses that successfully managed greening initiatives, from the first effort by an electric utility to promote conservation, to the environmental overhaul of a Swedish mining company, to the problem of household waste in pre-1990 West Germany. Ranging in geographic scope from Europe to the United States, Green Capitalism? raises questions about capitalism in different historical, sociocultural, and political contexts. Contributors: Hartmut Berghoff, Ann-Kristin Bergquist, Brian C. Black, William D. Bryan, Julie Cohn, Leif Fredrickson, Hugh S. Gorman, Geoffrey Jones, David Kinkela, Roman Köster, Joseph A. Pratt, Adam Rome, Christine Meisner Rosen.

Hot, Flat, and Crowded by Thomas L. Friedman

Call Number: 363.705 F911h 2008

ISBN: 9780374166854

Publication Date: 2008

Thomas L. Friedman's phenomenal number-one bestseller The World Is Flat has helped millions of readers to see the world in a new way. In his brilliant, essential new book, Friedman takes a fresh and provocative look at two of the biggest challenges we face today: America's surprising loss of focus and national purpose since 9/11; and the global environmental crisis, which is affecting everything from food to fuel to forests. In this groundbreaking account of where we stand now, he shows us how the solutions to these two big problems are linked--how we can restore the world and revive America at the same time. Friedman explains how global warming, rapidly growing populations, and the astonishing expansion of the world's middle class through globalization have produced a planet that is "hot, flat, and crowded." Already the earth is being affected in ways that threaten to make it dangerously unstable. In just a few years, it will be too late to fix things--unless the United States steps up now and takes the lead in a worldwide effort to replace our wasteful, inefficient energy practices with a strategy for clean energy, energy efficiency, and conservation that Friedman calls Code Green. This is a great challenge, Friedman explains, but also a great opportunity, and one that America cannot afford to miss. Not only is American leadership the key to the healing of the earth; it is also our best strategy for the renewal of America. In vivid, entertaining chapters, Friedman makes it clear that the green revolution we need is like no revolution the world has seen. It will be the biggest innovation project in American history; it will be hard, not easy; and it will change everything from what you put into your car to what you see on your electric bill. But the payoff for America will be more than just cleaner air. It will inspire Americans to something we haven't seen in a long time--nation-building in America--by summoning the intelligence, creativity, boldness, and concern for the common good that are our nation's greatest natural resources. Hot, Flat, and Crowded is classic Thomas L. Friedman: fearless, incisive, forward-looking, and rich in surprising common sense about the challenge--and the promise--of the future.