Tag: National trade books

Return to the Enchanted Forest: ‘Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage’

August 6, 2014

Writer Haruki Murakami. BY MATTHEW C. STRECHER, PH.D.Professor of Japanese language, literature, and culture at Winona State University In just a couple of days, the English translation of Haruki Murakami’s most recent novel, Shikisai o motanai Tazaki Tsukuru to, kare no junrei no toshi will be released (aka Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of … More Return to the Enchanted Forest: ‘Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage’

Reflections on Jacques Derrida, born on this day in 1930.

July 15, 2014

BY CARY WOLFEFounding editor, Posthumanities Series at University of Minnesota Press On this occasion of what would have been Jacques Derrida’s 84th birthday, it is worth reflecting once more on the resonance of his work for our own moment—a resonance that depends not only on his own remarkable body of writings, of course, but also … More Reflections on Jacques Derrida, born on this day in 1930.

Racial inequality remains etched into the very foundation of the U.S. interstate highway program and its cities.

July 10, 2014

A Los Angeles freeway in 2009. In his new book, Eric Avila digs into thecultural history of the U.S. interstate highway program.Image via Creative Commons. BY ERIC AVILAProfessor of history, Chicano studies, and urban planning at UCLA——- Avila is the author of The Folklore of the Freeway: Race and Revolt in the Modernist City, which … More Racial inequality remains etched into the very foundation of the U.S. interstate highway program and its cities.

"No money, no water" for Detroit—and possible punitive actions from the UN.

June 27, 2014

In addition to the water news out of Detroit, the UN has declared the U.S.to be in violation of international human rights laws by not supplying cleanwater to the poor. BY KAREN PIPERAuthor and professor of postcolonial studies in English and adjunct professor in geography at the University of Missouri Flushing a toilet in Detroit … More "No money, no water" for Detroit—and possible punitive actions from the UN.

For military families, the battle for inner peace during deployment is hard-fought.

April 30, 2014

Lisa Leitz was one of approximately 300 members of Military Families Speak Out in attendance at a September 24, 2005, protest in Washington, D.C., organized by United for Peace and Justice and ANSWER. The groups estimate that up to 500,000 protesters were in attendance. BY LISA LEITZAssistant professor of sociology and director of Project Pericles … More For military families, the battle for inner peace during deployment is hard-fought.

The definition of academic freedom, for many, does not accommodate dissent.

April 16, 2014

BY STEVEN SALAITAAssociate professor of English at Virginia Tech Academic freedom is often a diversion from the free practices of academic labor. It does not yet fully accommodate dissent. In many ways, as the essays in the collection The Imperial University: Academic Repression and Scholarly Dissent illustrate, academic freedom is a byproduct (and progenitor) of deeply … More The definition of academic freedom, for many, does not accommodate dissent.

The BDS movement and the front lines of the war on academic freedom.

April 9, 2014

BY SUNAINA MAIRA Professor of Asian American studies at the University of California, Davis In December 2013, the American Studies Association announced that it had endorsed an academic boycott of Israeli academic institutions, following two years of discussion in the association and based on a majority vote by the membership in support of the boycott … More The BDS movement and the front lines of the war on academic freedom.

Olympic architecture and a lost opportunity in Sochi

March 6, 2014

Fireworks over the Fisht Olympic Stadium in Sochi, Russia, during the 2014 Winter Olympics. BY KATHLEEN JAMES-CHAKRABORTYProfessor of art history at University College Dublin After last week’s closing ceremony of the Sochi Winter Olympics, many of the athletic performances will be remembered for a long time; not so the architecture. The Winter Olympics seldom produce … More Olympic architecture and a lost opportunity in Sochi

‘Pandemonium’ and the 20th anniversary of Derek Jarman’s passing

February 12, 2014

BY TONY PEAKEBiographer of Derek Jarman On the 19th of February, it will have been 20 years since Derek Jarman died, at age 52, of HIV-related causes. To mark the occasion, a range of activities have been planned in the UK, kicking off with Derek Jarman: Pandemonium, an exhibition at King’s College, London, where Jarman … More ‘Pandemonium’ and the 20th anniversary of Derek Jarman’s passing