News

This book, written by Raymond and Miriam Ehrlich Eminent Scholar Chair in Political Science Michael Bernhard, examines the ever-evolving role of populism in the modern age. The ideology, which champions the “common folk,” is prevalent in every corner of the globe, and with enough followers can exert serious political pressure on the world’s governments. Bernhard tackles the role of populism from a global perspective, inviting political and sociological experts from multiple countries and discusses case studies from places like Brazil, Venezuela, Germany and the U.S.

Associate Professor of Classics and Digital Humanities Eleni Bozia’s work examines the Greek language during the heights of the Roman empire. During this time, Greek was the second-most spoken language in the empire, after Latin, and Bozia explores how the language evolved by studying its grammarians, lexicographers and literary writers. She argues that native and non-native Greek speakers were united by transculturalism and translingualism, and that shedding light on this nuanced mode of expression could improve our understanding and appreciation of identity.

Professor of English Kenneth Kidd’s latest book is a collection of essays and interviews gathered from many of the most prolific scholars in children’s and young adults’ literature. These pieces address one of the biggest shifts in children’s literature in recent years: a blurring of the lines between genres and shifting ideas of what makes a piece of writing “for kids.” By diving in, readers will learn more about different mediums of children’s literature, some of the genres recently gaining traction like shonen anime and fanfiction, and examples of materials made for kids that push boundaries, like Jim Henson’s “The Dark Crystal.”

Although we’ve come a long way toward gender equality in the past century, it is an unfortunate fact that women in the U.S. still face discrimination, and with that comes threats of violence. Assistant Professor of Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies Maddy Coy delves into this topic in her latest book, examining the contexts, causes and forms of violence women face regularly in this country. The book also explores the history of anti-violence movements and makes cases for different prevention methods, while touching on contested topics like sexuality and prostitution.

In the late 19th to early 20th century, as European nations raced to carve up and colonize Africa, many native Caribbeans began to migrate to the continent to find work in these new British and French colonies. In his book, Assistant Professor of History Philip Janzen charts their journey and explores the challenges they faced while searching for a new life. Often excluded by both Europeans and Africans, they faced marginalization, assimilation, racism and dislocation, but as Janzen explains, they also created new geographies of belonging across the Atlantic.

In this follow-up to his 2022 book, “Chasing We-ness,” Professor of Sociology and Criminology & Law William Marsiglio once again explores the different ways humans connect to one another. This time, he takes a deep dive into how the places and communities we end up in can impact our connections with others, while promoting civic engagement and social justice. Marsiglio ultimately argues that the best way to improve our own lives is to help others, by building communities and places that enrich our lives and foster social equity.

In 1931, during the time of Germany’s Weimar Republic, a film called “Mädchen in Uniform” hit German cinemas. It was a ground-breaking film, adapting a tragic play where an orphan living in a boarding school comes out as lesbian and is subsequently punished by the school’s administration. This new book from Professor of English Barbara Mennel analyzes the film, examining its historical context and how it was shaped by 1920s-era views on sexuality and film conventions. She also explains its importance to cinema today, and how the story has been remade and retold.

Professor of Creative Writing Ange Mlinko’s “Foxglovewise” is a collection of poems, described by critics as a “direct line to Mlinko’s heart.” Together, these poems explore how we live our lives and how we tend to lament over the lives we could have lived. Using geography as an analogy in charting out our lives, the collection begins in Florida and ends in a California cemetery. The winding path, including stops in Crete, Edinburgh and Key West, illustrates that our lives do not follow a straight line, and suggests that much of what happens, or matters, is not on the maps.

For those interested in learning more about how religion shapes our culture and movements, Professor of Religion Anna Peterson’s latest book is a great new resource. In it, Peterson explores how religion contributes to diverse movements for social change, arguing that religion should not be considered an independent variable when examining social movements, usually shaping social processes as often as processes shape it. These arguments challenge the assumption that religion is largely a private matter.

In his new book, Professor of English Peter L. Rudnytsky offers new insights into some of the earliest Western written works, ranging from St. Augustine’s “Confessions” to Milton’s “Paradise Lost.” He does so by analyzing these writings from a psychoanalytical lens, drawing from the works of some of the most renowned psychologists of the past like Freud and Klein. Analyzing these works this way helps readers gain a deeper understanding on how those in the past viewed issues like gender, sexuality and feminism, and also reveals some of the connective tissues between works written decades apart.

Edited by Professor of English Sean Grass, this collection of essays and articles fleshes out the economic side of life writing during the 19th century. Life writing as a genre has existed since humans first put pen to paper, and it encompasses many forms of literature including biographies, diaries and memoirs. During the Victorian Era, life writing became more popular, and the market expanded. This collection looks at some of those market trends, as well as the profits and legal side of writing and publishing these works.