CMU Library Collections - 2006
September, 2006
Multicultural Medicine and Health Disparities
[Books LC RA 418.5 T73 M855 2006]
Co-edited by Dr. David Satcher, former U.S. Surgeon General, and Dr. Ruben Pamies, Multicultural Medicine and Health Disparities provides a wealth of statistical information and references on this subject. Chapters are authored by more than 80 experts from academia, US governmental agencies and healthcare associations. The book is divided into three sections including chapters in the following areas:
- Health-care disparities across the lifespan -Children of Immigrants; Pregnancy: and Geriatrics.
- Health disparities in disease - Diabetes, Oncology; Mental Health; and Obesity/Nutrition.
- Issues in Health Policy and Delivery- Cultural Competencies, Faith-based Initiatives; Complementary/Alternative Medicine; and Case Studies.
Many easy-to-read charts and figures throughout the book help summarize the information. This book comes highly recommended from book reviews in the New England Journal of Medicine (7/13/06) and the Journal of the American Medical Association (5/17/06). For more information, ask at the Reference Desk on the second floor of the Park Library building, or call 989-774-3470.
(Review by Robin Sabo)
August, 2006
The Color of Success
[Books LC 3731.C628 2006]
Written by Gilberto Conchas, The Color of Success examines the academic achievement of Latino, African American, and Vietnamese students in an urban public school setting. Conchas examines why some segments of the school population experience greater academic success than do others. Through comparative analysis, the author reveals teaching methods that create opportunities for successful learning experiences regardless of the student’s racial, social, economic, or academic background. Rather than focusing on the failure of schools to meet the needs of urban youth, Conchas guides the reader to pathways that schools can adopt to facilitate student success. Quotations from students who were the subjects of this study add a personal touch to this valuable comparative study. For more information, ask at the Reference Desk on the second floor of the Park Library building, or call 989-774-3470.
(Review by Ruth Helwig)
July, 2006
The Routledge Companion to Postmodernism [Books B831.2.R68 2005]
In the Companion, Stuart Sim, the editor, undertakes a difficult work of defining the complex and pluralistic cultural movement of postmodernism and outlining its effects on wide-ranging academic fields including philosophy, politics, feminism, religion, postcolonialism, science and technology, art, architecture, cinema, television, fiction, music, and popular culture. This thoroughly revised, updated, and expanded second edition is divided into essays and alphabetized entries which provide authoritative guides on academic concepts, theories, people, and even lifestyles related with postmodernism. For more information, ask at the Reference Desk on the second floor of the Park Library building, or call 989-774-3470.
(Review by Aparna Zambare)
June, 2006
During the last half of the twentieth century many movements have been formed by women around the world. No single book could cover every movement, but the four books below collectively provide a sense of what has taken place in most regions of the world.
Rising Tide: Gender Equality and Cultural Change around the World, by Ronald Inglehart and Pippa Norris
The aim is to find out how modernization has changed attitudes about equality and the impact of those changes in world cultures.
[Books: HQ1075 .I53 2003]
The U.S. Women’s Movement in Global Perspective, by Lee Ann Banaszak
The emphasis is on the Women’s movement in the United States. It also includes comparative perspectives with African Americans, Chile, Russia, Japan, England & Ireland.
[Books: HQ1410 .U18 2006]
Global Feminisms Since 1945, ed. by Bonnie G. Smith
Covers women’s activism from a wide array of countries including; Egypt, Vietnam, South Africa, Brazil, Kenya, Korea, Britain, Japan, Russia, Iran, Germany and China.
[Books: HQ 1154 .G56 2000]
Dialogue and Difference: Feminisms Challenge Globalization, ed. by Marguerite Waller and Sylvia Marcos
It details a series of encounters and dialogues from China, Africa and its diaspora, and Mexico; then end with debates about issues arising from transcultural feminism.
[Books: HQ1155 .D53 2005]
For more information, ask at the Reference Desk on the second floor of the Park Library building, or call 989-774-3470.
(Review by Judy O'Dell)
May, 2006
The Cambridge Companion to Postcolonial Literary Studies.
[ Books PN56.C63C36 2004]
A noted critic, Neil Lazarus, has edited this much needed Cambridge companion to postcolonial literary studies. Postcolonial literary studies emerged as an institutionalized field of academic specialization in the late 1970s. Since then a sea of change has occurred in the field, which this Companion aims to trace. Divided into three parts, the book particularly aspires to introduce readers to key concepts, theories, concerns, and debates; to situate these concepts, debates, and theories institutionally by thinking about them in relation to developments in academic disciplines; and to contextualize the emergence of postcolonial literary studies in broader socio-historical terms and developments at the world level ranging from anticolonial nationalism to globalization, migration flows, and the “brain drain.” A comprehensive list of references accompanies this important book. For more information, ask at the Reference Desk on the second floor of the Park Library building, or call 989-774-3470.
(Review by Aparna Zambare)
April, 2006
Iron Jawed Angels.
[ Media Services DVD 0016]
This drama, originally broadcast on HBO, focuses on the efforts of Alice Paul and Lucy Burns, two “radical suffragettes.” Paul and Burns were part of an activist group that broke off from the more moderate woman suffrage movement during the early 1900’s. They employed tactics considered very radical at the time, such as hunger strikes and daily picketing of the White House, to draw attention to the movement to secure voting rights for women. Their efforts expedited the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920. Performers include Hilary Swank, Frances O’Connor, Anjelica Huston, and Julia Ormond. For more information, ask at the Reference Desk on the second floor of the Park Library building, or call 989-774-3470.
(Review by Sandy Folsom)
March, 2006
Women Behind Bars: Gender and Race in US Prisons.
[ Books: HV9471 .Y68 2006]
Written by Vernetta D. Young and Rebecca Reviere, Women Behind Bars looks at the events that caused the rise in the number of women prisoners during the end of the twentieth century; the costs to the women, their families, their communities and their special needs. The main event affecting the number of women in prison was the Nation’s declaration of the “war on drugs”, which has resulted in long prison terms for a large number of women convicted of small drug crimes. As noted on page one, the female prison population went from 12,300 in 1980 to 96,000 in 2002; of this population the overwhelming number are women of color. This occurred at a time when violent crimes committed by women were going down. To understand the current realities of women in prison, the book begins by looking at the history of women in the prison system. For more information, ask at the Reference Desk on the second floor of the Park Library building, or call 989-774-3470.
(Review by Judy O'Dell)
February, 2006
Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience.
[REF: DT14 .A374 2005]
Originally published in 1999, Africana was the first encyclopedia of Africa and her diaspora. Published with a view to, at least symbolically, unite the fragmented world of the African diaspora, a diaspora created by the European slave trade, this encyclopedia aimed at providing scientific knowledge, setting aside prejudice, and serving as a weapon against racism. Updating and expanding on the first edition, the editors, distinguished scholars, Kwame Anthony Appiah and Henry Louis Gates, Jr., have now added 1200 new entries to this five-volume set. These entries include new biographies, expanded coverage of the African diaspora in Latin America and the Caribbean, and dozens of newly commissioned essays on African American architects, African oral literature, Black Classicism in the United States, slave narrative, migrancy and African literature, and many others. Besides, more than 1100 old entries have been revised. Consisting of articles, maps, photographs, tables, and timelines, the encyclopedia highlights Africa’s great contributions to global civilization. For more information, ask at the Reference Desk on the second floor of the Park Library building, or call 989-774-3470.
(Review by Aparna Zambare)
January, 2006
Straight Talk about Gays in the Workplace: Creating an Inclusive, Productive Environment for Everyone in your Organization.
[Books: HD6285 .W56 2005]
In this updated edition of her book on sexual orientation and gender identity in the workplace, Liz Winfeld, the author, comments on the changes that are taking place in these aspects of human diversity. She observes that the laws regarding sexual orientation and gender identity have become more inclusive during the past few years, especially for the purposes of employment, housing, public accommodations, and credit. Discussing the notion of homosexuality, Winfeld further proposes educational strategies that can be employed for the inclusion of gays, lesbians, and bisexuals in the workplace, attempts to expose the myths surrounding gay and transgender people, and examines same-sex marriage legislation. She claims that the inclusion of the gay community in the workplace will increase productivity and creativity. For more information, ask at the Reference Desk on the second floor of the Park Library building, or call 989-774-3470.
(Review by Aparna Zambare)