CMU LIBRARY COLLECTIONS - 2003
Information
about new and important diversity-related resources available at the
CMU Libraries.
December, 2003
Through Chinese Women's Eyes [Videorecording].
[Ckeck-out Desk: HQ1767 .T47 1997t]
The documentary film was made by a Chinese American anthropologist,
Mayfair Yang, a Taiwan-raised daughter of mainland Chinese parents.
She published two books in the late 80s and earlier 90s. She was one
of the earliest researchers who paid attention to the contemporary Chinese
society. She was a graduate student in Shang Hai in 1982. After ten
years, she returned to Shang Hai and recorded the transformation of
Chinese women by interviewing several of them including two film and
TV directors, a professor, a factory worker, a woman entrepreneur, and
a government women federation worker. These interviewees represented
different generations and occupations of Chinese women. Their experiences
reflected the dramatic social change from the semi-feudal/semi-colonial
society, state ordered society, to a consumer society. The topics involved
were de-gender and de-sexualization during the Mao era, family and marriage,
divorce, single women, and women's consciousness affected by the different
stages of the society. Although the transformation is still experiencing
an unprecedented change, Chinese women's consciousness has been recognized
and developed by Chinese women themselves, and it has been growing stronger.
For more information, ask at the Reference Desk on the second floor
of the Park Library building, or call 989-774-3470.
(Review by Rui Wang)
November, 2003
American Women: a Library of Congress guide for the Study of
Women's History and Culture in the United States.
[Books KF 478. B34 2002]
A new edition of volume 2 of the series Women in American Law, it analyzes
the developments between 1933 and the present related to law and feminism.
The author Judith A. Baer, a political scientist, provides her own reasoning
in regards to the history and current status of legal issues/developments
that affect women in the U. S. Areas covered include the constitution,
employment, intimacy, reproduction and education. A list of suggested
readings is included at the end of each chapter. 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)
October, 2003
Michigan, 2000. Summary Population and Housing Characteristics
: 2000 Census of Population and Housing. [2002].
[DOC. C 3.223/18:2000 PHC-1-24]
Also available via Internet: http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS26519
The data in this book were derived from Census 2000 questions asked
of the entire State of Michigan population and about every housing unit
(referred to as the 100% questions, found on the "short form").
The subjects of the statistical tables are age, Hispanic or Latino origin,
household relationship, race, sex, tenure (owner- or renter-occupied),
and vacancy characteristics. Land area measurements and population density
also are provided. For more information, ask at the Reference Desk on
the second floor of the Park Library building, or call 989-774-3470.
(Review by Dave Shirley)
September, 2003
Women in American Law: the struggle toward equality from the
new deal to the present.
[Books: KF 478. B34 2002]
A new edition of volume 2 of the series Women in American Law, it analyzes
the developments between 1933 and the present related to law and feminism.
The author Judith A. Baer, a political scientist, provides her own reasoning
in regards to the history and current status of legal issues/developments
that affect women in the U. S. Areas covered include the constitution,
employment, intimacy, reproduction and education. A list of suggested
readings is included at the end of each chapter. 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)
August, 2003
Strange Fruit : Billie Holiday, Café Society, and an Early
Cry for Civil Rights.
[Books: ML 3477 .M37 2000]
In this short, accessible book, author David Margolick focuses on one
of the most politically powerful popular songs in American history,
Strange Fruit by Abel Meeropol . When Billie Holiday began performing
this anti-lynching song in 1939, political statements by popular entertainers
were a rarity and the civil rights movement was in its infancy. The
book includes a detailed account of the composition of the song, Holiday's
involvement with and her performances of the then controversial work,
and the song's impact from the beginning of the civil rights movement
up to the present day. Also included are overviews of the club scene
in which Holiday initially performed the song and of the overall social
context of the day with regard to race in America. 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)
July, 2003
The Raga Guide: A Survey of 74 Hindustani Ragas.
[Books: M 1808 .R34 1994t; plus 4 CD's at the check-out desk]
A guide to 74 of the best known ragas of North Indian (Hindustani)
classical music, consisting of nearly 200 pages of text and four CD's
totaling over 5 hours of musical examples. The text opens with an introduction
to raga, the melodic basis of Indian music. Then a brief analysis of
each of the 74 ragas is presented, along with transcriptions in western
and Indian notation, and lyrics for the vocal performances. The text
concludes with forty color plates of classic Indian paintings representing
ragas. The CD's contain brief expositions of each of the 74 ragas by
leading master musicians; Hariprasad Chaurasia on flute, Buddhadev DasGupta
on sarod, and Shruti Sadolikar-Katkar and Vidyadhar Vyas on vocals.
For more information, ask at the Reference Desk on the second floor
of the Park Library building, or call 989-774-3470.
(Review by David Ginsburg)
June, 2003
Mapping Census 2000: The Geography of U.S. Diversity (Census
Special Reports, Series CENSR/01-1). 2001.
[DOC. C 3.205/8-3: 1]
Also available via Internet: http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS15452
This atlas of computer-generated color maps presents a news-filled
first look at diversity and change in the U.S. population in the last
decade. The report presents pairs of maps on facing pages, often showing
a 2000 population distribution map and a corresponding 1990 to 2000
change in population. Each page features county-level detail for the
50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Each page also
includes a small state-level map for a simplified view of the population
theme. The report begins with general sections on the total population
and over-all diversity and then systematically maps data for five race
categories and Hispanic or Latino groups. Includes bibliographical references.
For more information, ask at the Reference Desk on the second floor
of the Park Library building, or call 989-774-3470.
(Review by Dave Shirley)
May, 2003
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture.
[REF: GT 2850 .E53 2003]
This three volume encyclopedia addresses food and eating from an international
cultural and social perspective. Its extensive, well- documented articles
are written by a wide ranging group of experts including anthropologists,
food historians, nutritionists and dieticians, farmers, agronomists
and horticulturalists, and chefs, bakers and other culinary arts specialists.
Topics covered include specific foods, food preparation, the food habits
of many regions and cultures, nutrition, hunger, and other food related
health issues, along with psychological, social, historical, and religious
aspects of food, and much more. The encyclopedia is richly illustrated
with photographs, art reproductions, and maps. 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)
April, 2003
The God of Small Things.
[Books: PR 9499.3 .R59 G63 1998]
Arundhati Roy's first novel, The God of Small Things, has not
only won critical attention but also the Booker Prize for 1997. Set
in Kerala, one of the most scenic states of India, the novel mainly
tells the story of a pair of twins, Rahel and Estha and their mother,
Ammu. However, many other stories, such as those of Ammu's Syrian Christian
family, their friends, and the villagers form the core of this narrative.
Coming relatively recently from the Indian subcontinent, The God
of Small Things is yet another novel that upholds the ancient Indian
storytelling tradition. A powerful comment on the oppressive hierarchies
of class, caste, and gender, this narrative depicts their tragic consequences
on the lives of Ammu, her children, and Velutha, her dalit - untouchable
- lover. The relationship between Chacko, Ammu's England-returned socialist
brother, and Margaret, his English ex-wife, adds a new dimension to
the hierarchies already existing in the novel. Chacko and Margaret's
relationship embodies the binaries of the colonized and the colonizer.
Moving back and forth in time, the narrative is unfolded through the
memories of children. Roy's language is full of lyrical beauty and rich
with the texture of local culture. The God of Small Things certainly
makes the reader look forward to reading more novels from this author.
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)
March, 2003
Feminist Writers.
[REF PN 451 .F46 1996t]
This encyclopedia of feminist writers includes entries for authors,
both male and female, of fiction and nonfiction, whose works contain
feminist themes relative to the era in which they were written. Each
entry includes biographical information, a complete list of publications,
and a list of secondary literature about the author including additional
biographical as well as critical essays. International in scope, this
work includes a nationality index in addition to title, genre, and subject
indexes. For more information, ask at the Reference Desk on the second
floor of the Park Library building, or call 989-774-3470.
(Review by Krista Graham)
February, 2003
Women Playwrights of Diversity: A Bio-Bibliographical Sourcebook.
[REF PS 338 .W6 P48 1997]
This resource seeks to outline the careers and works of selected contemporary
women playwrights who write "from and about the ethnic and cultural
diversity of America". The book includes entries for female African
American, Asian American, Latina, and/or lesbian playwrights. Each entry
includes a brief biography, a description of the author's plays, a selected
production history, list of published works, awards, and a bibliography
of critical responses. In essence, this resource is intended to serve
as a guide to those individuals interested in studying or producing
plays by women of diversity. For more information, ask at the Reference
Desk on the second floor of the Park Library building, or call 989-774-3470.
(Review by Krista Graham)
January, 2003
Chaucer and the Jews: Sources, Contexts, Meanings.
[Books: PR1928.J48C48 2002]
Edited by Sheila Delany, Chaucer and the Jews: Sources, Contexts,
Meanings aims to look at Geoffrey Chaucer, the English canonical
author, from a fresh perspective and "to recuperate a side of his
work and culture that has unusually been occluded" (p. viii). Delany
argues in her introduction that there is little mutual awareness between
conventionally trained medievalists and their Jewish studies colleagues.
Specifically, she disagrees with the conventional approach to Chaucer
that largely underlines the theological or catholic underpinnings of
his poetry. Delany and other writers in this volume claim that although
the Jews were expelled from England in 1290 - even before Chaucer was
born - they and their culture continued to play an important role in
the English Christian imagination throughout the late middle ages influencing
the works of Chaucer and his contemporaries. Colin Richmond, a contributor
to this volume, further suggests that even though they were "out
of sight" the Jews never really went "out of mind;" on
the contrary, they remained crucial to the formation of Anglo-Saxon
attitudes and the concept of "Englishness" itself (p. 214).
The contributors exemplify this and similar arguments by examining the
representation of the Jews in Chaucer's poetry as well as the theological,
political, folkloric, and social factors influencing that representation.
Divided into three parts and containing fourteen scholarly essays, this
volume throws an interesting light not only on Chaucer's poetry but
also on the cultural diversity of his age. 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)
