Thursday, March 26, 2009

The Cambridge Introduction to Postcolonial Literatures in English

The past century has witnessed the extraordinary flowering of fiction, poetry and drama from countries previously colonised by Britain, an output which has changed the map of English literature. This introduction, from a leading figure in the field, explores a wide range of Anglophone post-colonial writing from Africa, Australia, the Caribbean, India, Ireland and Britain. Lyn Innes compares the ways in which authors shape communal identities and interrogate the values and representations of peoples in newly independent nations. Placing its emphasis on literary rather than theoretical texts, this book offers detailed discussion of many internationally renowned authors, including James Joyce, Chinua Achebe, Salman Rushdie, Les Murray and Derek Walcott. It also includes historical surveys of the main countries discussed, a glossary, and biographical notes on major authors. Lyn Innes provides a rich and subtle guide to a vast array of authors and texts from a wide range of sites. [Description provided by the publisher]

PR9080.I55

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Democracy: An Opposing Viewpoints Guide (Writing the Critical Essay)

Throughout history, people have engaged in heated debates over controversial issues. Each title in The History of Issues series shows how arguments have both changed and remained constant over time, proving the old adage that "the more things change the more they stay the same." Each anthology in the series contains a wide range of primary documents-including speeches, court cases, personal reflections, and newspaper accounts-that bring controversies from previous eras to life. Essays by historians and modern scholars add background and insight. An annotated table of contents, chronology of key events, and thorough index facilitate quick reference. An extensive bibliography and list of organizations to contact offer avenues for further research. All of these features combine to provide a unique historical perspective on issues that continue to spark intense debate. [SOURCE: Barnes and Noble]

JK1726.D46

Black Americans in Congress, 1870-2007

Product Description
Black Americans in Congress, 1870–2007, is a comprehensive history of the more than 120 African Americans who have served in the United States Congress. Written for a general audience, this book contains a profile of each African-American Member, including notables such as Hiram Revels, Joseph Rainey, Oscar De Priest, Adam Clayton Powell, Shirley Chisholm, Gus Hawkins, and Barbara Jordan. Individual profiles are introduced by contextual essays that explain major events in congressional and U.S. history. [Description provided by the publisher]

E185.96.B526 Reference

Change We Can Believe in: Barack Obama's Plan to Renew America's Promise

Product Description
The election of Barack Obama as President of the USA is a defining moment for all of us. After years of failed policies and a failed politics from Washington, change has arrived. Barack Obama now has the chance to reclaim the American dream. He has proven to be a new kind of leader - one who can bring people together, be honest about the challenges we all face, and move his nation forward. "Change We Can Believe In" outlines his vision for America and its standing in the world. In these pages you will find bold and specific ideas about how Barack Obama plans to fix the ailing American economy and strengthen its middle class, make health care affordable for all, achieve energy independence, and keep America safe in a dangerous world. "Change We Can Believe In" asks us not just to believe in Barack Obama's ability to bring change to Washington, it asks us to believe in the ability of each of us to change the world. [Description provided by the publisher]

E901.1.o23.o33 Reference

Earthly Paradise: The Private Lives of the Pre-Raphaelites


The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (also known as the Pre-Raphaelites) was a group of English painters, poets, and critics, founded in 1848 by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti, James Collinson, John Everett Millais, Frederic George Stephens, Thomas Woolner and William Holman Hunt.

The group's intention was to reform art by rejecting what they considered to be the mechanistic approach first adopted by the Mannerist artists who succeeded Raphael and Michelangelo. They believed that the Classical poses and elegant compositions of Raphael in particular had been a corrupting influence on the academic teaching of art. Hence the name "Pre-Raphaelite". In particular, they objected to the influence of Sir Joshua Reynolds, the founder of the English Royal Academy of Arts. They called him "Sir Sloshua", believing that his broad technique was a sloppy and formulaic form of academic Mannerism. In contrast, they wanted to return to the abundant detail, intense colours, and complex compositions of Quattrocento Italian and Flemish art.

The Pre-Raphaelites have been considered the first avant-garde movement in art, though they have also been denied that status, because they continued to accept both the concepts of history painting and of mimesis, or imitation of nature, as central to the purpose of art. However, the Pre-Raphaelites undoubtedly defined themselves as a reform-movement, created a distinct name for their form of art, and published a periodical, The Germ, to promote their ideas. Their debates were recorded in the Pre-Raphaelite Journal. [Wikipedia]

ND467.5.P7.M69

Creating Motion Graphics with After Effects: Essential and Advanced Techniques, 4th Edition

Product Description
Trish and Chris Meyer share fifteen years of real-world film and video production experience inside the critically acclaimed Creating Motion Graphics with After Effects. More than a step-by-step review of the features in After Effects, you will learn how the program thinks so that you can realize your own visions more quickly and efficiently. This full-color book is jammed full of tips, gotchas, and sage advice that will help you survive whatever your next project throws at you.

Creating Motion Graphics 4th Edition has been heavily revised, reuniting the previous two volumes plus adding detailed coverage of new features introduced in After Effects 7 and CS3 Professional to form one massive, essential reference. The enclosed DVD-ROM contains source footage and project files for the numerous exercises which help reinforce each concept. The DVD also includes over 180 pages of additional information, including lengthy Bonus Chapters on Expressions and Effects. [Description provided by the publisher]

TR858.M49

After Effects Expressions

Product Description
Put the power of Expressions to work in your animations with controls and efficiencies impossible to achieve with traditional keyframing techniques.

No programming skills are required. Foundation concepts and skills orient the new designer and serve as a handy reference to the experienced one. Basics of creating Expressions, variables, commands, and Expression helpers precede the leap into JavaScript and math essentials for more advanced Expressions that include randomness and physical simulations.

Full color illustrations display the scripts and the resulting effects, Pick Whip techniques, and sequential animations. Downloadable companion files include QuickTime movies of the demo animations, and AE project files that permit you to examine the Expressions. [Description provided by the publisher]

TR858.G35

Black Literature Criticism; Classic and Emerging Authors Since 1950 - 3 Volume Set


Product Description
Complementing two earlier publications from Gale in the subject matter, including the RUSA award-winning Black Literature Criticism and its Supplement, this new title provides a wealth of information on 80 major black writers of the past 50 years. The scope of Black Literature Criticism: Classic and Emerging Authors since 1950 is wide, with authors spanning several genres and representing many nations, including Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Algiers, Haiti, the United States and more.Shaped by an advisory board of scholars led by chief advisor Howard Dodson, Director, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture of the New York Public Library, this publication was designed to meet the needs of university students, upper high school students, general readers and teachers. Featuring a broad selection of the best literary criticism from the last several decades of the 20thcentury and the first decade of the 21stcentury, this set also includes biographical sketches, critical and historical reception of each authors work, comprehensive notes and expansive lists of additional materials for further study. Approximately one third of the set updates classic black authors originally covered in Black Literature Criticism; the other two thirds of the set treat new and emerging authors not covered before. For those authors who were covered in earlier publications, all new criticism has been provided and all biographical sketches have been completely updated. [Description provided by the publisher]

PS153.N5.B566 Reference

West Indian Immigrants: A Black Success Story?


Product Description
West Indian immigrants to the United States fare better than native-born African Americans on a wide array of economic measures, including labor force participation, earnings, and occupational prestige. Some researchers argue that the root of this difference lies in differing cultural attitudes toward work, while others maintain that white Americans favor West Indian blacks over African Americans, giving them an edge in the workforce. Still others hold that West Indians who emigrate to this country are more ambitious and talented than those they left behind. In West Indian Immigrants, sociologist Suzanne Model subjects these theories to close historical and empirical scrutiny to unravel the mystery of West Indian success.

West Indian Immigrants draws on four decades of national census data, surveys of Caribbean emigrants around the world, and historical records dating back to the emergence of the slave trade. Model debunks the notion that growing up in an all-black society is an advantage by showing that immigrants from racially homogeneous and racially heterogeneous areas have identical economic outcomes. Weighing the evidence for white American favoritism, Model compares West Indian immigrants in New York, Toronto, London, and Amsterdam, and finds that, despite variation in the labor markets and ethnic composition of these cities, Caribbean immigrants in these four cities attain similar levels of economic success. Model also looks at "movers" and "stayers" from Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad, and Guyana, and finds that emigrants leaving all four countries have more education and hold higher status jobs than those who remain. In this sense, West Indians immigrants are not so different from successful native-born African Americans who have moved within the U.S. to further their careers. Both West Indian immigrants and native-born African-American movers are the "best and the brightest"--they are more literate and hold better jobs than those who stay put. While political debates about the nature of black disadvantage in America have long fixated on West Indians' relatively favorable economic position, this crucial finding reveals a fundamental flaw in the argument that West Indian success is proof of native-born blacks' behavioral shortcomings. Proponents of this viewpoint have overlooked the critical role of immigrant self-selection.

West Indian Immigrants is a sweeping historical narrative and definitive empirical analysis that promises to change the way we think about what it means to be a black American. Ultimately, Model shows that West Indians aren't a black success story at all--rather, they are an immigrant success story.

SUZANNE MODEL is professor of sociology at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

E184.W54.M63

Encyclopedia of Educational Psychology (2 Volume Set)

Product Description
The field of educational psychology draws from a variety of diverse disciplines including human development across the life span, measurement and statistics, learning and motivation, and teaching. And within these different disciplines, many other fields are featured including psychology, anthropology, education, sociology, public health, school psychology, counseling, history, and philosophy. In fact, when taught at the college or university level, educational psychology is an ambitious course that undertakes the presentation of many different topics all tied together by the theme of how the individual can best function in an "educational" setting, loosely defined as anything from pre-school through adult education. Educational psychology can be defined as the application of what we know about learning and motivation, development, and measurement and statistics to educational settings (both school- and community-based). [Description provided by the publisher]

LB1050.9.E63 Reference