University of Nebraska Books

Like Alcibiades arriving late and drunk to the Symposium, I seek not so much to offer a sober oration, but rather an impromptu and heartfelt encomium praising the life and works of Professor Hazel Barnes.

At the age of twenty-one, I first discovered a tattered 1959 edition of Hazel Barnes's Humanistic Existentialism: The Literature of Possibility in a small Connecticut bookstore. The binding was creased; the pages were already beginning to separate from the spine--but like Alcibiades comparing his homely master Socrates to a statue of Silenus, I glimpsed things inside the book's covers "so godlike--so bright and beautiful, so utterly amazing--that I no longer had a choice." Like Socrates' tragic student, I had no choice except to take up the moral, philosophical, and aesthetic challenges posed by Barnes's interpretation of the existential tradition.

And just what is existentialism? It is, as Walter Kaufmann points out in his own Existentialism from Dostoevsky to Sartre, "a label for several widely different revolts against traditional philosophy.... Existentialism is a timeless sensibility that can be discerned here and there in the past; but it is only in recent times that it has hardened into a sustained protest and preoccupation" (11-12). And in her Humanistic Existentialism, Hazel does a peerless job presenting the sustained protest of these often misunderstood philosophers, especially the post-WWII French existentialists Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, and Simone de Beauvior.

Existentialism is not synonymous with radical nihilism or immature hedonism. Rather, existentialism is in fact a deeply ethical philosophy that demands extreme personal responsibility. If according to Sartre "existence" does indeed "precede essence," then you as a conscious individual are free to decide what it means to exist and be human. Because an essential self is an illusion, an existentialist cannot make excuses for his or her behavior by saying, "I can't help it. It is in my nature to lie, cheat, steal, kill, etc." According to this philosophical system, a person's self is the sum of his or her actions. You are what you do. You exist in this world as a conscious individual, and it is your free will that will choose at each moment how to act or not to act without resorting to someone else's standards. However, this does not give you license for narcissism or criminality. Just as you value your free will, you must also value and protect the free will of other conscious minds. To treat someone as an object (being-in-itself) rather than a free, willing human being (being-for-itself) is to live in existential Bad Faith.

Some existentialists were atheists; some were believers--but all were so overwhelmed by the horror of human suffering that they had no choice but to rebel against this metaphysical injustice. Existentialism is frightening, heady stuff. It asks hard questions of both man and God, questions few have ever dared to ask.

When I discovered the works of Hazel Barnes, I was in a deep crisis of faith--a true existential crisis. If everything happens for a reason, how can a supposedly rational and benevolent universe allow so much suffering, especially the suffering of innocent children? Even though Ms. Barnes draws much of her interpretation of existentialism from Sartrean ethics (indeed, she was the first English translator of Being and Nothingness), she also has a deep understanding of existentialism's roots in Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, and Fyodor Dostoevsky, author of the most important novel ever written: The Brothers Karamazov. (Don't believe me? I dare any great-souled man or women to read The Brothers Karamazov and not come away profoundly changed and shaken.) In truth, Hazel Barnes was the first person to guide me toward the peerless Dostoevsky, who to this day stands as my spiritual guide and master.

Professor Barnes, you opened the doorways of the philosophic life for me, and I owe you a great debt. I have never sat in your classroom, but I consider myself one of your students. Your life's work serves as an inspiration to us all--a life lived with integrity and courage. A life lived in existential Good Faith.

With respect,
James B. Pepe

References:

Kaufmann, Walter. Existentialism from Dostoevsky to Sartre. Cleveland: World Publishing, 1956.

Huskers Handbook: Stories, Stats and Stuff About Nebraska Football By Eric Nelson, Chris Jenson

In the interest of full disclosure, I have a couple of fan stories in the book, and I'm referenced as one of the many fans who were interviewed. The author is a friend and former roommate.

"Huskerville" asks the questions pondered by many Nebraskan fans, particularly those of us who've left the state but still call it home. Why does Husker football mean so much to Nebraskans? Why is the connection between Nebraskans and Husker football so strong? Is this connection unique?

Aden provides the answers, referencing countless Husker fans, and a fair amount of Nebraska history along the way. It's a good read. It's heavier than your average sports book, but Aden treats the subject seriously while throwing in some fun.

Annie Dodge Wauneka overcame prejudice against women, Indigenous People, and Dine'. She had the support of a fine man who was happy to stay home and run the ranch and raise their children so that she could make a huge difference in the lives of The People. She travelled and influenced members of Congress and Presidents. Her motto was, "I must go and do more", which she did, because it was hers to do and it needed doing. Every Indigenous female ought to read this book. I think if they did, we'd have fewer problems with domestic abuse, enabling, and alcohol and drug use by males (who start out as boys) and females alike.

This is one of the best books i've read. Fridegard is the worlds most underrated writer. The book basically tells the story of Fridegard himself, he just added some action so it would be more fun to read. Fridegard had a hard time getting the book published because of it's sincere and harsh language. I would recommend anyone to read it.

A sixteen-year-old girl under the pseudonym "Nadia," falls in love with "Amir," a dashing handsome young man who, like many late adolescents, has a religious conversion which compels him to join the GIA, Algeria's terrorist movement. We read Nadia's testimonial as told through journalist Baya Gacemi in a fast-paced 150-page narrative that covers Nadia's initial infatuation with Amir, followed by Amir's cruelty toward all except for his gang of thugs who conceal their selfish narcissistic thuggery under the robes of fake Islamic piety. Nadia becomes essentially a slave and a cook to Amir and his terrorist friends. In detail she describes their draconian cooking rules: not too much spice, peel this, don't peel that, etc. She slowly sees the ruthless violence her husband commits and how, like the Mafia, it destroys communities. In fact, one lesson learned in this book are the many pararells religious terrorist organizations have with the mafia, except for the fact that Islamo-facists are so obsessed with justifying their cruelty with religious verses, to the point that it's both laughable and terrifying.

In the book's final third, Nadia describes how the town, suffering so many beheadings (five girls beheaded for wearing short skirts), turns against the terrorists and will no longer be sympathetic. By the book's end, Nadia must find refuge for she becomes "a wife of a terrorist" and such is a pariah. Her courage to tell her story is another important testimony in the literature about how society cannot be complicit in its most malignant underground communities.

Readers who enjoy this theme will also want to check out Killing Pablo by Mark Bowden.

"The fact that James takes evil both seriously and absolutely," J. A. Ward writes, "is probably one of the main reasons for the great interest mid-twentieth century critics have taken in his work. It is not accidental that the increase in James's appeal has coincided with the rising popularity of Melville, Hawthorne, and Emily Dickinson. A greater religious seriousness - to some, a 'neo-orthodoxy' - and a disillusionment with political and scientific solutions to human anxiety are at least as influential in the James revival as modern criticism's high regard for fictional technique."

In The Imagination of Disaster Professor Ward has taken exception to the commonplace remark that James is a "pure" novelist. He sees him as a man profoundly aware of the crisis of civilization and culture; he finds that James's novels and tales dramatize not only the timeless conflicts of good and evil, man and society, but also the unique form these conflicts assume in the modern world. After defining and analyzing James's conception of evil, the author considers its forms and implications in his fiction, and its relevance to James's fictional purposes. The emphasis in this study is literary rather than theological or moral. The subject "evil" is a means to an end; it serves as a new focus for and explication of James's fiction.
--- from book's dustjacket

Unlike previous studies which documented the roles played by African Americans in the preindustrial "sepia-tinged" frontier West (Cowboys, Buffalo Soldiers, Exodusters, etc.) this is the first comprehensive study of the literature created by African Americans reflecting experiences in the modern, urban, multicultural West as well. Consequently, it covers a lot of territory and genres: Black westerns, melodramas, autobiographies, science fiction, detective fiction, experimental theater and even rap.

The study is limited to "works by African Americans who represent the experience of living in the American West" as opposed to those who were simply born or raised there. Even that boundary is by necessity rather fluid, which is exactly what makes the premise of this book so interesting. In addition to turning over new ground, Allmendinger helps readers view old ground through a new lens. The key word in the title is "Imagining" and I think the author himself has taken an imaginative approach which will appeal particularly to students of American culture.

The author succeeded in using a narrow topic to teach a broader lesson on the plight of thousands of Native Americans during the last century. Every American should understand our government's policies toward Native Americans and its effect both pro and con. Mr. Scherer succeeded by telling the story of the Omahas without prejudice and by allowing the facts to paint the picture. Imperfect Victories is a brilliant introduction to these issues and the resultant human consequences. Mr. Scherer does not portend to give policy insight, but he gives the reader the facts necessary to understand the decisions made by elected officials and bureaucrats that have lasting and real effects on living human beings long after these policymakers have faded from the public scene. I'm looking forward to more books in this series on Law in the American West. I hope other authors take Mr. Scherer's lead and tackle vital policy and judicial issues with clarity and his concise writing style. Though an avid history reader I gained more insight in the 200 pages of Imperfect Victories than from much larger and better-known volumes.

This book is groundbreaking. It collects several of Hymes' articles in one place. Important articles like Breakthrough into Performance are present and expanded. Anyone interested in the poetry of Native American verbal art should read this book. Hymes is at pains to show that a close (linguistically motivated) analysis of Native American verbal art reveals much of that poetry (whether it be the structuring of intitial particles or the uses of sound symbolism). However, for all that is important about Hymes' commentary, the most important feature is the the stories he presents. Vicoria Howard's 'Seal and Her Younger Brother Lived There' (in Chapter 8) is a modern classic. This is an important book for linguists, Native Americanists, anthropologists, and folklorists and is widely influential. It is a pity that it is currently out of print. Shame on the University of Pennsylvania Press.