Cultural Arts Books

This is a great book. Smith connects changes in the construction of class, gender, and race, to developments in photography. She links the invention and popularization of the daguerrotype to the emergence of the middle class, specifically to the way this class constructed its women as private and its men as protective of that privacy and privileged in their access to it. And she links later developments to the emergence of biological theories of race that, again, bolstered the construction of middle-class in terms of "whiteness." The chapters alternate between discussions of particular photographic archives and works of American literature; each one is astonishingly concise. There is a particularly charming chapter on family albums, early baby-photograph contests, and the explicit links both had to race science, which will make contemporary readers think twice about their own Kodak Moments.

Though the book is intended for an academic audience and offers a major contribution to studies in nineteenth-century literature and visual culture, feminist and critical race theory, it also offers a great deal to non-academics who are interested in the history of the middle class, gender and race in photography, and the relationship between photography and literature.

This book examines the discourse on domestic labor across the 19th and 20th centuries, focusing on how-to manuals, classical Hollywood films, and more recent avant-garde works. The author provides an engaging, sophisticated and well-written history of how we have understood (or, more accurately, obscured) domestic labor as a key component of American national identity. By taking the 19th century into account, the author provides one of the more insightful analyses of American film melodrama and women's cinema. This book is crucial for anyone wanting to understand the role of gender in American modern culture and cinema.

Some of the best pictures I've ever seen, layed out beautifully. The writing is also very well-done and easy to read in addition to be informative. Highly recommended!

Rigal's book is a radically fresh reading of American federalism as a broad cultural phenomenon. It's far out, but far out in the very best sense--a creative and powerful revision.

I recently purchased this book and am thrilled with the command its helped me achieve of the english language. This book contains idioms that are used in everyday American life, yet are not taught in school or to be found in traditional dictionaries. From a non-American stand point, I think this book is great in the sense that it allows one to converse in a fluent manner, incorporating natural idioms into everday conversation. The ability to use idioms is what seperates the good non-native speakers of english to native speakers. "Face the music"- you need this book!

I was required to read this book for an intercultural communications class in college. Upon completion, I am now a communications major, and have completely changed my outlook on life. This is one of the best books I have ever read, but you have to have a open mind about the topics being discussed. It is definately thought provoking. This is not a text book, but a collection of stories about instances in peoples lives. I highly recommend it.

The two architect/authors involved in ANALYZING URBAN POVERTY spent years working on projects to revitalize barrios in their home country Venezuela, and their new book explains in detail how people can use GIS technology to identify and ultimately improve the quality of life in poor urban areas. Collections catering to urban planers and designers, architects, and which are strong in sociological analysis will find this crosses genres in surveying the real-world applications to GIS in helping the poor, making it an invaluable, unique guide.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

This book takes an in-depth and serious approach to a subject all too often either ridiculed or condemned by other authors. Intensely useful for the student (or just the curious) who would like to look at a language phenomenon without the immaturity so many people treat it with.

Dr. Howard Morphy's articles and books are consistently well researched and readable; Ancestral Connections is no exception. This book provides a fascinating and rewarding insight into thought system poorly understood by the average layperson. Although this book presupposes a bit of background knowledge of the social systems and cultures of Arnhem Land, a careful reading of this work will unveil a beautiful and intricate symbolic and artistic system, intimately binding the clans of the Yolngu people to their land and the great ancestral beings who created them. Numbering around 5,000 people organized into 40 clans, the Yolngu are one of the largest and most politically influential Aboriginal groups in Australia, and their social system and totemic organization is representative of many of the cultures of the Top End. Their are few detailed and anthropologically sound studies of Aboriginal thought accessible to the non-specialist; Ancestral Connections is highly recommended as it truly humanizes this poorly understood and complex society, so often subject to inaccurate characterization by the popular media and New Age movement. If you want to understand Aboriginal religion and its place in society, read this book...

Upon the recommendation of the owner of the mountain lodge where we stayed in Otavalo, Ecuador, I ordered Andean Entrepreneurs following our return home. Lynn Meisch has written a highly readable book about the people and commerce of that region, well-researched and full of interesting detail. It is warm and human, reflecting her love of the Otavaleños, with whom she lived for long periods of time. It was fascinating to learn so much about the music, the style of dress, customs, families, entrepreneurial spirit, and long-standing skill with weaving and textiles among these kind people with whom I had enjoyed an interesting visit. This book will be quite valuable for anyone contemplating a visit to Ecuador, or who has returned from time spent there.