College of Arts & Letters Bookshelf

A gallery of books by faculty from the Batten College of Arts & Letters, Old Dominion University. Faculty books are also listed under specific departments.

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Wild Flights Poems
2000
Renée Olander

First chapbook of poems written by Professor Renée Olander, ODU Vice President for Regional Higher Education Centers.
Globalization and the Dilemmas of the State in the South
1999
Francis Adams, Satya Dev Gupta, and Kidana Mengisteab

Globalization poses a formidable dilemma for the third-world state. While there are compelling external pressures to liberalize domestic economies, market-oriented reforms threaten the economic well-being of various societal groups. Popular resistance to these reforms has been strong throughout the developing world. This volume examines the political strategies employed by third world governments to maintain programs in the face of domestic opposition. [From Amazon.com]
Henry IV and the Towns: The Pursuit of Legitimacy in French Urban Society, 1589-1610
1999
S. Annette Finley-Croswhite

This book is the first serious study of Henry IV's relationship with the towns of France. Rejected by a majority of his subjects because of his Protestant faith, Henry spent the early years of his reign conquering his kingdom through the use of force, persuasion, bribery, and conciliation. By reopening the lines of communication between the crown and the towns, he strengthened the French monarchy. Thus while this book is not a biography of the King, it offers an in-depth analysis of a crucial aspect of his craft of kingship. [From Amazon.com]
Walking Virginia Beach
1999
Katherine Jackson

With 38 miles of coastline, a beachfront boardwalk, three wildlife refuges, and more than 200 parks, Virginia Beach offers plenty to explore on foot. This comprehensive yet compact guidebook will take you to the best the resort has to offer-whether it's history, seafood, or scenic splendor that intrigues you. Walks in nearby Jamestown, Norfolk, Hampton, and Williamsburg are also featured. With Walking Virginia Beach, you can wander among knobby cypress knees or oaks draped with gauzy Spanish moss. Navigate sidewalks through charming neighborhoods, old and new; investigate the lighthouse of Cape Henry; gobble ice cream at the Farmer's Market. Then cap off your day with a soothing stroll along the seashore, bathed in breathtaking colors of sunset. Here are step-by-step directions and detailed maps of 20 excursions, as well as descriptions of landmarks along the way. You're sure to be on the right track with Walking Virginia Beach to guide you.
Death in Venice, Tonio Kröger, and Other Writings: Thomas Mann
1999
Frederick Alfred Lubich (Editor)

Thomas Mann (1875-1955) won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1929. This is a collection of his shorter works. "Death in Venice", later filmed by Lucion Visconti starring Dirk Bogarde, was published in 1911. It is a poetic meditation on art and beauty, where the dying composer Aschenbach (modelled on Gustav Mahler) becomes fixated by the young boy Tadzio. The other stories are: "Tonio Kroger"; the collection entitled "Tristan"; "The Blood of the Walsungs"; "Mario the Magician"; and "The Tables of the Law". A number of essays are also included. [From Amazon.com]
Medievalism and the Academy, II: Cultural Studies
1999
David D. Metzger (Editor)

Edited book. The impact of cultural studies on contemporary medieval studies is investigated in this latest volume of Studies in Medievalism, which also offers an account of the developing interest of contemporary cultural theorists in the medieval period. Rather than dismissing the connection between medieval studies and cultural criticism as an expression of academic self-interest, the essays identify specific questions which engage both, such as race, history, women, religion, and literature. Topics include the use of Augustine by postcolonial theorists; the influence of studies in medieval mysticism on the development of women's studies programs; and the influence of Foucault and New Historicism on the study of medieval history.
Conflicting Loyalties in Early Medieval Bavaria: A View of Socio-Political Interaction, 680-900
1999
Kathy Lynne Pearson

This text examines the successes and failures of the Agilofingi dukes and their Carolingian royal successors as they attempted to establish effective territoriaity within early-medieval Bavaria. The dukes and kings relied heavily on two major strategies: the use of the Church as an extension of the ruler's authority over both territory and its inhabitants; and the creation of proto-vassalic and vassalic ties with members of the landowning class. Pursuit of these strategies forced the Bavarian rulers to deal with the ambivalence of their clerical and secular elites whose patters of loyalty were shaped by a variety of familial, religious or territorial concerns of their own, not always compatible with the ruler's interests. The book explores these various conflicting loyalties and demonstrates that, although Bavaria did evolve into a distinct territorial principality, the ambitions and loyalties of the landowning elites could never be fully subordinated to royal authority. [From Amazon.com]
Dreaming of Columbus: A Boyhood in the Bronx
1999
Michael Pearson

In this memoir, Pearson renders time and place vividly through lyrical narrative and generous spirit towards his characters, juxtaposing descriptions of adolescent escapades with the grim discipline of parochial schools. In this Bronx, dreams of escape fuse with bittersweet memories. [Amazon.com]
Hammerlock
1999
Tim Seibles

"Tim Seibles' version of our changing and growing American speech range widely, from anguish to comedy, from transcendence to earthly bewilderment. The joy of reading these poems is like overhearing a very smart, crazy neighbor's thoughts as they move between philosophical inquiry and praise for the everyday"--Li-Young Lee. [Amazon.com]
Communication, Race, and Family: Exploring Communication in Black, White, and Biracial Families
1999
Thomas J. Socha (Editor) and Rhunette C. Diggs (Editor)

This groundbreaking volume explores how family communication influences the perennial and controversial topic of race. In assembling this collection, editors Thomas J. Socha and Rhunette C. Diggs argue that the hope for managing America's troubles with "race" lies not only with communicating about race at public meetings, in school, and in the media, but also--and more fundamentally--with families communicating constructively about race at home. African-American and European-American family communication researchers come together in this volume to investigate such topics as how Black families communicate to manage the issue of racism; how Black parent-child communication is used to manage the derogation of Black children; the role of television in family communication about race; the similarities and differences between and among communication in Black, White, and biracial couples and families; and how family communication education can contribute to a brighter future for all. With the aim of developing a clearer understanding of the role that family communication plays in society's move toward a multicultural world, this volume provides a crucial examination of how families struggle with issues of ethnic cultural diversity. [Amazon.com]
Shakespeare's Criminals: Criminology, Fiction, and Drama
1999
Victoria M. Time

By exploring Shakespeare's use of law and justice themes in the context of historical and contemporary criminological thinking, this book challenges criminologists to expand their spheres of inquiry to avenues that have yet to be explored or integrated into the discipline. Crime writers, including William Shakespeare, were some of the earliest investigators of the criminal mind. However, since the formalization of criminology as a discipline, citations from literary works have often been omitted, despite their interdisciplinary nature. Taking various Shakespearean plays and characters as case studies, this book opens novel theoretical avenues for conceptualizing crime and justice issues.

What types of crimes did Shakespeare's characters commit? What were the motivations put forth for these crimes? What type of social control did Shakespeare advocate? By utilizing a content analysis procedure, the author confirms that many of the crimes that plague society today were also prevalent in Shakespeare's time. She gleans twelve criminological theories as motivations for character deviance. Character analysis also provides valuable insight into Shakespeare's notions of formal and informal social control. [From Amazon.com]
Child Social Well-Being in the U.S.: Unequal Opportunities and the Role of the State
1999
Ingrid Phillips Whitaker

The book examines how environmental characteristics (location characteristics) are associated with and determine the social well-being outcomes children experience.
Medievalism and the Academy, I
1999
Leslie J. Workman (Editor), Kathleen Verduin (Editor), and David D. Metzger (Editor)

Edited book. Medievalism, the "continuing process of creating the middle ages", engenders formal medieval studies from a wide variety of popular interests in the middle ages. This volume accordingly explores the common ground between artistic and popular constructions of the middle ages and the study of the middle ages within the academy. Essays treat the genesis of medieval studies in early modern antiquarianism; the erection of academic medievalism through persistent, indeed perverse, appeals to heroic medieval manliness and attenuated female spirituality; the current jeopardy of the book (a medieval invention) in the face of technological assault; the politics of the nineteenth-century academy (F.W. Furnival and others); the editorial practice of Sidney Lanier; and the cultural canonization of Chaucer. [Amazon.com]
Community College Education and Its Impact on Socioeconomic Status Attainment
1998
Elizabeth Monk-Turner

This work examines the role of the community college in the United States and how community college education shapes adult income and occupational status.
Tuned and Under Tension: The Recent Poetry of W. D. Snodgrass
1998
Philip Raisor (Editor)

The essays in this book constitute a close reading of the later poetry of W. D. Snodgrass. Each writer has taken a work or theme that has led to the complexities of Snodgrass's dense layerings of content and technique. These essays also begin to define his relationship to the modern tradition. [Amazon.com]
The History of Freemasonry in Virginia
1998
Richard A. Rutyna and Peter C. Stewart

This book, a product of collaboration and cooperation between two non-Masonic historians and the Grand Lodge of Virginia, is an objective, comprehensive study of the history of Freemasonry in the state of Virginia. The authors relate a fascinating chronicle of Freemasonry, from its British origins two hundred years ago to today. Along the way, they describe the colorful figures who populate this history and debunk many myths about Freemasonry. [From Amazon.com]
Sidewalk Critic: Lewis Mumford's Writings on New York
1998
Robert Wojitowicz (Editor)

Best known for his "Sky Line" column in the New Yorker, where he served as architecture critic for over 30 years, Lewis Mumford (1895-1990) is still revered as one of America's leading cultural critics and an international authority on architecture and urbanism. His provocative and polemical pieces were as well known for the emotion of his writing as for the wit and clarity of his style. A man of letters and part of Manhattan's intellectual elite, Mumford wrote more than 20 books over 6 decades, bridging the seemingly disparate disciplines of architecture, technology, literary criticism, biography, sociology, and philosophy, which he synthesized into a highly original body of work. Sidewalk Critic collects over 50 of Mumford's writings that were originally published in the New Yorker between 1931 and 1940. These seminal essays focus almost exclusively on the New York metropolitan area, providing an unusual glimpse into one of the formative decades in the city's history. They cover all aspects of New York's architecture, including museums, theaters, bridges, tenements, parks, and recreational areas, and they range from a short musing on a midtown luncheonette to an extended series on Rockefeller Center. [From Amazon.com]
Cross-Purposes: Lesbians, Feminists, and the Limits of Alliance
1997
Dana Heller (Editor)

A collection of fifteen interdisciplinary essays examining the history, current condition, and evolving shape of lesbian alliances with U.S. feminists. Contributors explore the social and aesthetic significance of the terms "lesbian" and "feminist" with the interest of reforming and strengthening them. [Amazon.com]
Blood Sacrifice
1997
Luisa A. Igloria

“Written in an English of singular resonance, of lyric richness informed by history, by legend, by political awareness, and everywhere by a deep perception, the poems of this and her other books bring her background of Philippine culture, its past and present, into the larger world of late twentieth-century concerns. This is a poetry outside of schools, of fads and fashion, highly accomplished and deserving of wide, enthusiastic readership.”— Ralph J. Mills Jr., American poet and recipient of the Carl Sandburg Award for Poetry
John McPhee
1997
Michael Pearson

In this first full-length study of McPhee, Michael Pearson argues that the writer successfully employs the techniques of fiction writing in his journalistic art while honoring his obligation to fact. In exceptionally lucid and entertaining prose, Pearson approaches his subject thematically, examining McPhee's lifework in the realms of personal profiles, sense of place, science and technology, and nature. In a comprehensive biographical chapter, Pearson traces the chief influences shaping McPhee's works, including his virtually lifelong residence in Princeton, New Jersey, his 30-plus years as a staff writer for the New Yorker, and his experiences as camper and later counselor at Keewaydin, a boys' camp in Vermont. Separate chapters examine the development of literary nonfiction as a genre and the techniques that distinguish McPhee's writing from other journalists'. Informing the discussions throughout are quotations from personal interviews Pearson conducted with the writer; of special interest is "The Shape of the Future, " a concluding chapter in which Pearson synthesizes the comments of other literary journalists interviewed for their insights into McPhee's works. [Amazon.com]
A Gracious Plenty
1997
Sheri Reynolds

After sustaining terrible burns from a household accident as a young girl, Finch Nobles refuses the pity of her hometown. The brave and feisty loner finds comfort in visiting her father’s cemetery, where she soon discovers that she can hear the voices of those buried underground. When she begins to speak to them, their answers echo around her in a remarkable chorus of regrets, explanations, and insights. A wonderfully wrought amalgam of Steinbeck, Faulkner, Spoon River Anthology, and Our Town, A Gracious Plenty is a masterful tale not soon forgotten. [Amazon.com]
Bitterroot Landing
1997
Sheri Reynolds

Bitterroot Landing introduces Jael, born into a hard life, but a survivor. She will survive even River Bill. The almost impersonal kindness of strangers will rescue her; a priest with a good heart will shelter and teach her; a careful man will take his time and love her back into the world. Voices have always spoken to Jael in her mind, and some of what they have told her to do has been frightening. But the voices she hears now speak of comfort and courage, teaching her to master the ways other people manage to live. Jael has a job now, cleaning in a church, and a room of her own in the church's basement. As she dusts the statue of the Virgin Mary, the Virgin speaks peace to her. "There's definitely too much hurt around here, " she says. "In flaws, you find the truth, " says the small, dark figure of a woman Jael sculpts out of wax. "Come and look at the moon, " says the homeless woman she meets at the laundromat. "Hello, I'm an incest survivor, " say the women in the recovery group that meets every week the church, just the other side of Jael's room. Voices both real and imagined make Jael stronger every day, until she finds she no longer needs them. Until she finds that at last she has a voice of her own. [Amazon.com]
The Persian Gulf Crisis
1997
Steve A. Yetiv

Ideal for student research, this book provides a reference guide to the war as well as seven essays analyzing a variety of aspects of the war and its consequences. The essays address questions such as: How did Saddam Hussein become such a major threat and how has he survived the war? How critical was George Bush in driving U.S. and global foreign policy during the crisis? How were key decisions made? Did the war fail or succeed in retrospect? What were its long-run political, economic, strategic and cultural effects? Can collective security work? Is the United Nations likely to be effective in future crises? What lessons can be learned from the crisis? Yetiv draws on primary documents and extensive interviews with many key players such as Colin Powell, James Baker, and Brent Scowcroft, and Arab and European leaders which cast new light on the event… [From Amazon.com]
Rethinking Language and Gender Research: Theory and Practice
1996
Victoria L. Bergvall, Janet Mueller Bing, and Alice F. Freed

Rethinking Language and Gender Research is the first book focusing on language and gender to explicitly challenge the dichotomy of female and male use of language. It represents a turning point in language and gender studies, addressing the political and social consequences of popular beliefs about women's language and men's language and proposing new ways of looking at language and gender. The essays take a fresh approach to the study of subjects such as language and sex and the use of language to produce and maintain power and prestige. Topics explored in this text include sex and the brain; the language of a rape hearing; teenage language; radio talk show exchanges; discourse strategies of African American women; political implications for language and gender studies; the relationship between sex and gender and the construction of identity through language. [Amazon.com]
Ballistic Missile Proliferation: The Politics and Technics
1996
Aaron Karp

This book addresses the current concern that ballistic missile technologies are spreading throughout the world. It examines the missile and missile-armament programs and technologies, and the ability of countries to acquire such technologies. The concluding chapter investigates international efforts to control ballistic missile proliferation.