- Table View
- List View
The Creative Edge: Inspiring Art Explorations in Libraries and Beyond
by Mary C. FletcherLibrary facilitators of art-based creativity sessions will learn how to choose materials and art experiences appropriate for young people from toddlers to teens and for intergenerational groups.In the modern world, innovative and creative individuals have a distinct advantage: the creative edge. The Creative Edge explains how you can design and conduct art-based creativity programming in your library. Written by a library creativity specialist, this book is the result of the author's many years of experience facilitating art groups for all ages. Her programs have achieved national recognition and will serve as a guide for others to establish art-based creativity sessions. In this book, she incorporates research that documents the importance of creativity as an essential component of childhood development and connects it to library learning goals, including literacy.Creativity research can be applied in libraries and at other public institutions to develop programs that will meet the needs of the next generation. The book includes many practical elements, such as lists for recommended art materials, step-by-step instructions on setup and procedures, and ideas inspired by picture book illustrations that connect to story time themes. The Creative Edge teaches readers how to provide programs that promote child-led exploration, experiential learning, innovative thought, and creative confidence.
David Fincher: Films That Scar
by Mark BrowningFilm scholar Mark Browning offers the first detailed analysis of the work of David Fincher, director of the critically acclaimed films Se7en, Fight Club, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.David Fincher is one of the most exciting filmmakers working in Hollywood today. He has produced a string of groundbreaking films that have achieved both critical and commercial success, while constantly challenging audiences to rethink their expectations of generic boundaries. David Fincher: Films That Scar is the first truly analytical work on the films of this mysterious and complex filmmaker. This insightful book analyzes all of Fincher's feature films, as well as examples of his commercials and pop videos, tracing key influences that include his background in special effects. It considers how he creates roles for strong women, how he has extended the detective genre, and how he adapts cult texts. The book also questions whether Fincher's films, famous for their downbeat endings and "dark" visual style, are really bleak or just part of an unconventional approach to filmmaking. In the end, readers will understand the development of Fincher's individual films and appreciate how the films relate closely to each other.
The Dawn Broke Hot and Somber: U.S. Race Riots of 1964
by Ann V. CollinsWhat were the socioeconomic conditions and factors that resulted in riots erupting in northern U.S. cities in 1964? This book examines the year in American history that brought a new era in race relations to the nation.As the end of the second decade of the 21st century approaches, America seems on the verge of widespread civil unrest due to what is perceived to be consistent injustices against people of color, both in terms of lack of opportunity to improve their socioeconomic status and their treatment at the hands of law enforcement. Similar race-based resentment and anger swept the nation half a century ago. Can the United States avoid a repeat of the past?The Dawn Broke Hot and Somber: U.S. Race Riots of 1964 fills a crucial gap in racial collective violence literature, examining the changing nature of riots in the United States and identifying the conditions and factors that led to the anger and frustration that resulted in riots in July and August of 1964. Through its careful evaluation of specific riots in New York, New Jersey, Illinois, and Pennsylvania, this book shows how cultural and economic changes intersected with political circumstances to shape human actions. Readers will understand the effects that the riots had on the major political and economic issues of 1964, such as the implementation of the Civil Rights Act and the War on Poverty as well as the events of and the outcome of the presidential election between Lyndon Johnson and Barry Goldwater. The book also analyzes the actions taken by local, state, and federal officials to try to understand and quell the violence and considers the racial unrest that followed these riots in the later years of the 1960s and beyond.
Dead Celebrities, Living Icons: Tragedy and Fame in the Age of the Multimedia Superstar
by John David EbertThis in-depth series of literary portraits studies celebrities who died in famous and tragic ways—ways that still resonate as archetypal death scenarios in present day.We know their likes and dislikes, admire their talents, envy them for daring to be what we can't or what we won't. When they are snatched from us, we feel a personal loss and an unwillingness to let go. And so we transform these mere human beings into icons whose stars often shine in death even more brilliantly than in life.Dead Celebrities, Living Icons: Tragedy and Fame in the Age of the Multimedia Superstar explores this phenomenon through a series of essays on 14 men and women who are, arguably, the most famous people of the 20th and early 21st centuries. The book covers the epoch of the celebrity beginning in the 1930s with Howard Hughes and Walt Disney and continues to the present day with the life and death of Michael Jackson. Far more than just a collection of biographies, Dead Celebrities, Living Icons documents the philosophical importance and significance of the contemporary cult of the celebrity and analyzes the tragic consequences of a human life lived in the glare of the media spotlight.
Disney, Pixar, and the Hidden Messages of Children's Films
by Prof. M. Keith BookerThis work is a wide-ranging survey of American children's film that provides detailed analysis of the political implications of these films, as well as a discussion of how movies intended for children have come to be so persistently charged with meaning.Disney, Pixar, and the Hidden Messages of Children's Films provides wide-ranging scrutiny of one of the most lucrative American entertainment genres. Beyond entertaining children—and parents—and ringing up merchandise sales, are these films attempting to shape the political views of young viewers? M. Keith Booker examines this question with a close reading of dozens of films from Disney, Pixar, Dreamworks, and other studios, debunking some out-there claims—The Ant Bully communist propaganda?—while seriously considering the political content of each film.Disney, Pixar, and the Hidden Messages of Children's Films recaps the entire history of movies for young viewers—from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to this year's Up—then focuses on the extraordinary output of children's films in the last two decades. What Booker finds is that by and large, their lessons are decidedly, comfortably mainstream and any political subtext more often than not is inadvertent. Booker also offers some advice to parents for helping children read films in a more sophisticated way.
The DVD Novel: How the Way We Watch Television Changed the Television We Watch
by Greg MetcalfNow that television shows can live forever as DVD sets, the stories they can tell have changed; television episodes are now crafted as chapters in a season-long novel instead of free-standing stories. This book examines how this significant shift in storytelling occurred.In 1981, NBC's Hill Street Blues combined the cop show and the soap opera to set the model for primetime serial storytelling, which is evident in The Sopranos, The Wire, and Breaking Bad. In 1963, ABC's The Fugitive showed how an anthology series could tell a continuing tale, influencing The X-Files, House, and Fringe. In 1987, NBC's The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd changed the situation comedy into attitudinal comedy, leading to Weeds, Nurse Jackie, and Entourage. The DVD Novel: How the Way We Watch Television Changed the Television We Watch not only examines how American television shows changed, but also what television artists have been able to create.The book provides an alternate history of American television that compares it to British television, and explains the influence of Dennis Potter's The Singing Detective on the development of long-form television and the evolution of drama shows and sitcoms. The work considers a wide range of network and cable television shows, paying special attention to the work of Steven Bochco, David Milch, and David Simon, and spotlighting the influence of graphic novels and literary novels in changing television.
Engaging Design: Creating Libraries for Modern Users
by Emy Nelson Decker Seth M. PorterThis book demonstrates how aesthetics, design elements, and visual literacy can be implemented in the library to enhance spaces, programs, services, instruction, and outreach so that your library will appeal to all users.Libraries have come to accept that they must rethink how they appeal to users, and harnessing the power of design can be a powerful means for addressing the changing needs of the community. Decker and Porter introduce "engaging design"—an umbrella term that incorporates multiple design frameworks with a focus on a three-prong approach: aesthetics, design thinking, and service design. These frameworks can be used to guide design choices that will aid in teaching and engaging current and potential library users.In the course of a lively and interesting narrative, Engaging Design introduces basic concepts of aesthetics and good design and explores examples of its successful uses in the academic, public, and special library. It provides simple steps for implementing subtle, but powerful, techniques to improve instruction, human-computer interaction, e-learning, public services spaces, wayfinding signage, and all manner of library programs, events, and services. In addition, the authors recommend easy-to-implement best practices that will help librarians to enhance library-goers' experience. Library administrators will also look to this book for assistance in best addressing the needs of the modern library user.
The Factory: A Social History of Work and Technology (History of Human Spaces)
by Allison MarshThe book goes beyond the assembly line to examine the physical environment of the industrial landscape.What machines are used to make cars and computer chips? Who are the people who make the products? When did robots replace humans on the assembly line? Why are factories configured the way they are? The Factory: A Social History of Work and Technology answers these questions and more, offering readers a behind-the-scenes look into the wonders of mass production. The book traces the history of the factory from the first small cottage workshop through the Industrial Revolution to the large, clean room it is today. It also examines the people behind the machines and how their roles have been defined by the design of factory buildings. Lastly, it illustrates the broader world of industrialization in relation to the effects it has had on workers and the consumer society that feeds it.
Film Firsts: The 25 Movies That Created Contemporary American Cinema
by Ethan AlterThis forward-looking exploration of contemporary American film across the last 40 years identifies and examines the specific movies that changed the film industry and shaped its present and future.Since the mid-1970s, American cinema has gone through enormous changes, such as the birth of the modern summer blockbuster, the rise of the independent film industry, ongoing technological advancements in special effects, and the ever-evolving models for film distribution. Written by a professional film critic and film buff, this book tells the story of contemporary American cinema in a unique and engaging way: by examining 25 key movies that demonstrated a significant creative, technological, or business innovation that impacted the industry at large.Each chapter in this chronological survey of contemporary film is divided into two sections: "The Film," which offers a critical overview of the film in question; and "The First," which describes the specific innovation achieved by that film and places that achievement in the larger historical context. Two additional appendices in each chapter explore other significant aspects of both the film and its groundbreaking nature. The broad coverage—ranging from action movies to horror films to science fiction favorites—ensures the work's appeal to all film fans.
Freedom of Speech: Reflections in Art and Popular Culture (Issues through Pop Culture)
by Patricia L. DooleyThis book examines how freedom of speech is reflected in pop culture by looking at numerous examples of films, websites, television shows, and songs that have touched on—and impacted—this issue.It is easy to overlook the importance of freedom of speech in our modern world, where it often seems "anything goes." In actuality, freedom of speech issues are still highly relevant in the 21st century, even if our cultural and social contexts now allow many forms of expression that were unacceptable in previous eras. This book focuses on how freedom of speech is reflected in pop culture by looking at the films, websites, television shows, and songs that have touched on—and impacted—this issue. It examines specific examples of freedom of speech issues within everything from print media to music, theater, photography, film, television, sports, video games, and social media and demonstrates that pop culture sometimes contributes to the expansion of freedom of speech.
The Future of the Corpse: Changing Ecologies of Death and Disposition
by Karla Rothstein and Christina StaudtThis book reviews the spectrum of death, from when the living person turns to corpse until the person lives in the memory of mourners, and its impact on the ecology of the socio-cultural community and physical environment.This book demonstrates that American society today is in a pivotal period for re-imaging end-of-life care, funerary services, human disposition methods, memorializing, and mourning. The editors and contributors outline the past, present, and future of death care rituals, pointing to promising new practices and innovative projects that show how we can better integrate the dying and dead with the living and create positive change that supports sustainable stewardship of our environment. Individual chapters describe prevailing practices and issues in different settings where people die and in postmortem rituals; disposition and current ecologically and, in urban areas, spatially unsustainable methods; law of human remains; customs and trends among key stakeholders, such as cemeteries and funeral directors; and relevant technological advances. The book culminates in a presentation of emerging sustainable disposition technologies and innovative designs for proposed public memorial projects that respond to shifting values, beliefs, and priorities among an increasingly diverse population.
Game Worlds Get Real: How Who We Are Online Became Who We Are Offline
by Zek ValkyrieThis book explores how after 20 years of existence, virtual world games have evolved: the social landscapes within digital worlds have become rigid and commodified, and "play" and "fun" have become rational and mechanical products.Twenty million people worldwide play Massively Multi-Player Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs). Online role-playing gaming is no longer an activity of a tiny niche community. World of Warcraft—the most popular game within the genre—is more than a decade old. As technology has advanced and MMORPGs became exponentially more popular, gaming culture has evolved dramatically over the last 20 years. Game Worlds Get Real: How Who We Are Online Became Who We Are Offline presents a compelling insider's examination of how adventuring through virtual worlds has transformed the meaning of play for millions of gamers.The book provides a historical review of earlier incarnations of virtual world games and culture in the late 1990s, covering the early years of popular games like EverQuest, to the soaring popularity of World of Warcraft, to the current era of the genre and its more general gaming climate. Author Zek Valkyrie—a researcher in the areas of gaming culture, digital communities, gender, sexualities, and visual sociology as well as an avid gamer himself—explores the evolution of the meaning of "play" in the virtual game world, explains how changes in game design have reduced opportunities for social experimentation, and identifies how player types such as the gender switcher, the cybersexual, the explorer, and the trial-and-error player have been left behind in the interest of social and informational transparency.
George Clooney: An Actor Looking for a Role
by Mark BrowningThis book traces the evolution of George Clooney's successful career, from his humble start as a television heartthrob to his current position as one of the most powerful figures in film making today.It can be said that George Clooney has crafted his artistic brand through a mixture of smart career choices of roles, carefully nuanced performances, and key relationships with directors. He is not just an accomplished actor but a major Hollywood player, serving as director, producer, and writer on many projects. His work garners critical acclaim, and his influence and creative input have been the main reason why some of his films exist at all. This fascinating book analyzes the impressive career trajectory of one of the industry's most powerful figures today.George Clooney: An Actor Looking for a Role is the first book to examine the full range of Clooney's career. Arranged by genre, sections include early television work, romantic comedies, action films, heist movies, political thrillers, and films that blend a number of different genres. Clooney's contributions have not only resulted in three Oscar acting nominations and one win, but his work continues to challenge the conventions of the traditional form and expands the definition of key genres.
Global Pandemic Threats: A Reference Handbook (Contemporary World Issues)
by Michael C. LeMayThis book offers an accessible reference on epidemic and pandemic diseases that provides background information and history, explains why pandemics are a newly emerging threat, identifies the difficulties in coping with them, and provides hope in the form of modern medicine.Global Pandemic Threats: A Reference Handbook provides all-encompassing coverage that introduces key concepts and traces the history of pandemics, enabling readers to grasp the complexity of the global problem and the difficulties of executing effective solutions. Written in an easy-to-understand manner, it provides a "go-to" resource that systematically addresses dozens of diseases of the past as well as re-emergent or newly emerging pathogens that have the potential of becoming pandemics.The book's extensive coverage of past pandemics includes bubonic plague, cholera, influenza, measles, smallpox, tuberculosis, typhoid fever, and yellow fever, and the re-emergence of malaria, measles, pertussis (whooping cough), poliomyelitis, and other contagious diseases. It discusses a broad range of newly emerging viral threats, such as AIDS/HIV, avian flu, anthrax, botulism, Ebola, E. coli, Gulf War syndrome, hanta virus, Lassa virus, Lyme disease, Marburg virus, MERS, MRSA, Ricin, Sin Nombre virus (SNV), and West Nile virus. The work offers perspectives from individuals interested and involved in the fight, including medical professionals and health care workers; profiles of key organizations and persons; a helpful timeline of past and present pandemic outbreaks; and a glossary of key terms and concepts.
The Great Depression on Film (Hollywood History)
by David LuhrssenThis book presents the Great Depression through the lens of 13 films, beginning with movies made during the Depression and ending with films from the 21st century, and encourages readers to examine the various depictions of this period throughout history.The Great Depression on Film is a unique guide to how the Great Depression was represented and is remembered, making it an excellent resource for students or anyone interested in film history or U.S. history. Each film is set in a different sector of American life, focusing on such topics as white supremacy, political protest, segregation, environmental degradation, crime, religion, the class system, and popular culture in the U.S. during the 1930s.This book is indispensable for clearing away misconceptions fostered by the movies while acknowledging the power of film in shaping public memory. The book separates fact from fiction, detailing where the movies are accurate and where they depart from reality, and places them in the larger context of historical and social events. Eyewitness or journalistic accounts are referenced and quoted in the text to help readers differentiate between ideas, attitudes, and events presented in the films, as well as the historical facts which inspired those films.
A Guided Inquiry Approach to High School Research (Libraries Unlimited Guided Inquiry)
by Randell K. SchmidtThis book helps educators foster academic success and college readiness: it demonstrates how to instruct high school students to find, process, and think about new information, and then synthesize that knowledge.When students are able to manage topics of high interest by choosing their own subject matter, they learn how to effectively perform pre-collegiate research through a process that they find fun and rewarding. Ideal for high school-level teachers and school librarians, this book provides a unique, holistic approach to guided inquiry that guides students step-by-step through the cognitive, affective, and social processes involved, building critical study skills, time management strategies, collaboration techniques, and communication and presentation skills.A Guided Inquiry Approach to High School Research is derived from a formal research protocol and provides proven techniques and supporting materials that facilitate the process for permitting students to choose their own topic, easily grasping how to search for information, and successfully completing a seemingly daunting research assignment—a process that makes understandings deep and integrative. The included detailed project lessons, student handouts, and rubrics and assessment tools are the result of many years of classroom testing and refinement.
Hip Hop Dance (The American Dance Floor)
by Mohanalakshmi RajakumarThis guide provides an overview of the history of hip hop culture and an exploration of its dance style, appropriate both for student research projects and general interest reading.Rapping. Breakdancing. MCing. DJing. Beatboxing. Graffiti art. These are just some of the most well-known artistic expressions spawned from hip hop culture, which has grown from being an isolated inner-city subculture in the 1970s to being a truly international and mainstream culture that has taken root in countries as diverse as Japan, France, Israel, Poland, Brazil, South Korea, and England.This insightful book provides not only an overview of hip hop's distinctive dance style and steps, but also a historic overview of hip hop's roots as an urban expression of being left out of the mainstream pop culture, clarifying the social context of hip hop culture before it became a widespread suburban phenomenon. Hip Hop Dance documents all the forms of street music that led to one of the most groundbreaking, expressive, and influential dance styles ever created.
His Porn, Her Pain: Confronting America's PornPanic with Honest Talk About Sex
by Marty Klein Ph.D.Written by an award-winning author and veteran sex therapist, this practical, innovative, and often passionate book addresses the explosion of pornography use, advises couples on defusing conflict about it, guides parents in helping their kids deal with it, advises people concerned about their use of it, and shows how honest talk about sex can resolve America's "porn panic."When you first logged onto the Internet in the 1990s, did you ever wonder, "What do you suppose would happen if the United States were flooded with free, high-quality pornography?" We now know the answer, says Dr. Marty Klein, as this is exactly what took place 15 years ago.Written by an award-winning author and veteran sex therapist, this practical, innovative, and often passionate book addresses the explosion of pornography use, advises couples on defusing conflict about it, guides parents in helping their kids deal with it, advises people concerned about their use of it, and shows how honest talk about sex can resolve America's "porn panic."So what did happen when Internet porn flooded America? The rates of sexual assault, divorce, and child molestation declined. And yet various religious groups, politicians, some feminists, anti-trafficking activists, and many marriage counselors talk unceasingly about the damage porn viewing is doing to our society. They have created a "PornPanic" that has demonized the recreation of some 60 million Americans.Americans are always ready for new reasons to feel guilty and ashamed of their sexuality, and Internet porn is the newest reason. Wives and girlfriends worry that they can't compete with it; teens use it as a misguided substitute for sex education, often disturbed by intense adults-only imagery; and psychologically vulnerable people get caught up in hours of compulsive porn surfing every night, feeling isolated and inadequate as a result. Fortunately for his many readers, however, using clear reasoning, clinical expertise, and political savvy, Klein shows that for most people, porn is not the real problem. With the experience gained from 34 years of doing therapy—that's 35,000 sessions—Klein asks a simple but profound question: when we talk about porn, what are we really talking about?This book eases readers' minds as Klein addresses common concerns and debunks common myths while identifying what we should be concerned about. Most importantly, the author explains how we can heal America's obsession with porn by engaging in honest talk about sex—something he knows is neither simple nor easy. The text includes sample conversations to help adults talk to each other about pornography, and suggestions for parents on how to talk to their kids about porn—healthy discussions to help their kids develop "Porn Literacy." This book offers honest, thorough, expert information desperately needed by a nation of people driven to panic about pornography.
Historic Sites and Landmarks That Shaped America [2 volumes]: From Acoma Pueblo to Ground Zero [2 volumes]
by Mitchell Newton-Matza, EditorExploring the significance of places that built our cultural past, this guide is a lens into historical sites spanning the entire history of the United States, from Acoma Pueblo to Ground Zero.Historic Sites and Landmarks That Shaped America: From Acoma Pueblo to Ground Zero encompasses more than 200 sites from the earliest settlements to the present, covering a wide variety of locations. It includes concise yet detailed entries on each landmark that explain its importance to the nation. With entries arranged alphabetically according to the name of the site and the state in which it resides, this work covers both obscure and famous landmarks to demonstrate how a nation can grow and change with the creation or discovery of important places.The volume explores the ways different cultures viewed, revered, or even vilified these sites. It also examines why people remember such places more than others. Accessible to both novice and expert readers, this well-researched guide will appeal to anyone from high school students to general adult readers.
Hollywood Biblical Epics: Camp Spectacle and Queer Style from the Silent Era to the Modern Day
by Richard LindsayThis is the only book of its kind to explore biblical epics from an LGBT perspective, studying films from the silent era, to the postwar major studio era, to the present day.In spite of restrictive Hollywood censorship regulations, filmmakers throughout history have pushed the boundaries of sex and violence when making religious films. In this unrivaled text, author and educator Richard Lindsay analyzes the relationship between bible-based epics and "camp"—films with overwrought acting, casts of thousands, and exotic sexuality. Lindsay presents the ways in which camp style identifies films as "biblical" in the mainstream imagination, while undermining their traditional religious messages through the inclusion of sexually diverse subtexts.Viewed through this lens, this provocative book explores topics like the Jazz Age excesses of The King of Kings, the pre-code decadence of The Sign of the Cross, the horror movie tropes of The Passion of the Christ, and comparisons between Ben-Hur and the gay male fantasies of 1960s beefcake magazines. Additional content features the history of biblical epics and a comparison of the pious expectations of filmgoers against the real content of the films.
Hollywood Heroines: The Most Influential Women in Film History
by Laura L. S. Bauer, EditorThis is a topical resource that provides a comprehensive look at the most influential women in Hollywood cinema across a wide-range of occupations rarely found together in a single volume.Unlike other anthologies, Hollywood Heroines: The Most Influential Women in Film History is a hybrid of film history and industry information with an exclusive focus on prominent women. This reference work includes more commonly discussed categories of important women in Hollywood film history, such as directors and actresses, and reaches beyond them to encompass women working as cinematographers, casting directors, studio heads, musical composers, and visual and special effects supervisors. The wide range of filmmaking crafts covered in the book provides an acute view of the industry and increases the visibility of and quality of representation for women working in Hollywood. By bringing the experience of these influential women to light, Hollywood Heroines joins a growing movement that endeavors to dismantle harmful, long-standing industry myths that perpetuate the systemic underrepresentation of women and the devaluation of women's stories in the Hollywood film industry.
Hollywood's Native Americans: Stories of Identity and Resistance (Non-ser.)
by Angela AleissThis book highlights the contributions and careers of Native Americans who have carved impressive careers in Hollywood, from the silent film era of the early 1900s to the present, becoming advocates for their heritage.This book explores how the heritage and behind-the-scenes activities of Native American actors and filmmakers helped shape their own movie images. Native artists have impacted movies for more than a century, but until recently their presence had passed largely unrecognized. From the silent era to contemporary movies, this book features leading Native American actors whose voices have reached a broad audience and are part of the larger conversation about the exploitation of underrepresented people in Hollywood.Each chapter highlights Native actors in lead or supporting roles as well as filmmakers whose movies were financed and distributed by Hollywood studios. The text further explores how a "pan-Indian heritage" that applies to all tribes in terms of spirituality, historical trauma, and a version of ceremony and storytelling have shaped these performers' movie identities. It will appeal to a wide range of readers, including fans of Westerns, history buffs of American popular cinema, and students and scholars of Native American studies.
If Einstein Ran the Schools: Revitalizing U.S. Education
by Thomas Armstrong Ph.D.Many world-class thinkers and creators have been concerned about the state of education in the United States. Discover their thoughts on how children really learn and what teachers must do to optimally tap children's latent abilities.During the last three decades, education reformers have pushed standardized testing and policies like No Child Left Behind and Common Core to improve test scores and proficiency in basic skills. However, during this period that author Thomas Armstrong calls the "miseducation of America," a number of troubling trends have surfaced, including a decrease in creative thinking scores among children in kindergarten through third grade. Rather than focus on what's wrong with the education system that has produced these outcomes, Armstrong lays out what creative thinkers know about how children should be educated. In an extended thought experiment, he asks what would happen if we turned the reins of educational policy over, not to the politicians and educational bureaucrats, but to eminent thinkers and creators like Albert Einstein, Pablo Picasso, Martin Luther King Jr., Rachel Carson, Doris Lessing, Jane Goodall, and other seminal culture-builders. What might they say about the best way to educate a child? If Einstein Ran the Schools suggests that the answers to this intriguing question should guide future efforts to reform our nation's schools.
In Search of the Sacred: A Conversation with Seyyed Hossein Nasr on His Life and Thought
by Seyyed Hossein Nasr Professor Ramin JahanbeglooIn this book, a series of interviews offers an accessible, revealing, human and intellectual biography of leading Islamic scholar Seyyed Hossein Nasr.Seyyed Hossein Nasr is one of the preeminent philosophers writing today. Sure to be a key resource for decades to come, In Search of the Sacred: A Conversation with Seyyed Hossein Nasr on His Life and Thought illuminates Nasr's experiences and shares his insights on topics from religion and philosophy to science and the arts.Based on a series of interviews, the book combines traditional autobiography with an exploration of the intellectual and spiritual trajectories of the author's thought during key periods of his life. In doing so, it presents a fascinating panorama, not only of the life and ideas of one man, but also of major events ranging from intellectual life in Iran during the Pahlavi period and the Iranian Revolution to some of the major religious and intellectual debates between Islam and modernism. Nasr writes that his "whole life has been a quest for the sacred." This work connects that quest with some of the most important issues of the day in encounters between Islam and the West.
Inspired by True Events: An Illustrated Guide to More Than 500 History-Based Films
by Robert J. NiemiAn up-to-date and indispensable guide for film history buffs of all kind, this book surveys more than 500 major films based on true stories and historical subject matter.When a film is described as "based on a true story" or "inspired by true events," exactly how "true" is it? Which "factual" elements of the story were distorted for dramatic purposes, and what was added or omitted? Inspired by True Events: An Illustrated Guide to More Than 500 History-Based Films, Second Edition concisely surveys a wide range of major films, docudramas, biopics, and documentaries based on real events, addressing subject areas including military history and war, political figures, sports, and art. This book provides an up-to-date and indispensable guide for all film history buffs, students and scholars of history, and fans of the cinema.