Some Recommended Reading...

You're two-thirds of the way through the semester and your brain is churning with new interests. Looking ahead, here are several new scholarly books to consider as you push yourself to the next level.

All titles and descriptions are excerpted from http:/chronicle.com/section/books/55. The Chronicle Review, October 8, 2010.

For those of you who attended Dr. Tom Rogers' (Asst. Prof. Africana Studies) Global Perspectives Talk last week on ethanol production in Brazil, this book may hold particular interest:

Forro and Redemptive Regionalism from the Brazilian Northeast: Popular Music in a Culture of Migration by Jack A. Draper III, Peter Lang Publishing. “Combines literary and cultural studies perspectives in an analysis of the analysis of diasporic nostalgia in forró, a musical genre that represents the experiences of impoverished northeastern Brazilians displaced from their region for economic reasons.”

Several other titles of interest might be:

Made in Mexico: Tradition, Tourism, and Political Ferment in Oaxaca by Chris Goertzen, University Press of Mississippi. “Focuses on Oaxaca in study of how crafts and festivals in Mexico are shaped by the combined interests of tourists and “tradition bearers.”

The Law and the Prophets: Black Consciousness in South Africa, 1968-1977 by Danel R. Magazine. Ohio University Press. “An intellectual history of the Black consciousness movement and the theological turn in South African politics.”

Starring Mandela and Cosby: Media and the Ends(s) of Apartheid by Ron Krabill. University of Chicago Press. “Examines the impact of television on politics in apartheid South Africa through a study of the immense popularity f the Cosby Show; argues that the program, with its portrayal of a black family, helped lay the groundwork for the release of Nelson Mandela.”

Dismantling Democracy in Venezuela: The Chavez Authoritarian Experiment by Allan R. Brewer-Carias. Cambridge University Press. “Argues that all branches of the Chavez government have attacked the Venezuelan constitution.”

World Rule: Accountability, Legitimacy, and the Design of Global Governance by Jonathan GS Koppell. University of Chicago Press. “Combines quantitative and qualitative approaches in a study of 25 GGO’s or global governance organizations, including the World Trade Organization and the International Labor Organization.”