 | In "Marc Chagall and the Lost Jewish World," Benjamin Harshav explores the ways in which Chagall incorporated his own cultural influences in his art. |
The following is a list of books recently or soon-to-be published by members of the Yale community. Descriptions are based on material provided by the publishers.
Seymour Sarason's first novel charts the bond that forms between two Yale academics who meet on the train in New Haven on the day that World War II breaks out in Europe. Harold St. James and Izzy Goldstein learn that they will be working together in two different departments in the same building. Their strong friendship becomes fodder for snide comments and campus newspaper articles, but it also carries them through an initial anti-Semitism, Harold's marriage and his wife's premature death, the House Un-American Activities Committee, the Vietnam War and the Black Panthers. The book can be purchased online through various sources.
Jay Winter is the author of two new books. In "Dreams of Peace and Freedom," he explores how disparate groups of people tried to find their own separate ways to imagine a radically better world, illustrating six key moments when utopian ideas and projects flourished in Europe even as others -- such as those initiated by Hitler, Stalin and Mao -- resulted in the murders of millions of people.
In "Remembering War," Winter traces the origins of contemporary interest in memory, then describes practices of remembrance that have linked history and memory, particularly in the first half of the 20th century. He also considers "theaters of memory" -- film, television, museums and war crimes trials -- in which the past is seen through public representations of memories. The book concludes with reflections on the significance of those practices for the cultural history of the 20th century as a whole.
This book illustrates how the evolutionary principle of punctuated equilibrium can be applied in the fields of public administration, political science, business management and economics. Specifically, "Punctuated Equilibrium" considers how it is that many environmental policy issues remain deadlocked for decades, with little movement, while sometimes significant breakthroughs occur suddenly. Contributors to the volume apply the theory of punctuated equilibrium to environmental and resource issues, assess case histories in water, forestry, fisheries, public lands, energy use and climate -- some of which resulted in breakthroughs, others in stalemate -- and offer insights into the political conditions and tactics that are likely to produce these disparate outcomes.
In this book -- the 16th in a series of occasional volumes devoted to studies in British art -- 20 international scholars explore the work of two of the 20th-century's most noted architectural historians: Henry-Russell Hitchcock (1903-1987) and Sir John Summerson (1904-1992). Both men were key figures in the establishment of Modernism in the late 1950s, but while their areas of interest overlapped, their approaches differed greatly. The contributors to the book investigate their work and methodologies, from their interests in the Northern European Renaissance through their studies of the 19th-century as a precursor to their own times, to their involvement in contemporary issues of design, conservation and museum practice.
Published in association with the Yale University Art Gallery, "The Société Anonyme" highlights the unique history of the Société Anonyme Inc., an organization founded in 1920 by the artists Katherine S. Dreier, Marcel Duchamp and Man Ray. As America's first "experimental museum" for modern art, the organization provided a means for artists, rather than historians, to chronicle the rise of modernism. The group eventually assembled a collection of more than 1,000 artwork. The collection of the Société Anonyme now belongs to the Yale University Art Gallery, and features the work of more than 100 artists, including Duchamp, Ray, Jean Arp, Max Ernst, Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, El Lissitzy, Piet Mondrian, Kurt Schwitters and Joseph Stella, as well as others who contributed to Modernism. "The Société Anonyme" features new archival information, including personal correspondence between Dreier and the artists whose work she assembled, a host of previously unpublished images, essays by leading scholars and an interview with artists Robert and Sylvia Mangold about the contemporary significance of this collection.
"Reconceiving the Gene" relates how, between 1954 and 1961, the biologist Seymour Benzer mapped the fine structure of the rII region of the genome of the bacterial virus known as phage T4. Benzer's accomplishments are widely recognized as a tipping point in mid-20th-century molecular biology, when the nature of the gene was recast in molecular terms, thus leading geneticists into the molecular age. Drawing on Benzer's complete record of his experiments, his correspondence and published sources, this book reconstructs how the former physicist achieved his landmark investigation.
Of late, the media has perpetuated the idea that the work of Leo Strauss molded the opinions of neoconservative foreign policy thinkers connected with the Bush administration. In "Reading Leo Strauss," Steven Smith recasts the renowned philosopher's thought in a more a nuanced light, portraying him not as the father of neoconservatism but instead as an ardent defender of liberal democracy. Smith argues that Strauss "did not bequeath a system, doctrine or an 'ism,' despite what may be attributed to him" and notes that the philosopher's students went on to serve in both the Bush and Clinton administrations. At the center of Strauss' thought, contends Smith, is the irreconcilable conflict between reason and revelation. Smith organizes his book with this problem in mind, with one section focused on Stauss' political and philosophical thought and another focused on his writings about religion.
In "Marc Chagall and the Lost Jewish World," Benjamin Harshav explores the artist's use of cultural representation within Modernist painting and his strong objection to stylistic formalism in modern art. Harshav describes the complexity and richness of the Cubist, Expressionist and Surrealist elements in the distinctive world Chagall created and imbued with his own cultural influences. Harshav illustrates how Chagall's oeuvre contains allusions to Jewish language, imagery and folklore but also includes Christian motifs, and how the artist blends the two in a way that creates a complementary dialogue between the two cultures.
This book highlights contemporary research on the causes, treatment and prevention strategies for depression in women, which is the leading cause of disability for women worldwide. "Understanding Depression in Women" also proposes how these findings can inform practice and provide the basis for more effective mental health policy.
In this short paperback original, Immanuel Wallerstein argues that the concepts of civilization, development and progress are, in fact, not global. Rather, he says, their genesis is firmly rooted in European thought and their primary function has been to provide justification for powerful states to impose their will against the weak under the smoke-screen of what is supposed to be both beneficial to humankind and historically inevitable. Wallerstein draws together discussions of the idea of orientalism, the right to intervene and the triumph of all-inclusive data.
In "Sex and the Single Savior," Dale Martin probes questions about gender and sexuality in biblical texts. He argues that society's contemporary obsession with marriage -- and the whole search for the "right" sexual relationships -- is antithetical to the message of the gospel. Based on a faithful reading of the scriptural texts, Martin argues for engaging Scripture in a way that goes beyond the standard historical-critical questions and the assumptions of textual agency to find a faith that has no foundations other than Jesus Christ.
T H I S
Yale Books in Brief
St. James and Goldstein at Yale
Seymour Sarason, professor emeritus
of psychology
(a self-published electronic book)
Dreams of Peace and Freedom: Utopian Moments in the 20th
Century; and Remembering War: The Great War Between Memory and History in the Twentieth Century
Jay Winter, the Charles J. Stille Professor
of History
(Yale University Press)
Punctuated Equilibrium and the Dynamics of U.S. Environmental
Policy
Edited by Robert Repetto, professor
in the practice of sustainable development, with a foreword by James Gustave Speth, dean of the School of Forestry and
Environmental Studies
(Yale University Press)
Summerson and Hitchcock:
Centenary Essays on Architectural Historiography
Edited by Frank Salmon, adjunct
associate professor of the history of art
and director of The Paul Mellon Centre
for Studies in British Art
(Yale University Press)
The Société Anonyme:
Modernism for America
Edited by Jennifer R. Gross, the Seymour H. Knox Jr. Curator of Modern and
Contemporary Art, with contributions from Susan Greenberg, the Horace
W. Goldsmith Assistant Curator of
Modern and Contemporary Art;
Elise K. Kenney, archivist at the
Yale University Art Gallery; David Joselit, professor of art history; and others
(Yale University Press)
Reconceiving the Gene: Seymour Benzer's Adventures in Phage
Genetics
The late Frederic Lawrence Holmes,
the Avalon Professor and chair of the
Section of Medicine; edited by William
C. Summers, professor of therapeutic
radiology and molecular biophysics and biochemistry, and lecturer in history
(Yale University Press)
Reading Leo Strauss: Politics,
Philosophy, Judaism
Steven B. Smith, the Alfred Cowles
Professor of Political Science and
master of Branford College
(University of Chicago Press)
Marc Chagall and the Lost Jewish World: The Nature of His Art
and Iconography
Benjamin Harshav, professor of comparative literature and Slavic languages and
literature; and the Jacob and Hilda Blaustein Professor of Hebrew Language and Literature
(Rizzoli International Publications Inc.)
Understanding Depression in Women: Applying Empirical Research to Practice and Policy
Edited by Carolyn M. Mazure, professor of psychiatry and psychology, associate dean of faculty affairs at the School of Medicine and director of Women's Health Research, and Gwendolyn Puryear Keita
(APA Books)
European Universalism:
The Rhetoric of Power
Immanuel Wallerstein, senior research scholar in sociology
(The New Press)
Sex and the Single Savior:
Gender and Sexuality in Biblical Interpretation
Dale B. Martin, the Woolsey Professor
of Religious Studies
(Westminister John Knox Press/Geneva Press)
W E E K ' SS T O R I E S
SOM gets largest single donation in its 30-year history
Program to boost conservation in developing world
Study: Job loss near retirement doubles heart attack risk
Union, management working together . . .
Yale pledges full cooperation in federal review
School of Nursing to launch Ph.D. program
In honor of family's gift, facility has been renamed . . .
Students work to enrich Elm City on summer fellowship
MEDICAL SCHOOL NEWS
Yale leading national study on causes of meningioma
Placenta may hold key to early diagnosis of autism
Belitsky named as education dean; Ment to oversee admissions
Radiotherapy may benefit some lung cancer patients
Guidelines aim to preserve fertility in cancer patients
Mental health coverage may be financially feasible
Study calls for reforms in patient transfer protocols
Study: Survival rate poor in patients with kidney disease . . .
Sindelar named ASHE president
'To Know the Dark' exhibit features American artists' visions of the night
Study: Self-esteem a major factor in love-hate relationships
Pilot Pen Tennis tournament to debut instant replay technology
Library exhibit marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of . . .
Evidence of ultra-energetic particles found in jet from black hole
In YSN study, Iraqi nurses cite a need for new hospitals . . .
Northeast's mercury levels linked to power plant activity
SurExam in China to commercialize blood test for ovarian cancer
Oncolys BioPharma in Tokyo to develop novel anti-HIV treatment
Rudd Center's new blog encourages discussion of food-related issues
This New House
Vladimir Rokhlin honored by the IEEE for his invention
Olympian swimmer Mike Austin donates his gold medal to Yale
Acclaimed director Lloyd Richards, nurtured new playwrights
Yale chemistry student chosen by DOE to meet with Nobel laureates
Chinese archivists to meet with Yale librarians
Yale Books in Brief
Campus Notes
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