Yale Bulletin and Calendar

September 23, 2005|Volume 34, Number 4

The cover of "The Cultural Turn in Late Ancient Studies: Gender, Asceticism, and Historiography," co-edited by Dale Martin.

Yale Books in Brief

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.

Unconventional Success: A Fundamental Approach to Personal Investment
David F. Swensen, chief investment officer, professor (adjunct) at the School of Management and lecturer in economics
(Free Press, a subsidiary of Simon & Schuster)

The average investor should avoid the for-profit mutual-fund industry, advises David F. Swensen in this book. He claims that mutual-fund companies exploit investors with their excessive management fees, frequent "churning" of portfolios and pursuit of profits, along with hidden schemes that limit investor choice and reduce returns. Instead, Swensen recommends well-diversified, equity-oriented, "market-mimicking" portfolios that reward investors, including investments through not-for-profit companies such as Vanguard and TIAA-CREF. Jeremy Grantham, chair of GMO, says of the book: "It is the truth, the whole truth and the very ugly truth. If you want to avoid the snares that lurk in money management, and save yourself lots of of money, you must read it."

Inhuman Bondage: The Rise and Fall of Slavery in the New World
David Brion Davis, Sterling Professor of History Emeritus and director emeritus of the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance and Abolition
(Oxford University Press)

Beginning with the "Amistad case" to highlight the international character of the Atlantic slave trade and the roles of the American judiciary, the presidency, the media and abolitionists, David Brion Davis examines in this book the institution of slavery in the American South. He describes black slaveholding planters, the rise of the "Cotton Kingdom," the daily life of ordinary slaves, the long-distance slave trade, the sexual exploitation of slaves, the emergence of an African-American culture and more. The book offers a global perspective spanning four continents and is the only study of American slavery that reaches back to ancient foundations. In the book, Davis maintains that slavery was integral to America's success as a nation, not a marginal enterprise.

Weight Bias: Nature Consequences and Remedies
Edited by Kelly D. Brownell, professor and chair of the Department of Psychology, professor of epidemiology and public health, and director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale; Rebecca M. Puhl, a researcher at the Rudd Center; Marlene B. Schwartz, deputy director of the Rudd Center; and Leslie Rudd
(The Guilford Press)

"Weight Bias" explores the nature, causes and consequences of society's discrimination of people based on body shape and size. Featuring contributions from scientists, health professionals, attorneys and advocates, the book documents the barriers facing obese children, teens and adults in health care, work, school and other settings. It examines how weight-related stigmatization can lead to low self-esteem, psychological distress, self-harming behaviors and avoidance of medical care, and analyzes why some individuals are more vulnerable to the impact of bias than others. "Weight Bias" also explores potential remedies and offers suggestions for making health care more effective and accessible; addresses ways to help obese people build coping skills; and describes strategies for countering bias through research, education, litigation and policy change.

The Cultural Turn in Late Ancient Studies: Gender, Asceticism, and Historiography
Edited by Dale Martin, professor and chair of religious studies, and Patricia Cox Miller
(Duke University Press)

This book focuses on questions regarding gender and culture in early Christianity. The 15 essays in the collection chart the work that has defined the relatively new field of late ancient studies, which focuses on civilizations clustered mainly around the Mediterranean and covers the period between roughly 100 and 700 C.E. In their investigations of three key concerns of late ancient studies -- gender, asceticism and historiography -- the contributors explore such topics as Macrina's scar, Mary's voice and the harlot's body, as well as such personalities as Augustine, Jovinian, Gregory of Nazianzus, Julian and Ephrem the Syrian. Other contributions include an examination of how animal bodies figured as a means for understanding human passion and sexuality in the monastic communities of Egypt and Palestine and the epistemological crisis faced by Theodoret in attempting to overcome the barriers between the self and the wider world.

Iraq Beyond the Headlines: History, Archaeology, and War
Benjamin R. Foster, the William M. Laffan Professor of Assyriology and Babylonian Literature and curator of the Babylonian Collection, Karen Foster, lecturer in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, and Patty Gerstenblith
(Kluwer)

"Iraq Beyond the Headlines: History, Archaeology, and War" is a survey of the history of the country from the the earliest times to the present day. It draws on political, social, economic, artistic, technological and intellectual material, and includes excerpts from works of ancient, medieval and modern literature written in Iraq -- some of which are translated for the first time into English. The book also features an introduction to the history of archaeology in Iraq and a special section that highlights selected objects from the Iraq Museum, with emphasis on their cultural significance and current status in the aftermath of the looting in April 2003. The last chapter offers a guide to the complex international and national legal regimes for the protection of cultural heritage.

T H I SW E E K ' SS T O R I E S

YEPH offers joint degree program for undergrads

In Focus: Urban Resources Initiative

Crown Prince of Bahrain visits Yale

700 new welcome mats ... and counting

Endowment funds grow to $15.2 billion

Moore Foundation grant supports joint SOM/F&ES degree program

Event celebrates the legacy of . . . Robin Winks

Bulldogs' home opener is Employee Day at the Bowl

Program showcases how museum turned itself 'Inside/Out'

Early signs of diabetes exist before symptoms appear, study shows

Study resolves 'conflicting' theories about schizophrenia

Expert on butterfly and ant interactions to visit as Tetelman Fellow

'Francis Conversations' continue with reading by author

Boris Bittker, expert on tax law and adviser to many deans

Yale Books in Brief

Campus Notes