"Based on subtle, imaginative readings of autobiographies, memoirs, fiction and secondary sources, [Campus Life] tells the story of the changing mentalities of American undergraduates over two centuries."—Michael Moffatt, New York Times Book Review

Through the writings of noted Chinese philosophers, scholars, artists, and critics from the time of Confucius to the present, this rich compendium provides a fascinating guided tour of China's evolving conceptions of theater and performance. The book's more than sixty selections are arranged chronologically to provide a historical overview of four major periods: antiquity to the Song dynasty (fourth century B.C.E.-1279 C.E.); the Yuan dynasty (1271-1368) and Ming dynasty (1368-1644); the Qing dynasty (1644-1911); and the rest of the twentieth century.
The writings collected here treat the origins, aesthetic principles, and functions of theater. Some are virtual manuals on playwriting and performance techniques; some describe the practices, conditions, and government policies concerning theatrical performance. Many of the selections forcefully dispute the myth that Chinese theater is valuable in performance but lacking in literature--the fact is that there is an equal, if not more prominent, emphasis on theme and content. What emerges from the writings in Chinese Theories of Theater and Performance from Confucius to the Present is a highly evolved and sophisticated aesthetic.
The texts are enhanced by Faye C. Fei's extensive introductions and annotative notes that provide essential background and contextual information. She has provided accurate and engagingly written translations of the texts, making the majority of them available in English for the first time. The anthology will appeal to teachers and students of theater and performance, artists interested in Chinese theater and arts, and scholars and historians of Asia. Literary critics, aestheticians, philosophers, and social scientists will also find the volume of interest, since Chinese conceptions of the theater and performance are closely connected to China's general outlook on the humanities.
Faye C. Fei is Assistant Professor of Dramatic Arts, Macalester College.

When and how were cities born? Does urbanization foster innovation and economic development? What was the level of urbanization in traditional societies? Did the Industrial Revolution facilitate urbanization? Has the growth of cities in the Third World been a handicap or an asset to economic development?

In this revised translation of De Jéricho à Mexico, Paul Bairoch seeks the answers to these questions and provides a comprehensive study of the evolution of the city and its relation to economic life. Bairoch examines the development of cities from the dawn of urbanization (Jericho) to the explosive growth of the contemporary Third World city. In particular, he defines the roles of agriculture and industrialization in the rise of cities.

"A hefty history, from the Neolithic onward. It's ambitious in scope and rich in subject, detailing urbanization and, of course, the links between cities and economies. Scholarly, accessible, and significant."—Newsday

"This book offers a path-breaking synthesis of the vast literature on the history of urbanization."—John C. Brown, Journal of Economic Literature

"One leaves this volume with the feeling of positions intelligently argued and related to the existing state of theory and knowledge. One also has the pleasure of reading a book unusually well-written. It will long both be a standard and stimulate new thought on the central issue of urban and economic growth."—Thomas A. Reiner, Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science

In Colorado's Japanese Americans, renowned journalist and author Bill Hosokawa pens the first history of this significant minority in the Centennial State. From 1886, when the young aristocrat Matsudaira Tadaatsu settled in Denver, to today, when Colorado boasts a population of more than 11,000 people of Japanese ancestry, Japanese Americans have worked to build homes, businesses, families, and friendships in the state.

Hosokawa traces personal histories, such as Bob Sakata's journey from internment in a relocation camp to his founding of a prosperous truck farm; the conviction of three sisters for assisting the escape of German POWs; and the years of initiative and determination behind Toshihiro Kizaki's ownership of Sushi Den, a beloved Denver eatery. In addition to personal stories, the author also relates the larger history of the interweave of cultures in Colorado, from the founding of the Navy's Japanese language school at the University of Colorado to the merging of predominantly white and Japanese American congregations at Arvada's Simpson United Methodist Church.

With the author's long view and sharp eye, Colorado's Japanese Americans creates a storied document of lasting legacy about the Issei and Nisei in Colorado.

Conditions of the Present collects essays by the late Lindon Barrett, whose scholarship centers African American literature as a site from which to theorize race and liberation in the United States. Barrett confronts critical blind spots within both academic and popular discourse, offering readings of cultural and literary texts that transcend institutional divides and the gulf between academia and the street. Whether analyzing autobiographies by Lucy Delaney or Langston Hughes, hip-hop eulogies, or the formation of U.S. nationalist discourse, Barrett interrogates the mechanisms that shape social and subjective structures and that grant certain people power while withholding it from others. Deploying Marxist, psychoanalytic, feminist, and queer theories, Barrett explicates the interrelationship of desire and subjection to expose the violence and coercion embedded in narratives of "progress." Ultimately, this collection emphasizes Lindon Barrett's vital and enduring contribution to African American studies.

Contributors. Elizabeth Alexander, Jennifer DeVere Brody, Daphne A. Brooks, Linh U. Hua, Janet Neary, Marlon B. Ross, Robyn Wiegman

In international relations (IR), the theory of constructivism argues that the complicated web of international relations is not the result of basic human nature or some other unchangeable aspect but has been built up over time and through shared assumptions.
 
Constructivism Reconsidered synthesizes the nature of and debates on constructivism in international relations, providing a systematic assessment of the constructivist research program in IR to answer specific questions: What extent of (dis)agreement exists with regard to the meaning of constructivism? To what extent is constructivism successful as an alternative approach to rationalism in explaining and understanding international affairs? Constructivism Reconsidered explores constructivism’s theoretical, empirical, and methodological strengths and weaknesses, and debates what these say about its past, present, and future to reach a better understanding of IR in general and how constructivism informs IR in particular.

The humanities are the strongest dynamic that runs from the past into the future. Throughout history, except for the past one hundred fifty years, the strongest element in the humanities has been the culture of the folk. Now it is the everyday culture of a democratic society—popular culture, a key to people’s understanding themselves and their society. These sixteen essays by leading popular culture scholars demonstrate how elements in our everyday life flourished in the past, came to flower today, and will continue to shape us in the future.

In Counter-History of the Present Gabriel Rockhill contests, dismantles, and displaces one of the most widespread understandings of the contemporary world: that we are all living in a democratized and globalized era intimately connected by a single, overarching economic and technological network. Noting how such a narrative fails to account for the experiences of the billions of people who lack economic security, digital access, and real political power, Rockhill interrogates the ways in which this grand narrative has emerged in the same historical, economic, and cultural context as the fervid expansion of neoliberalism. He also critiques the concurrent valorization of democracy, which is often used to justify U.S. military interventions on the behalf of capital. Developing an alternative account of the current conjuncture that acknowledges the plurality of lived experiences around the globe and in different social strata, he shifts the foundations upon which debates about the contemporary world can be staged. Rockhill's counter-history thereby offers a new grammar for historical narratives, creating space for the articulation of futures no longer engulfed in the perpetuation of the present.

Winner of the 2013 Award of Merit by the American Association for State and Local History Leadership in History awards committee

Winner of the 2013 New Jersey Studies Academic Alliance, Author Awards, Non-fiction Popular Category

One of the oldest towns in New Jersey, Cranbury has a long and noteworthy history that is in part distinctive and in part broadly representative of larger themes in the development of the state and the nation. In this beautifully illustrated book sponsored by Cranbury Landmarks, Inc., historian John Whiteclay Chambers II links the narrative of this remarkable place to contemporary debates about suburbanization and land-use planning.

 Founded in 1697 and soon featuring an inn, a gristmill, and a church, the village prospered due to its strategic location on important transportation routes between New York and Philadelphia and its fertile, productive farmland. David Brainerd, a famous and controversial young missionary, came there to preach to the Lenape Indians.  In 1778, George Washington and his army stayed there on their way to the Battle of Monmouth. In the nineteenth century, roadways, railroads, and turnpikes spurred the town’s commerce and agriculture. Yet unlike many old agricultural centers transformed by suburbanization in the twentieth century, Cranbury has retained its picturesque, small-town image and much of its charm.

Cranbury has the feel of a well-preserved nineteenth-century village, remarkable for its intact and cohesive domestic and commercial architecture—a status recognized when it was placed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places. In the last several decades, an active citizenry has innovatively linked the historic preservation of the town center with the maintenance of adjoining farmland, stream corridors, and wildlife habitats. How Cranbury preserved much of its character while accommodating economic growth provides a central theme in this book. Preserving the best of the past while astutely meeting the challenges of the present, Cranbury’s history offers an inspiration for active civic participation, a model for enlightened development, and an engaging American story.

A project of Cranbury Landmarks, Inc.