Human Evolution

In his new book, Human Evolution, University Professor of Human Origins and Human Evolutionary Anatomy Bernard Wood recounts the history of paleoanthropology from its inception in the 18th-century to today’s most recent findings and discoveries.

A Moderate Compromise

Considering all sides of the globalization debate in his new book, A Moderate Compromise: Economic Policy Choice in an Era of Globalization, Associate Professor of Economics Steven Suranovic analyzes how international economic policy is made and how it has become so controversial. He suggests a solution to the conflict between free trade markets and the movement toward greater government involvement that is consistent with both economic efficiency and social justice.

Cinematic Hamlet

Cinematic Hamlet, by Associate Professor of English Patrick Cook, contains the first scene-by-scene analysis of the methods used by the four major filmmakers of Hamlet: Laurence Olivier, Franco Zeffirelli, Kenneth Branagh, and Michael Almereyda. Through a meticulous study of each film’s devices, he explores the ways in which these directors transform the play to the screen, capturing the viewer’s attention with powerful instinctive drives and audiovisual tools that support and complement Shakespeare’s story.

The Ephemeral History of Perfume

While many historians feel that scent is too intangible to study, Assistant Professor of English Holly Dugan argues in her book, The Ephemeral History of Perfume: Scent and Sense in Early Modern England, that men and women have long used perfumes for various reasons, whether in church, gardens, or anywhere else in early modern England. This innovative research provides a unique opportunity to learn how early modern men and women utilized the sense of smell in their daily lives.

Chinese Shakespeares

In his new book, Chinese Shakespeares: Two Centuries of Cultural Exchange, Associate Professor of English Alexander Huang illuminates Shakespeare’s strong influence on Chinese culture that can be felt from literature to theater to film over the past two hundred years.

Israeli Cinema

In the first anthology of its kind in English, Israeli Cinema: Identities in Motion addresses broad themes from war and conflict to gender and sexuality to ethnicity and religion. Professor of Hebrew Yaron Peleg highlights a variety of specially commissioned articles featuring leading Israeli film scholars using cinema as a metaphor for collective Israeli identities and revealing intricate details about Israeli life.

Allies of the State

Allies of the State: China’s Private Entrepreneurs and Democratic Change, co-authored by Professor of Political Science Bruce Dickson, examines how strongly China’s entrepreneurs and private sector support democracy. Due to political and financial relationships, these entrepreneurs are bound to the state, and these commitments largely form their ideas on democracy. For the most part, they do not support multi-party competition and widely accepted political freedoms.

Decentralization in Uganda

In Decentralization in Uganda: Explaining Successes and Failures in Local Governance, Assistant Professor of Political Science Gina Lambright examines the relationship between constituencies and their local governments, and the situations in which local Ugandan governments are successful.

Mobilizing Restraint

In his new book, Mobilizing Restraint: Democracy and Industrial Conflict in Post-Reform South Asia, Assistant Professor of Political Science Emmanuel Teitelbaum contends that democracies are better at managing industrial conflict than are authoritarian regimes due to mutually beneficial union-party ties and worker rights. Teitelbaum finds that limiting organized labor practices can be truly detrimental to a nation’s economic growth and well-being, citing South Asian countries as case studies.

Islam in the Modern World

As Islam’s role in the world has taken center stage, the religion seems to have splintered into moderates and fundamentalists. In his new book Islam in the Modern World: Challenged by the West, Threatened by Fundamentalism, Keeping Faith with Tradition, University Professor of Islamic Studies Seyyed Hossein Nasr defends traditional Islam against all of its critics, Muslim or otherwise, and delves into Islam’s role in the modern world.

Sustainability and Historic Preservation

In his new book, Sustainability and Historic Preservation: Towards a Holistic View, Professor of American Studies Richard Longstreth discusses the relationship between the two fields in relations to the energy consumption of buildings and the environment. The book brings together experts in many fields, including anthropology, architecture, and urban history, and explores new ways in which historic preservation and sustainability can work together.

Performing Piety

While the Virgin of Guadalupe is quintessentially Mexican, it inspires devotion across the globe. In her new book, Performing Piety, Professor of American Studies Elaine Peña sheds new light on the long-standing transnational dimensions of Guadalupan worship by examining the production of sacred space in three disparate but interconnected locations--at the sacred space known as Tepeyac in Mexico City, at its replica in Des Plaines, Illinois, and at a sidewalk shrine constructed by Mexican nationals in Chicago.

The People's Dynasty

Professor of Anthropology Robert Shepherd opens the doors to a clear image of the vast economic and social forces at play in modern-day China in his new book, The People’s Dynasty. While Western understanding of the Chinese economy has been limited, Shepherd focuses on the republic’s economic growth, state versus society issues, and the effect of social and cultural change to illuminate China’s economy.