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Stories in the Time of Cholera: Racial Profiling During a Medical Nightmare
by Charles L. Briggs Clara Mantini-BriggsCholera, although it can kill an adult through dehydration in half a day, is easily treated. Yet in 1992-93, some five hundred people died from cholera in the Orinoco Delta of eastern Venezuela. In some communities, a third of the adults died in a single night, as anthropologist Charles Briggs and Clara Mantini-Briggs, a Venezuelan public health physician, reveal in their frontline report. Why, they ask in this moving and thought-provoking account, did so many die near the end of the twentieth century from a bacterial infection associated with the premodern past? It was evident that the number of deaths resulted not only from inadequacies in medical services but also from the failure of public health officials to inform residents that cholera was likely to arrive. Less evident were the ways that scientists, officials, and politicians connected representations of infectious diseases with images of social inequality. In Venezuela, cholera was racialized as officials used anthropological notions of "culture" in deflecting blame away from their institutions and onto the victims themselves. The disease, the space of the Orinoco Delta, and the "indigenous ethnic group" who suffered cholera all came to seem somehow synonymous. One of the major threats to people's health worldwide is this deadly cycle of passing the blame. Carefully documenting how stigma, stories, and statistics circulate across borders, this first-rate ethnography demonstrates that the process undermines all the efforts of physicians and public health officials and at the same time contributes catastrophically to epidemics not only of cholera but also of tuberculosis, malaria, AIDS, and other killers. The authors have harnessed their own outrage over what took place during the epidemic and its aftermath in order to make clear the political and human stakes involved in the circulation of narratives, resources, and germs.
Stories of Art
by James ElkinsStories of Art is James Elkins's intimate history of art. Concise and original, this engaging book is an antidote to the behemoth art history textbooks from which we were all taught. As he demonstrates so persuasively, there can never be one story of art. Cultures have their own stories - about themselves, about other cultures - and to hear them all is one way to hear the multiple stories that art tells. But each of us also has our own story of art, a kind of private art history made up of the pieces we have seen, and loved or hated, the effects they had on us, and the connections that might be drawn among them. Elkins opens up the questions that traditional art history usually avoids. What about all the art not produced in Western Europe or in the Europeanized Americas? Is it possible to include Asian art and Indian art in ‘the story?’ What happens when one does? To help us find answers, he uses both Western and non-Western artworks, tables of contents from art histories written in cultures outside the centre of Western European tradition, and strangely wonderful diagrams of how artworks might connect through a single individual. True multiculturalism may be an impossibility, but art lovers can each create a ‘story of art’ that is right for themselves.
Stories of Art
by James ElkinsA thoughtful, engaging, and intimate history of art that offers a critical analysis of the assumptions on which the entire discipline of art history depends.Concise and original, this accessible second edition continues to act as an antidote to the behemoth art history textbooks of the past. Cultures have their own stories – about themselves, about other cultures – and to hear them all is one way to hear the multiple stories that art tells. James Elkins persuasively demonstrates there can never be one story of art now that art historians are concerned with gender, diversity, inclusiveness, and decolonization. Stories of Art is an interactive, iconoclastic text, encouraging readers to imagine how they would present art history in an age of multiple narratives. Elkins discusses decolonizing the discipline, representing race and ethnicity, Eurocentrism, post-nationalism, and indigenous voices while examining histories of art written in China, Persia, Turkey, and India. This new edition features QR codes to 27 short videos that introduce challenging ideas about art and history in a clear and open way, encouraging active reading, and including ideas for writing exercises and class conversations.A must read for students and scholars interested in exploring the cultural function of art history.
Stories of Capitalism: Inside the Role of Financial Analysts
by Stefan LeinsThe financial crisis and the recession that followed caught many people off guard, including experts in the financial sector whose jobs involve predicting market fluctuations. Financial analysis offices in most international banks are supposed to forecast the rise or fall of stock prices, the success or failure of investment products, and even the growth or decline of entire national economies. And yet their predictions are heavily disputed. How do they make their forecasts—and do those forecasts have any actual value? Building on recent developments in the social studies of finance, Stories of Capitalism provides the first ethnography of financial analysis. Drawing on two years of fieldwork in a Swiss bank, Stefan Leins argues that financial analysts construct stories of possible economic futures, presenting them as coherent and grounded in expert research and analysis. In so doing, they establish a role for themselves—not necessarily by laying bare empirically verifiable trends but rather by presenting the market as something that makes sense and is worth investing in. Stories of Capitalism is a nuanced look at how banks continue to boost investment—even in unstable markets—and a rare insider’s look into the often opaque financial practices that shape the global economy.
Stories of Culture and Place: A Narrative Introduction To Anthropology
by Michael G. Kenny Kirsten SmillieThis original introduction to cultural anthropology is a textbook like no other. Structured as a narrative rather than a compendium of facts about cultures and concepts, it invites students to think of anthropology as a series of stories that emerge from cultural encounters in particular times and places. These moments of encounter are illustrated with reference to both classic and contemporary ethnographic examples—from Coming of Age in Samoa to Coming of Age in Second Life—allowing readers to grasp anthropology's sometimes problematic past, while still capturing the excitement and potential of the discipline.
Stories of Culture and Place: An Introduction to Anthropology, Second Edition
by Michael G. Kenny Kirsten SmillieStories of Culture and Place makes use of one of anthropology's most enduring elements—storytelling—to introduce students to the excitement of the discipline. The authors invite students to think of anthropology as a series of stories that emerge from cultural encounters in particular times and places. References to classic and contemporary ethnographic examples—from Coming of Age in Samoa to Coming of Age in Second Life—allow students to grasp anthropology's sometimes problematic past, while still capturing the potential of the discipline. This new edition has been significantly reorganized and includes two new chapters—one on health and one on economic change—as well as fresh ethnographic examples. The result is a more streamlined introductory text that offers thorough coverage but is still manageable to teach.
Stories of Gay and Lesbian Immigration: Together Forever?
by John HartShare the personal stories of gay and lesbian couples who immigrated to Australia!This fascinating book examines the Australian government’s innovative immigration program for same-sex couples. Covering the time from the early 1980s to 2000, Stories of Gay and Lesbian Immigration: Together Forever? offers a powerful glimpse into the gains and costs of immigration. Its twenty-year span offers insight into both immediate and long-term implications of this policy.Stories of Gay and Lesbian Immigration intertwines the personal stories of gay and lesbian immigrants, including the author, with thoughtful, detailed political analysis. This groundbreaking book analyzes the Australian government’s reasons for recognizing the validity of same-sex couples. It also scrutinizes the emotional and social implications of government policies for these couples.Stories of Gay and Lesbian Immigration explores the issues immigrant same-sex couples faced, including: HIV/AIDS proving homosexuality migration stress dealing with bureaucracy financial dependency success and failure in relationshipsStories of Gay and Lesbian Immigration will be of interest to political scientists, historians of gay and lesbian culture, policymakers seeking to change immigration laws, and anyone interested in this aspect of gay and lesbian relationships.
Stories of House and Home: Soviet Apartment Life during the Khrushchev Years
by Christine Varga-HarrisStories of House and Home is a social and cultural history of the massive construction campaign that Khrushchev instituted in 1957 to resolve the housing crisis in the Soviet Union and to provide each family its own apartment. Decent housing was deemed the key to a healthy, productive home life, which was essential to the realization of socialist collectivism. Drawing on archival materials, as well as memoirs, fiction, and the Soviet press, Christine Varga-Harris shows how the many aspects of this enormous state initiative—from neighborhood planning to interior design—sought to alleviate crowded, undignified living conditions and sculpt residents into ideal Soviet citizens. She also details how individual interests intersected with official objectives for Soviet society during the Thaw, a period characterized by both liberalization and vigilance in everyday life.Set against the backdrop of the widespread transition from communal to one-family living, Stories of House and Home explores the daily experiences and aspirations of Soviet citizens who were granted new apartments and those who continued to inhabit the old housing stock due to the chronic problems that beset the housing program. Varga-Harris analyzes the contradictions apparent in heroic advances and seemingly inexplicable delays in construction, model apartments boasting modern conveniences and decrepit dwellings, happy housewarmings and disappointing moves, and new residents and individuals requesting to exchange old apartments. She also reveals how Soviet citizens identified with the state and with the broader project of building socialism.
Stories of Independent Women from 17th–20th Century: Genteel Women Who Did Not Marry
by Charlotte FurnessExplore the lives of four elite women from British history who cast off society’s expectations to live life on their own terms.As the fight for women’s rights continues, and whilst men and women alike push for gender equality around the globe, this book aims to introduce readers to four women who, in their own way, challenged and defied the societal expectations of the time in which they lived.Some chose to be writers, some were successful businesswomen, some chose to nurture and protect, some traveled the globe, some were philanthropists. Each one made the conscious decision not to marry a man.Elizabeth Isham of Lamport Hall, Anne Robinson of Saltram, Anne Lister of Shibden Hall and Rosalie Chichester of Arlington Court. These are elite women, all connected to country houses or from noble families throughout the UK, and this book explores to what extent privilege gave them the opportunity to choose the life they wanted, thus guiding the reader to challenge their own beliefs about elite women throughout history.This book is unique in that it brings the stories of real historical women to light—some of which have never been written about before, whilst also offering an introduction to the history of marriage and societal expectations of women.Starting in 1609 and traveling chronologically up to 1949, with a chapter for each woman, this book tells their remarkable stories, revealing how strong, resilient and powerful women have always been.Praise for Stories of Independent Women from seventeenth–twentieth Century“Charlotte presents the personal histories of four women from the 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th centuries in some detail and in the context of examining their effects on the matter of gender equality. Fascinating.” —Books Monthly (UK)“Very informative, clear and quite enlightening. . . . Well done to the author Charlotte Furness.” —UK Historian
Stories of Indigenous Success in Australian Sport: Journeys to the AFL and NRL
by Richard Light John Robert EvansThis book presents journeys of sixteen Indigenous Australian athletes from their first touch of a‘footy’ to the highest levels of Australian football and rugby league, conceptualized as a processof learning. The authors challenge simplistic explanations of Indigenous success in Australianfootball and rugby league, centered on the notion of the ‘natural athlete’. The book tracesthe development of Indigenous sporting expertise as a lifelong process of learning situated inlocal culture and shaped by the challenges of transitioning into professional sport. Individually,the life stories told by the participants provide fascinating insights into experience, cultureand learning. Collectively, they provide deep understanding of the powerful influence thatAboriginal culture exerted on the participants’ journeys to the top of their sports while locatingindividual experience and agency within larger economic, cultural and social considerations.Stories of Indigenous Success in Australian Sport will be of interest to students and scholarsacross a range of disciplines including Indigenous studies, physical education, education, sportmanagement and sociology
Stories of Innovation for the Millennial Generation: The Lynceus Long View
by Piero FormicaThe Lycneus's Longview uses the reality of fictional stories to help inspire the Millennial Generation.
Stories of Joseph: Narrative Migrations between Judaism and Islam
by Marc S. BernsteinThe last century has seen the demise of age-old Jewish communal life in the Arab world, and there is now a struggle to overcome a mutual lack of understanding between the West and the Arab-Muslim world. Over the course of past centuries, there was a great sharing of creative and scientific knowledge across religious lines. Stories about biblical figures held to be prophets by both Judaism and Islam are one result of this relationship and reflect an environment where not only literary genre and modes of interpretation but particular motifs could be utilized by both religious traditions. Stories of Joseph details this historical interdependence that reveals much about common experiences and concerns of Jews and Muslims. Marc S. Bernstein's rich analysis focuses on the nineteenth-century Judeo-Arabic manuscript The Story of Our Master Joseph--a Jewish text taking its form from an Islamic prototype (itself largely based on midrashic, Hellenistic, and Near Eastern material) extending back to the earliest human stories of parental favoritism, sibling rivalry, separtism from loved ones, sexual mores, and the struggles for a continued communal existence outside the homeland.
Stories of Love from Vikings to Tinder: The Evolution of Modern Mating Ideologies, Dating Dysfunction, and Demographic Collapse (Routledge Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Literature)
by Mads LarsenIncreasing levels of singledom, dating dysfunction, and sexual inactivity contribute to plummeting fertility rates. This book investigates the perhaps most foundational factor behind this uncoupling: our present era’s ideology of love. Throughout human history, communities have shared fictional stories infused with various mating moralities that compel people to pair-bond and reproduce. After taking readers on a 6-million-year journey through hominin mating regimes—with various extents of promiscuity, polygyny, and monogamy—Stories of Love from Vikings to Tinder investigates the past millennium's radical evolution of Western mating beliefs. Nordic literary works illuminate the pivotal transitions between the West’s First, Second, and Third Sexual Revolutions, which occurred around the years 1200, 1750, and 1968. The conclusion chapter points to the Fourth Sexual Revolution, symbolically placed in 2029. Artificial intelligence and other technologies seem likely to transform our mating practices more radically than any of the previous revolutions.
Stories of Oka: Land, Film, and Literature
by S. E. Stewart Isabelle St. Amand Katsitsén:hawe Linda David CreeIn the summer of 1990, the Oka Crisis—or the Kanehsatake Resistance—exposed a rupture in the relationships between settlers and Indigenous peoples in Canada. In the wake of the failure of the Meech Lake Accord, the conflict made visible a contemporary Indigenous presence that Canadian society had imagined was on the verge of disappearance. The 78-day standoff also reactivated a long history of Indigenous people’s resistance to colonial policies aimed at assimilation and land appropriation. The land dispute at the core of this conflict raises obvious political and judicial issues, but it is also part of a wider context that incites us to fully consider the ways in which histories are performed, called upon, staged, told, imagined, and interpreted. "Stories of Oka: Land, Film, and Literature" examines the standoff in relation to film and literary narratives, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous. This new English edition of St-Amand’s interdisciplinary, intercultural, and multi-perspective work offers a framework for thinking through the relationships that both unite and oppose settler societies and Indigenous peoples in Canada.
Stories of Our Lives
by Frank De CaroIn Stories of Our Lives Frank de Caro demonstrates the value of personal narratives in enlightening our lives and our world. We all live with legends, family sagas, and anecdotes that shape our selves and give meaning to our recollections. Featuring an array of colorful stories from de Caro's personal life and years of field research as a folklorist, the book is part memoir and part exploration of how the stories we tell, listen to, and learn play an integral role in shaping our sense of self. De Caro's narrative includes stories within the story: among them a near-mythic capture of his golden-haired grandmother by Plains Indians, a quintessential Italian rags-to-riches grandfather, and his own experiences growing up in culturally rich 1950s New York City, living in India amid the fading glories of a former princely state, conducting field research on Day of the Dead altars in Mexico, and coming home to a battered New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Stories of Our Lives shows that our lives are interesting, and that the stories we tell--however particular to our own circumstances or trivial they may seem to others--reveal something about ourselves, our societies, our cultures, and our larger human existence.
Stories of Our Lives: Memory, History, Narrative
by Frank de CaroIn Stories of Our Lives Frank de Caro demonstrates the value of personal narratives in enlightening our lives and our world. We all live with legends, family sagas, and anecdotes that shape our selves and give meaning to our recollections. Featuring an array of colorful stories from de Caro’s personal life and years of field research as a folklorist, the book is part memoir and part exploration of how the stories we tell, listen to, and learn play an integral role in shaping our sense of self. De Caro’s narrative includes stories within the story: among them a near-mythic capture of his golden-haired grandmother by Plains Indians, a quintessential Italian rags-to-riches grandfather, and his own experiences growing up in culturally rich 1950s New York City, living in India amid the fading glories of a former princely state, conducting field research on Day of the Dead altars in Mexico, and coming home to a battered New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Stories of Our Lives shows that our lives are interesting, and that the stories we tell—however particular to our own circumstances or trivial they may seem to others—reveal something about ourselves, our societies, our cultures, and our larger human existence.
Stories of Our Living Ephemera: Storytelling Methodologies in the Archives of the Cherokee National Seminaries, 1846-1907
by Emily LeggStories of Our Living Ephemera recovers the history of the Cherokee National Seminaries from scattered archives and colonized research practices by critically weaving together pedagogy and archival artifacts with Cherokee traditional stories and Indigenous worldviews. This unique text adds these voices to writing studies history and presents these stories as models of active rhetorical practices of assimilation resistance in colonized spaces. Emily Legg turns to the Cherokee medicine wheel and cardinal directions as a Cherokee rhetorical discipline of knowledge making in the archives, an embodied and material practice that steers knowledge through the four cardinal directions around all relations. Going beyond historiography, Legg delineates educational practices that are intertwined with multiple strands of traditional Cherokee stories that privilege Indigenous and matriarchal theoretical lenses. Stories of Our Living Ephemera synthesizes the connections between contemporary and nineteenth-century academic experiences to articulate the ways that colonial institutions and research can be Indigenized by centering Native American sovereignty. By undoing the erasure of Cherokee literacy and educational practices, Stories of Our Living Ephemera celebrates the importance of storytelling, especially for those who are learning about Indigenous histories and rhetorics. This book is of cultural importance and value to academics interested in composition and pedagogy, the Cherokee Nation, and a general audience seeking to learn about Indigenous rhetorical devices and Cherokee history.
Stories of Rootworkers & Hoodoo in the Mid-South (American Heritage)
by Tony KailSeparate fact from fiction in this history of African healers, spiritualists, and conjurers in the mid-southern United States.Men and women who carried the mantle of African healing and spirituality in the Mid-South were frequently accused and attacked for their misunderstood culture. The same healers and spiritual workers feared by outsiders were embraced and revered by families who survived because of their presence. From Tennessee to Mississippi, ancient formulas and potions were integral parts of the African American community. Follow author Tony Kail as he takes us down the back roads of rural counties, where healers formulated miracles in mojo bags, and into the cities, where conjurers spoke to the spirits of the dead.“If true mystery and fascinating cultures move you, you'll be thunderstruck by this book . . . . Vast numbers of Africans were brought to this region in chains from their native lands, moved cross country from the Atlantic coast, and inland from Jamaica, Haiti, and the Caribbean. They brought with them their religious and faith healing practices. Tony Kail, cultural anthropologist and ethnographer, writer and lecturer, brings his nearly three decades of study of ancient faith healing (hoodoo) and herbal beliefs to bear in this remarkable work.” —Decatur Daily
Stories of Scottsboro
by James E. Goodman"A rich and compelling narrative, as taut and suspenseful as good fiction. In places, Stories of Scottsboro is almost heartbreaking, not least because Goodman shows what people felt as well as what they thought. " -- Washington Post Book World To white Southerners, it was "a heinous and unspeakable crime" that flouted a taboo as old as slavery. To the Communist Party, which mounted the defense, the Scottsboro case was an ideal opportunity to unite issues of race and class. To jury after jury, the idea that nine black men had raped two white women on a train traveling through northern Alabama in 1931 was so self-evident that they found the Scottsboro boys guilty even after the U. S. Supreme Court had twice struck down the verdict and one of the "victims" had recanted. This innovative and grippingly narrated work of history tells the story of a case that marked a watershed in American racial justice. Or, rather, it tells several stories. For out of dozens of period sources, Stories of Scottsboro re-creates not only what happened at Scottsboro, but the dissonant chords it struck in the hearts and minds of an entire nation. "Extraordinary. . . . To do justice to the Scottsboro story a book would have to combine edge-of-the-seat reportage and epic narrative sweep. And it is just such a book that James Goodman has given us, a beautifully realized history. . . written with complete authority, tight emotional control, and brilliant use of archival material. " -- Chicago Tribune
Stories of Transformative Leadership in the Human Services: Why the Glass Is Always Full
by Steve Burghardt Willie Tolliver"A fantastic book. . . .A major contribution! Stories of Transformative Leadership in the Human Services is an extraordinary book by two highly accomplished social work educators and consultants. Based on years of experience in the classroom and in the field,Steve Burghardt and Willie Tolliver blend their "best practices" into a pedagogically creative and lively text that students and human service professionals alike will find engaging and invaluable. Social service agencies and workers are under siege, especially now in our global economic crisis, but this book is guaranteed to help in the struggles ahead for a more humane and just social service practice." —Robert Fisher, University of Connecticut, author of The People Shall Rule: ACORN, Community Organizing, and the Struggle for Economic Justice (Vanderbilt University Press, 2009.) "A must read for directors, executives, funders, and board members! Given today's economic climate, there may not be funds for the hiring of consultants. Read Stories of Transformative Leadership in the Human Services and engage as an organizational team in their activities instead. You, your staff and the culture of the organization will be transformed. As Ghandi said, "Be the change you want to see.' The paradigm that Burghardt and Tolliver introduce will have you do just that." —Claudette C'Faison, Cofounder and President of NY Youth at Risk, Inc. Certain to excite and inspire both students entering the human services field and seasoned non-profit professionals, Stories of Transformative Leadership in the Human Services: Why the Glass Is Always Full is the first full-length leadership book to focus on the unique challenges of the public and non-profit executive, manager, and educator. Written in a lively story-telling style, the book develops a leadership model for those who inspire without bonuses and seek a powerful legacy through people's lives. Authors Steve Burghardt and Willie Tolliver convey the stories of two social service agencies struggling to survive in a world of shrinking budgets, increasing needs, and lack of resources. While both agencies are run by hard-working managers, one is in constant crisis mode (racial tensions that simmer and boil over; professionals who end up exhausted and overeating after a crisis-filled day . . . every day), while the other, operating with no greater resources, lacks tension and turmoil as its managers respond to similar demands and client needs. Using real-life vignettes drawn from actual experiences, the stories distill important lessons and unfold in a powerful manner that will resonate with any professional asked to work harder . . . with a smaller budget. Questions woven through each story connect to the book's more theoretical material on leadership, personal mastery, and community-building. Steve Burghardt, MSW, PhD, and Willie Tolliver, MSW, DSW, are professor and associate professor of Social Work at the City University of New York (CUNY)—Hunter College School of Social Work and partners in the Leadership Transformation Group, LLC. Authors of numerous works on organizational change and strategic development, they are award-winning teachers of human behavior, policy, and community organization. They have worked with thousands of human service and educational staff on new models of leadership, personal well-being, spirituality, collaboration in times of crisis, and how to sustain conversations on race and oppression for lasting change at work and in one's life. Please visit their website: www.askltg.com.
Stories of a Manchester Street
by Phil Barton Elaine BishopA century on from its original Edwardian construction, this contemporary portrait of a street in inner Manchester tells the stories of today’s residents. Born in eighteen countries from four continents, the accounts told by the residents themselves narrate their journeys from nomadic herding in Somalia to conscientious objection in post-war Germany and the UK, and from arranged marriages in South Asia to arriving from rural Ireland to find work. With a common theme of making a new life in Manchester, this is an important account of a successful multicultural community in an ever-divided world. Profiling today’s residents alongside those who occupied their homes at the time of the 1911 census, Stories of a Manchester Street provides a colourful reflection on the changes, resilience and sense of community that lives just around the corner on our inner-city streets.
Stories of the French Revolution
by Walter MontgomeryAbout eight miles from Paris is the town of Versailles, which was but a poor little village when a great king took a fancy to it and built there a palace. His son was passionately fond of state and grandeur, and he resolved to add to the palace, room after room and gallery after gallery, until he had made it the most superb house in all the world. It is said the cost was so frightful that he never let anyone know what the sum total amounted to, but threw the accounts into the fire. This was Louis XIV., called by Frenchmen "Le grand Monarque." He reigned seventy-two years, having been a mere child when called to the throne.
Stories of the Indian Immigrant Communities in Germany: Why Move?
by Amrita DattaThis book tells the stories of Indian immigrants in Germany, including Blue Card holders and students categorized as highly skilled migrants, as well as others choosing shadow migration pathways in order to leave the country. It investigates their motivations for leaving India and choosing Germany as an immigration destination. Grappling with the stories of tech workers fleeing the pandemic, activists fleeing the witch hunting of the government, women escaping gender(ed) violence and queer people seeking freedom, this book uses reflexivity as an analytical tool. Investigation of their transcultural practices also reveals a general intent among Indians to create homes in Germany, despite several challenges to such efforts, including structural and everyday symbolic racism.
Stories of the Self: Life Writing after the Book (Postmillennial Pop #27)
by Anna PolettiThe importance of personal storytelling in contemporary culture and politicsIn an age where our experiences are processed and filtered through a wide variety of mediums, both digital and physical, how do we tell our own story? How do we “get a life,” make sense of who we are and the way we live, and communicate that to others? Stories of the Self takes the literary study of autobiography and opens it up to a broad and fascinating range of material practices beyond the book, investigating the manifold ways people are documenting themselves in contemporary culture. Anna Poletti explores Andy Warhol’s Time Capsules, a collection of six hundred cardboard boxes filled with text objects from the artist’s everyday life; the mid-aughts crowdsourced digital archive PostSecret; queer zine culture and its practices of remixing and collaging; and the bureaucratic processes surrounding surveillance dossiers. Stories of the Self argues that while there is a strong emphasis on the importance of personal storytelling in contemporary culture and politics, mediation is just as important in establishing the credibility and legibility of life writing. Poletti argues that the very media used for writing our lives intrinsically shapes how we are seen to matter.
Stories on Disability Through our Voices: Born This Way (Autocritical Disability Studies)
by Yoon Joo LeeThis book integrates the discipline of disability studies with the lived experiences of women with visible disabilities. It seeks to foreground the silenced voices of Korean and Korean American women with visible physical disabilities in South Korea and the United States. Drawing upon the work of scholars in disability studies, largely drawn from in disability studies in education and feminist disability studies, it challenges readers to (re)consider their own misconceptions and assumptions about disability and reconceptualize their understanding of diversity. A special distinction of this book is that the author, as a woman with visible disabilities, can connect to other women with visible disabilities in unique ways as they share similar experiences as well as their own unique stories through the process of in-depth interviews. Starting with a recollection of her own experience of living with a disability, it then moves to the lived experiences of four other women with disabilities. This unique way of storytelling conveys the important message that living with disability is not a one-time linear process from initial diagnosis to acceptance and overcoming, but a dynamic, evolving, and ongoing meaning-making journey. It will be of interest to all scholars and students of disability studies, Asian studies, women’s studies, and sociology more broadly.