A compilation of the research and work being done in same-sex populations in South Africa (and sub-Saharan Africa generally) is undoubtedly welcome in...moreA compilation of the research and work being done in same-sex populations in South Africa (and sub-Saharan Africa generally) is undoubtedly welcome in the vast absence of such work, and the editors have given it a good shot by compiling conference proceedings on the topic from 2007. Unfortunately, the field is still in its infancy, and there isn't a whole lot to learn. I can summarize it for you: we need more HIV prevalence data on same-sex practicing persons, the South African constitution is great! but discrimination is still rampant, and not everyone likes labels like gay or MSM. Reading a select few papers is probably a better idea than the whole book, which is inclusive more for the sake of fairness than diversity in topics. (less)
Reading Gender Trouble for the first time 20+ years after its original publication is, for people familiar with contemporary feminist and queer though...moreReading Gender Trouble for the first time 20+ years after its original publication is, for people familiar with contemporary feminist and queer thought on gender, a bit of a "duh" moment. Of course, most people in the field talk with ease about the construction of gender, but when this book came out it was very influential. Butler is also here building on prior (mostly French psychoanalytic) work to discuss the construction of sex - questioning whether "women" as a group and the basis of the feminist movement makes sense, given that sex is a category constructed and shaped by society as well.
I was lost often by Butler's famously labyrinthian writing style, and certainly my eyes glaze over when I read anything involving psychoanalysis, but I found the book still worth reading on the whole. (Particularly for gems such as this: "The replication of heterosexual constructs in non-heterosexual frames brings into relief the utterly constructed status of the so-called heterosexual original. Thus, gay is to straight not as copy is to original, but, rather, as copy is to copy." GENIUS!) The challenge to consider the category of sex as constructed, as well as how language provides power or denies the feminine the capacity of subject, are worth continuing to chew over in feminist/queer discourse.(less)
Fermat's Engima is the best popular-math book I've read. Singh's writing is fantastic, giving a history of mathematics through the various attempts an...moreFermat's Engima is the best popular-math book I've read. Singh's writing is fantastic, giving a history of mathematics through the various attempts and assaults on Fermat, populated with surprisingly entertaining characters throughout. Major props on the focus on female & minority mathematicians (Germain, Turing, Taniyama, Shimura) and their contributions to solving the problem and to the field in general, despite institutional discrimination & other forces. And it also serves as a brilliant biography of Andrew Wiles, his passion for Fermat since childhood, devotion to the problem, and his struggle to patch up the hole in his proof - haven't we all felt like a success might come crumbling down because of a mistake? Happily for him and all of us, the proof was fixed and still stands among the greatest intellectual achievements we have. (less)
This essay is a good addition to works I read earlier this year in medical sociology on the construction of illness, stigma, and the role of metaphor...moreThis essay is a good addition to works I read earlier this year in medical sociology on the construction of illness, stigma, and the role of metaphor in assigning 'blame' and/or 'foreignness' to specific maladies. Sontag argues that AIDS really brings up some atavistic attitudes in our culture, specifically those surrounding plagues of the past. Key quote:
"The age-old, seemingly inexorable process whereby diseases acquire meanings (by coming to stand for the deepest fears) and inflict stigma is always worth challenging, and it does seem to have more limited credibility in the modern world, among people willing to be modern - the process is under surveillance now. With this illness, one that elicits so much guilt and shame, the effort to detach it from these meanings, even metaphors, seems particularly liberating, even consoling. But the metaphors cannot be distanced just by abstaining from them. They have to be exposed, criticized, belabored, used up."
This kind of analysis is as relevant as it was in 1988. Advances in knowledge and treatment of HIV/AIDS have certainly changed the context, but like other accounts of the time, it is a good reminder of history.(less)
I've often enjoyed assigned textbooks in my public health classes, but Stauss & Corbin mainly mystify me. If it wasn't for my qualitative data ana...moreI've often enjoyed assigned textbooks in my public health classes, but Stauss & Corbin mainly mystify me. If it wasn't for my qualitative data analysis class, I'm not sure I would know what grounded theory is after reading this book after all. The examples helped, but their wild metaphors did not. (less)
This accessibly academic meta-comic is absolutely necessary for serious readers of comics (or should I say, "juxtaposed pictorial and other images in...moreThis accessibly academic meta-comic is absolutely necessary for serious readers of comics (or should I say, "juxtaposed pictorial and other images in deliberate sequence"!). Although some of these ideas are pretty intuitive to seasoned readers, it's important to flesh out the nuances of concepts like time and non-linearity to give readers a greater appreciation of the significance of the artists' choices. Also great are the connections McCloud makes to other art forms and movements in visual art (motion lines coming from Futurist painters = genius!), and the analysis of how purpose, form, and idiom interact in comics.(less)
Like Lynne Truss, I've always been a bit of a punctuation pedant, however silent a one (I've never gone and marked up anyone's signs with white-out to...moreLike Lynne Truss, I've always been a bit of a punctuation pedant, however silent a one (I've never gone and marked up anyone's signs with white-out to erase erroneous apostrophes, but I've certainly scoffed and/or taken pictures). Although the book is on a pretty specific subgenre of pedantry, it makes a fun case that punctuation is important: how else would you know in writing that I'm really enthusiastic right now?! There are plenty of real-life examples she gives that hilariously illustrate how off your meaning can be if you misplace a dash or apostrophe.
She also addresses the prescriptivist/descriptivist divide quite well; we can't stop language change from happening, but without any rules, we descend into chaos. Plus, there's plenty of reasoned debate about comma usage to keep us entertained with variety! [For the record, I love commas.] As for classism, she's right that bad grammar knows no single social class, but I'll just say this is part of the reason I don't confront people about using its instead of it's - it's not their fault if the education system sucks.
I'm less Sturm und Drang than her about the Internet and texting, because although she waves off people's insistence that they spell and punctuate their text messages properly, I think it's quite possible many people do. But I did grow up before we looked at screens all day, so...(less)
This short book (or "pamphlet" as Chapman calls it) covers the basics of systems thinking for tackling intractable policy problems, particularly in he...moreThis short book (or "pamphlet" as Chapman calls it) covers the basics of systems thinking for tackling intractable policy problems, particularly in health. It was assigned for a class of mine focused on approaches to solving the shameful problem of maternal mortality, in which we used all of the tools described in it - rich pictures, causal loop diagrams, etc. Systems thinking asks us to abandon linear, command-and-control ways of solving problems, and instead admit things are more complex (and unlikely to be solved with a silver bullet policy solution) than we would like to admit. It also teaches us to try to learn from failure instead of concealing it as an embarrassment. It's the kind of thinking we should all learn to embrace, but those in the policy sector (including its leaders) especially need this approach.(less)
Good reference for survey research, especially as regards design and avoiding pitfalls that produce bad data. The sampling chapters are particularly t...moreGood reference for survey research, especially as regards design and avoiding pitfalls that produce bad data. The sampling chapters are particularly thoughtful, but a bit theoretical for me at this point. I'll revisit when I am designing my own research.(less)
Oh, CGS. Apparently the only statistics textbook out there without terrible, glaring errors, according to my professor. I really can see the utility o...moreOh, CGS. Apparently the only statistics textbook out there without terrible, glaring errors, according to my professor. I really can see the utility of this teaching method, especially for high school - but it doesn't have any practice problems! (what, me, complain about having no homework?) Good as a reference, but it should not be your only source for learning stats.(less)
Required for my Research Design class, but decently interesting! I come from a more quantitative background, so it's important for me to read about qu...moreRequired for my Research Design class, but decently interesting! I come from a more quantitative background, so it's important for me to read about qualitative research methods and how they can actually get at some unique findings. Focus groups, although they initially seem silly, are a powerful method for certain types of health research, and Morgan is their guru if you're interested in that path. (less)
Published in 1994, this analysis of comic books and magazines from the Arab world isn't quite the most up-to-date, but probably the only academic exam...morePublished in 1994, this analysis of comic books and magazines from the Arab world isn't quite the most up-to-date, but probably the only academic examination out there of this fascinating cultural area. Exploring how the comic form has social utility in many domains - including counterculture, children's education, religion, and state propaganda - it shows how a western art form has been adapted (appropriated?) successfully, though in many cases this distinction is still blurry, as shown by the chapters on Algerian French and immigrant comics. In fact, the language differences between the comics (fusha versus dialect versus foreign language) were surprising to me, even though I'm far from viewing the Arab world as a monolith. Although there are many illustrative pictures, references to more obscure works can be a bit disorienting, which makes me wish I had more source material in front of me. I can only imagine how rich an area this would be now post-Arab Spring - someone please write that book!(less)
Read for a review paper for my Linguistics class, but I'd say readable enough for even a non-specialist. Bloom provides more detail than I ever had co...moreRead for a review paper for my Linguistics class, but I'd say readable enough for even a non-specialist. Bloom provides more detail than I ever had considered on child acquisition of words, with particular detail to how the psychological "theory of mind" could help explain child lexical acquisition without resorting to overly restrictive models of innate cognition. A lot of the data he references suffer from being only from English, but he acknowledges that's the state of things.(less)
Having not been schooled too much in political science but heavily in Linguistics and languages, I found Arnold's thesis on the origin of nationalism,...moreHaving not been schooled too much in political science but heavily in Linguistics and languages, I found Arnold's thesis on the origin of nationalism, relying heavily on an imagined linguistic community through the rise of print-capitalism (i.e. nations are younger than you would think) to be quite eye-opening. It was intuitive to me that most national communities are somewhat artificial projections (granfalloon, anyone?) but the deconstruction and analysis of the concept were a fascinating argument for that case. I really dislike his use of footnotes, though, which really hampered my enjoyment of the reading, and were a bit inexplicable at times.(less)
I took a long time reading this one, and not because of lack of interest - it was just a very intensive and intellectual look at various aspects of th...moreI took a long time reading this one, and not because of lack of interest - it was just a very intensive and intellectual look at various aspects of they way the history of Ireland is narrated, told, and packaged, with a decidedly literary bent. It's a good book to pick up every once in a while and focus on an individual essay, though it does assume a certain level of familiarity with major events and players in Irish history. Not rip-roaringly funny as advertised on the front, but a decent read nonetheless.(less)
Well, as much as you can read a language grammar from cover to cover, I have done it with this book. I love its cross between a grammar book with a st...moreWell, as much as you can read a language grammar from cover to cover, I have done it with this book. I love its cross between a grammar book with a stiff upper lip and a useable phrasebook. It basically taught me to read and write Thai and pull out a perfect phrase when the opportunity arose.(less)
Ingenius biography of a man with a seemingly infinite intellect - but who had a wit to match. Interspersed with mathematical problems, it's a compelli...moreIngenius biography of a man with a seemingly infinite intellect - but who had a wit to match. Interspersed with mathematical problems, it's a compelling and sometimes challenging read.(less)
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