. . . . . Marling's love for the culture of everyday life in the mid-20th century reaches its zenith in this passionate description of the contours, colors, history, and heart of Elvis's Big House. This is no gushing fan testimonial, clearly; Marling pulls no punches in her raw descriptions of Elvis's trashing of taste. The great thing is that she glories in it almost as much as he did. Whenever you can't get to Memphis, this will tide you over.
Teaching to Transgress : Education As the Practice of Freedom
by bell hooks
. . . . . .What would I do without this book? Whenever I have a great day in the classroom . . . or a really bad one, I reach for this for inspiration, and sometimes solace. hooks teaches teachers to trust their heart, question their received wisdom, and most of all, to love and honor their students. Her care and concern for what will happen to the young people she teaches after they leave the institution they briefly share shines through every page. hooks urges teachers to question the emotional distances that reproduce an oppressive and often heartless educational culture and an oppressive social world. She shows how love is at the very core of the kind of teaching that not only changes lives, but the world in which her students live.
Race Rebels : Culture, Politics, and the Black Working Class
by Robin D. G. Kelley
. . . . . .Simply the best work in the cultural studies of labor since E. P. Thompson's The Making of the English Working Class. I routinely assign this one to my students, and I know this book has changed a life or two. At least.
The Possessive Investment in Whiteness: How White People Profit from Identity Politics
by George Lipsitz
. . . . . .Of all the books in the "hot" whiteness studies field, this one captures the need and importance of the work best of all. An excellent choice for classes on race, and just plain good reading about world we (white people, in my case) made.
These books are presented in association with Amazon.com. CSC operates without any external funding, so buying a book this way helps to keep the site going. Soon, I will offer more products that are especially helpful to academics and students. I intend to make sure they are both high quality and reasonably priced. I will recommend nothing that I do not enjoy myself and will associate with no retailer that has not treated me well as a customer. If you are offended by the intrusion of commercialism, my sincere apologies; if you are glad to have quick access to great, cheap books, my heartfelt thanks for your support of the work presented on CSC.
Any comments regarding this are most welcome.
