Temporary Homelands

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Temporary Homelands
Alison Hawthorne Deming
Manufacturer: Picador USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Introduction and supplement to Roland Thaxter's Contribution towards a monograph of the Laboulbeniaceae
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Memoirs / American Academy
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Book Description

From Tinseltown's glitter to the charm of the South, decode the jargon and discover the culture of the USA. Compare Big Apple speed-speech with the laidback Texan drawl. Identify the multitude of regional and social dialects and influences on the language along the way.

learn to order a splash of red noise in a diner or request your coffee unleaded
understand dialects from SoFlo to Yooper, and hear the echoes of Shakespeare
expand your musical horizons with a comprehensive guide - from rock'n'roll to techno
immerse yourself in the language melting pot - from US Spanish & Asian languages to African-American English & Yiddish
includes Native American languages & Hawaiian

Customer Reviews:

THIS IS AN EXCELENT BOOK!.......2007-06-18

I DON'T KNOW WHY NOT MANY PEOPLE HAVE BOUGHT THIS ONE, BUT IF YOU REALLY WANT TO UNDERSTAND AMERICANS AND THEIR CULTURE, THEN YOU SHOULD BUY THIS BOOK!

Best "bang for your buck" on learning 'bout American English.......2005-04-07

This is by far the best resource on decoding the regional, colloquial, or vernacular dialects found in the USA.

The booklet is very portable, well organized and low priced.

After 17 years of living in the USA (only California), I use this booklet everytime I visit the South or New England States. The phrasebook has a good introduction on the development of the American English dialect, and how culturally ecclectic the US lexicon is.

This pharasebook is written mainly for your average tourist BUT is equally pedagogical for the average US citizen.

Phrasebook for the States.......2004-12-06

Lonely Planet's "USA Phrasebook" is a great introduction to the American way of life and speaking for foreigners. Whether you are a British tourist going to visit the States, or a person studying English as a foreign language this can be a good guide and reading supplement. Traditionally to Lonely Planet phrasebooks, this one gives you a short and easy-read introduction to the origin and modern state of American English. Then follow the sections dealing with American culture and regional variations.

Firstly, authors give you a few hints on pronunciation, grammar, body language, major musts of conducting a conversation, and insults, all of which in a light practical manner. Secondly, the phrasebook is a cultural studies compilation throwing light on different aspects of American way of life, American society and its dos and don'ts. Various sections tell you about family patterns, dating, weather talk, housing, driving, eating and drinking habits, sports, entertainment, musical tastes, political and educational institutions, influences from US culture on English and international life. Other chapters deal with business or gay talk, slang and jargon (military, surf speak, skate talk and psychobabble). Every chapter tries to give a short introduction, but the main content is delivered through explanation of meaning and usage of numerous words, phrases and sentences. The authors inform you of what can be said and heard, of what can be used or should be avoided. There is also a small section on British-American differences, far from comprehensive but enough to start with. It includes some tips for Brits written in such a funny way that you don't know at first whom to feel sorry for, British or Americans.

The regional section tells you about regional vocabulary in various parts of the country, with separate chapters on the Ocracoke Island phenomenon, Californian, North-West, Central Plaines, New York, New England, Southern English, on the language of African-Americans, Jews, Spaniards, on Pennsylvania German and Hawaiian English. Then come chapters dealing with some Native American languages: Pueblo, Navajo, Ojibway, Mohawk, Lakota, Cherokee, Hawaiian and others. Here you will find both information about the history and culture of indigenous tribes, as well as lists of common phrases and words.

This phrasebook lets you find your way among regional and social varieties, typical words and jargon, geographical and national influences. It will make you understand Americans and their way of life better through the language they speak. Written in a simple language and entertaining manner, while being very informative "USA Phrasebook" is nearly a must-have on your next trip to the States and will certainly be your good companion, which will easily fit in a pocket.

Book Description

Meredith Ann Pierce's acclaimed novels are the proof of a remarkable imagination. Here is more proof—eight shorter works of fiction, from fragment to retold fairy tale to novella, each with a strong heroine, a tangibly imagined world, and unforgettable imagery. Waters Luminous and Deep encapsulates the evolution of one writer's unmistakable style, and has all of the power of her longer work.

Customer Reviews:

Beautiful stories!.......2007-03-15

This thoroughly enjoyable book highlights Meredith Ann Pierce's amazing writing talent with short stories that all follow the theme of water. Each story is radically different, though Pierce's magical way with words is evident in each one. There were none that I did not enjoy.

"We Shall Go a Voyaging - Call the Boat...".......2004-06-30

Meredith Ann Pierce is definitely one of my favourite authors: her style, her narrative voice and her subject matter all appeal to me at the highest level, and after devouring all her other books I was incredibly thankful to find that she'd been published once more. Then I discovered that it was an anthology of short stories: if you've read any of my other reviews you'll know that I am not that fond of short stories: novels are more meaty and interesting to me. But in Pierce's hands, I had nothing to worry about. In "Waters Luminous and Deep" she presents eight pieces of writing that all surround the element of water, whether it be sea water, rain water, ice, snow, tears, or the still deep water at the bottom of a well. With her rich, beautiful imagery and her ability to take old fairytales and reshape them into something new and original, this anthology is a must-read for anyone who loves fantasy, folklore, legends or just storytelling at its best.

"Night Voyage" is the prelude to the book - a dreamy and quiet fragment that sets the mood and the theme of the rest of the book, of two children's experiences with the sea and moon.

"The Fall of Ys" is Pierce's retelling of the legend of Ys, a kingdom that sunk due to the sorcerous evils of the King's daughter (in some versions called Dahud, but here Myramond) and her father's noble/tragic decision to let her drown. Pierce takes a different slant on the story however, suggesting that King Gralond was the antagonist, his daughter the innocent, and the sea working not as a ravaging force of nature, but as an act of justice. Pierce also melds old tales of drowned suitors in the wave's crests and the Avalon-like priestesses of the sea-isles.

"Where the Wild Geese Go" is based on five pen-and-ink drawings (sadly not included) that touched Pierce's imagination and formed a story. A story reminiscent of Hans Christian Anderson's "The Snow Queen", given that it concerns a young girl on a quest through a wintry landscape. Truzjka is sent by her grandmother into the wild in order to ease her heart's desire to know where the wild geese fly, and in Pierce's hands the usual fairytale obstacles and characters that Truzjka meets on the way become fresh and original.

"Icerose" fits in the "Snow Queen" element that was missing from the previous story with the inclusion of a figure known as the Icewitch. In order to return summer to the world Gunther and Demian set forth to retrieve the Icerose from the terrible Icewitch's frigid grip. Pierce melds stunning imagery (a swan frozen in the midst of taking flight) and her eye for detail: as the heroes sit by the fire, tiny black salamanders scuttle through it and into the night. This is one of my favourites, and brilliantly showcases Pierce's ability to tell new stories that *feel* like ancient tales.

"Rafiddilee" was written when Pierce was only fourteen years old: it was the story that told her she was a writer, and tells of a mute dwarf that comes into the service of his beloved queen, and their years together before her mind strays toward the prospect of a husband. Sad, grim and bittersweet, you can tell by the angst and tragedy that a teenager wrote it! Still, it is a remarkable feat for such a young person, and a beautifully told story.

"The Sea Hag" is perhaps the weakest story of the bunch: Pierce herself admits she isn't much of a humorist, and this attempt at comedy doesn't quite mesh. A young man takes to the life of piracy, but when the captain turns on him it would seem his only chance for survival lies with marrying a withered old sea hag. This story seemed stale for me because I was well aware of the myth on which it was based, and apart from a gender-switch, Pierce takes little effort to move away from it: that of the "Loathly Lady" of Arthurian lore, who demands the answer to a riddle: what is it that women most desire?

However, things pick up once more with "The Frogskin Slippers", which gets back to her more subtle technique of recognisable elements in a new light: this time she takes the idea of the Frog Prince, and here her humour is much more successful and natural. Rose is the daughter of her tyrannical mother, the mistress of Elverston Hall. When she rescues a small frog, she is visited nightly by a handsome prince named Rane, who whisks her away to a faery ball - and with her own fairy godmother and a pair of frogskin slippers, Rose begins to reach for the day when she is free of her stifling world.

The book ends with "Rampion", a novella concerning Alia, a young girl living on a tiny dull island, who discovers her half-sister Sif and the cruelty of her own father. Here Pierce has the time to create a larger world and more complex characters, with a story that stretches over several years and a nice twist at the end.

All in all a fantastic collection, and all I can hope for now is that the rest of the stories that Pierce mentions in her introduction are one day published!

a wonderful collection of stories.......2004-05-27

This is a marvelous collection of shorter works by a writer who is rapidly becoming one of my favorites. The title is nicely evocative, as all of the stories have to do with water (or ice or snow) in some way, and "luminous" is an excellent description of Pierce's beautifully clear and expressive writing. The stories range in length from just a few pages to novella-length, and in tone from the utterly charming "The Frogskin Slippers", a witty take on the fairy tale of "The Frog Prince", to the more serious "Rampion", a novella of two half-sisters, their lives on an isolated island, and the very different ways in which they rebel against their unscrupulous father. I find Pierce's longer fiction even more engrossing, but these shorter pieces still show off her wonderful imagery, strong heroines, and lovely writing.

Not her best work.......2004-05-24

Meredith Ann Pierce is hands down my favorite author of all time, but I really didn't see the point to this book. The stories were often scattered and irratic, lacking clear plot, character development and resolution. Some stories would have made better whole novels, and others, I am sorry to say, should have been left out of print. Still, I enjoy her writing style and the presentation of worlds in many ways similar to our own but with added elements of magic and fantasy. I hope Ms. Pierce's next endeavor is more along the lines of the Firebringer or Darkangel trilogies. Those were truly great works of literature.

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Waters Luminous And Deep
Meredith Ann Pierce
Manufacturer: Puffin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OJQ0D8

Book Description

In this book, the authors assess the impact of "modernization" on various populations in the circumpolar regions. They examine the adaptations shown culturally, behaviorally, and physically by the indigenous peoples, and discuss the effect of changes in habitual activity, diet, and general life style due to more urban living patterns on body composition, pulmonary function and susceptibility to disease.

Book Description

This monograph is devoted to an entirely new branch of nonlinear physics - solitary intrinsic states, or autosolitons, which form in a broad class of physical, chemical and biological dissipative systems. Autosolitons are often observed as highly nonequilibrium regions in slightly nonequilibrium systems, in many ways resembling ball lightning which occurs in the atmosphere.
A new approach to problems of self-organization and turbulence is developed, treating these phenomena as a result of spontaneous formation and subsequent evolution of autosolitons. Scenarios of self-organization involve sophisticated interactions between autosolitons, whereas turbulence is regarded as a pattern of autosolitons which appear and disappear at random in different parts of the system.
This is the first monograph to provide a comprehensive summary of the theory of autosolitons as developed by the authors over many years of research.
It will be of value for researchers and graduate students whose work involves the physics of nonequilibrium media, semiconductors, plasmas and self-organization.

Autosolitons : A New Approach to Problems of Self-Organization and Turbulence (Fundamental Theories of Physics)

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Autosolitons : A New Approach to Problems of Self-Organization and Turbulence (Fundamental Theories of Physics)
B.S. Kerner
Manufacturer: NY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MU9374

Amazon.com

English majors and literary critics take note! Here is an energetic exegesis of the rise and fall of the oft deplored, slightly suspect academic discipline "English." Critical of literary theory occupying center stage in the teaching of university English, Professor Robert Scholes adopts "a militant middle position on many of the questions that currently vex English studies." In our already imperiled, latter 20th century, what might those vexations, be? Lack of teaching the "truth," the waiving of the responsibilities in the higher halls of academe to teach composition, a "devotion to the morality of the marketplace and the aesthetics of fashion ... " to name a few. These constitute vital arguments, indeed, for a reinvigoration of the field.

Five chapters make up this lucid text, beginning with a historic overview. In 1701, there were no English professors. Pontificating rectors held the power and prestige; raw and recent Harvard graduates did the dirty work of teaching composition. "This division of labor, as may have occurred to you, is still with us," notes Scholes, whose intent is to trace this classic division and offer up a plan to unite them. Each chapter addresses a particular detail in the evolution of the discipline and concludes with a personal addendum, an "assignment," in which Scholes drops the scholarly persona, adopts the "I," and inserts personal reflections based on his experience in academia. He ponders, for example, why English departments are regarded as responsible for teaching all possible kinds of writing, from the scientific and technical to the literary. His conclusion: "The useful, the practical, and even the intelligible were relegated to composition so that literature could stand as the complex embodiment of cultural ideals.... Teachers of literature became the priests ... while teachers of composition were the nuns, barred from the priesthood, doing the shitwork of the field."

The Rise and Fall of English represents a powerful marriage of the past, providing a fascinating, if sweeping portrait of early American higher education, in brash juxtaposition with current attacks on the humanities. It's a deep read, although Scholes serves up his scholarship with wit and passion, to a readership possessed both of affection and affinity for the field.

Customer Reviews:

Rise & Fall.......2007-06-07

I finally finished it, his ultimate diagnosis is that English will either become a classical field in nature or will need to alter to embrace the present and the future. With Scholes specifics I disagree to some extent as he seems to want to turn undergraduate English into an advanced Intro to Communications course but I do agree that English (as well as most any liberal arts degree) need to alter. One idea of his I greatly enjoy is altering the LERs (liberal education requirements) to better fit a person's major than to just allow students to select randomly. Otherwise, fabulous book, not quite a page turned, and if you're not interested in English and literary theory I'd avoid to like the plague.

Loved it.......2000-11-07

Tired of eggghead profs and "scholards" (scholar + dullard)? Does Barthes make you barf? Will you blow up your university libary if one more person mentions words like "discourse," "interpellaton," "the signified," or "technologies of self"? Ah, then you must be in "grad skool"! My deepest condolences.

I found many of his insights to be refreshing and right on the mark. Some scholars will disagree with Scholes and criticize his strategies (that's why they're dull eggheads after all), but he identitifies a very real problem in English and humanities departments today (and academia in general). He attempts to address it in simple, highly readable prose--and with humor as well--while avoiding the jargon and the pretentiousness that plagues most scholary writing. I found myself staying up until the wee hours of the night to finish the book in one sitting. It was a wonderful respite for me during my first year in grad school, and it lifted my spirits considerably. As many of you already know, graduate school is an experience that basically chews you up and spits you out, destroying your self-esteem, dignity and health in the process. While it may not prevent you from throwing your Foucault and de Certeau books out the window, it may give you back your sanity--remember, it's not you, it's the system's power structure and its discursive effects!

English Now.......2000-02-15

TEXTUALISING WITH A DIFFERENCE

Himansu S. Mohapatra

The Rise and Fall of English : Reconstructing English as a Discipline. By Robert Scholes. New Haven: Yale University Press. 1998. pp. 203. $ 16.50.

Scholes's book about the rise of English, its fall and its possible re-rise as a vastly augmented domain of textuality is quite simply the best book to have been written on the subject till date. Where the earlier accounts, especially the ones by the English Left named above, had stopped short at detecting the crisis and suggesting, in the name of a cure, a wholesale dissolution of such an ideologically tainted project, Scholes charts out a `militant middle position', firmly convinced that the extremes of traditionalism and iconoclasm are no help. Another aspect of the book's goodness is that it is addressed to the actual teacher of English, who, like Scholes, loves language, but who is lying dormant, if not dead, at the moment, and, who must rise phoenix-like from her ashes in the reconfigured domain of textuality.

The empowering concepts that Scholes has used throughout are those of the `text', `textuality' and `intertext'. Although a slight concession to `hypocriticism' (which in Scholes's usage designates a surrender to critical fashions) cannot be ruled out, Scholes is certainly no Barthesian glorifier of textuality as pure difference. This is despite the fact that he defines text, a la semiotic and deconstructive writers, as the `fabric of culture itself, in which we and our students find ourselves already woven' (73). For one thing, his notion of textuality does not exclude concepts like truth ad reality. Thus, if his version of text has an ideology, it is certainly not the pernicious non-cognitivist ideology of the poststructuralist and postmodernist text that Fredric Jameson and Satya P. Mohanty have chosen to criticise. For another thing, Scholes's position on the subject of textuality seems to be an echo of I.A. Richards's 1924 prefatorial claim in The Principles of Literary Criticism to `reweave on the loom of Literature some of the tattered sleeves of civilization'.

It is all too apparent that Scholes shares Richards's concern with truth, reality and with the well-being of civilization. Furthermore, both of them find themselves driven to the metaphors of weaving and textuality to express their sense of the worth of written compositions. The only difference between them is where Richards spoke of Literature with a capital `L', Scholes speaks of verbal and written texts, that is, textuality in its unrestricted sense, something that would include both poems and bumper stickers. It should be noted, however, that Scholes has both retained the Richardsian moment and gone beyond it.

Scholes himself traces the roots of such an attitude to the evangelical fervour of his former Yale colleague Billy Phelps. The rise of English to a place of prominence in the curriculum of Yale and Brown at the turn of the nineteenth century intersects with the career of Phelps. Classics and philology were on their way out, and, the full professionalization literary studies, signalled by the New Criticism, was yet to begin. Phelps, who studied at Yale from 1883 to 1887 and later taught there from 1892 to 1933, represented a moment of poise between philology and New Criticism. What this particular location implied was the synthesis of teaching and preaching, of reading and writing. Ironically this unity was broken during the period of full professionalization, first under the New Criticism, and, then under `theory'. This was the period when rhetoric yielded place to the speculative bias of literature, turning the earlier `actant', who did things, to the present `patient', to whom things were done. Scholes resurrects the past with such ardour in his opening chapter only in order to highlight its contrast with the doggy plight of the present-day teacher of English.

The rest of Scholes's story is soon told. He embarks in his last two chapters on a full-blown reconstructive programme. First of all he puts forward a `a trivial proposal'. This is an attempt to revive the medieval trivium of grammar, dialectic and rhetoric. Scholes's innovation is to rewrite these categories in modern and contemporary terms. For example, rhetoric gets redefined as `persuasion and mediation'. Scholes moves on to outline a proposal for a modern quadrivium. If English is to be a discipline proper, then it must be organized around a `canon of methods' rather a canon of texts. This quadrivium of theory, history, production and consumption is the best guarantee of a paradigm shift in English studies. It is our best bet for recapturing the earlier Phelpsian unity of theory and practice, but in a modern context of difference, diversity and a pervasive intertextuality.

There is just one missing strand in this otherwise superbly-woven fabric. It is to do with the whole discourse of the colonial rise of English. Scholes has, at two places in the book, conceded its central importance. There is no attempt, however, to go into the matter of the colonial origins of English at any length and to draw out its implications. It does not matter to the reader that this ground has been covered in earlier studies such as Gauri Viswanathan's Masks of Conquest (1989), Sara Suleri's The Rhetoric of English India (1991) and Harish Trivedi's Colonial Transactions: English Literature and India (1993). What the reader would like to know is how a consideration of the colonial underpinnings of English can be accommodated within Scholes's textuality paradigm without at the same time punching a gaping hole in it. As postcolonial critics have reminded us, English as a subject was forged `in the smithy of empire'. Scholes's textuality paradigm is conceived within the framework of the national culture. It will perhaps not survive a bracing encounter with the imperial formations. But that is no reason for us not to salute this bracing, witty, candid and infinitely charming book that sets out to textualise with a difference.

Practical & inspiring proposals for lit studies.......1999-06-19

This book will probably never make the NYTimes Bestseller list, but for its intended audience of literature and English composition instructors, this is a thought-provoking text which provides a much-needed jab in the ribs to English departments everywhere.

This is not a dry critical review, but a practical, specific and inspirational text regarding the declining status of English studies in the U.S. Scholes doesn't just whine about what's wrong, but shows readers some ways to make English a useful and necessary component of a university education.

As an English graduate student, I was particularly intrigued by Scholes' ideas of making English composition courses more than just a dumping ground for underpaid instructors and unenthusiastic students. Scholes expanded my own conceptions about what English composition should do, and how it can be made more relevant to today's attention-challenged students.

Scholes has renewed my faith in English studies. Anyone who has taken or taught a college-level English course and wondered what the hell they were doing should read this intelligent and challenging book (or text, if you prefer).

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Rise and Fall of English: Reconstructing English as a Discipline.
Robert Scholes
Manufacturer: see notes for publisher info
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000M3XAWA

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The Rise and Fall of English: Reconstructing English as a Discipline. (book review): An article from: Yearbook of English Studies
Philip Hobsbaum
Manufacturer: Modern Humanities Research Association
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B0008JD2IU
Release Date: 2005-07-28

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Yearbook of English Studies, published by Modern Humanities Research Association on January 1, 2000. The length of the article is 639 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: The Rise and Fall of English: Reconstructing English as a Discipline. (book review)
Author: Philip Hobsbaum
Publication: Yearbook of English Studies (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 1, 2000
Publisher: Modern Humanities Research Association
Page: 263

Article Type: Book Review

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THE RISE AND FALL OF ENGLISH RECONSTRUCTING ENGLISH AS A DISCIPLINE

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THE RISE AND FALL OF ENGLISH RECONSTRUCTING ENGLISH AS A DISCIPLINE
Robert Scholes
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OROBC2

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The Rise and Fall of English: Reconstructing English As a Discipline
Robert E. Scholes
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000ORQ9BS

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