Democracy, Dialogue, and Community Action: Truth and Reconciliation in Greensboro

November 3, 1979. The Greensboro Massacre. The Klan-Nazi shootings.  Whatever you want to call that day, it is a day of infamy in this city’s history. Dr. Spoma Jovanovic (Communication Studies) is the author of Democracy, Dialogue, and Community Action: Truth and Reconciliation in Greensboro, published in November 2012 by the University of Arkansas Press. The book follows the trail that led from the horror of 1979 to the formation of the Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2004 to the commission’s final report in 2006—and beyond.

Dr. Jovanovic worked with community members to document the work of the TRC as it tried to discover and explain what happened on that day and what resulted. Why were no police present? Why were the gunmen never convicted? The Greensboro TRC was the first in the United States to undertake this sort of examination and this book testifies to its importance. As one reviewer said, “A practical look at the messy, conflicting, and difficult work, the book explores how such work can foster greater participation in local, even national, democracy.”

Berkeley Prelude: A Lyrical Memoir, 1970-1975

Berkeley Prelude: A Lyrical Memoir, 1970-1975 is the latest book of poetry by Dr. Mark Smith-Soto (Languages, Literatures, and Cultures). In it, there are two narrators and the poet himself plays both parts. One is Mark Smith-Soto as he was in California in the 1970s; the other resides in the present. Each poem has two parts; in the first, he speaks of himself in the third person and in the second, in the first person.  As one critic observed, “By making his earlier self be a he instead of an I, Smith-Soto is simultaneously creating psychological accuracy and opening up questions about the contiguity of the self.” Another  wrote, “In the end, Berkeley Prelude cautions that when you look back, the face you don’t recognize might be your own.”

The book was published by Unicorn Press in Greensboro in two separate editions. Unicorn describes the editions as follows:  “The author signed 26 hardbound copies, lettered A through Z. An additional 50 hardbound copies and 225 bound in paper were produced by Unicorn Press.” It seems fitting that even the physical properties of the poems should represent yet another duality.

Leading Technology-Rich Schools

In December, 2012, Guilford County Schools received a $30 million grant for technology in the classroom.  In this context, Professor Barbara Levin's (Teacher Education and Higher Education) new book, Leading Technology-Rich Schools, is especially timely.  Through eight case studies, the book, as the publisher describes, "shows how award-winning secondary schools and districts are successfully using technology and making systemic changes to increase student engagement, improve achievement, and re-invigorate the teaching and learning process. Through in-depth case studies, we see how experienced school and district leaders use technology in curricular, administrative, and analytical ways to meet the needs of 21st-century learners, educators, and communities. These cases reveal important details addressed by the leadership of these schools and districts that go beyond what they did with technology to include changes in school culture, curriculum and teaching, uses of assessment data, financial considerations, infrastructure, and involvement with the community."

One reviewer notes that "These rich illustrations of technology leadership in secondary schools show how a number of complex variables must come together to produce the key outcome of positioning educational technology as a support to teaching and learning. Examples of leadership practices that coordinate team members for interdependent work and invite teachers' involvement should prove to be a valuable resource to practitioners and also provide insight to policymakers for how they can create supportive conditions for such work.”

Presenting Oprah Winfrey, Her Films, and African American Literature

Dr. Tara Green , Director of UNCG's African American Studies Program, is the editor of the recently published Presenting Oprah Winfrey, Her Films, and African American Literature (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013). Oprah Winfrey is perhaps most closely linked with her television shows and OWN, her television network, but she has appeared in such films as The Color Purple and Beloved and she was one of the producers of Precious. As its title suggests, the book explores Winfrey’s interest in and connection to both film and literature. One reviewer noted that it “speaks to the
complexities of Oprah Winfrey’s role in shaping racial and cultural literacy—on and off the page.” “Oprah” is certainly a household name; these essays reveal the far-reaching breadth of her influence.

The University Libraries own both a print and e-version of the book.

For more information about Green and Presenting Oprah Winfrey, Her Films, and African American Literature, see UNCG's news story.

Early Modern Women on the Fall: An Anthology

Dr. Michelle Dowd (English) co-edited the recent book, Early Modern Women on the Fall: An Anthology (Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies). It is a collection of works by women in early modern England that consider the biblical Fall as it relates to other concepts that were central to their society, such as women’s education and status.

In the introduction, Professor Dowd and her co-editor Thomas Festa ask "Why focus exclusively on women writers' responses to the Fall? One important reason has to do with problems of access.  Male positions on the Fall from this period have for many generations been widely published in numerous collections and editions.  Ultimately our goal is emphatically not to re-segregate women's writing from men's writing or to replace one with the other but, on the contrary, to encourage that these texts be read in conjunction with male-authored texts from the period, such as Paradise Lost."

Exploring Composition Studies: Sites, Issues, and Perspectives

Dr. Kelly Ritter (English) is co-author of the recent book, Exploring Composition Studies:  Sites, Issues, and Perspectives (Utah State University Press). Its purpose is to serve as an introduction to the teaching of writing to graduate students and new instructors. The book is a compilation of essays by English and composition scholars who explore, according to one review, “the field as an interdisciplinary discipline.”  Some of the topics include different levels and types of writing, the value of writing centers, and the value of writing-across-the-curriculum programs. Each author discusses his/her topic in relationship to other areas of composition studies and to issues and controversies that are common to them all.

The Constant Heart by Craig Nova

Kudos to English Professor Craig Nova!  His novel, The Constant Heart made The New Yorker's list of best books of 2012.  Library Journal praised the book as "a meditative, philosophical, and beautifully realized novel about the nature of embattled American manhood."  Author Oscar Hijuelos writes, "Superb in prose and its evocations of character and nature, The Constant Heart is a wonderful novel by a writer whose range continues to dazzle me.  As a writer, I marveled at the pure scope of Nova's gifts as a storyteller.  As a reader, I simply enjoyed my ride through the emotional heart of this affecting novel."

Professor Nova has written an introduction to his novel in storySouth, where you can also listen to him read a section.