New books show breadth of Clark faculty expertise

Clark faculty members have recently presented their scholarly research in a range of published (or soon-to-be-published) books, examining topics from how to talk about race to an analysis of how gender and identity affect modern design.

Movers and Makers
Parminder Bhachu, sociology

We live in an era of extreme change — and there is no better time to interrogate the lives of new kinds of people, “movers and makers,” who navigate fragility and uncertainty to create with daring, often against great odds. Professor Parminder Bhachu uses their dramatic life stories to uncover what makes for creativity and resilience in times of disequilibrium. Bhachu, herself a multiple-migrant maker, offers us a model for a hopeful way forward, bringing her unique ethnographic insights to illuminate what can be learned about thriving in a world in flux. (Routledge, March 31, 2021)

Mid-Century Modernism and the American Body
Kristina Wilson, visual and performing arts

In the world of interior design, mid-century modernism has left an indelible mark still seen and felt today in countless open-concept floor plans and spare, geometric furnishings. Despite our continued fascination, we rarely consider how this iconic design sensibility was marketed to the diverse audiences of its era. Examining advice manuals, advertisements in Life and Ebony, furniture, art, and more, art history Professor Kristina Wilson offers a powerful new look at how codes of race, gender, and identity influenced — and were influenced by — modern design and shaped its presentation to consumers. (Princeton University Press, April 13, 2021)

Let’s Talk Race
Fern Johnson, English, with Marlene Fine

Why do white people struggle to talk about race? Professor Emerita and Senior Research Scholar Fern Johnson and Marlene Fine confront this question and discuss why white people need to own this problem and how to learn to do the work (and to stop expecting Black people to do it for them). Specialists in race relations and parents of two adopted African American sons, Johnson and Fine provide unique insights and practical guidance, richly illustrated with personal examples, anecdotes, research findings, and prompts for personal reflection and conversations about race. Read reviews and more here. (New Society Publishers, April 14, 2021)

La Hermosa Carne
Juan Pablo Rivera, Language, Literature, and Culture

Writing from a feminist, anti-racist, and queer perspective, Professor of Spanish Juan Pablo Rivera offers cautious readings of the Puerto Rican poetic production of the first decades of the 21st century. He argues that, despite the many natural and economic disasters Puerto Rico has faced, poetry continues to be a vibrant space of political agency where poets manufacture a society that is more inclusive and more attentive to the pleasures and pains of the body. This book, whose title translates to “The Beautiful Meat,” focuses on bodies that have been traditionally omitted from poetic canons — such as those of black women, immigrants, obese, “crazy,” and homosexual people — to disengage Puerto Rican poetry from a Hispanic tradition to which it uncomfortably belongs. (IberoAmericana Vervuert, 2021)

Human Development: A Cultural Approach (3rd edition)
Jeffrey Jensen Arnett and Lene Arnett Jensen, psychology

Winner of the 2021 Textbook Excellence Award from the Textbook and Academic Authors Association, “Human Development” leads students to examine all stages of development through the engaging lens of culture. Psychology research professors Jeffrey Jensen Arnett and Lene Arnett Jensen integrate cross-cultural examples throughout the narrative to reveal the impact of cultural factors both in the US and around the world. The 3rd edition includes thoroughly updated research and data for a learning experience that best prepares students to face challenges in our diverse and globalized world — whether they travel the globe or remain in their hometowns. This book is part of the Arnett and Jensen Development Series (Pearson, 2019)