Several WMU faculty members release new books
by Jeanne Baron
Aug. 12, 2011 | WMU News
KALAMAZOO--A number of Western Michigan University faculty members wrote or co-wrote books that were published during the 2010-11 academic year.
The books cover a wide gamut, exploring everything from human diversity and race to how Confucian culture affects China's use of force.
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Anemone
Dr. Robert L. Anemone, professor of anthropology, is the author of "Race and Human Diversity: A Biocultural Approach." The book, published in 2010 by Prentice Hall, investigates human race from the twin perspectives of biology and culture. It examines the biological basis of human difference and how humans have biologically and culturally adapted to life in different environments. Anemone critiques the notion that humans can or should be classified into a number of "biological races." He ultimately suggests that although human biological diversity is real, all racial classifications are based on cultural notions and biases that fail utterly as biology.
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Breu
Dr. Marlene R. Breu, professor emerita of family and consumer sciences, is the co-author of a book based on an eight-year, ground-breaking study of textile and non-textile artifacts in Istanbul churches. Breu retired in 2008 after more than 12 years on the WMU faculty. She wrote "Splendor & Pageantry: Textile Treasures from the Armenian Orthodox Churches of Istanbul" with Dr. Ronald Marchese, professor of ancient history and archaeology at the University of Minnesota at Duluth. It was published in 2010 by Citlembik/Nettleberry Publications in Istanbul. The book presents historical artifacts that have never before been published and features more than 170 plates of textile items in the church collections.
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Ziebarth
Hirsch
Dr. Christian R. Hirsch, the James H. Powell Professor of Mathematics, and Dr. Steven Ziebarth, associate professor and associate chair of mathematics, are the co-authors of "A Five-Year Study of the First Edition of the Core-Plus Mathematics Curriculum." They co-wrote the book with Harold L. Schoen and Allison BrckaLorenz from the University of Iowa. It is an in-depth longitudinal study of three schools that used Core-Plus as their secondary mathematics curriculum and was published by Information Age Publishing last fall as a volume in the Research in Mathematics Education Series.
- Dr. Richard Junger, professor of communication, is the author of a colorful history of Chicago journalism in the 19th century titled "Becoming the Second City." The work, published late last year by the University of Illinois Press, examines the development of Chicago's press and analyzes coverage of key events in its history to call attention to the media's impact in shaping the city's cultural and historical landscape.
- Dr. Richard Katrovas, professor of English, is the author of a compilation of his work that is the culmination of his 35-year writing career. Called "Scorpio Rising: Selected Poems." the new book culls from six previous Katrovas collections and was published in February by Carnegie Mellon University Press.
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Wang
Dr. Yuan-kang Wang, associate professor of sociology, is the author of "Harmony and War: Confucian Culture and Chinese Power Politics," The book, published earlier this year by Columbia University Press, examines whether China's pacifist Confucian culture has constrained its use of force in the past and discusses the implications for today's international politics.