February 3, 2020
UW Books in brief: Poetry of India’s Bani-Thani, equitable parent-school collaboration, building military cultural competence — and a 2019 National Jewish Book Award
Notable new books by University of Washington faculty members include studies of military cultural education programs and equitable collaboration between schools and families. Also, National Endowment for the Humanities support for a coming book on an 18th century India poet, and a National Jewish Book Award.
Volume of essays co-edited by Naomi Sokoloff wins 2019 National Jewish Book Award for anthologies, collections
Naomi Sokoloff
A book co-edited by Naomi B. Sokoloff, UW professor of Hebrew and comparative literature, has won a 2019 National Jewish Book Award for anthologies and collections from the Jewish Book Council.
“What We Talk About When We Talk About Hebrew (and What It Means to Americans),” edited by Sokoloff with Nancy E. Berg of Washington University, is a volume of scholars, writers and translators discussing the changing status of Hebrew in the United States. The book was published by University of Washington Press in June 2018.
The book features a diverse group of distinguished contributors discussing the questions, publisher notes state: “Why Hebrew, here and now? What is its value for contemporary Americans? To what extent is that status affected by evolving Jewish identities and shifting attitudes toward Israel and Zionism? Will Hebrew programs survive the current crisis in the humanities on university campuses? How can the vibrancy of Hebrew literature be conveyed to a larger audience?”
The Jewish Book Council established the awards in 1950. Winners of the 2019 awards, across 18 categories, will be honored at a ceremony March 17 in New York.
To learn more, contact Sokoloff at naosok@uw.edu.
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Heidi Pauwels receives National Endowment for the Humanities fellowship for book on ‘India’s 18th century Mona Lisa’
Heidi Pauwels, professor in the Department of Asian Languages & Literature, has been awarded a $45,000 National Endowment for the Humanities fellowship to work on her planned book, “The Voice of India’s 18th Century Mona Lisa: Songs by Rasik Bihari of Kishangarh.”
The book will explore the poetry and life of an 18th-century woman known as Bani-Thani, or Rasik Bihari, who was an elegant court performer and favorite of the Indian crown prince Sāvant Singh (1699-1764) of Kishangarh, a city in the Indian state of Rajasthan. She turns out to have been a composer in her own right under the pseudonym of Rasik Bihari.
Pauwels, who also coordinates the department’s South Asia Program, recently wrote a book about Singh. “Mobilizing Krishna’s World: The Writings of Prince Sāvant Singh of Kishangarh” was published in 2017 by University of Washington Press.
The fellowship was announced Jan. 14, part of a NEH award of $30.9 million in grants supporting 188 humanities projects in 45 states. Read more on the Simpson Center for the Humanities website.
To learn more, contact Pauwels at hpauwels@uw.edu.
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Ann Ishimaru pens book on equitable school-family collaboration
Ann Ishimaru
Teachers College Press has published “Just Schools: Building Equitable Collaborations with Families and Communities,” by Ann Ishimaru, associate professor in the UW College of Education. The book examines the challenges and possibilities of creating more equitable forms of collaboration among nondominant families, communities and schools.
“As we’ve been trying to make changes to the long-standing and persistent racial inequities that exist in our schools and really transform education, my argument is that we’ve overlooked a vital source of expertise and leadership — and that resides in the families and communities of students themselves,” Ishimaru said in an article on the college website.
The book is drawn on Ishimaru’s work as principal investigator of the UW-based Family Leadership Design Collaborative and the Equitable Parent-School Collaboration project over more than a decade. The book describes core concepts for equitable collaboration and provides multiple examples of effective practices.
Listen to a College of Education-produced podcast with Ishimaru. To learn more, contact Ishimaru at aishi@uw.edu.
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Paula Holmes-Eber co-edits book on building military cultural competence
Paula Holmen-Eber
As recent international conflicts have shown, the military officer of today must be both warrior and diplomat, combatant and humanitarian worker, soldier and peacekeeper. An anthology coedited by Paula Holmes-Eber, affiliate professor in the Jackson School of International studies, explores how today’s militaries can prepare their leaders for such complex roles.
“Warriors or Peacekeepers? Building Military Cultural Competence,” edited by Holmes and Kjetil Enstad of The Norwegian Defence University College, compares research on the successes and failures of military cultural education and training programs in seven countries: The United States, Canada, Argentina, Norway, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands.
“Warriors or Peacekeepers” will be published in March by Springer. To learn more, contact Holmes-Eber at pholmese@uw.edu.
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Justin Jesty’s ‘Arts and Engagement in Early Postwar Japan’ honored
Justin Jesty
“Art and Engagement in Early Postwar Japan,” a 2018 book by Justin Jesty, associate professor of Japanese language and literature, has been awarded the 2019 Book Prize by the Association for the Study of the Arts of the Present, known as ASAP for short.
The book, a cultural history of post-World War II Japan, was published in September 2018 by Cornell University Press. The award was announced in late 2019.
To learn more, contact Jesty at jestyj@uw.edu or visit his site at Academia.edu.
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Tag(s): Ann Ishimaru • books • College of Arts & Sciences • College of Education • Department of Asian Languages & Literature • Heidi Pauwels • Jackson School of International Studies • Justin Jesty • Naomi Sokoloff • Paula Holmes-Eber
