August 21, 2003
Book Picks
Editor’s Note: The following books are by UW faculty and are available at University Book Store. Stesha Brandon works at the store.
The Feminine, By Richard L Kehl, Professor Emeritus, Painting (Darling and Company, 2003, $20)
A glance through the graphic essay, The Feminine transports the reader to a different world, a world in which, as stated in a brief introduction, “meaning is revealed by the interplay of images.” Richard Kehl, author of many works including, Breathing On Your Own, is a longtime collector of images and his latest project juxtaposes stunning photographs, magazine illustrations and paintings as it takes on the enormous subject of femininity. Stone reliefs of Egyptian queens rub shoulders with Josephine Baker and Gustav Klimt. But Kehl refuses to define the feminine. His arrangement of images strives to embody the feminine rather than explain it, while a few carefully chosen epigrams encourage the reader to explore a more intuitive understanding of the feminine spirit.
Inequality and Growth, edited by Theo S. Eicher, Associate Professor of Economics and Stephen J. Turnovsky, Castor Professor of Economics (MIT Press, 2003, $34.95)
With the understanding that even small increases in growth can affect a population’s living standards dramatically, Professors Eicher and Turnovsky have created a forum for today’s leading economists to discuss the relationship between inequality and growth, and its impact on theoretical and empirical issues, with an eye toward creating a framework to develop policies that foster both growth and equality. Interestingly, despite the diverse contexts in which inequality and growth are addressed, the contributors overwhelmingly recommend one policy prescription: the use of education to reduce inequality and foster growth.
Epistemic Justification: Internalism vs. Externalism, Foundations vs. Virtues, Laurence BonJour, Professor of Philosophy, and Ernest Sosa, Professor of Philosophy, Brown University (Blackwell Publishing, 2003, $26.95)
Part of the “Great Debates in Philosophy” series, which captures the excitement of a philosophical dialogue, Epistemic Justification presents contrasting arguments about the nature of knowledge, and how we know if our knowledge is true and justified.
Bonjour argues from a traditional internalist position, while Sosa defends an externalist virtue epistemology. These arguments represent a synthesis of the diverse thinking on the subject of epistemology and its justification.
Galaxies and the Cosmic Frontier, Paul W. Hodge, Professor Emeritus of Astronomy and William H. Waller, Research Associate Professor of Astronomy, Tufts University (Harvard University Press, 2003, $29.95)
This insider’s tour introduces the reader to our universe’s galaxies, from their inception in the Hot Big Bang to their continuing transmutations. After an orientation in our own Milky Way, Hodge and Waller invite readers to witness the unique construction of spiral and elliptical galaxies and to observe the spectacular drama produced when galaxies collide and explode. Using the latest observations and the most compelling theories Galaxies and the Cosmic Frontier offers an excellent exploration of one of our farthest-reaching frontiers.
