January 22, 2019
UW books in brief: Healthy travel, Hebrew in America, principals supporting teachers and more
Recent notable books by University of Washington faculty members explore the importance of Hebrew to modern America, remember the 1919 Seattle General Strike and look at issues in education, among other topics.
Practical advice for healthy travel, near or far
A new book by Dr. Christopher Sanford offers simple, practical recommendations for those traveling near or far, short or long term, for work or recreation, to “destinations ranging from rural areas to large cities, in both developing and industrialized nations.”
“Staying Healthy Abroad: A Global Traveler’s Guide” was published in December by University of Washington Press. Sanford is an associate professor of family medicine and global health with the UW School of Medicine.
In the book, Sanford gives common-sense advice on how to prevent communicable diseases and mosquito-borne illnesses, travelers’ diarrhea and other maladies, and how to evaluate post-trip symptoms. He focuses on ailments and injuries that travelers are most likely to encounter, noting that “if something occurs less frequently than one-in-a-million, it probably isn’t going to happen to you.” The work also covers concerns unique to women, men, children, LGBTQ individuals and travelers with chronic illnesses.
As Sanford said in a recent interview with KUOW, “The more you travel, the less you fear, and the folks who are the most afraid are those who have never traveled.”
To learn more, contact Sanford at casanfo@uw.edu.
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UW-edited book explores value of Hebrew to contemporary America
Naomi Sokoloff, UW professor of Hebrew and comparative literature, has edited a volume of scholars, writers and translators discussing the changing status of Hebrew in the United States.
“What We Talk About When We Talk About Hebrew (and What It Means to Americans),” edited by Sokoloff with Nancy Berg of Washington University, was published in late summer by UW Press.
The book, publishers notes state, asks how the status of Hebrew is affected by current 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 language be conveyed to a larger audience?”
The volume features essays “that give fellow Americans a glimpse into the richness of an exceptional language.” Contributors include Hannah Pressman, a former staff member with the UW’s Stroum Center for Jewish Studies; and the late Alan Mintz, who was a professor at the Jewish Theological Seminary and author of “Popular Culture and the Shaping of Holocaust Memory in America,” published by UW Press in 2011.
“What We Talk About When We Talk About Hebrew” (which borrows part of its title from a famous 1981 book of short stories by Raymond Carver) “addresses the challenges and joys of being a Hebraist in America in the 21st century … focusing not just on what Hebrew means — as a global phenomenon and long-lived tradition — but on what it can mean to Americans.”
Sokoloff is the co-editor (with UW history professor Susan Glenn) of “Boundaries of Jewish Identity,” published in 2010 by UW Press, and author of “Imagining the Child in Modern Jewish Fiction,” published by Johns Hopkins University Press in 1992.
For more information, contact Sokoloff at 206-543-7145 or naosok@uw.edu.
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Principals support teachers in ‘Leading for Professional Learning’
How can principals better support and encourage professional development among teachers? A new book written by faculty members in the UW Center for Educational Leadership provides practical tools and guidance.
“Leading for Professional Learning: What Successful Principals do to Support Teaching Practice” was published in October by Wiley/Jossey-Bass. The book was written by Anneke Markholt, Joanna Michelson and Stephen Fink. Markholt is the educational leadership center’s associate director and Michelson is its director of teacher leadership and learning. Fink, a UW affiliate professor of education, is the center’s founder and was executive director from 2001 until 2018. All are affiliated with the UW College of Education.
“Leadership is crucial to professional learning, providing the necessary systems and structures that enable teachers to improve their own practice and in turn, improve student learning,” say publisher’s notes for the book. Because each school has different strengths and needs, the book shows school and district leaders ways to create support plans tailored to their own context.
Empowering teachers to improve their craft is more than merely offering opportunity, the book advises — “it requires collaboration with teachers every step of the way, a deep understanding of how best to support professional learning, a clear set of goals for both individual sessions and an overarching mission, and the necessary technical and relational support required to see these opportunities through.”
Listen to an interview with the authors at Principal Center Radio. To learn more, contact Markholt at 206-221-6881 or markholt@uw.edu; or Michelson at 206-715-2833 or jlm32@uw.edu.
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Unexpected uses of technology the focus of ‘Left to Our Own Devices’
A father uses a smart speaker to gently enforce time limits. A couple uses smart lights to work through conflict. People find unexpected ways to adapt technology to fit their lives, as Margaret E. Morris explores in her book, “Left to Our Own Devices: Outsmarting Smart Technology to Reclaim Our Relationships, Health, and Focus.”
Morris is an affiliate faculty member in the UW’s Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering as well as a psychologist and app creator. Her book was published in December by MIT Press.
We are warned of the perils of technology, Morris states, “but our devices and data are woven into our lives. We can’t simply reject them.” Instead, she suggests, “we need to adapt technology creatively to our needs and values.”
In the book, Morris examines how such personalized “life hacks … cast technology not just as a temptation that we struggle to resist but as a potential ally as we try to take care of ourselves and others.”
To learn more, contact Morris at margiemm@uw.edu.
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College of Education instructor pens field guide to inquiry-based teaching
Kimberly Mitchell, a teaching associate in the UW College of Education, explores inquiry-based teaching through five key strategies in “Experience Inquiry: 5 Powerful Strategies, 50 Practical Experiences,”
“One part practical guide, one part interactive journal, this book provides the opportunity to do inquiry as you read about it,” publishers notes state. Readers can see what inquiry-based instruction looks like in practice through five key strategies that can be implemented in any learning environment.
The book offers 50 practical inquiry experiences that can be used with students or with fellow teachers. One online reviewer said Mitchell “has translated the latest terminology — pedagogical jargon — into lively language and useful advice.”
“Experience Inquiry” was published in September by Sage as part of its Corwin Teaching Essentials series. Mitchell is also founder of Inquiry Partners, a professional learning organization dedicated to promoting inquiry-based teaching strategies.
To learn more, contact Mitchell at 206-434-8274 or klasher@uw.edu
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Other book notes:
- UW history professor James Gregory wrote a new introduction and afterword — and contributed a photo essay — to the November republication by UW Press of Robert L. Friedheim’s popular 1964 book, “The Seattle General Strike.” UW Tacoma historian Michael Honey praised the republication, saying the account of the 1919 work stoppage “takes us back to when labor solidarity seemed to make all things possible.” Learn more about UW participation in marking the centennial of the strike.
- “Seawomen of Iceland” by Margaret Willson has been published in paperback by UW Press. Willson is a UW affiliate professor of anthropology and a faculty member in the Canadian Studies Center. The book was first published, by UW Press, in April 2016.
- “Urbanism Without Effort: Reconnecting with First Principles of the City” by Charles R. Wolfe, published as an e-book in 2013, has been updated and brought out in paperback by Island Press. Wolfe is an affiliate associate professor of urban design and planning in the UW College of Built Environments, where he teaches land use law at the graduate level.
