Turn signals are the facial expressions of automobiles

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Helle Rydstrøm

"One of the first anthropological studies based on extensive fieldwork in Vietnam in decades, Embodying Morality examines child-rearing in a rural Red River delta commune. It is a sophisticated and intriguing exploration of the ways in which a family system based on principles of male descent influences the moral upbringing and learning of girls and boys." "In Vietnamese culture, boys alone perpetuate the patrilineal family line; they incorporate the past, present, and future morality, honor, and reputation of their father's lineage. Within this patrilineal universe, girls are viewed as blank sheets of paper and must compensate for this deficiency by embodying tinh cam (sensitivity, sense). Such attitudes play a significant role in the upbringing of girls and boys and in how they learn to use and understand their bodies. Helle Rydstrom offers fresh data - from audiotapes, video-tapes, textbooks, observations in the home and at school - for identifying the transformation of local and educational constructions of females, males, and morality into body styles of girls, boys, women, and men. She highlights the extent to which body performances in daily life produce, reproduce, and challenge widespread northern Vietnamese ideals of femininity and masculinity."--Jacket.

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Ajay Nair and Murali Balaji

"Desi Rap is a collection of essays from South Asian American activists, academics, and hip-hop artists that explores four main ideas: hip-hop as a means of expression of racial identity, class status, gender, sexuality, racism, and culture; the appropriation of Black racial identity by South Asian American consumers of hip-hop; the furthering of the discourse on race and ethnic identity in the United States through hip-hop; and the exploration of South Asian Americans' use of hip-hop as a form of social protest. Ultimately, Desi Rap is about broadening our horizons through hip-hop and embracing the South Asian American community's polycultural legacy and future."--Jacket.

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Stacia Deutsch and Rhody Cohon

Third graders travel through time to keep history on track! Abigail loves Mondays, and so does the rest of class 305. That's the day Mr. Caruthers asks them cool questions about history. Today Mr. C asks, "What if Abraham Lincoln never freed the slaves?" Abigail and her friends are ready to put their thinking caps on. But this time Mr. C wants them to do more than put their heads together-he wants them to travel back in time! Turns out the "What If?" questions are real, and Mr. C has just come back from a visit to the past. He needs their help because it looks like President Lincoln might quit and never free the slaves! With a time-travel gadget and only two hours to spare, Abigail and her friends are going back to the past. But even though time traveling isn't hard, convincing Abraham Lincoln not to give up isn't going to be easy ... With a dollop of The Magic Tree House, a dash of Back to the Future, and pinch of Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, Blast to the Past is a recipe for fun!

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Christopher J. Smith

Since the death of Mao Zedong in 1976, critical changes have swept all levels of Chinese society. This text, which views contemporary China from a geographer’s perspective, assesses the questions inherent insuch rapid evolution. how do the Chinese manage to provide enough food for more than a billion people? In what ways are they restructuring and modernizing their economy? How have they been able to provide mass access to such services as health care, education, and housing? The author also delves into the relatively unexplored realm of everyday life in the new China. Why do so many want to leave the countryside and move to the cities? how has life changed for women after centures of Confucian oppression in China? And what does the future hold for China’s many ethnic minority groups?By providing answers to questions such as these, the book illustrates the centrality of geography to the study of China--a country where distance still acts as a major constraint on social and spatial interaction; where the population is so huge that demand for resources almost always outstrips supply; and where regional variations have produced a rich mosaic of human and physical characteristics.