Faculty News
Intertwined Lives
In her new book, “Intertwined Lives: Margaret Mead, Ruth Benedict and Their Circle” (Alfred A. Knopf, 2003), History Professor Lois W. Banner writes about the complicated relationship of anthropologist Margaret Mead and Ruth Benedict, and the friendship that gave them academic confidence in an intellectual world that was controlled by men. The book is the first to include previously restricted private letters and papers.
Understanding Earth
College Earth Scientist Thomas Jordan coauthored the fourth edition of “Understanding Earth” (W.H. Freeman and Company, 2003)—a must read textbook for anyone studying earth science. Together with Frank Press of The Washington Advisory Group, Raymond Siever of Harvard and John Grotzinger of MIT, they explore the latest theories and findings in the fields of earth science, geology, geophysics and more. The book includes new insights about earthquakes, volcanism, erosion, plate tectonics and the earth’s interior. Jordan’s other new book “Living on an Active Earth: Perspectives on Earthquake Science” (National Academy Press, 2003) stems from a five-year study by a committee of the National Research Council, which he chaired. Jordan holds the W. M. Keck Foundation Chair in Geological Sciences.
Prostitution, Race and Politics
In her latest book, “Prostitution, Race and Politics: Policing Venereal Disease in the British Empire” (Routledge, 2003), Professor of History Philippa Levine examines how the British government used legislation to protect the health of British soldiers as a “conscious instrument of colonial dominance.” In 2004, Oxford University Press will publish her contribution to the Oxford History of the British Empire series, “Gender and Empire.”
National Book Award Nominations
Two English Professors were finalists for the 2003 National Book Awards. T. C. Boyle and Carol Muske-Dukes were nominated in fiction and poetry, respectively, for “Drop City” and “Sparrow.” USC College was the only institution to boast two nominees. Boyle is the author of eight previous novels and six collections of stories. “Drop City,” Boyle’s ninth novel, centers on the travails of a hippie commune in the early 1970s. Set in Sonoma County, it follows a group of open-minded free-lovers and drug abusers. But beneath the characters’ nonchalant veneer lurk the same selfish impulses against which they set out to define themselves. Muske-Dukes, who recently received the Chapin Award for Poetry from the Columbia University School of the Arts, says the poems in “Sparrow” are a real departure from her usual style and subject matter. Written in the wake of personal tragedy from the death of her husband, “Sparrow” grapples with the contrast between love and grief, finding the image of a flitting sparrow as the most fitting metaphor. Shirley Hazzard’s “The Great Fire,” won the National Book Award for fiction in November. C.K. Williams’ book, “The Singing,” won for poetry.
Publications on the Brain
Assistant Professor of Neurobiology Judith Hirsch published an article about how inhibitory circuits in the cortex process visual information. It appeared in the journal Nature Neuroscience on Nov. 16.Two neuroscientists were published in the Oct. 30 edition of Neuron. Professor of Neurobiology Chien-Ping Ko’s group wrote about the role that glial cells play in maintaining synaptic function. In a separate article, Associate Professor of Molecular Biology Michael Quick
analyzed the function of serotonin transporters, which are major targets for a variety of therapeutic interventions.
MLA PresidentEnglish Professor Marjorie Perloff was recently elected president of the Modern Language Association. Perloff returns to USC College from Stanford in fall 2004.
|
|
|
