Month: May 2009

Homosexuality in Cinema

It isn’t as new as some may think.  I remember reading a book called Queering the Color Line by Siobhan Somerville, which looked as far back as silent film to show the overlap in race, gender, and sexual identity in its representation/misrepresentation throughout film. It is not as strange as it may seem to think about the overlaps: to see what was allowed, who was allowed to portray a person of color/a woman/a character with homosexual traits, and what was considered more taboo or more accepted than the next.

We just got a book in that isn’t quite as heavy, and a bit more focused in content.  Out at the Movies: A History of Gay Cinema by Simon Callow.  This book covers not only the history of homosexuality  and attitudes towards it as portrayed through time, but also discusses the roles of closeted and openly gay actors, actresses, filmmakers, writers, producers, and directors. The focus of this book focuses more on modern cinema than Queering the Color Line, but that’s certainly not a bad thing. Recommended for those with a Queer Studies interest and film buffs.

Congratulations, Miguel Morales

miguelLibrary employee Miguel Morales has been named a Diversity Fellow, a position within JCCC’s Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Some of the countless exemplary qualities Miguel brings to the group include his work with student groups like LUNA (Latinos United Now and Always) and Queers & Allies; his contributions to both latino/latina publications and the ODEI journal, Voices; his public speaking engagements to faculty; and many more examples exceeding what many accomplish in a lifetime (at least me).
In addition to Miguel, Kerri Stephenson of the Foreign Language department was also named a Fellow. She also is a part of LUNA and has many outreach programs under her belt. Congratulations to both of them.

Do the Pandemic

SWINE FLU!

Just kidding.  But not by much: Today’s book is called Resurgent Diseases, a collection of articles arguing both sides of issues surrounding fears, realities, proper responses, mass hysteria, and other fun things that come when diseases poke their heads out from hiding. It is part of the Opposing Viewpoints series.  If you’re not familiar with them, let’s do some talking.

You need to know about this series if you will ever be in the market for a persuasive paper. The whole goal of the series is to take a topic (like, say, I don’t know… resurgent diseases..), dissect the different arguments within the broad topic, and provide a collection of articles debating different points of view.  The end of each chapter also contains a bibliography of additional resources that argue both sides of the topic.  Basically, if you ever needed a topic for a paper or sources for it, just one book will load. you. up.

Here’s a quick step by step for finding them.

  • Open the catalog
  • Click “Advanced Search”
  • Type opposing viewpoints into the first text field
  • select as a phrase in the drop-down to the right
  • Where it says “Search In”, select keyword.
  • Click Search

When the page loads, you’ll see 350+ results.  There’s a drop-down that says Sort by: Choose “Publish Date Descending”.  You’ll now have the most recent first.

The End of an Era?

It is hard to imagine the era of the modified muscle car being dead.  Perhaps it is easier for some, but I have friends that built Camaros piece by piece.  The fascination with big, powerful cars is, today, almost an insult to the environmental concerns of many.  We’re even watching the American auto industry capsize due to its seeming inability to keep up with foreign hybrids and fuel-efficient alternatives.  Now, we’re within a year of the promised date for the Chevrolet Bolt, and we’re wondering if Chevrolet will make it that long as a company.

Regardless of the long-term effects, it is still easy for some to look at the era of the muscle car and marvel at the creation.  Today’s book, Business of Speed : The Hot Rod Industry in America, 1915-1990, recollects this period of time when power was achieved by any means necessary.  But it does go beyond that:  Hot-rodding, or modifying cars for enhanced performance, isn’t just about being wasteful, and author David Lucsko addresses this. It will be interesting to see where emphasis takes this in the future: for fuel efficiency, for alternative means of achieving power… Nonetheless, this historical perspective of what once was is unique peak into a culture that will have to change with the times.

The Face of Family

The governing qualities of the law – and concepts like ‘best interest of the child’ – become jumbled from traditional viewpoints when there are non-traditional families involved.  If it is best for the kids to go with Mom in a divorce, what happens when there are two? Or none? And in some cases, that means that the court approved an adoption into that family, meaning that nontraditional legal standpoints had been challenged.

There have been quite a few cases used to define and redefine family law as families continue evolving in appearance, and while those countless court cases are spread across a number of databases, Courting Change: Queer Parents, Judges, and the Transformation of American Family Law by Kimberly D. Richman collects interviews with families, lawyers, judges, and other legal minds and non-traditional family experts to assemble a collected view of the issues in equality from household to household.  An excellent source for students pursuing careers in law, people with an interest in LGBT issues and studies, or anyone interested in the changing face of the American family.