Penn Press Log

A Century of Social Work and Social Welfare at Penn--Now Available

2008-09-03T12:58:29-04:00

A Century of Social Work and Social Welfare at Penn
Ram A. Cnaan, Melissa E. Dichter, and Jeffrey Draine, Editors
632 pages | 7 x 10 | 26 illus.
Cloth 2008 | ISBN 978-0-8122-4103-7 | $65.00 | £42.50

The University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy and Practice is a leader in promoting theoretical and practical social work knowledge. Celebrating the school's centennial, this volume heralds the progressive thinking of its leaders and students while setting the stage for the next century of work at the frontier of the field. Read more . . .

Book reviewers: to request a press copy, contact Ellen Trachtenberg.
Educators: to request an exam copy for course use consideration, click here.

Kettl Weighs In on the Response to Gustav

2008-09-03T11:05:23-04:00

Two major news outlets went to public policy and administration expert Donald F. Kettl for an assessment of post-Katrina and Rita government response to Gustav, the latest hurricane to hit the Gulf Coast region.

Yesterday, the Associated Press quoted Kettl in a story on the debate over restoring New Orleans.

"If you walk away, you are condemning the city to tremendous suffering," Kettl said. "As serious as the suffering was the last time, it didn't completely destroy the city. The real challenge is deciding what kind of city you want."

In today's TimesOnline, Kettl remarked on efforts to evacuate the city in hopes of avoiding the horrors that stunned the U.S. three years ago.

“Officials certainly didn’t overreact,” said Don Kettl, a University of Pennsylvania public policy professor and co-editor of On Risk and Disaster: Lessons from Hurricane Katrina. “As the photos of the waves lapping over the top of the Industrial Canal made clear, the city came within an eyelash of a bigger storm surge that would have pushed far more water — and far greater problems — into the city.”

'Progressive America' Bloggers Make Unconventional Observations

2008-09-02T11:43:13-04:00

The blogging contributors to In Search of Progressive America, edited by Michael Kazin, took on the Democratic National Convention last week. This week it's the Republican Party's turn. Read what these contributors have to say about the political conventions and more on the following weblogs:

Todd Gitlin
tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/profile/tgitlin

Erza Klein
tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/profile/ezraklein

Matthew Yglesias
yglesias.thinkprogress.org

Meanwhile, In Search of Progressive America contributor Dean Baker continues to monitor economic reporting at his blog, Beat the Press.

The Art of Being Jewish in Modern Times--Now in Paperback

2008-09-02T09:45:00-04:00

This richly illustrated volume illuminates how the arts have helped Jews confront the challenges of modernity. There truly is an art to being Jewish in the modern world--or, alternatively, an art to being modern in the Jewish world--and this collection fully captures its range, diversity, and historical significance.

Brides, Inc.--Now in Paperback

2008-08-29T09:30:00-04:00

Brides, Inc.: American Weddings and the Business of Tradition
Vicki Howard
320 pages | 6 x 9 | 50 illus.
Cloth 2006 | ISBN 978-0-8122-3945-4 | $34.95 | £23.00
Paper 2008 | ISBN 978-0-8122-2045-2 | $19.95 | £13.00

"A fascinating read that has much to offer historians of business, labor, and culture--not to mention anthropologists and specialists in gender and cultural studies. 'Marrying' the symbolic concerns of new cultural history with the material concerns of business history is one of the book's considerable strengths."--American Historical Review

Philadelphia Weekly Talks to Birch about Greening Philly

2008-08-27T14:14:21-04:00

Eugenie Birch, co-editor of Growing Greener Cities: Urban Sustainability in the Twenty-First Century, spoke with Philadelphia Weekly's Jeffrey Barg about Philly's status as a green metropolis.

"How is Philly doing?" asked Barg.

“It’s a tremendous leader," said Birch. "There’s the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s work with community gardens—it’s an international leader. Another area is the work that the Water Department is doing with drainage issues and infrastructure. A lot of really sensational things are going on in Philadelphia. Philly is equal to other cities that have been more highly touted.”

Check out PW's map of Philadelphia's green scenes to see how the City of Brotherly Love stacks up.

Inscription and Erasure--Now in Paperback

2008-08-26T11:10:51-04:00

Roger Chartier examines how authors transformed the material realities of writing or of publication into an aesthetic resource exploited for poetic, dramatic, or narrative ends.