Penn Press Log

This Week's New Books--Trade, Land, Power: The Struggle for Eastern North America, Plus Three Paperback Releases

Trade, Land, Power: The Struggle for Eastern North America Daniel K. Richter 384 pages | 6 x 9 | 35 illus. Cloth 2013 | ISBN 978-0-8122-4500-4 | $45.00 | £29.50 Ebook | ISBN 978-0-8122-0830-6 | $45.00s | £29.50 In this sweeping collection of essays, one of America's leading colonial historians reexamines struggles between Native peoples and Europeans in early America in terms of how each understood the material basis of power. Read more . . .

Now in Paperback Buddhism and Islam on the Silk Road Johan Elverskog 352 pages | 6 x 9 | 48 illus. Cloth 2010 | ISBN 978-0-8122-4237-9 | $69.95 | £45.50 Paper 2013 | ISBN 978-0-8122-2259-3 | $29.95 | £19.50 EBook | ISBN 978-0-8122-0531-2 | $29.95 | £19.50 A volume in the Encounters with Asia series This groundbreaking work challenges contemporary stereotypes by revealing how both Buddhist and Muslim religious traditions were shaped by a millennium of cross-cultural exchange along the Silk Road from Iran to China. Read more . . .

Now in Paperback Empires of God: Religious Encounters in the Early Modern Atlantic Edited by Linda Gregerson and Susan Juster 344 pages | 6 x 9 | 6 illus. Cloth 2010 | ISBN 978-0-8122-4289-8 | $59.95 | £39.00 Paper 2013 | ISBN 978-0-8122-2260-9 | $27.50 | £18.00 Focusing on the formative period of European exploration, settlement, and conquest in the Americas, from roughly 1500 to 1760, Empires of God brings together literary scholars and historians of the English, French, and Spanish Americas to demonstrate the power of religious ideas and narratives to create kingdoms both imagined and real. Read more . . .

Now in Paperback Along an African Border: Angolan Refugees and Their Divination Baskets Sónia Silva 188 pages | 6 x 9 | 37 illus. Cloth 2011 | ISBN 978-0-8122-4293-5 | $39.95 | £26.00 Paper Apr 2013 | ISBN 978-0-8122-2268-5 | $24.95 | £16.50 A volume in the Contemporary Ethnography series Anthropologist Sónia Silva examines how a community of Luvale people, Angolan refugees living in Zambia, use lipele divination baskets to cope with daily life in a new land and maintain connections to their past. Read more . . .

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

This Week's New Books: Ellis Island Nation, Human Rights and the Negotiation of American Power, Dreams, Dreamers, and Visions, How Rivalries End, and More

Ellis Island Nation: Immigration Policy and American Identity in the Twentieth Century Robert L. Fleegler 280 pages | 6 x 9 | 5 illus. Cloth 2013 | ISBN 978-0-8122-4509-7 | $49.95 | £32.50 A volume in the Haney Foundation Series Examining the shift between American immigrant policy between 1924 and 1964, Ellis Island Nation traces the emergence of "contributionism," the belief that the newcomers from eastern and southern Europe contributed important cultural and economic benefits to American society. Read more . . .

Human Rights and the Negotiation of American Power Glenn Mitoma 240 pages | 6 x 9 Cloth 2013 | ISBN 978-0-8122-4506-6 | $55.00 | £36.00 A volume in the Pennsylvania Studies in Human Rights series Through careful archival research, Glenn Mitoma reveals how the U.S. government, key civil society groups, Cold War politics, and specific individuals led to America's emergence in the twentieth century as an ambivalent yet central player in establishing an international rights ethic. Read more . . .

Dreams, Dreamers, and Visions: The Early Modern Atlantic World Edited by Ann Marie Plane and Leslie Tuttle. Foreword by Anthony F. C. Wallace 336 pages | 6 x 9 Cloth 2013 | ISBN 978-0-8122-4504-2 | $65.00 | £42.50 In this volume, scholars from three continents trace the role of dreams in the cultural transitions of the early modern Atlantic world, illustrating how both indigenous and European methods of understanding dream phenomena became central to contests over religious and political power. Read more . . .

How Rivalries End Karen Rasler, William R. Thompson, and Sumit Ganguly 272 pages | 6 x 9 | 4 illus. Cloth 2013 | ISBN 978-0-8122-4498-4 | $69.95 | £45.50 Examining political hot spots stretching from Egypt and Israel to North and South Korea, How Rivalries End builds an original theory from patterns in successful conflict resolutions and reveals the key factors in reducing tensions and building long-term peace between adversaries. Read more . . .

Now in Paperback "The Farce of the Fart" and Other Ribaldries: Twelve Medieval French Plays in Modern English Edited and translated by Jody Enders 496 pages | 6 x 9 Cloth 2011 | ISBN 978-0-8122-4323-9 | $49.95 | £32.50 Paper 2013 | ISBN 978-0-8122-2251-7 | $29.95 | £19.50 A volume in the Middle Ages Series Theater historian Jody Enders brings a dozen of the funniest French farces to contemporary English speaking audiences for the first time. This performance-friendly collection includes background information about the plays for medievalists, theater practitioners, and classic comedy lovers alike. Read more . . .

Now in Paperback Almost a Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the 1980 Phillies William C. Kashatus 392 pages | 6 1/8 x 9 1/4 | 30 illus. Paper 2013 | ISBN 978-0-8122-2245-6 | $24.95 | £16.50 Almost A Dynasty details the rise and fall of the World Champion 1980 Phillies. Based on personal interviews, newspaper accounts, and the keen insight of a veteran baseball writer, the book convincingly explains how a losing team was finally able to win its first world championship. Read more . . .

Now in Paperback Civil Rights Advocacy on Behalf of the Poor Catherine M. Paden 240 pages | 6 x 9 | 13 illus. Cloth 2011 | ISBN 978-0-8122-4297-3 | $55.00 | £36.00 Paper 2013 | ISBN 978-0-8122-2267-8 | $26.50 | £17.50 A volume in the American Governance: Politics, Policy, and Public Law series In Civil Rights Advocacy on Behalf of the Poor, Catherine M. Paden examines five civil rights organizations and explores why they chose to represent the poor—specifically, low-income African Americans—during six legislative periods considering welfare reform. Read more . . .

Now in Paperback First Lady of Letters: Judith Sargent Murray and the Struggle for Female Independence Sheila L. Skemp 512 pages | 6 1/8 x 9 1/4 | 10 illus. Cloth 2009 | ISBN 978-0-8122-4140-2 | $42.50 | £28.00 Paper 2013 | ISBN 978-0-8122-2248-7 | $27.50 | £18.00 A volume in the Early American Studies series Thanks to the recent discovery of Judith Sargent Murray's papers—including some 2,500 personal letters—Sheila L. Skemp has documented the compelling story of a talented and most unusual eighteenth-century woman. Read more . . .

Now in Paperback Citizenship, Borders, and Human Needs Edited by Rogers M. Smith 504 pages | 6 x 9 Cloth 2011 | ISBN 978-0-8122-4283-6 | $65.00 | £42.50 Paper 2013 | ISBN 978-0-8122-2269-2 | $34.95 | £23.00 A volume in the Democracy, Citizenship, and Constitutionalism series Edited and with an introduction by political scientist Rogers M. Smith, Citizenship, Borders, and Human Needs brings together essays by an international array of leading scholars from a wide range of disciplines to explore the economic, cultural, political, and normative aspects of comparative immigration policies. Read more . . .

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

This Week's New Books: Takedown and Looting and Rape in Wartime, Plus Paperbacks in Human Rights, Early American Studies, Urban Studies, and Religious Studies

Takedown: Inside the Hunt for Al Qaeda Philip Mudd 224 pages | 6 x 9 Cloth Apr 2013 | ISBN 978-0-8122-4496-0 | $28.95 | £19.00 Former CIA Deputy Director of Counterterrorism and FBI Senior Intelligence Adviser Philip Mudd recounts his involvement in the fight against Al Qaeda, revealing how intelligence analysts understand and evaluate potential terror threats and communicate with political leaders. Read more . . .

Looting and Rape in Wartime: Law and Change in International Relations Tuba Inal 296 pages | 6 x 9 Cloth 2013 | ISBN 978-0-8122-4476-2 | $75.00 | £49.00 A volume in the Pennsylvania Studies in Human Rights series Looting and Rape in Wartime examines the causes of the hundred-year gap between the prohibition against wartime looting and that against rape, theorizing the conditions necessary for the emergence of a global prohibition regime in which a particular practice is not tolerated. Read more . . .

Now in Paperback Forgotten Genocides: Oblivion, Denial, and Memory Edited by René Lemarchand 200 pages | 6 x 9 | 4 illus. Cloth 2011 | ISBN 978-0-8122-4335-2 | $49.95 | £32.50 Paper 2013 | ISBN 978-0-8122-2263-0 | $24.95 | £16.50 A volume in the Pennsylvania Studies in Human Rights series In eight case studies written by recognized experts this book offers a major contribution to the comparative analysis of genocidal phenomena. Besides tapping a rich vein of empirical data, this collective effort breaks new ground in analyzing how denial, oblivion, or manipulated memory tends to mask the hideous realities of mass killing. Read more . . .

Now in Paperback The Shame and the Sorrow: Dutch-Amerindian Encounters in New Netherland Donna Merwick 344 pages | 6 1/8 x 9 1/4 | 20 illus. Paper 2013 | ISBN 978-0-8122-2272-2 | $26.50 | £17.50 A volume in the Early American Studies series During the forty years of the Dutch presence in colonial America, their intrusion led to the betrayal of their own values and the betrayal of the indigenous peoples. They reaped the shame of reproaching themselves for unjust wars and faced a native insurgency that they could neither negotiate nor satisfactorily quell. Read more . . .

Now in Paperback Witchcraft and Magic in the Nordic Middle Ages Stephen A. Mitchell 384 pages | 6 x 9 | 12 illus Cloth 2010 | ISBN 978-0-8122-4290-4 | $49.95 | £32.50 Paper 2013 | ISBN 978-0-8122-2255-5 | $24.95 | £16.50 A volume in the Middle Ages Series Stephen A. Mitchell offers the fullest examination available of witchcraft in late medieval Scandinavia, drawing on extensive sources ranging from the Icelandic sagas to those much less familiar to the nonspecialist: legal cases, church frescoes, law codes, ecclesiastical records, and surviving runic spells. Read more . . .

Now in Paperback Neighborhood and Life Chances: How Place Matters in Modern America Edited by Harriet B. Newburger, Eugenie L. Birch, and Susan M. Wachter 392 pages | 6 x 9 | 34 illus. Cloth 2011 | ISBN 978-0-8122-4258-4 | $59.95 | £39.00 Paper 2013 | ISBN 978-0-8122-2265-4 | $28.95 | £19.00 A volume in the City in the Twenty-First Century series Neighborhood and Life Chances brings together researchers from a range of disciplines to demonstrate that place matters in education, physical health, crime, violence, housing, family income, mental health, and discrimination—issues that determine the quality of life among low-income residents of urban areas. Read more . . .

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

Medieval Monday: Pope Gregory VIII, the Audita tremendi, and the Third Crusade

This excerpt from Crusade and Christendom: Annotated Documents in Translation from Innocent III to the Fall of Acre, 1187-1291, edited by Jessalynn Bird, Edward Peters, and James M. Powell, features a translation of the Audita tremendi. This letter, written by Pope Gregory VIII in 1187, was in the words of  Bird, Peters, and Powell "not only the most impassioned plea for a crusade ever issued by a pope until then, but the fullest detailed account of crusaders’ spiritual and temporal rewards and privileges to date."

    The letter circulated widely throughout Europe, inspiring the group of military expeditions that came to be known as the Third Crusade. But the impact of Audita tremendi long outlasted the Third Crusade itself. It inspired a new generation of moral theologians to consider the needs of the Holy Land and to link these to the moral regeneration of Christian Europe, one of the great themes of twelfth and thirteenth-century history. Gregory’s emphasis on the bloody circumstances of the defeat at Hattin, the loss of the True Cross, and the first cities taken by Saladin (the surrender of Jerusalem on October 2, 1187, was not yet known in the West when Audita tremendi was issued) frame his insistence that God’s anger is the result of human sin, that penance is mandatory, not optional, and that a new expedition would be an opportunity for the salvation of Christian warriors. . . .

GREGORY, bishop, servant of the servants of God, to all Christ’s faithful who receive this letter, greeting and apostolic benediction.

    When we heard of the severity of the awesome judgment that the hand of God visited on the land of Jerusalem, we and our brothers were disturbed by such a great horror, afflicted by such sorrows, that we scarcely knew what to do or what we should do, save that the psalmist laments and says, ‘‘O God, the gentiles have invaded your inheritance, they have sullied your holy temple, they have laid waste Jerusalem; they have left the dead bodies of your saints as meat for the beasts of the earth and food the birds of the air . . .’’ [Ps 78:1–2]. In fact, because of the conflict which the malice of [Christian] men has recently brought on the land by the inspiration of the devil, Saladin approached those parts with a host of armed troops. They were confronted by the king and the bishops, the Templars and the Hospitallers, the barons and the knights, with the people of the land, and with the Lord’s cross (through which from memory and faith of the suffering of Christ, who hung there and redeemed the human race, was believed to be a sure safeguard and a desired defense against the attacks of the pagans), and after the battle was joined, our side was defeated and the Lord’s cross was captured. The bishops were slaughtered, the king captured, and almost all our men were either put to the sword or taken prisoner. Very few are believed to have escaped. Also, the Templars and Hospitallers were beheaded in his [Saladin’s] presence. With the army defeated, we do not think our letter can explain how they next invaded and seized every place so that only a few remained outside their power. Still, though we use the words of the prophet: ‘‘Who will give me water for my head and a font of tears for my eyes, and I will weep night and day for the death of my people’’ [Jer 9:1], we ought not despair now and decide to mistrust and believe that God is so angry with his people that in his anger with their commission of a multitude of sins he will not quickly pardon when he is pleased by their penance and, after tears and groans, will lead them to exaltation.

This Week's New Books

Crusade and Christendom: Annotated Documents in Translation from Innocent III to the Fall of Acre, 1187-1291 Edited by Jessalynn Bird, Edward Peters, and James M. Powell 568 pages | 6 x 9 | 5 illus. Cloth 2013 | ISBN 978-0-8122-4478-6 | $75.00 | £49.00 A volume in the Middle Ages Series Intended for the undergraduate yet also invaluable for teachers and scholars, this book illustrates how the crusade became crucial for defining and promoting the very concept and boundaries of Latin Christendom. It provides translations of and commentaries on key original sources and an up-to-date bibliography. Read more...

Tropical Whites: The Rise of the Tourist South in the Americas Catherine Cocks 284 pages | 6 x 9 | 9 color, 12 b/w illus. Cloth 2013 | ISBN 978-0-8122-4499-1 | $59.95 | £39.00 A volume in the Nature and Culture in America series Tropical Whites explains how the tropical beach resort came to symbolize the iconic vacation landscape. Catherine Cocks argues that the tourism industry romanticized and commodified tropical nature in the global South, ultimately legitimizing cultural pluralism and concepts of modern identity. Read more...

Inventing the Egghead: The Battle over Brainpower in American Culture Aaron Lecklider 296 pages | 6 x 9 | 21 illus. Cloth 2013 | ISBN 978-0-8122-4486-1 | $45.00 | £29.50 Throughout the twentieth century, popular songs, magazine articles, plays, posters, and novels alternated between representing intelligence as empowering and as threatening. In Inventing the Egghead, Aaron Lecklider cracks open this paradox by examining representations of intelligence to reveal brainpower's stalwart appeal and influence. Read more...

An Age of Infidels: The Politics of Religious Controversy in the Early United States Eric R. Schlereth 312 pages | 6 x 9 | 10 illus. Cloth 2013 | ISBN 978-0-8122-4493-9 | $55.00 | £36.00 A volume in the Early American Studies series Eric R. Schlereth places religious conflicts between deists and their opponents at the center of early American public life. This history recasts the origins of cultural politics in the United States by exploring how everyday Americans navigated questions of religious truth and difference in an age of emerging religious liberty. Read more...

This Week's New Book: Lost Letters of Medieval Life English Society, 1200-1250

Lost Letters of Medieval Life English Society, 1200-1250 Edited by Martha Carlin and David Crouch 432 pages | 6 1/8 x 9 1/4 | 19 illus. Cloth Mar 2013 | ISBN 978-0-8122-4459-5 | $79.95 | £52.00 A volume in the Middle Ages Series Drawn from two medieval collections of form letters for all manner of business and personal affairs, Lost Letters of Medieval Life depicts early thirteenth-century England through the everyday correspondence of people of all classes, from peasants and shopkeepers to bishops and earls. Read more . . .

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

Demacopoulos, Author of The Invention of Peter, Discusses the Papacy on ABC News

George E. Demacopoulos, associate professor of theology at Fordham University and author of The Invention of Peter: Apostolic Discourse and Papal Authority in Late Antiquity, spoke with ABC News on the future of the papacy and the Roman Catholic church after the resignation of Pope Benedict.

Watch More News Videos at ABC

Benedict and St. Peter: A Post by George E. Demacopoulos

In this post George E. Demacopoulos, author of  The Invention of Peter: Apostolic Discourse and Papal Authority in Late Antiquity, looks at a neglected aspect of Pope Benedict XVI's retirement.

Benedict and St. Peter

Pope Benedict XVI surprised the Christian world  when he announced that he would resign as bishop of Rome, head of the Roman Catholic Church.  The move is virtually unprecedented—while several popes in history left office prior to their death, those men were forced from office, almost always against their will.  In some cases, ex-pontiffs became bishops of other cities as a consolation prize.  But Pope Benedict’s decision to retire and yet remain in residence at the Vatican likely opens a Pandora’s box of canonical and theoretical questions concerning the singular grace of authority that is understood to accompany the office of the See of Rome by virtue of its connection St. Peter, “prince of the Apostles.”

Despite the media frenzy that has ensued in the wake of the resignation—not to mention the one that will erupt if the next pontiff is selected from the Global South—there is one significant aspect of the pontiff’s statement that has received nary a media blip, but conveys the core conundrum that advocates of papal singularity now face.  Four times in the very brief statement outlining his decision to resign, Pope Benedict referred to the special relationship between his office and St. Peter the Apostle, whose privileged position in the apostolic community is believed by Roman Catholics to transfer mystically to the bishops of Rome, upon their assumption of the office.

Since the fifth century, the basic argument for papal preeminence has run something like a syllogism:  (1) Jesus Christ appointed the Apostle Peter as the head of the Church; (2) Peter was the first bishop of Rome; therefore (3) subsequent bishops of Rome “inherit” Peter’s ministry and, therefore, his authority.  While most of us are familiar with the claim that the Roman bishop is “Peter’s heir,” many are less familiar with the long history by which the connection between Peter, Rome, and the Roman See came to be.  It is a complicated story full of political intrigue, theological debate, and a great deal of rhetorical invention.  Indeed, if there is any consistent theme in the development of the papal/Peter connection it is that each escalation of the claims of papal preeminence that emerged in the formative period between 350 and600 CE was precipitated by a domestic or international embarrassment for the bishop of Rome.  For most of late antiquity, the iterations of papal authority via Peter always reflected aspirations for ecclesiastical prestige rather than actual authority or respect.

Daniel Boyarin Mellon Lectures on the Babylonian Talmud

Next week, Daniel Boyarin, professor at the University of California, Berkeley and author of Border Lines: The Partition of Judaeo-Christianity, will give a series of Mellon Lectures on the Babylonian Talmud and its relationship to the Diaspora.

The series, titled "A Traveling Homeland: The Babylonian Talmud as Diaspora," consists of three talks: "Dispersing Diaspora: The Talmud as Diasporist Manifesto" (Monday, February 18 at 5:00 p.m.), "The Philology of Diaspora: The Talmud Enacts Diaspora" Tuesday, February 19 at 5:00 p.m.), and  "Searching for the Routes: The Talmud Makes Diasporas" (Thursday, February 21, 5:00 p.m.).

All three lectures will be held at the University of Pennsylvania, Terrace Room of Claudia Cohen Hall, 249 South 36th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104.

Please visit Penn's Jewish Studies Program events page for more details.

Medieval Monday: "Pangur Bán" or "the Monk and His Cat" in Animal Encounters

 

from The Secret of the Kells

Pangur Ban, the cat from the acclaimed animated film The Secret of the Kells, has an interesting lineage. The feline character was taken from an Old Irish lyric called “Pangur Bán” or “The Monk and His Cat.” In the movie, the clever creature belonged to Brother Aidan the illuminator. In the poem, which appears in a ninth-century manuscript, a cat named Pangur Bán hunts for mice as intently as a monk hunts for meanings in his Latin texts. Here are a couple of stanzas from Seamus Heaney's translation:

All the while, his round bright eye
Fixes on the wall, while I
Focus my less piercing gaze
On the challenge of the page.

With his unsheathed, perfect nails
Pangur springs, exults and kills.
When the longed-for, difficult
Answers come, I too exult.

"The Irish lyric 'Pangur Bán' meditates on the symbiosis of a scholar's efforts and a housecat's hunting, to discover within their analogous work a precisely observed equivalence between their minds," says Susan Crane author of Animal Encounters: Contacts and Concepts in Medieval Britain. In her new book, Crane describes the unique connection between people and other living creatures that existed in Irish and northern British monastic texts written between the seventh and ninth centuries. Far from Rome, these northern European monestaries were often simple clusters of huts emeshed in the environment. "Wild nature challenged monastic settlements and domesticated nature facilitated their work," writes Crane.

Her reading of the lyric "Pangur Ban" reflects the intricate bonds between animals, people, and religious culture of the time.

The cat's name, "Pangur Bán," means “white fuller,” a man who works with fuller's earth and comes to be covered in its pale dust. Given the high value of work and craft in the lyric, one might hazard that “white fuller” evokes both the cat's pale fur and his workmanlike behavior. The cat is next anthropomorphized as a net-wielding gladiator or perhaps a huntsman equipped with a net (his extended claws) as he performs “feats of valor.” Cat as workman and cat as valiant gladiator have mock-heroic potential that could reflect doubly on the cat, humorously inflating his worth in order to discredit it and distance him from the scholar. In a counterstrategy, however, the scholar shares mock-heroic status with the cat as "there falls into my net a difficult dictum with hard meaning." Both of them are attempting "feats of valor" that could look small from the net-wielding, death-defying gladiator's perspective. Anthropomorphism can cut in many directions, but in "Pangur Bán" the consistent strategy is to strike analogies that reinforce the scholar's bemused admiration for Pangur with his self-deprecating account of his own efforts to work well.

So, next time a prowling house cat distracts you from your work, don't get too upset. Instead, follow the monastic example by appreciating his skills. Maybe he will be more of an inspiration than a distraction.