INTERNATIONAL

Recommendations

Info

Book Review: Revolution and Its Past 49 tracing modern China’s narrative of failure has become less important. Rather than beginning modern China with the catastrophes of the nineteenth century, new studies such as Schoppa’s have stretched back to include the splendid reigns of the Kangxi and Qianlong emperors in the eighteenth-century high Qing. Here we can see more meaningful antecedents to the PRC than we see today. These correctives are among the titanic shifts that have taken place in the field of modern Chinese history in recent decades, and which Schoppa successfully harnesses and brings to a general audience in Revolution and Its Past. Schoppa’s emphasis on the dynamism and diversity of Chinese identity gives the narrative a depth that brings the reader into the cultural anxieties and the political catastrophes of modern China, as well as the triumphs of history in recent years. Also, it is not simply a history of the origins of the PRC, but rather engages in the contingencies and different possible paths of history, following alternative paths of what might have happened in China, and also spinning out narratives of what did indeed happen beyond the current borders of the PRC, in Taiwan and beyond. While diversity is a central theme in Schoppa’s work, the regional differences in China have been essential to shaping Chinese cultural and political identity. Regionalism is impossible to avoid in studies of a country the size of Europe, and Schoppa could go further in exploring the importance of this key variable in understanding China. Certainly regional diversity is evident throughout the dynasties of China, as rebellions often developed along predictable geographic and cultural lines of resentment and separatism. In the early twentieth century, warlords protected their home territories at the expense of defending the country as a whole, and even Communist leaders sought to expand their own autonomy and power within their home regions. Throughout the world, Chinese diaspora commonly organized themselves into native-place associations and Chinese people today continue to identify themselves by their home province, city, or village, and it is arguable that this identity sometimes trumps their identity as members of the Chinese cultural or political community. Developing this crucial component of modern China and Chinese identity could have been more thoroughly developed in Schoppa’s excellent textbook on modern China. Recommended readings at the end of each chapter will lead the interested student far beyond the foundational narrative of Schoppa’s text and into the rapidly growing and increasingly specialized field of modern China scholarship. In an upper-division history class, this textbook can be paired with a primary sourcebook such as the volume Schoppa edited, Twentieth-Century China: A History in Documents (Second edition, Oxford, 2010).
50 Jany Book Reviews Leanne Hinton: Flutes of Fire Berkeley: Heyday Books, 1994 and Victor Golla: California Indian Languages Berkeley: Univ. of California Press, 2011 Carmen Jany, PhD, Department of World Languages and Literatures California State University San Bernardino This review compares two books I used for my courses on California Indian languages and cultures, Humanities 460 and Anthropology 390. One is an older edition, yet is better suited for these courses than the other, which is a recent edition that includes so much technical linguistic information that it may be more difficult to comprehend for non-linguists. Flutes of Fire consists of a series of essays examining many different aspects of California Indian languages. Hinton nicely illustrates how each culture’s unique way of understanding and viewing the world is expressed in the structure of its language. Other topics in these easy-to-read essays include the linguistic vitality of these languages and the relationship between language and history, among others. In the introduction, Hinton specifically states that the volume is intended ‘for a broad audience–for linguists, for Native Americans, and, for folks in general’ (p. 19). Thus, it is well suited for students in the Humanities and in Anthropology, as they are likely unfamiliar with linguistics concepts and related terminology. Flutes of Fire is divided into five parts, each containing four to five individual essays plus an introduction. In the introduction, Hinton presents a clear picture of the linguistic vitality of each California Indian language based on estimates from tribal members and linguists, as well as on census data. While this is very useful to set the stage for an in class discussion on linguistic vitality, it has to be noted that the number of speakers described for each language represents the status of these languages 20 years ago in 1994. Part I zeros in on the already noted relationship between language and thought showing how through different expressions in language people view the world through different eyes. Part II examines the relationship between language and history illustrating its point via the analysis of local place names. Part III presents interesting characteristics of various California Indian languages, such as specific verb forms, unique counting systems, and differences in the speech of men and women. Part IV discusses tribal names and the effects of encounters between California Indians and Europeans on the vitality of Indian languages. Finally, Part V presents the efforts under way to document, maintain, and revitalize California Indian languages. Overall, the volume provides an excellent overview of the past and present linguistic status of California Indian languages without using any technical terminology from the field of linguistics. For students, this introduction to California Indian languages is easy to read and understand, and allows for interesting in-class discussions on the relevant topics. Golla’s book California Indian Languages centers around the history and dynamics of California Indian languages from the contact period to the present and the related scholarship. The central purpose of, the volume, as stated in the preface (p. ix), is
Page 1 and 2: PHI BETA DELTA INTERNATIONAL RESEAR
Page 3 and 4: International Research and Review:
Page 9 and 10: 8 Muhtaseb, et al.. Teaching Media
Page 11 and 12: 10 Muhtaseb, et al.. Middle East. I
Page 13 and 14: 12 Muhtaseb, et al.. a military fam
Page 15 and 16: 14 Muhtaseb, et al.. world looks th
Page 17 and 18: 16 Muhtaseb, et al.. as follows: Th
Page 19 and 20: 18 Gallegos-Ruiz & Jany How to Incr
Page 21 and 22: 20 Gallegos-Ruiz & Jany misconcepti
Page 23 and 24: 22 Gallegos-Ruiz & Jany ny at Missi
Page 25 and 26: 24 Chau & Kim emphasize that there
Page 27 and 28: 26 Chau & Kim best to focus on what
Page 29 and 30: 28 Chau & Kim EAST ASIA Sea of Okho
Page 31 and 32: 30 E-Learning for Transcultural Edu
Page 37 and 38: 36 Chen-Maynard, et al. robust prog
Page 39 and 40: 38 Chen-Maynard, et al. sessions we
Page 41 and 42: 40 Chen-Maynard, et al. Implication
Page 43 and 44: 42 Bennett Book Review: Heavy Metal
Page 45 and 46: 44 Bennett saccharine popular music
Page 47 and 48: 46 Doueiri Spencer attempts to subs
Page 49: 48 Murray Book Review Revolution an
Page 53 and 54: 52 Chen-Maynard Book Review: Nancy
Page 55 and 56: 54 Gallegos-Ruiz Film Review: La Ot
Page 57 and 58: 56 Muhtaseb Film Review Using A Sep
Page 59 and 60: 58 Kalra Film Review Oh My God! Raj
Page 61 and 62: 60 Kim The Man Who Shot Ito Hirubum
Page 63 and 64: 62 Gotch Film Review Nebraska: An U
Page 65 and 66: Proceedings of Phi Beta Delta Honor
Page 73 and 74: 72 Proceedings of Phi Beta Delta Ho

INTERNATIONAL

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?