New Scholarly Works From UC Davis

Edited by Ellen Hartigan-O’Connor and Lisa G. Materson, associate professors of history. In 29 chapters, leading scholars across multiple generations offer what the publisher describes as a “bold interpretation” of the diverse history of American women, from Europeans’ first encounters with Native Americans to today’s crisis of sexual assault, and how ideas about gender shaped women’s access to political and cultural power in North America. Lorena Oropeza, another associate professor of history at UC Davis, contributed a chapter titled “Gender, Migration and the American Empire.” (Oxford University Press, Oct. 2)

Beth Rose Middleton Manning, associate professor of Native American studies, relates the history behind the nation’s largest state-built water and power conveyance system, California’s State Water Project, with a focus on Indigenous resistance and activism. Asked where she hopes the conversation goes from here, she responded: “I would like to see more equitable collaborations between Indigenous people and conservation entities, with deferral to Native expertise, joint leadership or deferral to Native leadership, fair compensation to Indigenous partners, revenue sharing in grants and agreements, and collaborative planning.” (University of Arizona Press, Oct. 2)

“We live in an era of traumatic discourse. The wound (‘trauma’ is the Greek word for ‘wound’) speaks multiple languages,” Gail Finney, professor of comparative literature and German, writes in the preface of this book she edited. The 11 articles contained within employ a variety of interpretive approaches to individual or collective trauma as depicted in literature and films. The cultures of ancient Greece, Germany, Argentina, the United States, France and Chile are represented. Originally published as a special issue of the journal Humanities, now available as a book. (MDPI Books, June 2018)

By Vajra Watson, director of UC Davis’ Office of Research and Policy for Equity, and founder of Sacramento Area Youth Speaks (SAYS). From the publisher: “Watson shares findings from her investigation into the (Oakland) school district’s journey towards justice. What she creates is a wholly original work, filled with penetrating portraits that illuminate the intense and intimate complexities of working towards racial equity in education. As a formidable case study, this research scrutinizes how to reconfigure organizational ecosystems as spaces that humanize, heal and harmonize. Emerging from her scholarship is a bold, timely and hopeful vision that paves the way for transformative schooling.” (Routledge, May 8)