Thomas Jefferson on Taste and the Fine Arts

M. Andrew Holowchak

ISBN: 978-1-64889-478-7
Availability: Pre-order
$73 £58 €68

Jefferson tended to classify the books of his libraries under the Baconian headings of memory, reason, and imagination, which corresponded to history, philosophy, and the fine arts. Thus, education in the Fine Arts, which Jefferson listed as eight, was considered an indispensible part of the life of an educated person—especially a Virginian. An educated person needed knowledge of architecture, gardening, painting, sculpture, rhetoric, belle lettres, poetry music, and criticism, considered as a sort of meta-art. Knowledge of such arts was indispensible because each person, thought Jefferson, was equipped with a faculty of taste as well as ratiocination and a moral-sense faculty—each of which required cultivation for human thriving. An uncultivated imagination would severely impair ratiocination and moral sensitivity. This book is the first book-length attempt to flesh out and critically assess Jefferson’s views on taste and the Fine Arts. It is a must read for any serious biographer of Jefferson.

Thomas Jefferson in Paris: The Ministry of a Virginian “Looker-on”

M. Andrew Holowchak

ISBN: 978-1-64889-473-2
Availability: Pre-order
$75 £59 €70

Jefferson’s years in France as minister plenipotentiary were a time of large edification. He approached his ministry as a “looker on”: Jefferson, while in France, always kept a critical distance from events, so that he could measure and critically examine them from the perspective of a dispassionate natural philosopher. Being dispassionate, Jefferson was pulled into events only insofar as circumstances required him to do so. Yet his “adventures” from his critical distance (e.g., his trip to London to meet the king, his ventures in the salons of Paris, and his travels through Southern France, Northern Italy, the Rhineland, and the Netherlands) were many, and varied. He even, at times, lost his critical, looker-on perspective from distance as he allowed himself to become immersed in events, as in the case of his relationship with lovely Italian artist and musician Maria Cosway. This book is a portal into the mind of Thomas Jefferson, as looker-on, during his tenure in Paris. Why was Jefferson so eager to accept the ministry to Paris? What was his impression of the great city and its people while he stayed? What lessons, while in Paris, did he learn which he could transport to Virginia and his country? Those and other questions Holowchak aims to answer in this book.

The changing face of VR: Pushing the boundaries of experience across multiple industries

Edited by Jordan Frith, Clemson University and Michael Saker, City University London

ISBN: 978-1-64889-474-9
Availability: Available 4 weeks
$85 £70 €80

VR occupies an interesting place in the media ecosystem. On the one hand, it is an emerging, ‘cutting-edge’ technology backed by billions of USD by major corporations. On the other hand, VR is older than the World Wide Web and older than social networking sites. After many years of hype and unfulfilled potential, VR is now finally on the precipice of widespread adoption and has begun to be used in novel ways throughout various industries. This edited collection brings together a diverse group of authors to analyse the current state of VR, while recognizing that these many different use-cases will likely become even more important with the increased investment in the technology. To examine the current state of VR across multiple sites and industries, we compiled a group of practitioners and academics to both examine VR practices and theorize new uses of VR. The book also focuses on an inclusive analysis and includes authors from South America, North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia, and the topics range from analyses of VR use in live events to the ethics of nature-based VR apps to the social practices involved in using public VR at museum exhibits. As we argue in the introduction, this book is one of the first to bring together authors from different backgrounds and disciplines to chart just how widely VR has already spread. And maybe most importantly, the topics covered in this book will only become more relevant as VR continues to grow, especially in the wake of the growth of the supposed Metaverse.

Political Messaging in Music and Entertainment Spaces across the Globe. Volume 2.

Edited by Uche Onyebadi

ISBN: 978-1-64889-433-6
Availability: Available 4 weeks
313pp. ¦ $86 £67 €74

'Political Messaging in Music and Entertainment Spaces across the Globe' uniquely expands the frontiers of political communication by simultaneously focusing on content (political messaging) and platform (music and entertainment). As a compendium of valuable research work, it provides rich insights into the construction of political messages and their dissemination outside of the traditional and mainstream structural, process and behavioral research focus in the discipline. Researchers, teachers, students and other interested parties in political communication, political science, journalism and mass communication, sociology, music, languages, linguistics and the performing arts, communication studies, law and history, will find this book refreshingly handy in their inquiry. Furthermore, this book was conceptualized from a globalist purview and offers readers practical insights into how political messaging through music and entertainment spaces actually work across nation-states, regions and continents. Its authenticity is also further enhanced by the fact that most chapter contributors are scholars who are natives of their areas of study, and who painstakingly situate their work in appropriate historical contexts.

Working with Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

A Guide for K-12 Teachers and Service Providers

Vance L. Austin, Manhattanville College and Daniel T. Sciarra, Hofstra University

ISBN: 978-1-64889-220-2
Availability: Pre-order
586pp. ¦ $87 £68 €80

This text is designed to help teachers and service providers work successfully with children who exhibit emotional and behavioral disorders by affording them a repertoire of valuable, evidence-based treatment strategies. Furthermore, because the book represents a synthesis of expertise, written from the dual perspectives of an experienced clinician and an educator, the school professional who reads it will better understand the role of both teacher and service provider, thus optimizing the coordination and effectiveness of the services that are critical to the success of these students. ‘Working with Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders: A Guide for K-12 Teachers and Service Providers’ explores the most prevalent behavioral disorders encountered by school professionals as they work with today’s students. These high-incidence behavioral disorders are addressed by type, and each includes a discussion of the relevant characteristics, causes, prevalence, and treatment strategies. Features that are unique to this book include its acknowledgement of the need for a collaborative approach to these problems by all school professionals, as well as the coordination of services provided by the classroom teacher and other service providers working with these students. To date, few books, if any, have provided this holistic perspective. This book is designed to help K-12 teachers and related service providers (i.e., school psychologists, school social workers, speech-language pathologists, guidance counselors, and occupational therapists) work successfully with children who exhibit emotional and behavioral disorders by affording them a repertoire of valuable, evidence-based treatment strategies.