[English For A Changing World Level 1 Student Book.pdf
Saija Grzegorek
As a reader, this text is a strong collection of scholarship on genre studies. I have come across many of the authors in my graduate work and this contains many important readings on the topic (ie Devitt, Bazerman, and Swales). I did not find an...read more
As a reader, this text is a strong collection of scholarship on genre studies. I have come across many of the authors in my graduate work and this contains many important readings on the topic (ie Devitt, Bazerman, and Swales).
Genre studies is a relatively new and growing field and, as a large collection of scholarship on the field, I do see this is incredibly relevant. It will be an important reader for anyone looking to understand major topics in genre in the coming years.
Although there is no language or jargon, this text is not appropriate for most undergraduate level courses. Understanding genre requires some theoretical background in composition and rhetoric. Students at the graduate level would be comfortable. Upper level undergraduate students in comp/rhet may be challenged.
The text is divided into five parts: Advances in Genre Theories, Genre and Professions, Genre and Media, Genre in Teaching and Learning, and Genre in Writing Across the Curriculum. While the first three parts will help upper level students in composition and rhetoric, the last two really are more for faculty (or aspiring faculty) in the field. In particular, the emphasis on WAC is more relevant to administrative faculty making programmatic decisions.
A strong introduction by the editors places the textin context and sets up the five parts of the book. Most of the work in this field of has developed over the last 20 years. Authors provide a very strong background to set up the readings and mention the seminal writings and texts in the field, such as Carolyn Miller's Genre as Social Action.
The PDF format functions exactly like a print copy of a scholarly book. I did not notice any distortions and navigated by scrolling through. It was simple to search the book for key terms. I was not able to open the epub version.
The textbook covers genre from multiple angles. The book could be easily adapted for a range of graduated level courses. I can see this book especially being used for Rhetoric courses in English departments or for Education courses, as the...read more
The textbook covers genre from multiple angles. The book could be easily adapted for a range of graduated level courses. I can see this book especially being used for Rhetoric courses in English departments or for Education courses, as the collection attends to the ways in which genre shapes discourse and learning. I would say that, because of the complex approach to genre that this would not be appropriate outside of graduate level courses. I don't see this being useful for undergraduates.
The essays appear objective and accurate. The scholars are convincingly knowledgeable about genre and the essays are well-researched. Most of the essayists are responding to recognizable theorists and clearly outline accurate understanding of these theorists' work while presenting new, and interesting, arguments.
As the book was published in 2009, I'm sure that there are new discussions on the material. However, the editors could easily go in and add new essays to each section and could simply add an additional preface that explained new material and the need for the additions.
Most of the essays are quite clear, and a few actually bold their terms and define them. Most are discipline-specific, so there are technical terms, but with the right context (meaning, for instance, for graduate students learning about the discipline), the terms are appropriate and understandable.
The work is divded into five larger sections: Advances in Genre Theories, Genre in the Professions, Genre and Media, Genre in Teaching and Learning and Genre in Writing Across the Curriculum. Within each larger section, there are roughly 3-5 essays that stand alone. Thus, the textbook could be used in many ways: professors could assign a large section of essays and explore that topic in depth, or for more basic classes, individual essays could be assigned.
The collection is well-organized, especially for the wide range of topics discussed. The arrangement of the essays is clear and their connection to one another is obvious. Most of the essays include sub-headings, which would make them even easier to assign, as professors could assign "chunks" of the essays for their students. Furthermore, the notes and bibliography are listed at the end of each essay, which again, makes it easy for professors to assign single essays.
The margins differ, at times, between various pages. If this were printed, the effect would not be so noticeable (especially if it were bound), but when uploaded through PDF, it is a little distracting. Additionally, some of the images are blurry.
The textbook is very inclusive. It uses authors' work from all over the world, suggests that our understanding of genre needs to shift in a globalized world, and is very respectful of other cultures.
Charles Bazerman, Professor of Education at the University of California, Santa Barbara, is the author of numerous research articles and books on the social role of writing, academic genres, and textual analysis, as well as textbooks on the teaching of writing.
Increasingly, cracks are appearing in the capacity of communities, ecosystems, and landscapes to provide the goods and services that sustain our planet's well-being. The response from most quarters has been for "more of the same" that created the situation in the first place: more control, more intensification, and greater efficiency.
"Resilience thinking" offers a different way of understanding the world and a new approach to managing resources. It embraces human and natural systems as complex entities continually adapting through cycles of change, and seeks to understand the qualities of a system that must be maintained or enhanced in order to achieve sustainability. It explains why greater efficiency by itself cannot solve resource problems and offers a constructive alternative that opens up options rather than closing them down.
In Resilience Thinking, scientist Brian Walker and science writer David Salt present an accessible introduction to the emerging paradigm of resilience. The book arose out of appeals from colleagues in science and industry for a plainly written account of what resilience is all about and how a resilience approach differs from current practices. Rather than complicated theory, the book offers a conceptual overview along with five case studies of resilience thinking in the real world. It is an engaging and important work for anyone interested in managing risk in a complex world.
"This is one of those books that barely mentions planning as such, but has lots of implications for it. It's short but will repay some extra quiet time...Their goal is to get us to look at the world and its systems in a fresh new way."
Planning
"Resilience Thinking is an impressive and highly successful effort to explain complex ecological and social interactions and changes in a unified framework and in language accessible to a wide audience. This book should stimulate extensive discussions on these critical issues and innovative ways to approach them."
Harold Mooney, Achilles Professor of Environmental Biology, Stanford University
"Resilience Thinking provides a much-needed accessible entre into a concept that holds the key to our future.... Full of wisdom, sophisticated science, and practical guidance, this book provides profound ideas, insights, and hope to scientists, students, managers, and planners alike."
Jane Lubchenco, Distinguished Professor of Zoology, Oregon State University
A few weeks ago the world learnt of the disappearance of the Bramble Cay melomys, a small Australian rodent only known to occur on a tiny coral cay off the northern tip of Australia. The finding is noted in a government report that documents how a comprehensive search for the species in 2014 had failed to detect a single animal.
Thousands of species around the world are on the lip of extinction but the loss of the Bramble Cay melomys is particularly poignant in that human-induced climate change has been identified as the root cause of its demise. Sea-level rise and increased frequency and intensity of weather events have been noted as the cause of the loss of its island home.
Last year I wrote a cover story for SIERRA magazine about how Donald Trump's proposed wall along the US-Mexico border would all but eliminate any chance for recovering jaguar species in the Southwest. In the course of my research I came across Alan Rabinowitz's An Indomitable Beast. It's a great read, blending Rabinowitz's own experiences as a big cat biologist with cutting-edge findings on this amazing species. As a writer, this book and its amazing details helped me bring the jaguar to life for readers.
This day is a time for reaching beyond data and logic to think about deeper ways of knowing. Love, specifically, but I would add to that faith, tradition and ethics. That's why I love Aaron Wolf's new book, The Spirit of Dialogue: Lessons from Faith Traditions in Transforming Conflict. Going beyond the mechanical "rationality" of the typical public meeting is necessary if we are to address the big issues of global sustainability and the smaller issues of how we sustain our local communities. Aaron Wolf provides the experience, tools and promise of a better, deeper approach.
"A large percentage of my urbanism bookshelf is comprised of Island Press books, so it's very difficult to share my love for just one! So, I won't because the books we pull of the shelf most often these days are the NACTO Design Guides. Finally, a near complete set of highly usable and mutually supportive design standards that help us advocate for and build better streets, better places."
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