DEI Reads: Library Staff Reading Collection
For library staff: The Parks Library Staff Lounge has a growing number of eclectic DEI titles available on the bookshelf for staff to browse and read while taking a break, having lunch, etc. These books are marked with identifying labels that say "DEI Reads: ISU Library Staff Reading Collection - Please return book to Staff Lounge." You are welcome to take a book back to your office, but please do remember to return it to the Staff Lounge bookshelf.
In many cases these titles are also available in the library's public collections. Below is a partial list of titles available in the Staff Lounge. Enjoy!
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Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism by A revealing look at how negative biases against women of color are embedded in search engine results and algorithms.
Run a Google search for "black girls"--what will you find? "Big Booty" and other sexually explicit terms are likely to come up as top search terms. But, if you type in "white girls," the results are radically different. The suggested porn sites and un-moderated discussions about "why black women are so sassy" or "why black women are so angry" presents a disturbing portrait of black womanhood in modern society.
In Algorithms of Oppression, Safiya Umoja Noble challenges the idea that search engines like Google offer an equal playing field for all forms of ideas, identities, and activities. Data discrimination is a real social problem; Noble argues that the combination of private interests in promoting certain sites, along with the monopoly status of a relatively small number of Internet search engines, leads to a biased set of search algorithms that privilege whiteness and discriminate against people of color, specifically women of color. Through an analysis of textual and media searches as well as extensive research on paid online advertising, Noble exposes a culture of racism and sexism in the way discoverability is created online. As search engines and their related companies grow in importance--operating as a source for email, a major vehicle for primary and secondary school learning, and beyond--understanding and reversing these disquieting trends and discriminatory practices is of utmost importance. An original, surprising and, at times, disturbing account of bias on the internet, Algorithms of Oppression contributes to our understanding of how racism is created, maintained, and disseminated in the 21st century.
Safiya Noble discusses search engine bias in an interview with USC Annenberg School for Communication and JournalismCall Number: ZA4230 N63 2018
(Staff Lounge copy kindly donated by library staff)ISBN: 9781479837243Publication Date: 2018-02-20 -
Bad Feminist by Call Number: HQ1421 G39x 2014
(Staff Lounge copy kindly provided by ISU Library funds)ISBN: 9780062282712Publication Date: 2014-08-05Highly recommended! Selected in Spring 2018 for the DEI Committee's library-wide book discussion group title. Collection of essays that make for a smart, entertaining, provocative, heart-breaking, and challenging read on feminism; films & romance novels; racism, sexism, coming out, and more! Join the 21 of us who have read & discussed essays from this title! See also our Bad Feminist companion LibGuide! -
Black Panther by Call Number: PN6728 B523 C63x 2016ISBN: 9781302900533Publication Date: 2016-09-13Highly recommended! Selected in Spring 2017 as the DEI Committee's first library-wide book discussion group title! See also our Black Panther companion LibGuide! -
Buying a Fishing Rod for My Grandfather by Novelist, playwright, essayist, and short-story writer Gao Xingjian is that rare breed of artist able to express himself with equal grace in almost any form of literature. In 2000 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in recognition of his astonishing talents. The collection Buying a Fishing Rod for My Grandfather offers this author's own selection and arrangement of his shorter fiction. Written between 1983 and 1990, these beautifully translated stories take as their themes the fragility of love and life, and the haunting power of memory. In "The Temple" the narrator's acute and mysterious anxiety overshadows the "delirious happiness" of an outing with his new wife on their honeymoon. In "The Cramp" a man narrowly escapes drowning in the sea, only to find that no one even noticed his absence. In "The Accident" a bus hits a cyclist and, as in stop-action film, the chaotic aftermath gives way to a calm, ordinary street corner with no trace of the previous drama. In the title story the narrator attempts to "unburden myself of homesickness" only to find himself lost in a labyrinth of childhood memories. Everywhere in this collection are powerful psychological portraits of characters whose unarticulated hopes and fears betray the never-ending presence of the past in their present lives. Gao Xingjian has shown a mastery of the epic form in his novels Soul Mountain and One Man's Bible. In Buying a Fishing Rod for My Grandfather, he brings the same passion and precision to the short story.Call Number: PL2843.P5 P35x 1995
(Staff Lounge copy kindly donated by library staff)ISBN: 0060575557Publication Date: 2004-02-03 -
Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Call Number: PQ8180.17.A73 C68 1989
(Staff Lounge copy kindly donated by library staff)ISBN: 9780241968628Publication Date: 1989 -
Dandarians by Based on sources as diverse as Heian period female Japanese writers and the world of science fiction, and drawing on her own experience as a second-generation Japanese American, acclaimed poet Lee Ann Roripaugh's fourth collection explores a series of "word betrayals"-English words misunderstood in transmission from her Japanese mother that came to take on symbolic ramifications in her early years. Co-opting and repurposing the language of knowledge and of misunderstanding, and dialoguing in original ways with notions of diaspora and hybrid identities, these poems demonstrate the many ways we attempt to be understood, culminating in an experience of aural awe. At once wonderfully lyrical and strikingly acute, Dandarians will further establish Lee Ann Roripaugh as one of the most important and original voices in contemporary Asian American literature.Call Number: PS3568 O717 A6 2014
(Staff Lounge copy kindly donated by library staff)ISBN: 9781571314581Publication Date: 2014-08-19 -
Essential guide to Spanish reading : librarians' selections / America Reads Spanish by Call Number: PQ6033 A11 E87x 2007
(Staff Lounge copy kindly donated by library staff)ISBN: 0979606705Publication Date: 2007 -
Families in Transition: Parenting Gender Diverse Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults by Families in Transition: Parenting Gender Diverse Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults is a compilation of clinically oriented articles, research, and case material authored by mental health and medical experts, both nationally and internationally known, as well as first-person narratives written by parents and families, exploring the complexities faced by parents and caretakers attending to the needs of their children in a largely hostile world. The professional articles are positioned side by side with the voices of the parents themselves--each complementing the other--together adding up to a richly complex, original tapestry. While most books on this subject highlight the experiences of the gender diverse child and adolescent, parents' perspectives are placed front and center. Those raising these children and adolescents have unique struggles and personal processes as caregivers and advocates. Making complex social and medical decisions in a society that is hostile and polarized only complicates the picture. This book highlights their rarely heard voices and gives insight to therapists and physicians on how to support all members of the family, helping them grow and heal during what is often a challenging time. Families in Transition: -Challenges the ways we think about cultural norms and how those impact our clinical work; -Explores a parent's desire for their child to live authentically alongside a desire to protect them; -Highlights how the attitudes and behaviors of extended relatives impact the gender nonconforming child and their caretakers; -Presents a historical overview contrasting the reparative and the affirmative models of treatment; -Illustrates how difficult treatment can be when a patient is reticent to disclose their gender identity to their parents or when parents either have little information or are in denial; -Offers strategies on how best to advocate for a child in a school setting; -Outlines best practices for the care of transgender youth. This text is designed for mental health professionals--clinicians, educators, and researchers; medical providers; parents and caretakers of gender diverse children, adolescents, and young adults; and is suitable for graduate and doctoral level coursework in a range of subject areas, including gender, sexuality, and family studies.Call Number: Not yet owned by ISU Library
(Staff Lounge copy kindly donated by Harrington Park Press)ISBN: 1939594308Publication Date: 2019-04-16 -
Gender: Your Guide: A gender-friendly primer on what to know, what to say, and what to do in the new gender culture by Call Number: HQ1075 A3577 2018 ; Also available as an ebookISBN: 9781507209011Publication Date: 2018-10-16(Staff Lounge copy kindly provided by ISU Library funds)
Highly recommended! Selected as LMT's Fall 2020 book discussion title and the DEI Committee's Spring 2021 Book Discussion title! Join the 30 of us who have read this book! See also our Gender: Your Guide LibGuide! -
How to Be an Antiracist by Call Number: E184 A1 K344 2019 ; Also available as an ebookISBN: 9780525509288Publication Date: 2019-08-13Staff lounge copy kindly provided by library funds
Highly recommended! Chosen as the DEI Committee's Spring 2020 book discussion title! Join the 33 of us who have read this book! See also our companion How to Be an Antiracist LibGuide! -
I Am My Own Woman: The Outlaw Life of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf by Call Number: HQ77.8 M34 A313 1995
(Staff Lounge copy kindly donated by library staff)ISBN: 1573440108Publication Date: 1995-09-01 -
Introduction to Transgender Studies by This is the first introductory textbook intended for transgender/trans studies at the undergraduate level. The book can also be used for related courses in LGBTQ, queer, and gender/feminist studies. It encompasses and connects global contexts, intersecting identities, historic and contemporary issues, literature, history, politics, art, and culture. Ardel Haefele-Thomas embraces the richness of intersecting identities--how race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, class, nation, religion, and ability have cross-influenced to shape the transgender experience and trans culture across and beyond the binary. Written by an accomplished teacher with experience in a wide variety of higher learning institutions, this new text inspires readers to explore not only contemporary transgender issues and experiences but also the global history of gender diversity through the ages. Introduction to Transgender Studies features: -A welcoming approach that creates a safe space for a wide range of students, from those who have never thought about gender issues to those who identify as transgender, trans, nonbinary, agender, and/or gender expansive. -Writings from the Community essays that relate the chapter theme to the lived experiences of trans and LGB people and allies from different parts of the world. -Key concepts, film and media suggestions, topics for discussion, activities, and ideas for writing and research to engage students and serve as a review at exam time. -Instructors' resources that will be available that include key teaching points with discussion questions, activities, research projects, tips for using the media suggestions, PowerPoint presentations, and sample syllabi for various course configurations. Intended for introductory transgender, LGBTQ+, or gender studies courses through upper-level electives related to the expanding field of transgender studies, this text has been successfully class-tested in community colleges and public and private colleges and universities.Call Number: Also available as an ebook
(Staff Lounge copy kindly donated by Harrington Park Press)ISBN: 9781939594273Publication Date: 2019-02-05 -
Is Everyone Really Equal? by Call Number: LC191 S38 2011 (Staff Lounge copy kindly provided by ISU Library funds)ISBN: 9780807752692Publication Date: 2011-11-04Highly recommended! This is the social justice textbook that the library's DEI Committee uses for training and for grounding our work." Based on extensive experience in a range of settings in the United States and Canada, the authors address the most common stumbling blocks to understanding social justice. They provide recognizable examples, scenarios, and vignettes illustrating these concepts." Includes focus on understanding power, privilege, prejudice, discrimination, ableism, racism, sexism, classism, and more. See also our Is Everyone Really Equal? companion LibGuide! -
Lay Bare the Heart: An Autobiography of the Civil Rights Movement by Texas native James Farmer is one of the "Big Four" of the turbulent 1960s civil rights movement, along with Martin Luther King Jr., Roy Wilkins, and Whitney Young. Farmer might be called the forgotten man of the movement, overshadowed by Martin Luther King Jr., who was deeply influenced by Farmer's interpretation of Gandhi's concept of nonviolent protest. Born in Marshall, Texas, in 1920, the son of a preacher, Farmer grew up with segregated movie theaters and "White Only" drinking fountains. This background impelled him to found the Congress of Racial Equality in 1942. That same year he mobilized the first sit-in in an all-white restaurant near the University of Chicago. Under Farmer's direction, CORE set the pattern for the civil rights movement by peaceful protests which eventually led to the dramatic "Freedom Rides" of the 1960s. In Lay Bare the Heart Farmer tells the story of the heroic civil rights struggle of the 1950s and 1960s. This moving and unsparing personal account captures both the inspiring strengths and human weaknesses of a movement beset by rivalries, conflicts and betrayals. Farmer recalls meetings with Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, Jack and Bobby Kennedy, Adlai Stevenson (for whom he had great respect), and Lyndon Johnson (who, according to Farmer, used Adam Clayton Powell Jr., to thwart a major phase of the movement). James Farmer has courageously worked for dignity for all people in the United States. In this book, he tells his story with forthright honesty. First published in 1985 by Arbor House, this edition contains a new foreword by Don Carleton, director of the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History at the University of Texas at Austin, and a new preface.Call Number: Available as an ebook
(Staff Lounge copy kindly donated by library staff)ISBN: 0875655203Publication Date: 2013-05-31 -
Lesbian Decadance: Representations in Art and Liberature of Fin de siècle France by In 1857 the French poet Charles Baudelaire, who was fascinated by lesbianism, created a scandal with Les Fleurs du Mal [The Flowers of Evil]. This collection was originally entitled "The Lesbians" and described women as "femmes damnées," with "disordered souls" suffering in a hypocritical world. Then twenty years later, lesbians in Paris dared to flaunt themselves in that extraordinarily creative period at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries which became known as the Belle Époque. Lesbian Decadence, now available in English for the first time, provides a new analysis and synthesis of the depiction of lesbianism as a social phenomenon and a symptom of social malaise as well as a fantasy in that most vibrant place and period in history. In this newly translated work, praised by leading critics as "authoritative," "stunning," and "a marvel of elegance and erudition," Nicole G. Albert analyzes and synthesizes an engagingly rich sweep of historical representations of the lesbian mystique in art and literature. Albert contrasts these visions to moralists' abrupt condemnations of "the lesbian vice," as well as the newly emerging psychiatric establishment's medical fury and their obsession on cataloging and classifying symptoms of "inversion" or "perversion" in order to cure these "unbalanced creatures of love." Lesbian Decadence combines literary, artistic, and historical analysis of sources from the mainstream to the rare, from scholarly studies to popular culture. The English translation provides a core reference/text for those interested in the Decadent movement, in literary history, in French history and social history. It is well suited for courses in gender studies, women's studies, LGBT history, and lesbianism in literature, history, and art.Call Number: Not yet owned by ISU Library
(Staff Lounge copy kindly donated by Harrington Park Press)ISBN: 9781939594075Publication Date: 2016-02-23 -
Mr. Ives' Christmas by "Enthralling...A life-affirming novel, a worthy successor to Dickens." -- Philadelphia Inquirer "Stunning....a triumph...with an honesty at its core that seems almost shocking in this day and age." -- Boston Globe A beautifully written, tender and passionate story of a man trying to put his life in perspective. In the expert hands of Oscar Hijuelos, Mr. Ives' Christmas speaks eloquently to the most basic and fulfilling aspects of life for all of us. Mr. Ives has a successful career in advertising, a wife and two children, and believes he has achieved the typical American dream. But the dream is shattered when his son Robert, who is studying for the priesthood, is killed at Christmas. Overwhelmed by grief and threatened by a loss of faith in humankind, Mr. Ives begins to question the very foundations of his life. Part love story--of a man for his wife, for his children, for God--and part meditation on how a person can find spiritual peace in the midst of crisis, Mr. Ives's Christmas "is a magnificently sad and enchanting novel, a celebration, ultimately, of giving and of grace." (Booklist)Call Number: PS3558.I376 M7 1995
(Staff Lounge copy kindly donated by library staff)ISBN: 9780060927547Publication Date: 2003-12-23 -
My Soul Is Rested by The almost unfathomable courage and the undying faith that propelled the Civil Rights Movement are brilliantly captured in these moving personal recollections. Here are the voices of leaders and followers, of ordinary people who became extraordinary in the face of turmoil and violence. From the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1956 to the death of Martin Luther King, Jr., in 1968, these are the peeople who fought the epic battle: Rosa Parks, Andrew Young, Ralph Abernathy, Hosea Williams, Fannie Lou Hamer, and others, both black and white, who participated in sit-ins, Freedom Rides, voter drives, and campaigns for school and university integration. Here, too, are voices from the "Down-Home Resistance" that supported George Wallace, Bull Connor, and the "traditions" of the Old South--voices that conjure up the frightening terrain on which the battle was fought. My Soul is Rested is a powerful document of social and political history, as well as a magnificent tribute to those who made history happen.Call Number: E185.61 .R235 1977
(Staff Lounge copy kindly donated by library staff)ISBN: 9780140067538Publication Date: 1983-09-29 -
Nanjing Requiem by The award-winning author of Waiting and War Trash returns to his homeland in a searing new novel that unfurls during one of the darkest moments of the twentieth century: the Rape of Nanjing. In 1937, with the Japanese poised to invade Nanjing, Minnie Vautrin--an American missionary and the dean of Jinling Women's College--decides to remain at the school, convinced that her American citizenship will help her safeguard the welfare of the Chinese men and women who work there. She is painfully mistaken. In the aftermath of the invasion, the school becomes a refugee camp for more than ten thousand homeless women and children, and Vautrin must struggle, day after day, to intercede on behalf of the hapless victims. Even when order and civility are eventually restored, Vautrin remains deeply embattled, and she is haunted by the lives she could not save. With extraordinarily evocative precision, Ha Jin re-creates the terror, the harrowing deprivations, and the menace of unexpected violence that defined life in Nanjing during the occupation. In Minnie Vautrin he has given us an indelible portrait of a woman whose convictions and bravery prove, in the end, to be no match for the maelstrom of history. At once epic and intimate, Nanjing Requiem is historical fiction at its most resonant.Call Number: PS3560 I6 N36 2011
(Staff Lounge copy kindly donated by library staff)ISBN: 9780307379764Publication Date: 2011-10-18 -
The Portable North American Indian Reader by The Portable North American Indian Reader compiles myths, tales, poetry, and oratory from the Iroquois, Cherokee, Winnebago, Sioux, Blackfeet, Hopi, and many other tribes. In addition, Frederick Turner includes a number of "culture contact" selections--explorers' accounts, captives' narratives, and Indian autobiographies--as well as a section on the conflicting popular images of the Indian in white literature and, finally, contemporary reassessments by such writers as Luther Standing Bear, N. Scott Momaday, Vine Deloria, Jr., James Welch, Simon Ortiz, and Gary Snyder.Call Number: E77 .T937 1974
(Staff Lounge copy kindly donated by library staff)ISBN: 9780140150773Publication Date: 1977-10-27 -
Queer Studies: Beyond Binaries by Written for entry-level survey courses in queer or LGBTQ+ Studies for students from all majors, this engaging text covers a wide range of topics. Early chapters consider the meaning of "queer" and examine identities such as trans, bi, and intersex. Intersections between sexuality/gender expression and other identities such as race, ethnicity, and class are also examined. The book then reviews life experiences such as families, friendship, religion and spirituality, health, and politics through the lens of queerness. Queer Studies: Beyond Binaries: -Engages undergraduates with a narrative that applies key ideas to their own lives and experiences -Questions various binaries ("either/or" pairings) to help students examine their own sexual identity and gender expression -Reviews foundational concepts from queer theory and queer history to create a deeper understanding of the concepts -Emphasizes an intersectionality approach that demonstrates how one's identity is the product of multiple characteristics such as sexuality, gender, race, class, and dis/ability -Uses a multidisciplinary approach drawing from the social and natural sciences, humanities, and arts to provide a broad overview of perspectives -Details an individual or an event in Spotlight on sections to highlight the experiences of queer people. -Provides questions for class discussion or field activities in Issues for Investigation sections that apply the ideas covered in the chapter -Allows instructors to shape the class with different foci using the stand-alone chapters in Part III -Features an Instructor's resource manual available to adopters with 20+ PowerPoint slides for each chapter, sample syllabi for a variety of courses, teaching tips for using the Spotlight On and Issues for Investigation sections and the suggested readings, a test bank with objective and essay questions, and student aids such as keywords, chapter outlines and summaries, and learning objectives Designed for undergraduate courses in queer or LGBT+ Studies requiring no prerequisites, Queer Studies: Beyond Binaries also serves as an excellent supplement in courses on queer theory or history, or on sexuality, gender, and women's studies.Call Number: HQ75.15 H46 2019
(Staff Lounge copy kindly donated by Harrington Park Press)ISBN: 9781939594334Publication Date: 2019-09-10 -
Race on Campus: Debunking Myths with Data by Call Number: LC1099.3 P36 2018
(Staff Lounge copy kindly provided by ISU Library funds)ISBN: 9781682532324Publication Date: 2018-10-09Highly recommended! Selected in Fall 2019 for the Library Management Team and Librarians of Color book discussions. Join the 22 of us who participated in one of these groups. See also our Race on Campus companion LibGuide! From the publisher: "A research-based analysis of racial dynamics and student life that serves as a much-needed rejoinder to scorching rhetoric." -
Raising White Kids: Bringing Up Children in a Racially Unjust America by With a foreword by Tim Wise, Raising White Kids is for families, churches, educators, and communities who want to equip their children to be active and able participants in a society that is becoming one of the most racially diverse in the world while remaining full of racial tensions. For white people who are committed to equity and justice, living in a nation that remains racially unjust and deeply segregated creates unique conundrums. These conundrums begin early in life and impact the racial development of white children in powerful ways. What can we do within our homes, communities and schools? Should we teach our children to be "colorblind"? Or, should we teach them to notice race? What roles do we want to equip them to play in addressing racism when they encounter it? What strategies will help our children learn to function well in a diverse nation? Talking about race means naming the reality of white privilege and hierarchy. How do we talk about race honestly, then, without making our children feel bad about being white? Most importantly, how do we do any of this in age-appropriate ways? While a great deal of public discussion exists in regard to the impact of race and racism on children of color, meaningful dialogue about and resources for understanding the impact of race on white children are woefully absent. Raising White Kids steps into that void.Call Number: BF723.R3 H37 2017
(Staff Lounge copy kindly donated by library staff)ISBN: 9781501856426Publication Date: 2018-01-16 -
They Fought Like Demons: Women Soldiers in the Civil War by Popular images of women during the American Civil War include self-sacrificing nurses, romantic spies, and brave ladies maintaining hearth and home in the absence of their men. However, as DeAnne Blanton and Lauren M. Cook show in their remarkable new study, that conventional picture does not tell the entire story. Hundreds of women assumed male aliases, disguised themselves in men?s uniforms, and charged into battle as Union and Confederate soldiers?facing down not only the guns of the adversary but also the gender prejudices of society. They Fought Like Demons is the first book to fully explore and explain these women, their experiences as combatants, and the controversial issues surrounding their military service. Relying on more than a decade of research in primary sources, Blanton and Cook document over 240 women in uniform and find that their reasons for fighting mirrored those of men?-patriotism, honor, heritage, and a desire for excitement. Some enlisted to remain with husbands or brothers, while others had dressed as men before the war. Some so enjoyed being freed from traditional women?s roles that they continued their masquerade well after 1865. The authors describe how Yankee and Rebel women soldiers eluded detection, some for many years, and even merited promotion. Their comrades often did not discover the deception until the ?young boy? in their company was wounded, killed, or gave birth. In addition to examining the details of everyday military life and the harsh challenges of -warfare for these women?which included injury, capture, and imprisonment?Blanton and Cook discuss the female warrior as an icon in nineteenth-century popular culture and why twentieth-century historians and society ignored women soldiers? contributions. Shattering the negative assumptions long held about Civil War distaff soldiers, this sophisticated and dynamic work sheds much-needed light on an unusual and overlooked facet of the Civil War experience.Call Number: E628 .B52 2002
(Staff Lounge copy kindly donated by library staff)ISBN: 0807128066Publication Date: 2002-09-01 -
White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk about Racism by Call Number: HT1521 .D486 2018
(Staff Lounge copies (2) kindly provided by ISU Library funds)ISBN: 9780807047415Publication Date: 2018-06-26Highly recommended! Selected in Spring 2019 as the DEI Committee's library-wide book discussion group title; also read & discussed by the library management team & librarians of color (Fall 2018), and a second library-wide book discussion group in June 2019. Haven't read this important eye-opening book yet? Join the 54 of us who read & participated in one of these groups! Two copies are available in the Staff Lounge collection. See also our White Fragility companion LibGuide!
