The gender of history
In the past quarter-century, historians and other scholars have focused on gender as a lively area of inquiry, and gender analysis has suggested important revisions of the dominant, often celebratory tales of the successes of a nation and its leaders. Although modern Japanese history has not yet been restructured by a foregrounding of gender, historians of Japan have begun to embrace gender as an analytic category.
In Gendering Modern Japanese History (Harvard University Asia Center, 2005, $60), co-editors Barbara Molony, chair and professor, history department at SCU, and Kathleen Uno, associate professor of history at Temple University, include articles that treat men as well as women, theories of sexuality as well as gender prescriptions, and same-sex as well as heterosexual relations in the period from 1868 to the present. The essays all take the position that history is gendered; that is, historians invariably, perhaps unconsciously, construct a gendered notion of past events, people, and ideas.
Molony has taught at SCU since 1981, and from 1996 to 2004 she served as director of SCU’s Program for the Study of Women and Gender.
Tollini on Teinhardt
“Dr. Frederick Tollini’s comprehensive study of Max Reinhardt’s lifelong commitment to the staging of Shakespeare’s plays is a remarkable and much needed contribution to the historiography of early 20th century theater,” wrote Carl Weber of Stanford University in his review of Fred Tollini’s recently published Shakespeare Productions of Max Reinhardt, a volume in the Studies in Theatre Arts series (Edwin Mellen Press, 2005, $119.95). “Beyond this, the book offers fascinating insights into the cultural and social climate of Germany and Austria during the first half of the century and the way the theater reflected as well as influenced that climate…. The book’s clear and lively style should make it also an enjoyable read for anyone interested in European theater and culture,” Weber added.
Fred Tollini, S.J., associate professor in the department of theater and dance, has been teaching at SCU since 1971. The acting director of the Center for Performing Arts, Tollini has directed more than 50 plays and musicals, and acted in productions both at Santa Clara and in regional theater.
Is your baby keeping you up?
“Until she was 2, my daughter never slept longer than three hours ata time,” says Tim Myers, a lecturer in SCU’s education department, and author of the new children’s book Good Babies: A Tale of Trolls, Humans, a Witch, and a Switch (Candlewick, 2005, $15.99). “The truth is that new babies—like all profound gifts from God—come with complications and challenges, which it’s our loving duty to face up to,” adds Myers, who is the author of numerous books for young readers, including the New York Times best-seller Basho and the Fox.
In his new book, Good Babies, Myers explores some of these challenges. A witch in Norway discovers two families—one human and one troll—each with a brand-new baby. The human baby slept all day and cried all night, while the troll baby slept all night and cried all day (which is when trolls like to sleep). So the witch swapped the troll baby for the human infant. This original folktale is sure to bring a smile to sleep-deprived parents everywhere.