NEWS ADVISORY
June 11, 2007
Contact: Division of International Studies, UW-Madison, (608) 262-6823
Click here to download a pdf of the flyer.
Madison, WI – Book lovers may want to get a jump on this fall’s titles in the “World Beyond our Borders” series. The popular series, sponsored by the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Division of International Studies, International Institute, and Borders Books and featuring faculty authors talking about their new books, is now going into its sixth year.
The fall series promises a lively and eclectic mix of literary analysis, memoir, and biography. Among the titles currently available are B. Venkat Mani’s Cosmopolitical Claims: Turkish-German Literatures From Nadolny to Pamuk (University of Iowa Press, 2007), Thomas DuBois’ Lyric, Meaning and Audience in the Oral Tradition of Northern Europe (Notre Dame Press, 2006) and Jeremi Suri’s Henry Kissinger and the American Century (Harvard University Press, 2007). Kirin Narayan’s book, My Family and Other Saints (University of Chicago Press, 2007), will be released in the fall.
Suri’s book was much anticipated and already has received considerable attention. According to Publishers’ Weekly, Henry Kissinger and the American Century is Harvard University Press’ “big title of the season.” The Weekly says that release was moved up to June instead of an original fall slot, and went to press for a first printing of 10,000 copies. A seven-city tour was also planned, which is unusual for a university press. One early review, by the Atlantic Monthly, said Suri was “probing thoughtfully into Kissinger’s background and character,” exploring “what shaped and nurtured the phenomenon that was Henry Kissinger.”
Here is a complete listing of the authors, their books and discussions.
Tuesday, September 11
B. Venkat Mani (UW-Madison, German)
Cosmopolitical Claims: Turkish-German Literatures From Nadolny to Pamuk (University of Iowa Press, 2007). Mani explores literary claims of cosmopolitanism in four “Turkish-German” novels, to argue that the cultural hyphen signals at best a scrutiny of German and Turkish national identities.
Sunday, October 14
Kirin Narayan (UW-Madison, Anthropology)
My Family and Other Saints (University of Chicago Press, 2007). Narayan’s memoir, drawing on the author’s training as anthropologist and folklorist, is both an amusing and affecting portrait of her “immediate, extended, and honorary family living at the crossroads between India and America at a time that spirituality directed much of the traffic.”
Wednesday, November 7
Thomas A. DuBois (UW-Madison, Scandinavian Studies)
Lyric, Meaning and Audience in the Oral Tradition of Northern Europe (Notre Dame Press, 2006). DuBois draws on lyric songs from England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, and Finland, from medieval to contemporary times, to explore the question of meaning in folklore.
Thursday, December 6
Jeremi Suri (UW-Madison, History)
Henry Kissinger and the American Century (Harvard University Press, 2007). A thought-provoking, interpretive study of one of the most influential and controversial political figures of the twentieth century. “This book is different from every other book about Henry Kissinger. [It] is critical to our understanding of how and why Kissinger acquired his positions.” — Melvin R. Laird, former Secretary of Defense
From UW-Madison Communications: Global villain or strategic genius? Neither, asserts new book on Henry Kissinger
All events except October 14 are at 7 p.m. at Borders Books West, 3750 University Avenue, Madison. Time and location tba for Kirin Narayan’s presentation, a WBOB event at the Wisconsin Book Festival.
For more information, www.international.wisc.edu