University of Michigan Press Blog

An anthropologist of 'World of Warcraft:' author explains how her work became play

The University of Michigan Press released Bonnie Nardi's new book on the online world video game World of Warcraft this week. For Nardi, an anthropologist by training and informatics professor by profession, it was the end of a long educational process, both for herself - she had never played the game before - and for her colleagues watching her work.

Here's her take on the aftermath of writing My Life as a Night Elf Priest: An Anthropological Account of World of Warcraft:

"My colleagues sometimes ask me, “Are you still studying World of Warcraft?” I can tell they are hoping I will say no, that I am finally done with that video game.

"I usually mumble something about another field study I am undertaking (an exploration of Ravelry.com—very interesting site!), but the truth is I continue to  discover things about World of Warcraft that fascinate me. It is, after all, an artifact that engages the attention of more people than live in Sweden, people who freely choose to play, who have participated in skillfully and creatively rematerializing the game far outside its own borders with activities such as theorycrafting and modding. 

"Beyond the intellectual interest the game sustains, the quirky texture of WoW still grabs me. I never get tired of hearing Putricide call out, “Good news everyone!” in that postmodern many-double-quotes-evil-child-mad-scientist voice. (Eds. note: Read on to hear him for yourself.)

Surf our smart new University of Michigan Press digital catalog of fall books

It's smart, it's stylish, and it's brand-new: the University of Michigan Press Fall 2010 catalog of books is the first all-digital model, and it's packed with new features.

We didn't just take our print catalog and turn it into an online PDF or static series of Web pages. You'll find interactive features and new capabilities on every page, including:

• Links to additional information about every book
• Extra content on some titles ranging from audio clips to image galleries
• The ability to create a custom PDF or printout of just the titles you like
• A way to create a Wish List of titles you can save, print, or e-mail

You'll find something new or different on every page. We invite you to check it out!

Kwame Kilpatrick, Disgraced Former Detroit Mayor, Sentenced: Detroit Still Governed by Old-School Politics of Race?

The Urban Voter: Group Conflict and Mayoral Voting Behavior in American Cities

by Karen M. Kaufmann

New analysis of mayoral politics reveals the crucial role of racial interests in local voting. Exploring 35 years of public opinion data from mayoral elections in New York and Los Angeles, Karen M. Kaufmann shows how perceptions of interracial conflict can outweigh party attachments and political ideologies in local elections. Her incisive analysis accounts for the Republican victories of the 1990s in overwhelmingly Democratic cities, as well as the "liberal revivals" that followed. The Urban Voter highlights critical interactions between government institutions, local economies, and social diversity, providing a much-needed assessment of urban America's changing demographics, and the ramifications of such changes for American politics.

Karen M. Kaufmann is Assistant Professor in the Department of Government and Politics at the University of Maryland, College Park.

For the Classroom: Request Exam Copy

Lost Finale Tonight, Lost Eagles Tomorrow: A True Story of History, Plane Crashes, and a Project That Began in Ann Arbor

Worried about what you'll do when there's no more Lost to watch after tonight's finale? Order now to check out Lost Eagles, an upcoming new release from the University of Michigan Press. Few people have ever heard of Frederick Zinn, yet even today airmen's families are touched by this man and the work he performed in both world wars. Zinn created the techniques still in use to determine the final fate of airmen missing in action. The last line of the Air Force Creed reads, "We will leave no airman behind." Zinn made that promise possible.

Blaine Pardoe weaves together the complex story of a man who brought peace and closure to countless families who lost airmen during both world wars. His lasting contribution to warfare was a combination of his methodology for locating the remains of missing pilots (known as the Zinn system) and his innovation of imprinting all aircraft parts with the same serial number so that if a wreck was located, the crewman could be identified. The tradition he established for seeking and recovering airmen is carried on to this day.

Irene Thomson on BookTV Saturday to discuss 'Culture Wars' and answer questions

Irene Taviss Thomson, author of Culture Wars and Enduring American Dilemmas, will be on BookTV Saturday. Her discussion and Q&A at Fairleigh Dickinson University was taped by the show a few weeks ago and will be broadcast Saturday at 8:45 a.m. Eastern time on C-SPAN2.

The book examined articles in four news magazines, plus a wealth of public speeches and other written materials, to determine that how people identified themselves (Democrat, Republican, liberal, conservative) did not accurately predict how they would feel about hot button issues such as religion, homosexuality, sexual conduct, and abortion.

You can watch the show online here.

North Korea Submarine Torpedo Sinks Ship from South Korea Near Maritime Border: Time for a Parade

Illusive Utopia
Theater, Film, and Everyday Performance in North Korea
by Suk-Young Kim
Cloth: 978-0-472-11708-6  /  2010  / More info

New book offers rare glimpse into North Korean propaganda---in parades, posters, murals, theater, and films

No nation stages massive parades and collective performances on the scale of North Korea. Even amid a series of intense political/economic crises and international conflicts, the financially troubled country continues to invest massive amounts of resources to sponsor unflinching displays of patriotism, glorifying its leaders and revolutionary history through state rituals that can involve hundreds of thousands of performers. Author Suk-Young Kim explores how sixty years of state-sponsored propaganda performances—including public spectacles, theater, film, and other visual media such as posters—shape everyday practice such as education, the mobilization of labor, the gendering of social interactions, the organization of national space, tourism, and transnational human rights.

New UM honors students to read Susan Messer's 'Grand River and Joy' this summer

The University of Michigan's Honors Program in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts has selected Grand River and Joy as its required reading book for the summer for incoming Honors students.

The book, set in the summer of the 1967 Detroit race riots, depicts the struggles of downtown shopkeeper Harry Levine as he attempts to decide whether to stay or flee for the suburbs. It is Susan Messer's first, and critically acclaimed, novel.

Roughly 500 new Honors students will read the book over the summer and discuss it on their first day on campus.

"Many of our students are from Southeast Michigan, and many of their families experienced their own versions of Harry Levine’s story," said Tim McKay, Director of the Honors Program. "We hope that reading it will help them to discover this. ... For those students not from the area, we hope the book will help them to explore what has happened in Detroit, how it got to be the way it is, and to think about where it might go. The University has strong and growing connections with the city, and we hope that reading the novel will encourage our students to form their own bonds with Detroit."

The program has also invited Messer to come to campus to speak in November.

Debra Spark's 'Good for the Jews' is recommended for discussion groups

Reform Judaism magazine, which claims the title of the world's largest circulated Jewish magazine, tagged Debra Spark's Good for the Jews with a high honor, designating it as Recommended for Discussion Groups.

The magazine has started its own discussion of the book on its Books blog.

"The author asks us to consider what constitutes anti-Semitism," Peter Shapiro writes in the first comment. "She also asks us to consider when and by what means we combat anti-Semitism as well as what should be the appropriate sanctions for the offender. Another question to ponder is: do we sacrifice justice for one or a few Jews when doing so may adversely affect the greater Jewish community?"

The magazine's review notes the book's accessible retelling of the biblical book of Esther, following Jewish families in Madison, Wis.

"The novel reads like a modern parody of the Purim story . . . this contemporary remake of the biblical tale explores the modern faces of anti-Semitism," the review says.

A paperback version of Good for the Jews will be published later this year.

Interview on YouTube: Author Donald Gifford on Litigation and Legislation

Suing the Tobacco and Lead Pigment Industries (2010)
Government Litigation as Public Health Prescription
by Donald G. Gifford
Cloth: 978-0-472-11714-7 More

A new history and critique of public health litigation, fifteen years after the Food and Drug Administration first proposed banning the sale and marketing of tobacco products to teenagers, finally being put into effect by Obama officials beginning this year

Hear Tamarack Song read a native tale from his new book, 'Whispers of the Ancients'

Tamarack Song is a storyteller, counselor, wilderness skills teacher, rites-of-passage guide, and founder of the Teaching Drum Outdoor School in Three Lakes, Wis. He is also, along with Ojibwe artist Moses (Amik )Beaver, the coauthor of Whispers of the Ancients: Native Tales for Teaching and Healing in Our Time.

He took time out to read one of the stories for us. Take a listen by clicking on the link below; it's a treat. Here's what he had to say about the selection:

"Two Hungry Bears is co-author Moses (Amik) Beaver's favorite story in the book, and this telling is in his honor.

"I use a drum to accompany me; it's a technique employed by traditional storytellers in Asia, Africa, and the Americas. I first learned to drum a story from Ojibwe Medicine Woman Keewaydinoquay. In her hands, the drum became another storytelling voice, creating the mood and setting the pace. In one moment the drum could be bellowing the cries of angry, thrashing Thunderbirds, and in the next moment it might be whispering the soft tones of a breeze high in the pines.

"When I tell this story, a sense of timelessness comes over me. I'm sitting in a circle with the women in the communal smokehouse of Moses' village in North Ontario, listening to stories while we prepare Whitefish for smoking. At the same time, I'm in Patty Miller's daycare center, hearing her lilting voice bring Two Hungry Bears to life. And beside me is dear Elder Keewaydinoquay, empowering my voice and guiding my hands."

Click here to hear Tamarack tell the story.