To herald scholarly publications by UC alumni and faculty, "Cincinnati Horizons" offers a list of recent books available through UC Bookstores, local bookstores or online.

by Henry Winkler, A&S '38, MA (A&S) '40, Honorary '87
UC president emeritus, professor emeritus

The responsibilities of political parties, as well as the pros and cons of specific policies, come to life in this look at the evolution of Britain's Labour Party. Formed in the early 20th century to deal with domestic problems of the working class, Labour was soon compelled by world events to accept a broader role in the governance of the country, particularly in international issues. A synthesis of Winkler's 20-year study of the subject, "British Labour" has been called the first full-scale treatment of the subject. Transaction Publishers

by Lee Shai Weissbach, A&S '69
Professor of history, University of Louisville

This book provides a comprehensive analysis of the experiences of 490 small Jewish communities (100 to 1,000 persons) in small American towns and cities from the mid-19th century to World War II. Weissbach provides narrative and data about immigration patterns, occupations, Jewish education, marriage strategies and congregational organization in these communities, as well as city and regional population tables and household composition figures. Yale University Press

by Claire Sponsler, A&S '76, MA (A&S) '78
Professor of English, University of Iowa

Sponsler's book is a cultural history of European performance traditions and their impact on the New World, from the 16th century to the present. Among the rituals and festivities she examines are Spanish conquest drama and matachines dances, Afro-Dutch religious celebrations, Philadelphia mummers, American and German passion plays, Brooklyn's Italian-American saints' plays and academic reconstructions of medieval drama. Cornell University Press

by April Lindner, PhD (A&S) '98
Assistant professor of English, St. Joseph's University, Philadelphia

A concise anthology of major contemporary American poets and examples of their work, co-edited with R.S. Gwynn for the Penguin Academics Series. Lindner, an award-winning poet in her own right, also includes helpful header notes and information about contemporary literary movements. Although her poetry is not included in the anthology, her book, "Skin," won the Walt McDonald First Book poetry prize in '02. Longman Publishing

by John Yolton, A&S '54, MA (A&S) '55
John Locke professor of the history of philosophy, emeritus, Rutgers

In an examination of Locke's "Essay Concerning Human Understanding," the author maintains that a number of rarely examined components of Locke's thought -- including the nature of man, the nature of a human being and the place of man in the universe among other creatures -- proves the importance of the world of spiritual beings to Locke's philosophy. Critics have called Yolton's work provocative and fascinating. Cornell University Press

 

by George Bishop, UC professor of political science.

A critic of public polling, Bishop argues that much of what is claimed to be public opinion in mass media is an illusion, both because typical survey questions tend to be vague or misleading and because those surveyed are likely to form their opinions on the spot, rather than after careful consideration. Includes numerous data sources, examples from American National Election Studies and "cautionary tales." Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Co-edited by Constance Schulz, MA (A&S) '66, PhD (A&S) '73
Professor of history, University of South Carolina, Columbia

A collection of interviews with the women historians who helped found and lead the SAWH in 1970-80, in response to entrenched sexism in the decades following World War II. Through the association, it became possible for women scholars to address issues of visibility, legitimacy and equality in the history profession. University of Missouri Press

Edited by Karen Yelena Olsen, PhD (A&S) '76
Writer and professor, University of Maryland European division

A century of human flight is celebrated in this anthology of 116 works by American poets who explore all facets of this phenomenon, from exhilaration to loss. Writers include Archibald MacLeish, Ogden Nash, Anne Sexton, John Updike, Hart Crane, William Carlos Williams and Amelia Earheart. A pilot as well as a poet, Olsen lives in a Greek village where she is preparing her next book, "An Island Almanac: Seasons of a Life on Crete." University of Iowa Press