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A thought-provoking collection of essays on life and living Voices from the Heartland is a celebration of women’s contributions to Oklahoma’s recent past. It records defining moments in women’s lives—whether surviving the Oklahoma City bombing or surviving abuse—and represents a wide range of professions, lifestyles, and backgrounds to show how extraordinary lives have grown from the seeds of ordinary girlhoods. From former Cherokee principal chief Wilma Mankiller, First Lady Kim Henry, novelist Billie Letts, and prima ballerina Maria Tallchief, to OU basketball coach Sherri Coale, the authors share their personal reflections on finding balance as they look back on defining moments...
Seemingly the most fantastical of television series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer proves on close examination to be firmly rooted in real-world concerns. In this collection of critical essays, 15 authors from several disciplines, including literature, the visual arts, theatre, philosophy, and political science, study ways in which Buffy illuminates viewers' real-life experiences. Topics include the series' complicated portrayals of the relationship between soul, morality, and identity; whether Buffy can truly be described as a feminist icon; stereotypes of Native Americans in the episode "Pangs"; the role of signs in the interaction between Buffy's aesthetics and audience; and the problem of power and underhanded politics in the Buffy universe.
A common misconception is that professors who use popular culture and fantasy in the classroom have abandoned the classics, yet in a variety of contexts--high school, college freshman composition, senior seminars, literature, computer science, philosophy and politics--fantasy materials can expand and enrich an established curriculum. The new essays in this book combine analyses of popular television shows including Buffy the Vampire Slayer; such films as The Matrix, The Dark Knight and Twilight; Watchmen and other graphic novels; and video games with explanations of how best to use them in the classroom. With experience-based anecdotes and suggestions for curricula, this collection provides a valuable pedagogy of pop culture.
This comprehensive bibliography covers writings about vampires and related creatures from the 19th century to the present. More than 6,000 entries document the vampire's penetration of Western culture, from scholarly discourse, to popular culture, politics and cook books. Sections by topic list works covering various aspects, including general sources, folklore and history, vampires in literature, music and art, metaphorical vampires and the contemporary vampire community. Vampires from film and television--from Bela Lugosi's Dracula to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, True Blood and the Twilight Saga--are well represented.
Despite progress in recent years, Oklahoma hardly ranks as woman-friendly. The state holds the highest incarceration rate of women in the nation. It offers women no legal protection against being fired due to sexual orientation or gender identity. Its Native American and immigrant populations struggle for access to community resources. And Oklahoma is still governed largely by men, leaving women without adequate political representation. In 2007, the highly acclaimed anthology Voices from the Heartland provided a much-needed platform for Oklahoma women—prominent and unknown—to tell their stories. This timely sequel reflects an even broader cross-section of women’s experiences. Just lik...
Director, producer and screenwriter Joss Whedon is a creative force in film, television, comic books and a host of other media. This book provides an authoritative survey of all of Whedon's work, ranging from his earliest scriptwriting on Roseanne, through his many movie and TV undertakings--Toy Story, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly/Serenity, Dr. Horrible, The Cabin in the Woods, and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.--to his forays into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The book covers both the original texts of the Whedonverse and the many secondary works focusing on Whedon's projects, including about 2000 books, essays, articles, documentaries and dissertations.
Using children's and young adult literature is a great way to enhance a variety of college classes in fields as varied as biology, computer game development, political science and history. This collection of new essays by educators from a number of disciplines describes how to use such works as Where the Wild Things Are, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Swamp Thing, Percy Jackson, and Harry Potter to introduce complex concepts and spark interest in difficult subjects. The contributors describe innovative teaching strategies using dystopian fiction, graphic narratives, fairy tales and mythology. Often overlooked or dismissed by teachers, children's literature can support student learning by raising levels of academic rigor, creativity and critical thinking.
Joss Whedon has created numerous TV series, movies, comics and one sing-along-blog, all of which focus on societal problems in the metaphorical guise of monsters-of-the-week and over-arching big-bads. The present work examines structural violence through interdimensional law firm Wolfram & Hart's legal representation of evil. We explore the limits of consent through the Rossum Corporation's coercion and manipulation. We rehearse the struggle to find meaningful freedom from the crew of Serenity. This book traces a theme of anarchist theory through the multiple strings of the Whedonverse--all of his works show how ordinary heroes can unite for the love of humanity to save the world from hierarchy and paternalism.
Joss Whedon is known for exploring philosophical questions through socially progressive narratives in his films, television shows and comics. His work critiques racial stereotypes, sometimes repudiating them, sometimes reinvesting in them (sometimes both at once). This collection of new essays explores his representations of racial power dynamics between individuals and institutions and how the Whedonverse constructs race, ethnicity and nationality relationships.
Werewolves, witches, vampires, demons, gods, zombies, and shape-shifters; these are just a few examples of the monstrous that society is confronted with. Most people have some knowledge about these creatures, and have had fleeting contact with ghosts, fairies, vampires and goblins, either in their imagination, or while reading, watching, or interacting with other people (whether in reality or the online world). From Beowulf and Buffy, to Freddy Krueger and Frankenstein’s Monster, this collection highlights different aspects of the monstrous, and discusses various ways in which they can be read, discussed, and understood. What does the mother in Beowulf really represent? How can the charact...