Recent notable books by 天美影视传媒 authors tell of the struggle to break free of racism in higher education, taking an “urban diary” approach to documenting city life and more.

Stifling academic expression on campus in the 1960s and beyond

has been interested in the Black Power movement since she wrote her dissertation at the University of Illinois. Over time, as she examined how that activism played out in the South in the 1960s, she saw how colleges and universities stifled student expression and faculty academic freedom. Williamson-Lott, a professor in the UW College of Education, has turned her research on that era into a book, 鈥�,鈥� published in June by Teachers College Press.

Fifty years later, she says, those battles, and the racism underlying them, remain relevant in all parts of the country. 鈥淭here鈥檚 something to be learned from the Southern experience,鈥� Williamson-Lott says. 鈥淚n a way, it wasn鈥檛 exceptional. It鈥檚 who we are as a nation.鈥�

To learn more, contact Williamson-Lott at joyann@uw.edu.

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Studying the use of secrets in world cinema

How are secrets employed and understood in international cinema? In a new book, , associate professor in the Jackson School, explores the use of secrets in acclaimed films such as Guillermo del Toro’s “” and Alejandro Amen谩bar鈥檚 “,” in which Nicole Kidman starred.

Porter’s book “” was published in early 2018 by CRC Press. Publishers notes say the book “advances a methodological line of inquiry based on a fresh insight into the ways in which cinematic meaning is generated and can be ascertained.” The book analyzes the use of secrets in these films and more.

“It demonstrates how a rethinking of the figure of the secret in national film yields a new vantage point for examining heretofore unrecognized connections between collective historical experience, cinematic production and a transnational aesthetic of concealment and hiding.”

, a growing concept in film studies, considers films that span national boundaries.

To learn more, contact Porter at debzport@uw.edu

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Tool kit for urban observation promotes better planning, design

Personal observation remains an important way of understanding and improving cities, says Seattle-based attorney in his book “.” Wolfe is also an affiliate associate professor of urban design and planning in the UW College of Built Environments, where he teaches land use law at the graduate level.

Notes from publisher Island Press say that Wolfe takes an “urban diary” approach to describe how city dwellers can “catalog the influences of urban form, neighborhood dynamics, public transportation, and myriad other basic city elements that impact their daily lives” and use such observations to improve planning and design decisions.

“This type of close, thoughtful looking is a way to snap out of the stupor of the daily grind and parse the details that are so easily overshadowed. But 鈥� it is also a way to think about how to shape the future,” says a on the Atlantic monthly’s website CityLab.

“Seeing the Better City” was an and was a in the United Kingdom for a National Urban Design Award from the nonprofit celebrating the best books on that topic.

To learn more, contact Wolfe at cwolfe@crwolfelaw.com.

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‘Rethinking’ youth media empowerment

How do queer youth use media for self-expression, connection and public visibility? Who is best equipped to participate in meaningful ways, and where might social inequities be reproduced in the process of production?

A new book by , assistant professor in UW Bothell’s School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences, combines three years of “” with young media makers in San Diego with textual analysis of many youth-produced videos and media campaigns. “” was published this summer by Routledge.

In this way, Berliner examines how media makers at the margins negotiate funding and publicity and strategically produce their online identities.

Publishers notes say the book “unsettles assumptions that having a ‘voice’ and gaining visibility and recognition necessarily equate to securing rights and resources.

“Through her study of youth media practices within larger contexts of history and pedagogy, Routledge says, Berliner “reframes digital media participation as a struggle for 鈥� rather than, in itself, evidence of 鈥� power.”

To learn more, contact Berliner at lsb26@uw.edu.

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UW faculty pen book chapters on environmental studies

A new textbook on environmental studies includes two chapters written by UW faculty members. “,” published in May 2018 by Routledge, contains more than 150 short chapters written by leading international experts. Together they provide concise, authoritative and easy-to-use summaries of key issues, debates, concepts and current questions in environmental studies.

, a UW associate professor of political science, authored a chapter on “Gaia.” Litfin is also the author of a 2014 book, “,” that describes a year of travels to sustainable communities around the world.

, a UW professor emeritus of atmospheric sciences, authored a chapter on “Key Debates on Population and Global Demography.” The chapter covers issues such as causes of population growth, influence of education, demand for and access to contraception, and geographic variations. (Warren is also the author of a 2015 open-access academic on population growth issues.)

To learn more, contact Warren at sgw@uw.edu or Litfin at litfin@uw.edu.

is a 天美影视传媒 associate professor of political science and author of the book “.” She answered a few questions about the book, and her work, for UW Today.

Q: What is the main message of “Ecovillages”?

A: After teaching global environmental politics for two decades and watching planetary conditions deteriorate, I grew disenchanted with top-down solutions. I also grew tired of making my students anxious, depressed and guilt-ridden. If our ways of living are unraveling planetary life-support systems, then we must answer the question: How, then, shall we live?

My search for models led me on a one-year journey around the world to ecovillages, intentional communities aspiring to live sustainably. Living in 14 ecovillages on five continents taught me that not only is another world possible, it is already being born in small pockets the world over.

The point, however, is not that we all should live in ecovillages; rather, we need to learn from them and scale up their lessons to existing social structures, from the household to our neighborhoods to our cities, nations and even to the level of global governance.

Q: How did you choose which ecovillages to visit?

A: I took a year to map my journey and arrange the logistics. I selected for “success,” which I conceived as an amalgam of factors including longevity, size and reputation. Most communities I visited, for instance, had a 10-year history with at least 100 members.

Because I wanted to understand the movement’s global character, I also selected for diversity: rural, urban and suburban; ; rich, poor, and middle class; secular, religious and spiritual: high-tech and low-tech. Across this enormous diversity, I then looked for the common strands.

Q: You write amusingly that the term “ecovillage” may conjure images聽of “shabby rural outposts populated by long-haired iconoclasts,” but that you found them less easy to pigeonhole. How instead would you describe them, and what do they have in common?

A: I saw a few scruffy shacks but for the most part, I found tidy, smallish homes that reflected a kind of organic beauty. I also found unusually capable and articulate people committed to integrating the four dimensions of sustainability: ecology, economics, community and consciousness.

I learned that “sustainability” varies with context. Ecovillagers in the global north focus on reducing social alienation, consumption and waste, whereas the global south focuses on “sustainabilizing” traditional rural villages. , for instance, is an island of frugality in the heart of consumer culture, whereas , a Senegal-based village network, works to prevent hunger.

Yet both are drawn to bicycles and permaculture, suggesting common ground between east Hollywood to west Africa.

Most important, I found ecovillages embrace these basic tenets:

• The web of life is sacred and humanity is an integral part of that web.
• Global trends are approaching a crisis point.
• Positive change will come primarily from the bottom up.

If I had to encapsulate ecovillage culture in one word, it would be sharing. Because ecovillages share material resources, both their consumption and incomes can be far below their home country averages.

Material factors like self-built homes and home-grown food tell only part of the story. More important is the prevalence of sharing 鈥� not only of property and vehicles, but of the intangibles that define community: ideas, skills, challenges, and celebrations.

Q: How does the ecovillage movement, if we can call it that, differ from “back to nature” trends of previous decades?

A: Ecovillages are far more integrated into society and many of them are in cities. Rather than separating themselves, ecovillages tend to be educational centers; their members tend to be socially and politically engaged. , for instance, works with the United Nations and the European Union.

Q: You note people saying, “That’s all fine for those lucky ecovillagers, but what about the rest of us?” How do you reply?

A: We should understand that being an ecovillager is more a consequence of inspiration and hard work than luck. And, because sustainability is the nonnegotiable precondition for inhabiting Earth over the long haul, “the rest of us” would be wise to learn from ecovillages.

Q: This has been a very personal journey for you. How has this work changed you?

A: First, the journey gave me a strong sense of grounded hope: I have seen and touched some seedlings for a viable future. Second, while ecovillages are not for everyone, some people yearn for the intimacy, focus and integrated solutions of ecovillage life. I learned that I am such a person.

Third, I wanted to write a book that would be both emotionally and intellectually engaging, which required learning a whole new way of writing 鈥� and therefore thinking.

Q: Based on what you’ve learned, what suggestions would you offer to people looking for sustainability in everyday life?

A: Beyond the green practices that most of us are familiar with 鈥攃onservation, recycling, minimizing fossil fuel consumption, etc.鈥� I would emphasize the social dimension of sustainability.

The stronger the sense of community, the more we are willing to share. Beyond our households and neighborhoods, we need to scale up the lessons to every level of governance.