UPEI Faculty of Arts holds book launch on January 7

The UPEI Faculty of Arts will hold a public book launch to celebrate ten new books by UPEI faculty in the Main Building Faculty Lounge at UPEI on Thursday, January 7, from 4:30-6:30 p.m.

"Remote Control: Governance Lessons for and from Small, Insular, and Remote Regions" explores the question: how does one transform small size and relative isolation into a powerful combination for sustainable growth and prosperity? This collection fleshes out tools and strategies used by mid-level governance structures, and it emphasizes a proactive, creative and assertive approach to governance. The book is edited by Godfrey Baldacchino of Island Studies, Rob Greenwood and Lawrence Felt.

In "A Magnificent Gift Declined: The Dalton Sanatorium of Prince Edward Island 1913-1923," Leonard Cusack of the history department portrays provincial and federal political manoeuvring and the social context surrounding the Dalton Sanatorium, P.E.I.'s first hospital for treating tuberculosis. Considered a state-of-the-art facility at the time, the sanatorium was donated by Charles Dalton to the Province of P.E.I. and built in the rural community of Emyvale in 1913. By 1923, it was totally demolished.

Benet Davetian, chair of the sociology and anthropology department, explores the development of civility, a core concept of social life, in "Civility: A Cultural History." Ranging from the Middle Ages to the present, and covering France, England and the US, the book discusses spitting, line-up etiquette, toilet hygiene, good manners and the relativity of politeness as they change over time. It not only historicizes the development of civility but also locates the concept in today's society and offers a renewed perspective on crucial issues such as multiculturalism.

In "Spirits in the Material World: The Challenge of Technology," political studies professor Gil Germain uses an analysis of four French philosophers to illuminate humans' implication in technology and tenuous hold on reality. He argues that humans are fast becoming disembodied or spirit-like creatures, and gives reasons why this inclination toward spiritization ought to be resisted.

"Texts and Traditions of Medieval Pastoral Care: Essays in Honour of Bella Millett" is edited by English professor Catherine Innes-Parker, and author/editor Cate Gunn. The collection focuses on the growth of, and changes in, pastoral and devotional literature, which flourished in the Middle Ages. Ranging historically from the difficulties of localizing Anglo-Saxon pastoral texts to the reading of women in late-medieval England, the individual essays survey its development and transformation into the literature of vernacular spirituality.

"Afternoon Horses," by Deirdre Kessler of the English department, reflects the author's bond with island landscapes-particularly those of P.E.I. and Tasmania-and with childhood and family-the sinews that hold families together through distance, aging and death.

"Athena Becomes a Swallow and Other Voices from The Odyssey," by English department chair Brent MacLaine, contains 27 monologues spoken by characters who appear in Homer's The Odyssey. Adopting the voices of the minor characters, MacLaine offers a novel perspective on the epic events, demonstrating how the shine of the gods falls on the common folk as well. In this collection, he creates a world as real and immediate to us today as it may have been 3,000 years ago.

"Beyond Silence: Voices of Child Sexual Abuse," authored by the SAGE editorial collective, takes a fresh approach to the ongoing work of child sexual abuse prevention by focusing on the knowledge and wisdom of adult survivors. In this collection, 14 Island women tell about the abuse they suffered as children, the profound effect it has had on their lives, and the reasons why people need to join the fight to stop it. A prevention chapter, written by the group as a whole, focuses on five key areas that need to be addressed in order to end child sexual abuse. Contributor Colleen MacQuarrie of the UPEI psychology department is a member of the editorial collective and co-author of the prevention chapter.