What would it mean to “get over slavery”? Is such a thing possible? Is it even desirable? To explore these questions, The Psychic Hold of Slavery assembles a diverse collection of literary and film critics, philosophers, and cultural theorists. With a painful awareness that our understanding of the past informs our understanding of the present—and vice versa—the contributors place slavery’s historical legacies in conversation with twenty-first-century manifestations of antiblack violence, dehumanization, and social death.   

What would it mean to “get over slavery”? Is such a thing possible? Is it even desirable? To explore these questions, The Psychic Hold of Slavery assembles a diverse collection of literary and film critics, philosophers, and cultural theorists. With a painful awareness that our understanding of the past informs our understanding of the present—and vice versa—the contributors place slavery’s historical legacies in conversation with twenty-first-century manifestations of antiblack violence, dehumanization, and social death.   

Drawing the Iron Curtain tells the story of the golden age of Soviet animation and the Jewish artists who enabled it to thrive. Maya Balakirsky Katz reveals how the state-run animation studio Soyuzmultfilm served as an unlikely haven for political dissidents and brought together Jewish creative personnel from across the land. These artists used the studio to depict distinctive elements of their heritage and ethnic identity, while articulating a cosmopolitan sensibility and a multicultural vision for the Soviet Union.

Sara Dickey considers how urban Indians’ notions of class and caste are rapidly transforming in the wake of globalization. Introducing the reader to four residents in the city of Madurai from varied backgrounds, she documents their palpable day-to-day experiences of class. By analyzing the intertwined symbolic and economic importance of phenomena like wedding ceremonies, religious practices, and loan arrangements, Dickey’s study reveals the material consequences of local class identities.  

From the Edge reveals the tangled textual histories behind some of the most cherished works in the Chicana/o literary canon, tracing the contentious negotiations between authors, editors, and publishers that determined how these books appeared in print. In this groundbreaking examination of the politics of print culture, Allison Fagan demonstrates how the texts surrounding the authors’ words—from editorial prefaces to Spanish-language glossaries, from reviewers’ blurbs to readers’ marginalia—have crucially shaped the reception of Chicana/o literature.

Transplanting Care examines the daily lives of midwestern organ transplant patients and their caregivers, from pretransplant preparations through to the long posttransplant recovery. Drawing on scores of interviews with patients, relatives, and healthcare professionals, Laura L. Heinemann follows a variety of patients and loved ones as they undertake this difficult “transplant journey” while coping with a paucity of resources for caregiving.

Rickard provides the reader with an in-depth view of six sex offenders, exploring how they manage to cope with their highly stigmatized role as social outcasts. Placing their stories within the context of the current culture of mass incarceration and zero-tolerance, Rickard provides a deeper understanding of the complex relationship between public policy and lived experience.   

Mapping Feminist Anthropology in the Twenty-First Century provides an historical and theoretical overview of feminist anthropology’s origins, the transformation it has undergone, and the vital contributions it continues to make to cutting-edge scholarship. Chronicling the impact feminist anthropologists have made on a wide range of academic fields, from science and technology studies to queer theory, it also reveals the important role they have played in global campaigns against human rights abuses, domestic violence, and environmental degradation.

Mapping Feminist Anthropology in the Twenty-First Century provides an historical and theoretical overview of feminist anthropology’s origins, the transformation it has undergone, and the vital contributions it continues to make to cutting-edge scholarship. Chronicling the impact feminist anthropologists have made on a wide range of academic fields, from science and technology studies to queer theory, it also reveals the important role they have played in global campaigns against human rights abuses, domestic violence, and environmental degradation.

After Capitalism brings together leading scholars from across the academy to offer competing perspectives on capitalism’s past incarnations, present conditions, and possible futures. Analyzing global trends from real estate bubbles to debt relief protests, this book also closely examines economic conditions in locales as varied as Cuba, India, and Latvia. Collectively, these essays raise provocative questions about how we should imagine capitalism in the twenty-first century.