By focusing on how the idea of heroism on the battlefield helped construct, perpetuate, and challenge racial and gender hierarchies in the United States between World War I and the present, Warring over Valor provides fresh perspectives on the history of American military heroism. The book offers two major insights into the history of military heroism. First, it reveals a precarious ambiguity in the efforts of minorities such as African Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans...

Race has long shaped shopping experiences for many Americans. Retail exchanges and establishments have made headlines as flashpoints for conflict not only between blacks and whites, but also between whites, Mexicans, Asian Americans, and a wide variety of other ethnic groups, who have at times found themselves unwelcome at white-owned businesses.Race and Retail documents the extent to which retail establishments, both past and present, have often catered to specific ethnic...

The clothes we wear tell stories about us—and are often imbued with cultural meanings specific to our ethnic heritage. This concise A-to-Z encyclopedia explores 150 different and distinct items of ethnic dress, their history, and their cultural significance within the United States.The clothing artifacts documented here have been or are now regularly worn by Americans as everyday clothing, fashion, ethnic or religious identifiers, or style statements. They embody the cultural histo...

Sitting prominently at the hearth of our homes, television serves as a voice of our modern time. Given our media-saturated society and television’s prominent voice and place in the home, it is likely we learn about our society and selves through these stories. These narratives are not simply entertainment, but powerful socializing agents that shape and reflect the world and our role in it. Television and the Self: Knowledge, Identity, and Media Representation brings together a diverse grou...

Discover the eye-opening story of the first woman student at MIT—a pioneering environmental chemist sure to inspire the next generation of female trailblazers in science.Ellen Swallow found a friend in nature and a lifelong love of science as a child exploring the woods around her family’s home. She was a voracious learner with an interest in chemistry, and continuing her education at the newly established Massachusetts Institute of Technology seemed a good fit. Bu...

Ben was never supposed to find out about his father's mysterious past, but when a school project forces him to confront his mother, she can no longer ignore the secrets she's kept all these years.With the help of his best friend Cooper and his new dog Blue, Ben embarks on a wild journey to uncover the truth about his dad's past—and what he discovers may be stranger and more unexpected than anything he could have ever imagined.A heartfelt story of family, lo...

Ben’s best friend Cooper is getting nasty notes from an unknown bully.On top of that, her dad is keeping his new girlfriend a secret. It’s up to Ben and his basset hound, Blue, to help Cooper unravel these mysteries. As they “doggedly” pursue answers, the case takes surprising twists—and what they uncover turns their assumptions upside down. A story of kindness, love, and inclusion—not to mention a harrowing day at the zoo—this second book in the Ben and Bl...

The Color of Success tells of the astonishing transformation of Asians in the United States from the "yellow peril" to "model minorities"--peoples distinct from the white majority but lauded as well-assimilated, upwardly mobile, and exemplars of traditional family values--in the middle decades of the twentieth century. As Ellen Wu shows, liberals argued for the acceptance of these immigrant communities into the national fold, charging that the failure of America to live in accorda...