- blogtalkradio: TAA Podcast Series, "State of the Textbook Indexing World"
- Authors Guild warns Bloomberg authors not to sign Wiley letter
- CA bill aimed at ensuring TX standards don't show up in CA textbooks
- Textbook Publishing in the Digital Age
- New tablet for textbooks: the Kno
- blogtalkradio: TAA Podcast Series, "How Recent Changes in the Textbook Publishing Industry Could Affect Authors"
- Interactive online textbook publisher seeks authors
- Intellectual property attorney Stephen Gillen joins Wood, Herron & Evans
- Custom, digital instructional materials may be end of TX, CA domination of K-12 textbooks
- 2010 TAA Conference attendees will receive free book on Google Settlement
- Contributing Member Al Trujillo
- Sustaining Member James Kalat
- New TAA Chapter guidelines
- How-to Article: Five strategies for successful report and essay writing
- Sustaining Member Richard Hull
- Veltri awarded $750 TAA Publication Grant
- Sustaining Member Frederick K. Lutgens
- Busy TAA People: Doug Eadie
- Sustaining Member Allyn J. Washington
- Message from Executive Director: Looking back, looking ahead
- Sustaining Member: James Lockard
- TAA announces 2010 Council election results
- Krausz awarded $750 TAA Publication Grant
- Listen to recording of Apr. 20 TAA teleconference on writing, procrastination and resistance
blogtalkradio: TAA Podcast Series, "State of the Textbook Indexing World"
You might take that alphabetized list of words and page numbers for granted, but there's turmoil inside the textbook indexing world. First there's the ongoing challenge of people not understanding what indexing is about, a world where production editors are always just out of college, authors are forced to pay, and jobs are going to countries where English isn't a first language. The rise of e-books has reintroduced a significant problem that first appeared in the early 1990s: wholly inferior tools. E-book indexes do not work, literally. How does this affect writing? Join us on Wednesday, August 25 at 11 a.m. EST for a lively discussion with Seth Maislin, Managing Partner at Potomac Indexing, LLC (www.potomacindexing.com), about how we find things...or not.
Visit TAA's blogtalkradio page, listen to archived podcasts and set a reminder for upcoming podcasts: Click here
Authors Guild warns Bloomberg authors not to sign Wiley letter
The Authors Guild "strongly urges" Bloomberg Press authors not to sign a letter from John Wiley & Sons, which acquired Bloomberg in March, that outlines changes in Wiley's accounting systems that the Guild said "will materially and adversely affect the royalty rates of many Bloomberg Press authors."
The Guild, in a notice to members on its website, said that while the letter "sounds innocent enough, it isn't" and if signed, will serve as a contract amendment that could "effectively slice royalties by up to 50% for some book sales."
CA bill aimed at ensuring TX standards don't show up in CA textbooks
The California Senate approved legislation that requires the state's Board of Education to watch for any Texas social studies content when reviewing public school textbooks. The bill (SB1451), introduced by Senator Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, will now go in front of the California Assembly, and if passed, will need to be signed by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Textbook Publishing in the Digital Age
On his xplana blog, Rob Reynolds gives an overview of the textbook publishing industry and current business models and explores opportunities for the future of textbook publishing with his post, "The Transformation of Textbook Publishing in the Digital Age — New Business Models."
Read Reynolds's report, "Digital Textbook Sales in U.S. Higher Education — A Five-Year Projection," which outlines e-textbook sales over the next five years based on current trends and variables.
New tablet for textbooks: the Kno
Kno Inc., co-founded by Chegg.com CEO Osman Rashid, announced the creation of a new digital textbook and learning platform called the Kno, a two-panel, touch-screen product that blends textbooks, course material, note-taking, web access, educational applications, digital media, sharing and more. It was developed on open web technologies, at the D8 2010 Conference on June 2, 2010.
The company also announced a beta program with Cengage Learning, McGraw-Hill Education, Pearson and Wiley. Under the new initiative, publishers participating in the beta program will be providing select digital resources and content for an in-classroom beta program that will launch fall 2010 at major universities and colleges across the country.
“Kno’s alliances with publishers is a key component of our strategy to fundamentally change the way students learn,” said Rashid. “We are excited to work with Cengage Learning, McGraw-Hill Education, Pearson and Wiley to bring their content directly to students to help enrich their college experience. It is this content students need combined with the features that they want that differentiates Kno.”
The purpose of the beta program is to validate the effectiveness of digital content within the Kno device and platform.
“McGraw-Hill Education has long pioneered the innovation of digital content, embracing the intersection of technology and education to improve student achievement,” said Rik Kranenburg, president of McGraw-Hill Higher Education, Professional and International (HPI). “We are pleased to work with Kno to bring the best of our content to students in an experience that maintains the integrity of higher education learning to universities and colleges across the country.”
Said Bill Rieders, executive vice president, Global New Media at Cengage Learning: “Cengage Learning has long been delivering digital content to serve the needs of our customers. We are pleased to work with Kno to bring our innovative instructional solutions to students through this new device that is targeted to the academic market. We expect the beta program to be very informative as we work with the industry and partners to create superior learning experiences that will engage students.”
Said Bonnie Lieberman, senior vice president, higher education, John Wiley & Sons: “We’re excited to partner with Kno on its Student Beta Program to validate the effectiveness of digital content within the Kno device and platform. We share Kno’s goal of improving the learning process and student experience.”
blogtalkradio: TAA Podcast Series, "How Recent Changes in the Textbook Publishing Industry Could Affect Authors"
Listen to an interview with Michael Lennie, an attorney and literary agent with Lennie Literary & Authors' Attorney, about how recent and future changes in the textbook publishing industry, including e-book publishing, could affect authors.
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/textacademicpodcast
Interactive online textbook publisher seeks authors
Interactive online textbook publisher Amelox Incorporated (www.amelox.com) is looking for freelance online textbook, 'how-to' book, and instruction/technical manual writers on various subjects for its College Tutor series of digital instructional materials.
The company was founded in 1989 and entered the education market in 1993 with its first digital textbook, College Tutor for Real Estate Agents, in response to the need for help with the challenging community college course, "Real Estate Principles.”
Their second online textbook was the College Tutor for Real Estate Brokers and Mortgage Lenders. They have since produced an online textbook for a psychiatric mental health nursing course and three medical terminology courses for doctors, dentists, nurses and billing/insurance coders. They are currently working on offering online textbooks for algebra-3 and world history.
In addition to the online, interactive College Tutor textbook series, Amelox provides the infrastructure needs for teachers and their students with separate programs for exam generation, exam taking and evaluation, plus privileged communications between students and their teachers.
Amelox uses the latest online interactive textbook technology, ‘cloud computing,’ so that all their content resides on the web, and requires no software to install. Updates and revisions are automatic.
Amelox offers its authors generous royalty rates based on a book’s academic level and additional cash incentives for multimedia content upon completion. Authors can proofread and edit each topic in its final form as they complete their work.
“We pay on the upper range of the national average for academic writing,” says Amelox CEO Rolf Seebach.
Their royalty payments are adjusted to study levels: high school/vocational/general, community college, first two years college/university, last two years college/university, graduate school. The royalties, he said, are based on payments (less returns/adjustments, taxes and shipping fees) received from customers.
“Usually, textbook writing is a never-ending job,” says Seebach. “Students do not want to pay for a textbook that is two or three years old. Therefore, as soon as the first edition is completed the author has to start anew. The Amelox College Tutor eliminates this drudgery. Update some text; add a new page, spruce it up with multimedia and the job is done. These updates can be inserted within a month and appear for all students simultaneously, even in the middle of a semester.”
Online textbooks have several benefits over traditional print textbooks, he said:
- Sales of used books by school bookstores eat into profits. The bookstore makes money on the resale, while the publisher and author, receive nothing.
- Books are bought directly from previous students, with the money again completely bypassing the author and publisher.
- iTextbooks always remain new since revisions can be made on-the-fly. Amelox textbooks are operational for 175 days (one semester). The new user has to buy his/her own copy. If a student wants to share his purchase with another student he may, but the original total number of permitted usages and the time frame in which they can be used remains the same. “This kind of ‘sharing’ is good advertising and it is to be encouraged,” said Seebach.
- Backup copies are not required. Each user receives a unique product key that is used for very strong secure encryption.
- Free evaluation copies. Publishers are distributing large numbers of free evaluation copies to prospective teachers—often one copy for the professor, plus one extra copy for the teaching aid. “These free books do not earn any revenue for the publisher or for the author,” he said. “However, in most cases they are sold(!) at discount prices to students. Our evaluation copies are programmed for limited time use, say six to eight evaluation sessions, then they cease to function. Both, you the author and we the publisher, are protected from complimentary evaluation copies being resold in the used book market.”
To obtain a feel for what Amelox is doing with its copy protected College Tutor: http://www.amelox.com/jobs.htm
Intellectual property attorney Stephen Gillen joins Wood, Herron & Evans
Intellectual property attorney Stephen Gillen has joined Wood, Herron & Evans, L.L.P., in Cincinnati, Ohio. Wood, Herron & Evans is the Cincinnati region's largest intellectual property law firm with more than 50 attorneys.
Gillen, one of eight new attorneys recently hired to expand the company's Publishing and Media Practice, counsels clients in publishing and entertainment transactions and disputes, internet issues, advertising law, copyright law, copyrights, technology transfer, trade secrets and related matters.
He has written and spoken nationally on various publishing and copyright topics and teaches a course in Media Business and Law at the University of Cincinnati and a course in Electronic Media Law at the College Conservatory of Music. Gillen has also served as in-house counsel for South-Western Publishing Company, an educational publisher owned by Cengage.
Gillen is a TAA Council member and a frequent presenter at TAA annual conferences. He will be presenting a session at the 2010 TAA Conference on "Negotiating Publishing Contracts for Textbooks and Journal Articles" (click for session info). He will also be providing one-on-one mentoring to attendees.
He presented a TAA Teleconference in 2008, entitled, "Don't Settle for a Publisher's Standard Contract: Terms You Can and Should Negotiate." He has also written several articles for The Academic Author on the subjects of contracts, e-rights, copyright, and other intellectual property issues.
Custom, digital instructional materials may be end of TX, CA domination of K-12 textbooks
By Ellie Ashford
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Historians and educators are alarmed about new social studies standards approved by the Texas State Board of Education that attempt to incorporate a conservative ideology into public school classrooms. But even though Texas is a huge market for textbooks, and its standards tend to dominate the industry, that influence might be waning with the growth of more customized digital material and instructional materials.
The Texas board passed more than 300 amendments to the standards before voting 10-5 along party lines to adopt them on a preliminary basis. All the Republicans on the board voted in favor of the revised standards. The board will adopt final standards in May following a 30-day comment period.
Among the more controversial amendments approved by the board would de-emphasize the First Amendment’s mandate on the separation of church and state and drop Thomas Jefferson from a list of thinkers whose ideas formed the basis of the American democratic system adopted by the Founding Fathers.
The revised standards would emphasize the impact of government taxation and regulation in hampering private business; insert more material about conservative thinkers, such as the sociologist Robert Nesbit, and business leaders, such as the founders of Wal-Mart and Mary Kay; place a greater emphasis on the Second Amendment and the right to bear arms; and teach students about the communist infiltration of the U.S. government during the Cold War.
Conservative board member DonMcLeroy, who proposed many of the amendments that were approved, said they add balance to what he perceived as a liberal bias in the standards. Some of the amendments he pushed through call for teachers to address the civil rights leaders who supported violence, such as the Black Panthers, and to stress the unintended consequences of laws, such as affirmative action.
Efforts to put a greater emphasis on the Latino heroes of the Alamo, to include hip hop in the study of American culture, and teach students about institutional racism failed to pass.
It will take about three years for new textbooks conforming to the standards to make their way to classrooms. Once the standards are adopted, the Texas Education Agency will issue a proclamation for bids from textbook publishers, said TEA spokesperson DeEtta Culbertson.
A revised social studies curriculum incorporating the new standards will be implemented in schools at the start of the 2011-12 school year, Culbertson said. New textbooks will be adopted in 2012, and Texas school boards will purchase books for the 2013-14 school year.
Jay Diskey, executive director of the Association of American Publishers’ school division, declined to comment on the specifics in the Texas standards, noting that “individual publishers will decide whether to put out books to conform to those standards.”
Texas and California are the largest—and thus the most influential—among the 20 “adoption” states, where state officials review textbooks to determine whether they conform to state curriculum standards. In other states, textbook decisions are made by local school boards.
States have been asking for customized, digital materials aligned to state standards for the past five years, Diskey said, and “there’s a vast amount of digital material already available,” as well as huge amount of online content. He said school districts usually purchase materials in a mix of formats.
In California, state Senator Leland Yee of San Francisco, plans to introduce legislation aimed at preventing the state from adopting textbooks that incorporate the Texas standards. Yee is worried that if publishers revise their books to incorporate the Texas standards, there could be a “trickle-down effect on the California curriculum,” said Yee’s spokesperson, Adam Keigwin.
Keigwin said the most troubling aspects of the Texas standards are the de-emphasis of Latino culture “which is central to the history of Texas and California,” the use of Civil War generals as role models, and the de-emphasis of Thomas Jefferson, which he calls “mind-boggling.”
While Diskey doesn’t think other states will move in the direction taken by the Texas board, he notes that “Textbooks are one area where America’s cultural wars are played out.”
“The Texas Board of Education takes a very active role and often a political role,” adds textbook author Paul S. Boyer, a history professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. However, it’s not always conservatives who raise concerns about textbooks, he adds. Ethnic groups often demand that texts be revised to cover their issues, as well.
During the Texas Board of Education meeting, there was a lengthy discussion about an amendment offered by Mary Helen Berlaga to add information about the Tejano leaders who died at the Alamo alongside such well-known figures as Daniel Boone and Davey Crockett. All Texas students, not just the state’s more than 2 million Hispanic students, should know about Hispanics’ contributions to Texas history, she said.
Other board members argued that everyone who lost their lives in the siege of the Alamo were heroes, and in the end, the board adopted an amendment calling for history lessons to honor “the 189 heroes who gave their lives” during that battle.
Berlanga, who opposed many of the conservative amendments, expressed frustration with the board, noting, “We’ve not done justice to the civil rights movement.”
Another issue that sharply divided the board was an amendment, eventually approved, to replace the term “capitalism” with “free enterprise system.”
Board member Patricia Hardy urged the board to retain both terms. She said an economics professor on a working group said students need to know about both terms to be well-prepared for college.
Terri Leo, who supported the amendment to purge the term “capitalism,” countered that “I see no need frankly to compromise with liberal professors from academia. That’s part of the problem of how we end up with liberal and biased textbooks, because that’s who is writing them.”
When the board takes a final vote on the standards next month, Boyer thinks “some members may back off. . . . The board has gotten so much media attention and ridicule, on John Stewart’s program [The Daily Show], for example, that they’re feeling the heat.”
Berlanga says the board might put Jefferson back in the standards in response to the criticism but isn’t likely to change much else. She said state Sen. Juan Hinojosa is considering legislation to abolish the state board, and the Mexican-American caucus in the House “is monitoring the state board very carefully.”
Four board members, including three of the most conservative members, are lame ducks who will be off the board in January. McLeroy lost a primary election and will be replaced with a more moderate Republican.
Boyer said his textbook, The American Nation, is currently used in Texas schools but is being phased out by the publisher, Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, so he won’t have to be involved with revising it conform to the new standards. “I am relieved not to have to confront that decision,” he said.
Joyce Appleby, the author of The American Journey, published by McGraw-Hill/Glencoe, said if her book is revised to comply with the standards, “I want my name taken off.”
“When you’re promoting a particular ideology, it’s no longer historical scholarship. You’re turning it into an ideological version of the past,” Appleby said.
History education should not just be about adding names of people worth studying, said Fritz Fischer, chairman of the National Council for History Education. “History is about problems; it’s about thinking; it’s about questioning and inquiry.” If the standards are adopted, he hopes teachers in Texas will “rely less on textbooks and introduce students to primary sources and things they can find online.”
Joy Hakim, who wrote a series of books, The History of US, published by Oxford University Press for the K-12 market, said the arguments over the Texas standards are misplaced. The real issue for Hakim is that “the books kids get in school are horrendous. They are boring and dismal."
It’s become so competitive to sell books to a large district like Houston or Austin, said Hakim, "that there’s a tremendous incentive for publishers to do everything possible to ensure there is nothing offensive in their books. We shouldn’t have any books in schools that aren’t good enough to sell in a bookstore. History should be every kids’ favorite subject. It’s all about real heroes and real villains.”
2010 TAA Conference attendees will receive free book on Google Settlement
All 2010 TAA Conference attendees will receive a complimentary copy of The Authors Guild, AAP, Google Settlement Seminar Series, from the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC).
The 110-page book contains transcripts from six of CCC's special educational series of interviews, seminars and presentations on the latest developments in the proposed class action settlement between Google, the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers, presented from April 2009 to February 2010, featuring Lois Wasoff, Esq.
Christopher Kenneally, director of author relations for CCC, will be co-presenting a session at the 2010 TAA Conference with attorney Stephen E. Gillen, entitled, "Google Settlement: Where It Stands, What It Means For You."
Contributing Member Al Trujillo
TAA thanks Contributing Member Al Trujillo.
Sustaining Member James Kalat
TAA thanks Sustaining Member James Kalat.
New TAA Chapter guidelines
TAA recently revised its chapter program. The new program offers chapters the opportunity to apply for a grant of up to $500 to cover the cost of purchasing books, software or other resources, or the cost of bringing in a speaker or workshop presenter. Learn more about TAA's new chapter guidelines here. To start a TAA Chapter on your campus or in your region, or to add a TAA Chapter to your existing organization's membership benefits, contact Kim Pawlak, Associate Executive Director, at kim.pawlak@taaonline.net or (608) 687-3106.
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How-to Article: Five strategies for successful report and essay writing
by Dr. Kathleen P. King
Many people struggle greatly with writing reports and essays. From developing topics, to conducting research, to formulating their non-fiction documents, the process of writing reports and essays can be such an unwelcome task that some people consider it a cruel punishment. Click for rest of article
Sustaining Member Richard Hull
TAA thanks Sustaining Member Richard Hull.
Veltri awarded $750 TAA Publication Grant
 Barbara Veltri, Ed.D. |
Barbara Veltri, Ed.D., assistant professor in the College of Education at Northern Arizona University, has been awarded a $750 grant from to TAA to cover graphic design, photographic, and editing costs for her new academic book, Learning on Other People's Kids: Becoming a Teach for America Teacher, published by Information Age Publishing (Charlotte, NC) in 2010.
"I am so grateful for this grant!" said Veltri. "I am a junior faculty member in a state that has faced fiscal emergency since I arrived nearly four years ago. Not only was my salary flat (no raises) but all faculty and staff were impacted by mandatory furlough which means that my salary was actually reduced. The TAA grant provided me with a light at the end of the financial tunnel."
Veltri said she heard about the grant in The Academic Author (which she said she reads "cover to cover"), and noted that TAA's grant was something that she could apply for as the expenses related to the manuscript's editing, graphic design, chart formatting and layout fees mounted, but not before and during the process of writing. "So I kept a folder labeled 'TAA grant,' filled in the online form, renewed my TAA membership and kept writing!," she said.
TAA members can apply for a Publication Grant of up to $750 to cover the cost of publishing already accepted journal articles, or for the preparation of artwork or other charts, diagrams or images to be included in accepted articles or academic books. (Click for more info on grants)
"Public Education has offered hope and the leg up to a better life for millions of children of the poor over the last century, " said Veltri. "At this time, public schools and teachers are at-risk. This work presents the voices of Teach For America corps members who are teaching in classrooms in high poverty regions across the United States. Its intended audience are all stakeholders from parents to politicians to corporate sponsors who will learn about the process of Becoming A Teach For America Teacher, as it raises questions and integrates both narratives and scholarly references to inform readers."
Said TAA Executive Director Richard Hull: "It pleases us that TAA is able to assist this scholar in bringing the results of her research to the academic public, and to those involved in the Teach for America project."
Veltri began her career as an uncertified teacher in The Bronx, New York and has taught in all five social class settings (1% elite -underclass, Anyon, 2005) over her career that spans three decades. She has instructed pre-service and practicing teachers as a member of the faculties of Manhattanville College (Purchase, New York), Arizona State University (Tempe, Arizona), The University of Texas at Arlington, and Northern Arizona University (Flagstaff).
Sustaining Member Frederick K. Lutgens
TAA thanks Sustaining Member Frederick K. Lutgens.
Busy TAA People: Doug Eadie
TAA member Doug Eadie's newest book, The Blind Visionary, has been named as one of four Finalists in the Motivational Category by the 2010 Next Generation Indie Book Awards. The book will be featured along with other Finalists at BookExpo America, the largest book show in North America, in New York City, May 25-27. The Blind Visionary has also been chosen as the featured book at the second largest publishing event in the US, the Miami Book Fair International, which will be held in November. View videos related to The Blind Visionary on YouTube and at www.TheBlindVisionary.com.
Sustaining Member Allyn J. Washington
TAA thanks Sustaining Member Allyn J. Washington.
Message from Executive Director: Looking back, looking ahead
From The Academic Author, May 2010 issue
 TAA Executive Director Richard T. Hull |
This June's conference will be my sixth since joining TAA as its executive director.
I have been gratified at the growth of the organization. We have recently modified a useful gift membership program that allows members to name colleagues they think would benefit from membership, and give an introductory membership at a modest cost, without fear that their gifts won't be used.
TAA has added several workshop presenters, the popular teleconference program, returned to monthly newsletter publications during the academic year, diversified its Council and Foundation board membership, negotiated partnerships with several university faculty groups and one national organization, instituted regular electronic news alerts, and created parallel listservs where academics and text authors can share problems and solutions. We have been able to attract and retain excellent staff and utilize their skills to members' benefit. We have archived teleconference and conference material online.
As a result mostly of the workshops and the gift memberships during the past 5 years, membership has doubled, and retention is improving.
We now look forward to the next five years, and I invite members to send their suggestions for TAA's future. Are there other services we should be providing? How can we attract more text authors? What can we do to make remaining in the organization attractive to first year members? What do we need to do to make our Council more representative of members' interests?
These are the issues with which we must deal as we forge our next strategic plan.
This is a member organization. You are invited to participate in that discussion, to make TAA what you would value most!
Richard Hull,
TAA Executive Director
Richard.Hull@taaonline.net
Sustaining Member: James Lockard
TAA thanks Sustaining Member James Lockard.
TAA announces 2010 Council election results
 Mary Kay Switzer, Vice President |
Mary Kay Switzer has been elected TAA vice president/president-elect. Switzer will serve a two-year term as vice president beginning July 1.
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Dear TAA Members:
Tony Claus is a professional musician. He is originally from Croatia. His mother was Hungarian. So both languages were spoken in his home. When Tony was a youngster, his family fled from the Communists and moved to Germany. Where he learned yet another language. Then he came to America and moved to California. The firemen told us that if Tony had not shut off my gas and electric and put out the fire, we all would have been blown up. So I owe much to Mr. Claus. When I asked him how he reacted so competently, he said that he is a veteran of the U.S. Army and that training has sustained him in many ways. I am grateful to the members of TAA. With their support and the TAA Council, TAA will continue to grow and flourish. I feel privileged to represent TAA as the vice president of the TAA Council. And I look forward to serving TAA. Right now, however, I am in the midst of getting my house fixed so that I can move out of a motel. (Even though it is nice to have personal daily maid service!!!!) My home computer is finally working, but California has had an unusual cold spell (35 and 40 degree temperatures), so I must type with gloves on since I have no heat in my house. And my phone lines were all burned up, too. But I am alive!!!! And that covers a lot!!! My best to the TAA membership. Onward and upward!!!! I look forward to seeing you all in Minneapolis this summer!!!! Sincerely, |
 Nancy Volkman, Treasurer |
TAA Council member Nancy Volkman has been elected TAA Treasurer. Volkman, an associate professor in the department of landscape architecture and urban planning at Texas A&M University, will serve a two-year term beginning July 1.
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 Janet Belsky, Council Member  Scott Boyd, Council Member |
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Krausz awarded $750 TAA Publication Grant
 Michael Krausz |
Michael Krausz, professor of philosophy at Bryn Mawr College, has been awarded a $750 grant from to TAA to cover editorial services for his book, Dialogues on Relativism, Absolutism and Beyond: Four Days in India, which will be published by Roman and Littlefield in 2011.
"I'm delighted to have received a TAA Publication Grant," said Krausz."It will allow me to hire an excellent copy editor to polish my manuscript."
TAA members can apply for a Publication Grant of up to $750 to cover the cost of publishing already accepted journal articles, or for the preparation of artwork or other charts, diagrams or images to be included in accepted articles or academic books. (Click for more info on grants)
In his short book, Krausz provides lively exchanges between four hypothetical persons who represent distinct views about relativism and its opposite, absolutism. While relativist Ronnie and absolutist Adam confront each other, Barbara offers compromises between them. In turn, Nina rejects both relativism and absolutism in favor of mysticism. She affirms that what ultimately exists cannot be captured by any language. In so doing she places the relativism-absolutism debate in the context of a Vedantic Hindu conception of self-realization. Their discussions over four days take place in India, which occasions many Indian examples.
Here are questions over which Ronnie, Adam, Barbara and Nina disagree: Are there facts of the matter independent of reference frames? How do relativists and absolutists understand the idea of the world and its objects? What is the relation between relativism and absolutism on the one hand, and realism, universalism and foundationalism on the other hand? How do relativism and absolutism apply in the cultural and natural worlds?
Relativism is characteristically defined as the dual thesis that truth, goodness, or beauty, for example, are relative—relative to some frame of reference, and no absolute standards to adjudicate between competing reference frames exist. This volume should be of special interest to students of philosophy and to the general public.
Krausz is the Milton C. Nahm Professor of Philosophy at Bryn Mawr College. Trained at the Universities of Toronto and Oxford, he has been visiting professor at Georgetown University, Oxford University, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, American University in Cairo, University of Nairobi, Indian Institute of Advanced Study, University of Ulm, and others. Krausz is the author of Rightness and Reasons: Interpretation in Cultural Practices (Cornell University Press), 1993; Varieties of Relativism, with Rom Harré (Basil Blackwell Publishers), 1995; Limits of Rightness(Rowman & Littlefield Publishers), 2000; and Interpretation and Transformation: Explorations in Art and the Self (Rodopi Publishers), 2006.
He is also contributing editor of Critical Essays on the Philosophy of R. G. Collingwood (Clarendon Press, Oxford), 1972; Relativism: Interpretation and Confrontation (Notre Dame University Press), 1989; The Interpretation of Philosophical Essays (Clarendon Press, Oxford), 1993; Is There a Single Right Interpretation? (Pennsylvania State University Press), 2002; and Relativism: A Compendium (Columbia University Press, in production). Krausz is contributing co-editor of The Concept of Creativity in Science and Art (Nijhoff Publishers), 1981; Relativism: Cognitive and Moral (Notre Dame University Press), 1984; Rationality, Relativism and the Human Sciences (Nijhoff Publishers), 1986; Jewish Identity (Temple University Press), 1993; Interpretation, Relativism and the Metaphysics of Culture (Humanity Press), 1999; and The Idea of Creativity (Brill Publishers, in production). Krausz is the co-founder and former Chair of the thirteen-institution Greater Philadelphia Philosophy Consortium.
In 1997 Krausz was awarded the Hans Kupczyk Prize from the University of Ulm. In 2001 the University of Delhi sponsored a four-day international conference on his philosophical work. In 2003 a festschrift dedicated to Krausz's work, entitled Interpretation and Its Objects: Studies in the Philosophy of Michael Krausz, was edited by Andreea Deciu Ritivoi and published by Rodopi Publishers.
Listen to recording of Apr. 20 TAA teleconference on writing, procrastination and resistance
Listen to a recording of the April 20 TAA Teleconference "Writing, Procrastination and Resistance: How to Identify Your Funk and Move Through It," presented by Kerry Ann Rockquemore, a speaker in the field of faculty development and leadership, and author of The Black Academic’s Guide to Winning Tenure Without Losing Your Soul. Recordings are free for members. Non-members pay $69 for each recording. Listen to this teleconference
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