In this essay, we review and comment on three books that focus on language, literacy, and visual and cultural communication: "English as a Local Language: Post-Colonial Identities and Multilingual Practices" by Christina Higgins; "Literacy and Power" by Hilary Janks; and "South African Visual Culture," edited by…

To look at Maxine Hong Kingston's novel "China Men" for its mythic aspects is to overlook the fact that it is a novel about work and class. It condemns a patriarchal capitalist world that exploits both male and female workers and dissects the gender and race issues uncovered by such exploitation. (SLD)

Reviews the following books; "Resisting Linguistic Imperialism in English Teaching" by A. Suresh Canagarajah; "Rights to Language: Equity, Power, and Education" by Robert Phillipson; and "Critical Applied Linguistics: A Critical Introduction" by Alastair Pennycook. Each book is appraised and an attempt is made to draw connections between them.…

Reviews "Writing the Rural," five "cultural geographies" by Paul Cloke, Marcus Doel, David Matless, Martin Phillips, and Nigel Thrift that focus on proliferating meanings of "rural" and on understanding the "rural" as something fashioned by both rural residents and various outside actors. Highlights the…

Paule Marshall focuses on the web of relations that constitute humanity. Women characters are central to this novel. Although race may affect what they do, it does not stop them from trying to do it. How race and class affect power exercised by women is discussed. (SLD)

Reviews eight European histories by Dorothy O. Helly, Ed., and Susan M. Reverby, Ed. (1992); Joy Wiltenburg (1992); Margaret L. King (1991); Joan DeJean (1991); Jacques Gelis (1991); Barbara Duden (1991); Jane Lewis (1991); and Sheila Rowbotham (1989). This sampling shows women's historians use an interdisciplinary approach and consistently deal…

Reviews an anthology that provides undergraduate and graduate students with theoretical and practical discussion on various ideological convictions in the fields of multiculturalism and bilingual education. Discusses theoretical conflicts and ideologies affecting the field of multiculturalism, and the more immediate effects of politics on teaching…

Maintains that Gallas' book exemplifies her talent for and commitment to teacher research and that it richly documents students' social worlds. Asserts that two aspects of the investigation are problematic: the use of a male/female polarity that sometimes reifies stereotypes, and the consistent disavowal of racism in children. (Author/KB)

Reviews "Education and Democratic Theory: Finding a Place for Community Participation in Public School Reform" (A. Belden Fields and Walter Feinberg) and "The Color of School Reform: Race, Politics, and the Challenge of Urban Education" (J. Henig, R. Hula, M. Orr, and D. Pedescleaux). Both books examine the political aspects of…

Reviews "Preparing School Administrators for Democratic Authority" by Richard A. Quantz et al. Discusses preparing administrators to be more reflective of the moral implications of their practice, making the link between theory and practice more informed and deliberate. Describes the master's program for principals at Trinity University…

Mike Davis's book presents a history and current sociology of Los Angeles from a socialist perspective, arguing that inequalities in the distribution of power and wealth underlie the area's serious, growing problems: ethnic fear and discrimination, social disinvestment and withdrawal by the "haves," and an epidemic of youth violence. (SV)

These books are, in many ways, companion volumes addressed to educators working on curricular issues and educational reform. Both consider how postmodernism, feminism, and cultural studies contribute to contemporary educational theory and social criticism. The authors make a convincing case for critical "border pedagogy" that examines…

Pepi Leistyna's book "Presence of Mind" discusses how schools of education deter teachers from understanding the world's complex political, historical, social, and economic realities. Educators must develop what C. Wright Mills called the "sociological imagination." Developing critical consciousness and varied, multicultural…

Reviews essays by Raymond Williams, which explain how, within the context of a 150-year literary history, rural stereotypes have been constructed and imbedded within a collective consciousness by a form of cultural colonization. Suggests that Williams' insights can help rural education researchers think outside the conventional wisdom that…

Reviews "The Politics of School Reform 1870-1940" by Paul Peterson, and "Power and the Promise of School Reform: Grassroots Movements During the Progressive Era" by William J. Reese. Notes that these two studies serve to bring politics, and political variables, back into the debate over educational policymaking, but are…