ShelfLife@Texas

University of Texas at Austin faculty and alumni authors will share their expertise on topics ranging from the fate of Savannah during the Civil War, to mapping a career path, to the culture of Texas barbecue at the 2009 Texas Book Festival Oct. 31-Nov. 1 at the Texas Capitol and surrounding areas.

More than 200 writers will showcase their books, including a host of authors from our university. Some of the presenters include:

Author: Jeffrey Abramson, professor of law and government
Book: “Minerva’s Owl:
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In this anthology of radical children’s literature, Julia Mickenberg, associate professor of American studies, and co-editor Philip Nel, collected 43 mostly out-of-print stories, poems, comic strips and primers, that embody the traditions of 20th-century leftists who encouraged kids to question authority.

The result, “Tales for Little Rebels: A Collection of Radical Children’s Literature” (NYU Press, 2008) offers a portrait of many progressive concerns of the 20th century, including labor and civil rights, gender equality, and the environment, through the lens of
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Did you know the first person to play the role of Tinker Bell in live performances at Disneyland was a 70-year-old Hungarian Jewish immigrant burlesque dancer?

Dangling from a harness attached to a wire at the top of the 146-foot Matterhorn, the 4-foot-10-inch woman slid 784 feet to Sleeping Beauty’s castle, where she initiated the park’s nightly fireworks display.

This remarkably agile woman was Tiny Kline, and her life story provides a fascinating window into U.S. popular culture during the 20th century,
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November is a time of year when popular culture often revisits stereotypes about American Indians via mythologized depictions of the first thanksgiving in the New World. However, the historical facts don’t always match the picture painted in elementary school celebrations.

Scholars at The University of Texas at Austin whose research overturns these stereotypes include Steven Hoelscher, chair of the Department of American Studies, and Erika Bsumek, assistant professor of history.

Both of these faculty members have new books out this fall
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