Trisha R. Thomas: The Nappily Series

Trisha R. Thomas, author of the Nappily Series, will speak about her work on Tuesday, November 5, 7-8pm in Hall of Letters #100.

A screening of the recently released Nappily Ever After, the romcom based on Thomas's novel, will take place on Monday, November 4, 7-8pm in Hall of Letters #100.

Two nights of romantic comedy! (Move over Hallmark Channel.)

Thomas combines romantic comedy with the empowerment of a Black woman claiming her beauty in a culture that has centered Western European (eurocentric) beauty ideals. When first published Nappily Ever After caused controversy for the use of the term nappy: "I remember when Nappy Hair came out and the controversy and the anger that was felt, and it was frightening." 

For your interest, books from our collection on Black beauty in the context of the United States:

Shange, Ntozake. For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide, When the Rainbow Is Enuf : a Choreopoem . New York: MacMillan, 1977.

Craig, Maxine Leeds. Ain’t I a Beauty Queen? : Black Women, Beauty, and the Politics of Race. Oxford ;: Oxford University Press, 2002.

Banks, Ingrid. Hair Matters : Beauty, Power, and Black Women’s Consciousness . New York: New York University Press, 2000.

Hobson, Janell. Venus in the Dark : Blackness and Beauty in Popular Culture. New York: Routledge, 2005.

Redlands Experiences: Archival Materials

As we go about our days as students, faculty members or staff at Redlands, we are part of a continuum of people who have done similar things since the inception of our University, over 100 years ago. Each individual who has had a Redlands experience is a part of the collective story of our institution. Everyone comes from a different background, and brings their own perspective to the mix. That is what makes our story rich, and diverse.

Have you ever wondered what it was like to be a student at Redlands in a different era? What might students now and students in the 1930s have in common? How might their campus experiences be different? Recently, the archives of Armacost Library received a wonderful donation of photographic images taken by student Helen Frances Woodard, in the 1930s. In each photo, we see what Woodard’s perspective was. They act as a small window into the past, revealing a few clues that might help us explore these questions of similarity and difference more closely.

Woodard made these diminutive photos with a box camera. Many simple box cameras of the 1930s did not have a source of additional light like an internal flash mechanism, so taking photos outdoors, or in a very well lit indoor space yielded the best images. The images taken went on film inside the camera. The film went to a developing house, or people could develop the film themselves and print the photos out on paper, with a relatively simple system of chemicals and equipment. Think how we capture images with current technology, and compare it to what Woodard did. There is quite a difference!

Now, examine the images for yourself, and compare them to similar views you see each day on campus. Reflecting on the experiences of others can help us clarify our own, and give insight into the continuum, of which we are an important part. As you take selfies or post images to Instragram of SnapChat, take a few and print them out, so they will be around for future generations to enjoy, just as we are enjoying Woodard’s snaps.


Michele Nielsen
Armacost Library, Archivist Historian

Filipino Americans

Image from Cora Cooks Pancit 

Lazo Gilmore, Dorina K., and Valiant, Kristi. Cora Cooks Pancit. Walnut Creek, CA: Shen’s Books, 2009.

Juvenile Collection PS 3612 .A9857 C67 2009

Bulosan, Carlos. America Is in the Heart: a Personal History. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1992.

General Collection PR 9550.9 .B8 A8 1991

Aroy, Marissa et al. The Delano Manongs: Forgotten Heroes of the United Farm Workers Movement. New York, NY: Media Factory, 2014.

Front Desk: DVDs HD 5325 .A29 D45 2014

 

 

Cherry, Stephen. Faith, Family, and Filipino American Community Life. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 2014.

General Collection BX 1407 .F55 C44 2014

 

See, Sarita Echavez. The Decolonized Eye: Filipino American Art and Performance. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2009.

General Collection NX 512.3 .F55 S44 2009

Ocampo, Anthony Christian. The Latinos of Asia: How Filipino Americans Break the Rules of Race. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 2016.

General Collection F 869 .L89 F47 2016

Ciria Cruz, Rene, et al. A Time to Rise: Collective Memoirs of the Union of Democratic Filipinos (KDP). Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2017.

Available Online

Collection Highlights: Graphic Novels

Graphic novels are currently being highlighted on the new book table in the Armacost Library. The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) defines "graphic novel" as "a full-length (esp. science fiction or fantasy) story published as a book in comic-strip format." OED identifies Richard Kyle as the first user of this term, in a 1964 newsletter for comics fans, Capa-Alpha, published by the Comics Amateur Press Association. Kyle explains that the term "graphic novel" refers to "serious writing" for an "older audience." And that a move away from the term "comic books" will aid the "acceptance of the medium by the literary world."

Image Credit: Trisha Aurelio

The graphic novels currently on display indicate the range of content available in this format. While OED puts an emphasis on science fiction and fantasy genres, Armacost Library's collection is more varied, featuring nonfiction, especially biographical and historical graphic novels, and realistic fiction.

Some nonfiction offerings currently on the table include Tales from La Vida: A Latinx Comics Anthology, edited by Frederick Luis Aldama, and The Best We Could Do: An Illustrated Memoir by Thi Bui.

  

Aldama's anthology includes biographical stories on Latinx identities and experiences. Bui's graphic novel tells the story of her family's departure from war-torn Vietnam and subsequent immigration to the United States.

More traditional graphic novels on the new book table this week include Deadly Class, written by Rick Remender and illustrated by Wesley Craig. Remender's work follows a group of students training to be assassins at a secret high school. Deadly Class has been adapted to a television series available on Netflix.

Additionally, Ms. Marvel, written by G. Willow Wilson and illustrated by Adrian Alphona features super-heroine Kamala Khan, a Muslim American teen who grapples with her burgeoning superpowers and familial expectations.

Happy reading!

Collection Highlights: Japanese Manga

In the stacks of Armacost Library you might run across some classics of Japanese manga
(漫画; 漫 "man" translates as "whimsical" or "involuntary" and 画 "ga" translates to "picture"). Though this post does not delve into the history of manga or its impact as a cultural phenomenon, the following books serve as great introductions should you wish to learn more:

Manga: Sixty years of Japanese comics

Japanese visual culture: Explorations in the world of manga and anime

Drawing on tradition: Manga, anime, and religion in contemporary Japan

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind may be the most whimsical manga in our collection, created over several years (1982-1994) by Hayao Miyazaki of Studio Ghibli (Kiki's Delivery Service, Howl's Moving Castle, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, etc.). It takes place in a post-apocalyptic, polluted world. Nausicaä, princess of the Valley of the Wind, navigates tensions between two other kingdoms, poisonous forests, and giant insect beings (who are feared and misunderstood). Soaring through the air on her personal glider, with bucolic vistas below, and her pet (Teto) which looks like a cross between a mini-tiger/squirrel/rat, you experience the kind of good-feeling fantasy with life-relevant themes that Miyazaki is known for. 

Another manga classic in our collection is Katsuhiro Otomo's Akira, a science fiction series that takes place in Neo-Tokyo after World War III, where biker gangs and rebel groups fight for control. A secret government program involving experiments on children to awaken telekinetic, superhuman powers underpins this manga. Kaneda and Tetsuo, childhood friends, become at-odds with each other when Tetsuo's unpredictable psychic powers are awakened, and he becomes a threat to the future of Neo-Tokyo. Themes of transformation, alienation, and societal pressures abound, across all six volumes of this cyberpunk landscape. 

Sci-fi and fantasy not your thing? Browse the stacks around these two titles and you will find other gems not discussed in this post. Such as Barefoot Gen: A cartoon story of Hiroshima by Keiji Nakazawa, and Yoshihiro Tatsumi's dark and gritty short tales found in The push man and other stories.