CLA Books & Albums

Born in 1967 to an Algerian father and a Breton mother, Nina Bouraoui grew up between France and Algeria. Her first book, “La Voyeuse interdite,” marked the beginning of a long literary career. Her writing, fluid and poetic, touches on the quest for self-discovery and the confrontation with family and historical legacies. The twelve essays collected in this book are the result of a collaboration between international scholars, specialists in Francophone literature, psychoanalysis, literary theory, genre theory, and philosophy. They approach Bouraoui’s work from a variety of perspectives, in all its richness and complexity, offering new avenues for reflection.

Informed by intersectional feminist and antiracist theories, the authors present collaborative performance case studies, ranging from interventions into local histories of oppression to creative protest of campus and cultural practices, to staged interruptions of social discourses and representational systems that perpetuate structural inequalities. Illustrating the multiple possibilities of performance, the book offers adaptable tools, evocative stories, and examples from diverse bodies of work.

For more than a century, the Spelman College Glee Club has been a beacon of musical excellence and cultural preservation. This commemorative photo book brings the glee club’s legacy to life – tracing the harmony of its history and the visionary leadership of its directors through archival images, historical context, and personal reflections from alumnae. “Amaze and Inspire” is more than a tribute to the glee club’s past; it is a celebration of a continuing resonance of sisterhood, scholarship, and song that transcends time.

The monograph focuses on educational reform based in part on the introduction of legal ideas and legal reasoning into each young student’s curricular experience. The argument draws on a range of disciplines – law, philosophy, ethics, sociology, psychology, and educational and child development theory – to make a case for the potential of law learning as a civic and character education and offers historical and comparative educational examples to show what is possible.

“Ohio Planning and Zoning Law” is the only comprehensive treatise on Ohio land use controls and related planning and economic development issues. It offers a step-by-step guide to Ohio’s permit process as well as in-depth analysis of state legislation governing planning, economic development, and affordable housing. The text emphasizes Ohio statutes and caselaw, along with significant decisions from other state and federal courts. The Ohio Supreme Court cited this title as persuasive authority when it reversed a prior decision based on analysis provided in this handbook; and the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals also recently cited this work.

In “Planning White Supremacy,” Becki Retzlaff reveals how urban planning decisions systematically targeted Black neighborhoods, reinforcing racial inequality under the guise of modernization. With historical depth and critical insight, “Planning White Supremacy” situates Montgomery within the broader context of American urban history – offering a vital perspective on the intersection of race, space, and power. Essential for scholars of urban planning, history, and racial justice, this book also provides urgent insight into how these legacies continue to shape cities and Black socioeconomic opportunities today.

“Document Design” introduces students to the basic principles and theories of design, combining practical advice about the design process with a foundation in visual rhetoric and usability. Most books on document design lean toward either theory or practice. This book offers a balanced approach – theoretically informed practice – that introduces a working vocabulary to help students become reflective practitioners, able not only to create effective designs but also to explain why and how they made their design choices. Students will learn to negotiate between the needs of both users and clients to consider the nuances of audience, purpose, and context.

Featuring specially commissioned chapters from scholars and practitioners across the field, this handbook serves as a touchstone for those who wish to do ethical technical and professional communication in its myriad forms. Offering an overview of what “ethics” in technical and professional communication looks like, what “being ethical” entails, and what it means to “do ethical work,” this handbook is divided into five interrelated parts and an afterword. The first of its kind, this accessibly written handbook explores descriptive, normative, applied, and meta-ethics.

“Nahua Horizons: Writing, Persuasion, and Futurities in Colonial Mexico” investigates how Aztecs and other Nahua groups envisioned their futures in the colonial period. Stear delves deeply into canonical manuscripts and understudied pictorial texts. The study explains specific plans Nahuas made regarding their self-governance, construction projects, healing practices, strategic diplomacy, and the education of the young. This study challenges the notion that the Spanish erased Nahua culture. The book shows how people kept sovereignty over the futures they envisioned for themselves and their communities.