book authors

Sir Sidney Poitier became a cultural icon in the 1950s as the first black actor to break racial barriers in film. But as art and art history professor Sharon Willis argues in her new book, his image on screen creates a false sense of equality that continues to appear in the popular media and remains damaging to race relations today.

Izzeldin Abuelaish, who is currently an assistant professor at the University of Toronto, is the author of I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor’s Journey on the Road to Peace and Human Dignity.

Eastman Studies in Music seriesWith the recent publication of its 100th title, the Eastman Studies in Music series shows great breadth in an era of increasing musical specialization.

In a new book, Our Work Is But Begun: A History of the University of Rochester, 1850–2005, author Janice Bullard Pieterse traces the growth of the University of Rochester from a small undergraduate program in 1850 to a leading research university and engine for regional economic growth.

As a child, professor and noted author Joanna Scott played with figurines collected by her great-grandfather, Armand de Potter. After unearthing a trunk filled with diaries and documents, Scott realized her great-grandfather wasn’t the man he seemed. This disquieting discovery became the basis for her new novel, De Potter’s Grand Tour.

Tough economic times can bring out the worst in people, especially when you mix in family, desperation, and the drive to get ahead in business. This is one of the messages in Bluff City Pawn by professor Stephen Schottenfeld.

You will find no references to St. Anne in the New Testament. And yet, from the early 15th to early 16th centuries, the apocryphal mother of the Virgin Mary was a subject of great veneration by women of all social ranks, especially among royalty. In his new book, Michael Alan Anderson, associate professor of musicology at the Eastman School, examines how this devotion was expressed in the music of this time period.

Films like This is Spinal Tap have built large followings around their use of awkward and cringeworthy comedy. But according to Jason Middleton, assistant professor of English and director of the film and media studies program, the use of staged “awkwardness” extends far beyond the domain of contemporary popular culture and into the earliest days of filmmaking.

Johanna Skibsrud's debut novel, The Sentimentalists, won Canada's most prestigious literary award in 2010.

Anthony Giardina, an author and playwright, presents the Neilly Lecture, "The Novelist and the Historical Imagination."