New Books: Spring 2025

Performing Parenthood: Non-Normative Fathers and Mothers in Spanish Narrative and Film (University of Toronto Press) by L&L Associate Professor of Spanish Heather Jerónimo is a study of representations of family roles in twentieth- and twenty-first-century Spain. Drawing on examples from literature and film, Performing Parenthood explores the multiplicity within non-normative familial constructions in Spain. The book establishes a unique dialogue that will expand the conversation about the Spanish family beyond the traditional view, bringing visibility to alternative family models. It argues that parental identities exist on a spectrum, enabling many parental figures to disregard heteronormative standards imposed upon the role and allowing them to experience parenthood in meaningful ways. Bringing visibility to literary and cinematic examples of alternative Spanish families, Performing Parenthood provides a glimpse into an evolving society influenced by national and global changes.

Reading and Writing Place: Connecting Rural Schools and Communities (Rowen & Littlefield) by L&L Assistant Professor of English Erika L. Bass and Amy Price Azano is a study of place-based education. Bass and Azano suggest there is a need to add nuance to the ways we consider and engage with place in the classroom. Using a narrative writing project completed with two rural schools in two states, the authors provide an explanation of critical placed education and how students' explorations of place through writing led the authors to develop a concept of place (Big "P" and small "p" place). Students' explorations of place highlighted the how internalizations and externalizations of place impact identity formation and sense of belonging.

Country People (Final Thursday Press) by Ruth Suckow is a centenary edition of the classic Iowa novel edited by L&L English Professor Julie Husband and Department Head Jim O’Loughlin. With the 1924 publication of Country People, Ruth Suckow established herself as one of the early 20th century’s premier chroniclers of American rural life. This edition includes the complete text of the original novel as well as a new critical introduction that looks back on Country People and its place within the canon of midwestern literature. This centenary edition also includes a cover illustration of “Young Corn,” by Grant Wood, who was a friend of Suckow’s but whose work has not accompanied her writing until now.