Social Imagination

Faites la connaissance de filles très différentes qui ont toutes un point commun : Elles sont fortes, sûres d'elles et se battent pour se faire une place dans le monde avec une énergie enchanteresse ! Toutes les jeunes filles en ont fait l'expérience : une nouvelle classe, des soucis de notes ou des ennuis avec les parents, et hop, ils sont là - les peurs et les doutes qui se mettent en travers du chemin de la petite super-héroïne.

For more than 200 often turbulent years, Americans have imagined and described Cuba and its relationship to the United States by conjuring up a variety of striking images - Cuba as a woman, a neighbor, a ripe fruit, a child learning to ride a bicycle. One of the foremost historians of Cuba, Louis A. Perez Jr. offers a revealing history of these metaphorical and depictive motifs and discovers the powerful motives behind such characterizations of the island.

In this highly original book, Russell Blackford discusses the intersection of science fiction and humanity’s moral imagination. With the rise of science and technology in the 19th century, and our continually improving understanding of the cosmos, writers and thinkers soon began to imagine futures greatly different from the present. Science fiction was born out of the realization that future techno-scientific advances could dramatically change the world.

Our hero Luca is back for the second leg of the Race to Imagination Island! This time, our plucky Racers create team mascots to help them with the three challenges they must overcome: crossing a canyon full of tricks and traps, passing through a kingdom of evil icy-blue fairies, and quite literally pulling the plug out of the ocean.

Kojo Koram traces the tale of how, after the end of the British empire, an interconnected group of well-heeled British intellectuals, politicians, accountants and lawyers offshored their capital, seized assets and saddled debt in former 'dependencies'. This enabled horrific inequality across the globe, as ruthless capitalists profited and ordinary people across Britain's former territories in colonial Africa, Asia and the Caribbean were trapped in poverty.

Josh Swensen (otherwise known as Larry) can't seem to get off the couch. His usual overactive imagination and save-the-world mindset have all but vanished, and his best friend Beth is seriously worried. When Beth coaxes Josh into taking a walk at Walden Pond, Josh meets Gus Muldarian, a spiritual guru who convinces him to join his study group as a way to find deeper meaning in life. Josh thinks Gus is a joke. Still, feeling desperate and seeing no way out of his rut, he agrees to try it.

The legislative attack on public sector unionism that gave rise to the uproar in Wisconsin and other union strongholds in 2011 was not just a reaction to the contemporary economic difficulties faced by the government. Rather, it was the result of a longstanding political and ideological hostility to the very idea of trade unionism put forward by a conservative movement whose roots go as far back as the Haymarket Riot of 1886. The controversy in Madison and other state capitals reveals that labor's status and power has always been at the core of American conservatism.

Kelley unearths freedom dreams in this exciting history of renegade intellectuals and artists of the African diaspora in the 20th century. Focusing on the visions of activists from C. L. R. James to Aime Cesaire and Malcolm X, Kelley writes of the hope that Communism offered, the mindscapes of Surrealism, the transformative potential of radical feminism, and of the 400-year-old dream of reparations for slavery and Jim Crow.

Rooted in rhythm-and-blues pioneered by black musicians, 1950s rock and roll was racially inclusive and attracted listeners and performers across the color line. In the 1960s, however, rock and roll gave way to rock: a new musical ideal regarded as more serious, more artistic-and the province of white musicians. Decoding the racial discourses that have distorted standard histories of rock music, Jack Hamilton underscores how ideas of "authenticity" have blinded us to rock's inextricably interracial artistic enterprise.

Stories provide portals into other worlds, both real and imagined. The promise of escape draws people from all backgrounds to speculative fiction, but when people of color seek passageways into the fantastic, the doors are often barred. The Dark Fantastic is an engaging and provocative exploration of race in popular youth and young adult speculative fiction. Grounded in her experiences as YA novelist, fan-fiction writer, and scholar of education, Thomas considers four black girl protagonists from some of the most popular stories of the early 21st century.

Our social conversation has gone awry. We are surrounded by noise and are retreating to social media bubbles. As conversations across ideological divides become increasingly difficult, we as a society need to rethink what it means to listen, to think, to create, and to be democratically engaged citizens. Fifteen Paths documents the journey of a disillusioned business professor who came to realize that in order to transcend the noise, we need more imaginative expressions and fewer argumentative ones.

From a loose movement that lurked in the shadows in the early 2000s, the alt-right has achieved a level of visibility that has allowed it to expand significantly throughout America’s cultural, political, and digital landscapes. Racist, sexist, and homophobic beliefs that were previously unspeakable have become commonplace, normalized, and accepted - endangering American democracy and society as a whole. Yet in order to dismantle the destructive movement that has invaded our public consciousness, we must first understand the core beliefs that drive the alt-right.

This highly understandable audiobook offers a contemporary interpretation of the political thought of Edmund Burke, drawing on his experiences to illuminate and address fundamental questions of politics and society that are of particular interest today. In Edmund Burke for Our Time, Byrne asserts that Burke's politics is reflective of unique and sophisticated ideas about how people think and learn, and about determinants of political behavior.

Is your child having trouble going to sleep, or not sleeping through the night? Good thing there’s Bedtime Stories by renowned child development expert Katie Miller and seasoned teacher Sarah J. Young! With this wonderful two-in-one bundle of wonderfully soothing bedtime stories and meditations, your child will indulge in magnificent meditation stories that help enhance their imagination and promote restful sleep and listen to positive affirmations that raise their self-esteem and self-confidence.

No one has failed to notice that the current generation of youth is deeply - some would say totally - involved with digital media. Professors Howard Gardner and Katie Davis name today’s young people The App Generation, and in this spellbinding book they explore what it means to be “app-dependent” versus “app-enabled” and how life for this generation differs from life before the digital era.

In THE INSPIRED CHOICE: Chronicles of Transformation Beyond Imagination (Volume 1), Caroline Biesalski embarks on a transformative journey, sharing how she became a successful and sought-after podcast host over the past 365 days. With honesty and insight, Caroline reveals the challenges, breakthroughs, and discoveries that fueled her growth, offering readers practical steps and inspiration to launch their own impactful ventures.

Amen "Amie" McBee, the youngest of five sisters, gobbles up words the way other children gobble up sweets. She couldn't be more different from her elder twin sisters Arabella and Annabella, called the Bellas. The mischievous Bellas constantly frighten Amen with stories of Mr. Tominski, the old recluse who lives in the woods nearby and mysteriously tends to a flock of doves.

Mabel lives with her parents in the Mermaid Hotel, where she keeps an eye on all the guests, particularly her friend, the endlessly fascinating Madame Badobedah. Madame Badobedah, who considers herself part of a long tradition of daring women such as Amelia Earhart and Zora Neale Hurston, has pirouetted through pyramids, swum with mermaids and helped a triceratops with a toothache. Just opening one of the drawers in her dressing table full of mementos elicits tales of banshees and curses and an exciting new quest – a reverse jewel heist!

In this story the child is invited on a journey to a magical place. The narrator welcomes the child on a voyage that is complete with the theme of inclusion throughout. It is a place where peace and harmony reign supreme. “The Inclusive All” offers a standing invitation to the child. The child will learn that they can actively engage with literature that is also entertaining. This is story for all times of day because it is characterized by the freedom of joy and happiness.

It's opening night of the school play and there are plenty of nerves to go around! There are lines to be memorized, costumes to sew, and sets to paint. It's a good thing Hattie Harmony is ready to help her friends soothe their worries with everything in her trusted tool belt. Will Hattie be able to settle the pre-show jitters before the curtain call?