Gladys L. Knight

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POP CULTURE PLACES

An Encyclopedia of Places in American Popular Culture

This three-volume reference set explores the history, relevance, and significance of pop culture locations in the United States—places that have captured the imagination of the American people and reflect the diversity of the nation.

Pop Culture Places: An Encyclopedia of Places in American Popular Culture serves as a resource for high school and college students as well as adult readers that contains more than 350 entries on a broad assortment of popular places in America. Covering places from Ellis Island to Fisherman's Wharf, the entries reflect the tremendous variety of sites, historical and modern, emphasizing the immense diversity and historical development of our nation.

Readers will gain an appreciation of the historical, social, and cultural impact of each location and better understand how America has come to be a nation and evolved culturally through the lens of popular places. Approximately 200 sidebars serve to highlight interesting facts while images throughout the book depict the places described in the text. Each entry supplies a brief bibliography that directs students to print and electronic sources of additional information.

Features

Enables readers to perceive how their lives have been influenced by everyday places in the past, from centuries ago to the modern era
Provides unique and enlightening insights through a comprehensive overview of the history, contemporary perspectives, and pop culture influences of places across America
Spotlights historic locations central to films, television, music, and daily life to teach students about American history and culture through topics that interest them

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ICONS OF AFRICAN AMERICAN PROTEST

Trailblazing Activists of the Civil Rights Movement

Protest has always been a catalyst for change. It is the cornerstone of America's own birth. Did not the first immigrants help America take its first steps upon the road to greatness when they long ago protested against the oppression of their native government and established new edicts promoting the ideals of freedom and opportunity? Since the first African slave was forced to board a ship bound for this continent, protest has been a major motif in the African American experience. It was a critical weapon during the raging violence against blacks following the end of Reconstruction, the Jim Crow years, and against the grisly conditions in the ghettoes in the North. Throughout history protest has been used to combat economic and political oppression, racism, discrimination, and exclusion from mainstream America. Icons of African American Protest reveals the extraordinary strength, courage, and sacrifice displayed by individuals for the cause of freedom and civil rights. The 24 leaders showcased here cover a broad spectrum of descriptors-vibrant, tame, intense, aggressive, and diffident-and their politics ran the gamut from conservative to ultra-radical. Nevertheless, whatever techniques, modes, or tactics employed-such as Thurgood Marshall's legal fights in the court room, Dr. King's reliance on nonviolent civil disobedience and direct action, and Huey P. Newton's advocacy for armed self-defense-they were all, in their time, radicals who strove to eradicate racism and the climate of exclusion.

This two-volume reference provides both students and general readers in-depth coverage of contemporary voices of protest, supplemented by sidebars on major turning points, freedom songs, and important symbols, such as the clenched fist of the Black Power Movement. Also included are a timeline of key events, historical documents, a glossary, and a thorough bibliography of print and electronic resources to encourage further research.

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"Knight brings to life the work, thoughts, and contributions of 24 trailblazing activists. Their life stories, told in great detail, provide readers with new insight on the achievements and experiences of each icon. This work, aimed primarily at high school students and general readers, would be a good addition to public and high school library collections lacking book length biographies on these civil rights activists. Lower-level undergraduate students may find this work of value as a basic introduction to important figures of the twentieth- century civil rights movement." –ARBA

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FEMALE ACTION HEROES

A Guide to Women in Comics, Video Games, Film, and Television

This book offers 25 profiles of some of the most popular female action heroes throughout the history of film, television, comic books, and video games.

Female action heroes, like other fictional characters, not only reveal a lot about society, but greatly influence individuals in society. It is no surprise that the gradual development and increase in the number of female action heroes coincides with societal changes and social movements, such as feminism. Nor is it a surprise that characteristics of female action heroes echo the progressive toughening of women and young girls in the media.

Female Action Heroes: A Guide to Women in Comics, Video Games, Film, and Television brings to the forefront the historical representation of women and girls in film, television, comic books, and video games. The book includes profiles of 25 of the most popular female action heroes, arranged in alphabetical order for easy reference. Each chapter includes sections on the hero's origins, her power suit, weapons, abilities, and the villains with whom she grapples. Most significantly, each profile offers an analysis of the hero's story—and her impact on popular culture.

Features

Comprises 25 profiles, arranged alphabetically
70 sidebars provide additional information on pertinent topics, individuals, and symbols
Includes a chronology of major appearances of the 25 female action heroes in film, television, comic books, and video games, as well as women's fashion trends and major events in women's history
Offers a photograph of each featured, female action hero
Presents a glossary of 39 terms, including female archetypes like "femme fatale" and social movements like "third-wave feminism"
Provides a selected bibliography of books and Internet sites related to the topics of female action heroes, women's history, and media studies

Highlights

Looks at female action heroes who have had the most impact on popular culture
Covers the development and growing popularity of female action heroes in America's most influential media forms
Examines changing trends and perceptions of gender roles in history and the media, offering a comprehensive look at the creators and the social forces that influenced female action heroes
Provides information on historic female action heroes and on important issues and figures in women's history

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"This is the first work to cover strong women characters in media since Action Chicks: New Images of Tough Women in Popular Culture (Palgrave Macmillian, 2004). Its broad appeal makes it a good fit for public, school, and academic libraries and for anyone interested in gender roles and the historical time line of female toughness." —Library Journal

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"The writing is engaging; the content is accurate and makes good reading. A fun addition to reference collections from high school and up." —Booklist

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