Sudan at the Brink: Self-Determination and National Unity by Sudanese academic and politician, Francis Mading Deng, sheds important light on the complexities of the region and the challenges new leadership will face to maintain peace and promote unity.

Hear more from Dr. Francis Mading Deng and the lead–up to this landmark referendum.

Noted humanitarian and activist Dr. Kevin Cahill’s latest, Even in Chaos: Education in Times of Emergency, is a collection of essays written by world leaders and aid workers focusing on the vast importance of education and schools following destruction, natural disasters, war, and other catastrophes. (Now available in both paperback and hardcover)

The Dark Side of Literacy: Literature and Learning Not to Read is literary scholar Benjamin Bennett’s argument against the classical culture of reading. Since reading has long been thought to aid readers in understanding experiences they have not personally had, Bennett questions this association, calling attention to the fact that such an assumption can, in fact, be politically and morally dangerous. It’s an interesting, and not oft explored, side of the literacy issue.

Around the Book: Systems and Literacy is publishing in November, 2010. In it, Henry Sussman examines the past, present, and future of the book as a medium of information in an age of rapidly changing media. Through complex analysis of the nature of the book, Sussman concludes that the book is still a vital part of our culture–read it to learn all of the ways in which books still impact the way we live today.

The Pleasures of Memory: Learning to Read with Charles Dickens , publishing in February 2011, is Sarah Winter’s examination of just how Charles Dickens came to lodge himself into the global collective reading culture. She elucidates his methods, spotlighting his publishing process of serialization, his establishment of his authority as an author, and the ways in which his serialized fiction made use of memory and other senses, thus establishing his work as the very foundation of what think of as “reading” and “fiction” today.

We also have two Education titles on our White Sale list:

Counter-Institutions: Jacques Derrida and the Question of the University (NOW $12.00, Was $24)

The Gleam of Light: Moral Perfectionism in Dewey and Emerson (NOW $11, Was $22)

Streep agrees with Cahill’s mission and the overarching statement of the book. She said, “”Young lives can be saved by the order and safety of school.  It lets children know: here you are safe. Here there’s understanding. Here there is care. Here there’s a future and here’s how you’re going to get there.”

The book, publishing in May, closes with a poem by Maya Angelou. The faculty and administration at Fordham is so convinced of the vitality and necessity of this book and its mission that it’s required reading for each entering Fordham freshman, transfer student, and graduate student this fall semester.

Fordham salutes Dr. Cahill and all who are involved in the efforts to bring education into the lives of those most in need.

The Pulse of Humanitarian Assistance, edited by Dr. Kevin Cahill, is a collection of essays focusing on the very same issues, examining international humanitarian efforts, especially following wars and natural disasters.

Dr. Cahill, the director of Fordham’s Institute of International Humanitarian Affairs and president of the Center for International Health and Cooperation, has a new book called Even in Chaos: Education in Times of Emergency , published by Fordham and available in May. Even in Chaos takes an intimate and personal look at students, aid workers, and national leaders as they struggle to provide and obtain the basic right to education following catastrophe.

Congratulations, Dr. Fink!

Dr. Kevin M. Cahill, Director of Fordham’s Institute of International Humanitarian Affairs, led a panel of experts on Thursday at Fordham to discuss the scale of the Haitian crisis, as well as the humanitarian efforts underway there.  Dr. Cahill has been a leader in global humanitarian efforts for over 45 years, beginning with his work in Calcutta with Mother Theresa following his graduation from medical school. He has done extensive aid work in Africa, Latin America, and regions in both the Near and Far East.

In addition to his work as a physician, lecturer, and professor, he has also written and edited hundreds of books and articles on the topic of medicine and humanitarian aid work. His memoir, To Bear Witness: A Journey of Healing and Solidarity, details his work in tropical medicine and his experiences working in impoverished and embattled nations.

His newest collection Even in Chaos: Education in Times of Emergency is forthcoming from Fordham in May. The book, which he edited, gives voice to children, aid workers, and leaders involved in post-crisis nation rebuilding. The main assertion is how vital education is to every community’s future, a notion that is especially on point when considering Haiti’s current situation and long-term needs.

Even in Chaos is the latest in Fordham’s International Humanitarian Affairs list, which also includes:

The Pulse of Humanitarian Assistance

Tropical Medicine

To Bear Witness

Human Security for All

Technology for Humanitarian Action

Basics of International Humanitarian Mission

Traditions, Values, and Humanitarian Actions

Emergency Relief Operations

For more news and information on the Crisis in Haiti, click here.

For information on where to donate efficiently and safely, visit the US Better Business Bureau.