Step Backwards Research Articles

Girl Meets Tumor.

On Being a Doctor18 June 2019Girl Meets TumorChloe Y. Li, BAChloe Y. Li, BAHarvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, and Northwestern University Center for Bioethics and Medical Humanities, Chicago, Illinois (C.Y.L.)Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/M19-0032 Audio Reading - “Girl Meets Tumor” Audio. Virginia Hood, MD, reads “Girl Meets Tumor” by Chloe Y. Li, BA Your browser does not support the audio element. Audio player progress bar Step backward in current audio track Play current audio trackPause current audio track Step forward in current audio track Mute current audio trackUnmute current audio track 00:00/ SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail On Wednesday afternoons in my first year of medical school, we practiced the physical examination in groups of about 10 students. On one especially humid afternoon, we learned the head and neck examination. Then, my classmates and I learned I had a tumor.The doctor meant to teach my examination partner how to palpate the temporomandibular joint and used my jaw as a model. His fingers, which had been lightly examining the right side of my face, turned insistent and probing. He asked whether I'd had that checked.“Oh, that's just a bump.”He shook his head definitively. “That is ... Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, and Northwestern University Center for Bioethics and Medical Humanities, Chicago, Illinois (C.Y.L.)Current Author Address: Chloe Y. Li, BA, 25 Shattuck Street, Boston, MA 02115; e-mail, [email protected]harvard.edu. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement Audio Reading - “Girl Meets Tumor” Audio. Virginia Hood, MD, reads “Girl Meets Tumor” by Chloe Y. Li, BA Your browser does not support the audio element. Audio player progress bar Step backward in current audio track Play current audio trackPause current audio track Step forward in current audio track Mute current audio trackUnmute current audio track 00:00/ FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics 18 June 2019Volume 170, Issue 12Page: 895-896KeywordsBiopsyFacial nerveFearHead and neck tumorsHearingMedical educationMouthScarsSurgeryTemporomandibular joint ePublished: 18 June 2019 Issue Published: 18 June 2019 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2019 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...

Central Processing.

On Being a Patient4 June 2019Central ProcessingCaraBeth Lee, MDCaraBeth Lee, MDSwedish Medical Center, Seattle, Washington (C.L.)Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/M18-2339 Audio Reading - “Central Processing” Audio. Virginia Hood, MD, reads “Central Processing” by CaraBeth Lee, MD Your browser does not support the audio element. Audio player progress bar Step backward in current audio track Play current audio trackPause current audio track Step forward in current audio track Mute current audio trackUnmute current audio track 00:00/ SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail “Should we try the key? I think we should try the key,” my dad insists.I've flown the longest possible distance across the continental states, from Seattle to Florida, to be with my parents where they wait out the Midwest winter. My dad is fixated on the faulty glove compartment in the new car my mom leased yesterday. It refuses to budge when you push the button but pops open at random when you're driving down the road.He stands in the doorway of my room with his arm extended, pressing the fob toward me. “I can't find the key. ... Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Swedish Medical Center, Seattle, Washington (C.L.)Corresponding Author: CaraBeth Lee, MD, Swedish Medical Center, 600 Broadway, Suite 340, Seattle, WA 98122; e-mail, carabeth.[email protected]org. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement Audio Reading - “Central Processing” Audio. Virginia Hood, MD, reads “Central Processing” by CaraBeth Lee, MD Your browser does not support the audio element. Audio player progress bar Step backward in current audio track Play current audio trackPause current audio track Step forward in current audio track Mute current audio trackUnmute current audio track 00:00/ FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics 4 June 2019Volume 170, Issue 11Page: 811KeywordsAdolescentsArmed forcesEmotionsMemorySurgeons ePublished: 4 June 2019 Issue Published: 4 June 2019 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2019 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...

The Myth of Choice

The Myth of Choice

Excluding scientist survivors from the NASEM Action Collaborative is a step backward in changing culture to prevent sexual harassment.

By excluding scientist survivors from leadership of the Action Collaborative, the NASEM undermines its goal of positive culture change to reduce sexual harassment.

Assessment of backward walking unmasks mobility impairments in post-stroke community ambulators

ABSTRACTBackground: While over half of stroke survivors recover the ability to walk without assistance, deficits persist in the performance of walking adaptations necessary for safe home and community mobility. One such adaptation is the ability to walk or step backward. Post-stroke rehabilitation rarely includes backward walking (BW) assessment and BW deficits have not been quantified in post-stroke community ambulators.Objective: To quantify spatiotemporal and kinematic BW characteristics in post-stroke community ambulators and compare their performance to controls.Methods: Individuals post-stroke (n = 15, 60.1 ± 12.9 years, forward speed: 1.13 ± 0.23 m/s) and healthy adults (n = 12, 61.2 ± 16.2 years, forward speed: 1.40 ± 0.13 m/s) performed forward walking (FW) and BW during a single session. Step characteristics and peak lower extremity joint angles were extracted using 3D motion analysis and analyzed with mixed-method ANOVAs (group, walking condition).Results: The stroke group demonstrated greater reductions in speed, step length and cadence and a greater increase in double-support time during BW compared to FW (p < .01). Compared to FW, the post-stroke group demonstrated greater reductions in hip extension and knee flexion during BW (p < .05). The control group demonstrated decreased plantarflexion and increased dorsiflexion during BW, but these increases were attenuated in the post-stroke group (p < .05).Conclusions: Assessment of BW can unmask post-stroke walking impairments not detected during typical FW. BW impairments may contribute to the mobility difficulties reported by adults post-stroke. Therefore, BW should be assessed when determining readiness for home and community ambulation.

Seven Easy Steps.

On Being a Doctor16 April 2019Seven Easy StepsJack Coulehan, MD, MPHJack Coulehan, MD, MPHCenter for Medical Humanities, Compassionate Care, and Bioethics, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York (J.C.)Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/M18-2714 Audio Reading - “Seven Easy Steps” Audio. Michael A. Lacombe, MD, Annals Associate Editor, reads “Seven Easy Steps” by Jack Coulehan, MD, MPH Your browser does not support the audio element. Audio player progress bar Step backward in current audio track Play current audio trackPause current audio track Step forward in current audio track Mute current audio trackUnmute current audio track 00:00/ SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail I arrive in the waiting room nearly a half hour early and validate myself with two insurance cards and a questionnaire that asks me yet another time to list my illnesses, allergies, and medications. I notice that most of the seats are occupied by elderly people. They must be older and sicker than I am, because … well, they look old. One man is sitting with a walker poised in front of his chair. Another hasn't removed his plaid woolen coat, the kind of coat I imagine homeless men wore during the Depression as they warmed themselves around a bonfire. ... Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Center for Medical Humanities, Compassionate Care, and Bioethics, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York (J.C.)Corresponding Author: Jack Coulehan, MD, MPH, 51 Pineview Lane, Coram, NY 11727; e-mail, john.[email protected]edu. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement Audio Reading - “Seven Easy Steps” Audio. Michael A. Lacombe, MD, Annals Associate Editor, reads “Seven Easy Steps” by Jack Coulehan, MD, MPH Your browser does not support the audio element. Audio player progress bar Step backward in current audio track Play current audio trackPause current audio track Step forward in current audio track Mute current audio trackUnmute current audio track 00:00/ FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics 16 April 2019Volume 170, Issue 8Page: 575KeywordsAnxietyCranial nervesElderlyEmotionsFearHappinessMemoryProstate cancerQuestionnairesTouch ePublished: 16 April 2019 Issue Published: 16 April 2019 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2019 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...

Villanelle.

Ad Libitum16 April 2019VillanelleMichelle M. Kittleson, MD, PhDMichelle M. Kittleson, MD, PhDLos Angeles, California (M.M.K.)Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/M18-1848 Audio Reading - “Villanelle” Audio. Michael A. Lacombe, MD, Annals Associate Editor, reads “Villanelle” by Michelle M. Kittleson, MD, PhD Your browser does not support the audio element. Audio player progress bar Step backward in current audio track Play current audio trackPause current audio track Step forward in current audio track Mute current audio trackUnmute current audio track 00:00/ SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail Hold on to me for one more day,Thirty-two years is not so long.There is more we need to say.Chubby arms and thighs at play,You chortled, clapped at any song.Hold on to me for one more day.I was a teenage mom cliché,Through you, I planned to right my wrongs,There is more we need to say.College, law school, found your way,Big job, new city, took me along.Hold on to me for one more day.Then you start to waste away,Cancer breast and bone and lung,There is more we need to say.So now I pray, beg you to stay,... Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Los Angeles, California (M.M.K.)Current Author Address: Michelle M. Kittleson, MD, PhD; e-mail, michelle.[email protected]org. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement Audio Reading - “Villanelle” Audio. Michael A. Lacombe, MD, Annals Associate Editor, reads “Villanelle” by Michelle M. Kittleson, MD, PhD Your browser does not support the audio element. Audio player progress bar Step backward in current audio track Play current audio trackPause current audio track Step forward in current audio track Mute current audio trackUnmute current audio track 00:00/ FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics 16 April 2019Volume 170, Issue 8Page: 578KeywordsBoneBreast cancerLung and intrathoracic tumors ePublished: 16 April 2019 Issue Published: 16 April 2019 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2019 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...

Shifting Epistemology of Juvenile Justice in India

Abstract The conception of juvenile justice has its ontological root in the internationalisation of childhood and construction of children as a distinct social class. The Euro-centric vision of children as rights-possessors that informed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) (1989) transformed the epistemology of juvenile justice. India ratified the CRC in 1992, and defined ‘child’ uniformly, irrespective of sex, unlike in the past, thereby challenging its gendered subjectivity of ‘female child.’ Such an emergence of a new modality of delivering juvenile justice that I see as the epistemic shift did not last long, and one gory incident, alongside mediatised demonisation of male children, and brewing social discontent on women’s safety, changed its landscape. This paper foregrounds an analysis of the role of gender in juvenile justice jurisprudence from the colonial period to the present time. Reflecting on the populist punitiveness at play, it talks about the Indian state’s poverty of understanding of children’s rights. Mapping legislative, juridical and political dimensions of the journey of the juvenile justice framework in India, the paper shows how construction of gendered notions of a particular group of male child offenders has resulted in the punitive turn of the juvenile justice system in India. It further unpacks the potentiality of repercussions of such punitiveness, and offers reasons as to why a retributive response by the state is a step backwards in reforming juvenile delinquents. Overall, it narrates the story of a political-systemic failure to deal with an important social issue, which may act as a lesson to be learnt with respect to the child governance framework, both for the countries in South Asia and the wider global South.

Hidden Political Agenda in Edward Albee’s The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?

A case of zoophile, a sexual attraction toward animals, is considered rare to be talked within the scope of the queer theory. The wrong prejudices and discrimination received by zoophile also create a step backwards in getting acceptance from society compared to other sexual deviant orientation. As the issue keeps going, Edward Albee seizes his chance to shake the society’s mindset in reconsidering the deeds of zoophile through a drama entitled The Goat, or Who is Sylvia ?. He creates a character named Martin, who lives as a zoophile differently from the preconceived notion of society raising a political interest to see a zoophile as a part of the society. This research attempts to investigate the political purposes behind the normalization of queerness in Martin’s character to reject intolerance and discrimination in society. The findings indicate that a political interest does exist from the presentation of Martin, which exhibits that a zoophile might have the same normal life as other people mostly do. This case of zoophile serves as an example of a minority case usually exposed to intolerance and discrimination. This research strongly argues that Albee tries to challenge the general perspective towards minority group in America, which sees them as aliens or a source of the plague. They can be anyone with a “normal” life; thus, they deserve equal treatment and not always to be considered as the others .

Um convite a realizar uma escolha virtuosa: o Tribunal Europeu de Direitos Humanos renuncie ao uso da testemunha anônima como prova decisiva para fundamentar uma condenação

O presente trabalho propõe uma reflexão sobre a utilização da testemunha anônima por parte do Tribunal Europeu de Direitos Humanos. A análise dos principais leading cases, resolvidos pelos juízes de Estrasburgo, permitirá compreender a evolução da jurisprudência europeia sobre essa temática delicada em razão de graves violações ao direito de defesa do acusado quando são empregadas no processo as testemunhas anônimas. As últimas sentenças pronunciadas sobre esse específico ponto preocupam porque confirmam o progressivo regresso por parte do Tribunal europeu em relação à fundamental garantia do contraditório. Se, por um lado, reconhece-se a necessidade de tutelar, dentro do processo penal, direitos de sujeitos além do imputado e percebe-se a urgência, diante de uma situação de perigo para a testemunha, de tutelar a sua incolumidade e de preservar a fonte de prova, por outro, todavia, não se compreende quais “counterbalancing procedures” podem devolver ao imputado aquilo que lhe é tirado em termos de defesa ao não lhe revelar a identidade da testemunha. Trata-se, então, de realizar uma escolha de civilidade questionando-se se em um processo que queira continuar a sse definir “equitativo” a acusação anônima pode ser tolerada.

The Egyptian Goddess.

Ad Libitum19 March 2019The Egyptian GoddessJack Coulehan, MD, MPHJack Coulehan, MD, MPHSetauket, New York (J.C.)Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/M18-1489 Audio Reading - “The Egyptian Goddess” Audio. Michael LaCombe, MD, Annals Associate Editor, reads “The Egyptian Goddess” by Jack Coulehan, MD, MPH Your browser does not support the audio element. Audio player progress bar Step backward in current audio track Play current audio trackPause current audio track Step forward in current audio track Mute current audio trackUnmute current audio track 00:00/ SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail the goddess as I eat lunch ... Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Setauket, New York (J.C.)Current Author Address: Jack Coulehan, MD, MPH; e-mail, [email protected]com. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement Audio Reading - “The Egyptian Goddess” Audio. Michael LaCombe, MD, Annals Associate Editor, reads “The Egyptian Goddess” by Jack Coulehan, MD, MPH Your browser does not support the audio element. Audio player progress bar Step backward in current audio track Play current audio trackPause current audio track Step forward in current audio track Mute current audio trackUnmute current audio track 00:00/ FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics 19 March 2019Volume 170, Issue 6Page: 422KeywordsIschemiaRiversStroke ePublished: 19 March 2019 Issue Published: 19 March 2019 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2019 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...

The negative impact of the environment on methylation/epigenetic marking in gametes and embryos: A plea for action to protect the fertility of future generations.

Life expectancy has increased since World War II, and this may be attributed to several aspects of modern lifestyles. However, now we are faced with a downturn, which seems to be the result of environmental issues. This paradigm is paralleled with reduced human fertility, decreased sperm quality, increased premature ovarian failure, and diminished ovarian reserve syndromes. Endocrine disruptor chemicalsand other toxic chemicals, herbicides, pesticides, plasticizers, to mention a few, are a rising concern in today's environment. Some of these are commonly used in the domestic setting: cleaning material and cosmetics and they have a known impact on epigenesis and imprinting via perturbation of methylation processes. Pollution from polyaromatic hydrocarbons, particulate matter <10 and <2.5 μm, and ozone released into the air, all affect fertility. Poor food processing management is a source of DNA adduct formation, which impairs the quality of gametes. An important concern is the nanoparticles that are present in food and are thought to induce oxidative stress. Now is the time to take a step backward. Global management of the environment and food production is required urgently to protect the fertility of future generations.

Birth.

Ad Libitum5 February 2019BirthKelly E. Largent, MDKelly E. Largent, MDBiltmore Medical Associates, Asheville, North Carolina (K.E.L.)Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/M18-1545 Audio Reading - “Birth” Audio. Virginia L. Hood, MD, reads "Birth," by K.E. Largent. Your browser does not support the audio element. Audio player progress bar Step backward in current audio track Play current audio trackPause current audio track Step forward in current audio track Mute current audio trackUnmute current audio track 00:00/ SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail Birth begins through broken shellsin driven pecks at one's originsor the urgent squeezing thrust fromwombs outgrown as perfect home.Who knows all that it takesto ignite the muscled pathor awaken swaddled wingsand stir their fluttering?Who warns of what awaits?the blinding light, the shattering noisethe bracing air new lungs must takeand boundless space unfolding limbsfall into, flailing.Warm welcome and soft murmurscannot change arrival's truth—the first proof of longed-for lifeis its fierce wailing. Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Biltmore Medical Associates, Asheville, North Carolina (K.E.L.)Current Author Address: Kelly E. Largent, MD; e-mail, [email protected]edu. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement Audio Reading - “Birth” Audio. Virginia L. Hood, MD, reads "Birth," by K.E. Largent. Your browser does not support the audio element. Audio player progress bar Step backward in current audio track Play current audio trackPause current audio track Step forward in current audio track Mute current audio trackUnmute current audio track 00:00/ FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics 5 February 2019Volume 170, Issue 3Page: 163KeywordsBirthFallsLungsMuscular dystrophiesUterus ePublished: 5 February 2019 Issue Published: 5 February 2019 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2019 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...

Response to comments on Toward a Prescriptive Theory of Dynamic Capabilities

In the 1943 movie Casablanca, Uguarte inquires of Rick (Humphrey Bogart’s character), “You despise me Rick, don’t you?” At which point, Rick deadpans: “If I gave it any thought, I probably would.” This line reminds us that the worst critique is no critique at all. And thus, I am very grateful for the pointed comments and criticisms by Helfat, Kay, Lazonick, Linden and Teece, and Winter of my Toward a Prescriptive Theory of Dynamic Capabilities article in Industrial and Corporate Change 27:6 (2018). I wrote this article to stimulate conversation and debate about a literature that I frankly felt had lost its way, and the responses suggest I have indeed succeeded. Space constraints make it infeasible for me to respond to each reviewer’s comments individually, so let me make a few general comments about where I tended to agree and disagree. First, there still appears to be some ambiguity in the question dynamic capabilities “theory” is seeking to answer. Theories are, after all, just logically coherent ways of answering questions. We judge theories comparatively: how much better is one theory at answering a given question than another? The responses from the reviewers indicate that we still have a broad dispersion of views on the central questions of dynamic capabilities theory. For instance, Lazonick (2018) is focused on the very important problem of societal returns to innovation (and his work seeks to inform policymakers). Linden and Teece (2018) suggest that identifying and selecting capabilities that lead to competitive advantage (the focal issue of my piece) is “big step backwards for dynamic capabilities research.” Their critique suggests the primacy of strategic adaptability as the central issue of dynamic capabilities. There are, of course, many potential problems to be solved by theories of the firm and theories of capabilities. We likely need different theories to address different questions. In my article, I intentionally chose a narrow question upon which to focus (how can managers identify capabilities that are likely to lead to competitive advantage?). As Helfat (2018) correctly points out, I do not deal with “dynamic capabilities” per se, but rather with the selection of capabilities. I chose this issue because (i) I think it is important to practitioners of management (my ultimate audience) and (ii) I don’t think it is well answered by existing theories.

Point-of-care echocardiography - A road to future or a step backwards.

Echocardiography (Echo) has a myriad of clinical applications. Traditionally, it was performed and interpreted by cardiologist but the scope of its applications has lead physicians of other specialities to learn this useful skill. One of the newer and expanding scope of echocardiography is point-of-care (POC) echocardiography. In this review article, we aim to discuss the clinical applications of POC echo, common protocols and its limitations. Despite its widespread use, there is paucity of data describing its clinical efficacy and there is lack of guidelines regarding credentialing and quality control of POC echo.

Debate: Looking forward: choose data over opinions to best serve youth with bipolar spectrum disorders - commentary on Parry etal. (2018).

Over the past two decades, research on pediatric bipolar disorder has grown geometrically. The diagnosis of pediatric bipolar disorder was met with enthusiasm, which in healthy doses catalyzed change, and skepticism, which in good measure pushes for rigor. Skepticism led to productive questions about the phenomenology of pediatric bipolar disorder and how best to diagnose and treat it. With regard to prevalence, key questions included whether it was increasing over time, and whether it was limited to the United States. In 2011, we published a meta-analysis addressing the prevalence questions; results indicated that bipolar disorder manifested at statistically indistinguishable rates in youth community samples across the world. In their recent paper, Parry etal. examine the studies included in the 2011 meta-analysis using a qualitative approach. Their opinion piece represents a step backwards; every study has shortcomings, but in focusing on a dozen individual studies, Parry etal. fail to take into account the preponderance of evidence - literally thousands of articles across countries, cohorts and methodologies - that support the existence of bipolar disorder in both prepubescent youth and adolescents. This commentary addresses misperceptions regarding the diagnosis of bipolar disorder in youth, particularly with regard to cross-informant agreement, to present converging data from international sources regarding the onset of bipolar disorder in childhood, and to correct the false claim that pediatric bipolar disorder is controversial. As clinicians and researchers, we have an obligation to do what we can to improve the lives of youth affected by mental illness. Denying the existence of a serious mood disorder will not serve the best interests of young people and will perpetuate the long delays many experience before getting an accurate diagnosis, appropriate treatment, and a fair chance at a good quality of life.

Audubon on Louisiana: Selected Writings of John James Audubon ed. by Ben Forkner

Reviewed by: Audubon on Louisiana: Selected Writings of John James Audubon ed. by Ben Forkner Christoph Irmscher Audubon on Louisiana: Selected Writings of John James Audubon. Edited by Ben Forkner. (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2018. Pp. xliv, 388. $65.00, ISBN 978-0-8071-6958-2.) Ben Forkner’s volume, a tribute to the role of Louisiana in the writings of birdman extraordinaire John James Audubon, has its roots in a forgery and a creative lie or, rather, a set of such lies. In 1803, when Audubon fled Napoleon’s France to the United States, his forged passport stated that he was born in Louisiana. That was justification enough for Audubon to claim, on multiple occasions, that he was indeed from there and not from Saint-Domingue. But according to Forkner, if Louisiana was not Audubon’s real home, it “should have been”: ecstatic impressions of the lavish landscape and bird life of this region are woven throughout Audubon’s work (p. xviii). [End Page 898] It is difficult to determine what audience Forkner had in mind with this expensive collection. Audubon on Louisiana: Selected Writings of John James Audubon contains no reproductions of Audubon’s artwork, and the texts the editor has selected are, for the most part, accessible elsewhere. Forkner’s fluently written introductions liberally draw on the efforts of previous biographers and present no new insights. And while he effusively conjures reactions that the Louisiana landscape elicited from Audubon, Forkner seems satisfied with letting undocumented generalizations (for example: “Audubon’s eye was always alert” [p. 33]) take the place of analysis. Surely there is more to be said about the fact that Audubon himself once owned slaves than “Slavery was the way of the world” (p. 39). In recent scholarship, a nuanced portrait of Audubon has emerged as a polyglot and multicultural figure, a citizen of the world rather than of any specific region. Forkner’s volume is a step backward, an awkward return to earlier heroic readings of Audubon that praise his genius rather than try to understand him as a cultural figure. Although Forkner does not mince words about the perceived failings of other scholars, his own grasp of the material is not impeccable. Errors range from garbled names (“Johann Jasper Lavater” instead of “Johann Kaspar Lavater” [p. 44]) to more egregious missteps, such as the passage chosen to demonstrate Audubon’s feelings upon his return to Louisiana in 1829, which was fabricated by Audubon’s bowdlerizing granddaughter (the original passage appears in Stanley Clisby Arthur’s 1937 biography, Audubon: An Intimate Life of the American Woodsman [New Orleans, 1937], p. 289). Even more troubling, ornithological identifications are not reliable. Recycling Audubon’s often obsolete designations, Forkner, for example, writes about the wood ibis (now the wood stork) as if this were still a viable species name. In accumulation, such oversights make this edition virtually unusable for bird lovers and Audubon enthusiasts alike. It could be argued that Audubon on Louisiana was intended for a much wider readership. But what is a general reader to do with a version of Audubon’s Louisiana journal that offers no helpful notes whatsoever? Take the cryptic entry for November 2, 1821, written when Audubon was desperately trying to establish himself as a professional painter in New Orleans: “Recd the Visit of Brutter the Painter, the good Man Very sorry to see My Father Antonio” (p. 170). No clues are given, not even in Forkner’s index, which simply replicates the names the way they appear in Audubon’s text. Some quick research reveals that Audubon was then in the middle of painting a portrait (now lost) of a legendary New Orleans priest named Antonio de Sedella, but known as Père Antoine (Audubon’s journal for this period is archived at the Ernst Mayr Library, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University). And another look at the manuscript confirms that the name of Audubon’s skeptical visitor that day was not “Brutter” but “Bruster” (Audubon was using his characteristic st-ligature). Mystery solved: Audubon’s rival was Edmund Brewster, who was—lo and behold!—preoccupied with his own rendition of Père Antoine, now housed in...

Of Curses and Beards: Reclaiming Herstories

Of Curses and Beards: Reclaiming Herstories Ana Roncero-Bellido Gaspar de Alba, Alicia. The Curse of the Gypsy: Ten stories and a Novella. Arte Público P, 2018. 224 pp. ISBN: 978-1558858626. The Curse of the Gypsy: Ten Stories and a Novella, by Alicia Gaspar de Alba, offers readers two fascinating and complex literary projects: first, a collection of ten interconnected stories that shape what Alicia Gaspar de Alba describes as a deconstructed novel with the title “The Curse of the Gypsy.” Following this is the historical-mythical novella recovering “The True and Tragic Story of Liberata Wilgefortis, Who, Having Consecrated her Virginity to the Goddess Diana to Avoid Marriage, Grew a Beard and Was Crucified.” With these two texts, Gaspar de Alba’s (historical) fiction engages in a critique of patriarchal, heteronormative, and white supremacist ideologies across both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border and the Atlantic, as the stories take readers to early 20th century Spain, Mexico and the U.S., and to the Hispania Lusitania of the 2nd century A.D. The stories in “The Curse of the Gyspy” weave different narrative voices that reveal the complexity of the characters Gaspar de Alba re/creates. “The Curse of the Gyspy” begins with the story of Margarita Vargas, a gypsy from Granada (Spain) who is victim of a lifelong curse her mother puts on her when she finds out Margarita is pregnant with the Grenadian poet Federico García Lorca’s child. This curse has taken the shape of a petrified fetus Margarita carries for eighty years, even after Lorca’s execution at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War. As Margarita confesses her captivating romance with Lorca and their tragic fate, readers learn that her mother’s curse was dictated by the King of the Gypsies, Chorrojumo, who foresaw the disgrace of the Vargas family’s honor. This shame comes from Margarita’s double treason to her family and the gypsy community, for not only has she corrupted herself with a payo—a non-Gypsy—but she has also betrayed her husband’s heart well before he dies at war. The novel progresses with Margarita’s departure from Granada and subsequent marriage to a famous Mexican bullfighter, Benito Rivera, whom she follows to Mexico, as will the curse. Rivera’s family rejects his marriage to a gypsy, which they consider a step backwards towards Jose Vasconcelos’ cosmic race (39); and her husband, unable to accept Margarita’s presumed infertility, abandons her for years until they move to the border city [End Page 168] of Juárez. The family’s destiny thus lies in the hands of Margarita’s great-granddaughter, who is to take Margarita’s ashes back to Granada to break the curse. As the deconstructed novel progresses through the ten interconnected stories, readers get to meet two generations of complex characters who are descendants of Margarita, known as Maggie across the U.S.-Mexico border, and who all get reunited for her funeral. The stories of Margarita’s descendants tell the reality of many lives across the border: the rivalry between sisters that prompts a trip to Oaxaca; the story of Little Jay, a queer teenager who struggles with her sexual identity and deported parents; or the hopeless prayer of a woman whose sisters have locked in a convent when she confesses her father’s sexual abuses, among others. With these stories, Gaspar de Alba breaks the boundaries between history, myth, and fiction as she recreates the historical figure of Garcia Lorca and even his poetry; the popular actress Margarita Xirgú; the mythical character of Mariano Fernández Santiago, commonly known as Chorrojumo, patriarch of the Gypsies, whose statue still guards the entry to Granada’s gypsy neighborhood of Sacromonte (Cárdenas); and the Aztec warrior goddess Coyolxauhqui. Importantly, Margarita’s curse is actually inspired by true events. However, it is only at the end of the book that readers realize of the true nature of the supposedly fictional story, which is a verbatim translation of the news published in El Diario de Juarez in 1984 (23). Next, in a historical-mythical novella, Gaspar de Alba recovers the story of one of the...

A Dream of the Future: Race, Empire, and Modernity at the Atlanta and Nashville World's Fairs by Nathan Cardon

Reviewed by: A Dream of the Future: Race, Empire, and Modernity at the Atlanta and Nashville World's Fairs by Nathan Cardon Brian M. Ingrassia A Dream of the Future: Race, Empire, and Modernity at the Atlanta and Nashville World's Fairs. By Nathan Cardon. ( New York: Oxford University Press, 2018. Pp. xiv, 177. $74.00, ISBN 978-0-19-027472-6.) Atlanta's 1895 Cotton States and International Exposition and Nashville's 1897 Tennessee Centennial Exposition were, according to historian Nathan Cardon, "crucibles of modernity" (p. 3). The fairs, both inspired by Chicago's 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, "presented a future of a scientific and diversified economy centered on a racially divided society" and served as "advertisements for a unique southern modernity" (p. 2). A Dream of the Future: Race, Empire, and Modernity at the Atlanta and Nashville World's Fairs is a fine analysis of these two expositions within their New South context. Chapter 1 shows how the Atlanta and Nashville fairs exposed the "New South creed," offering "'object lessons'" to southerners who might "improve themselves, become modern, [and] leave behind the social customs and traditions that were so pilloried by the rest of the nation" (pp. 19, 37). Chapter 2 focuses on the fairs' so-called Negro Buildings, prominent structures located near lakes Clara Meer (Atlanta) and Watauga (Nashville), where African Americans exhibited their visions of progress. Chapter 3 examines the Woman's Buildings that demonstrated southern white women's shifting social roles. Chapter 4 illustrates how southern elites used the fairs and their depictions of southern race relations to position [End Page 715] themselves at the cutting edge of American empire. Both expositions, argues Cardon, presented a "Jim Crow modernity," "a modern world based on the segregation of race" (p. 39). Atlanta and Nashville looked backward to the antebellum era as well as forward to the New South that Henry W. Grady had envisioned in 1886. Cardon makes a compelling point that the 1890s formed a pivotal decade, when racial and gender boundaries were somewhat fluid and the South claimed a role in the United States' imperial ambitions. The conclusion shows how the 1907 Jamestown Exposition in Virginia stepped backward from 1890s modernity. The 1907 exposition was built in the mud, miles outside Norfolk. It had no Woman's Building, while its Negro Building was located in a marginal spot and exhibited growing tensions among black leaders. This fair "offered a much-tempered dream of the future" (p. 120). Cardon uses a broad range of primary sources, including archival collections from Atlanta, Nashville, Chapel Hill, and Washington, D.C.; newspapers, including African American periodicals; and an impressive list of exposition guides and other contemporaneous publications. With its thorough research, this book adds to a growing body of literature on southern expositions, including Robert W. Rydell's All the World's a Fair: Visions of Empire at American International Expositions, 1876–1916 (Chicago, 1984), Theda Perdue's Race and the Atlanta Cotton States Exposition of 1895 (Athens, Ga., 2010), Bruce G. Harvey's World's Fairs in a Southern Accent: Atlanta, Nashville, and Charleston, 1895–1902 (Knoxville, 2014), and Mabel O. Wilson's Negro Building: Black Americans in the World of Fairs and Museums (Berkeley, 2012). Cardon draws on these and other works to add new perspectives regarding the fairs' Janus-faced, New South duality, although he limits historiographical engagement to the endnotes. As good as this analysis is, at times it seems so focused on finding commonalities between Atlanta and Nashville that it nearly conflates them into one narrative. More sustained emphasis on both cities' respective histories and circumstances would be useful. A Dream of the Future successfully shows how the 1895 Atlanta and 1897 Nashville expositions represented an important moment in southern history. Cardon thus enhances an already rich portrait of southern fairs at the turn of the twentieth century. Brian M. Ingrassia West Texas A&M University Copyright © 2019 The Southern Historical Association

La Ilusión Persistente: Diálogos entre la Ciencia Ficción y el Campo Cultural by Silvia G. Kurlat Ares

639 BOOKS IN REVIEW Undermining hegemonic masculinity is also the subject of the first half of the fourth chapter. It further considers the role that typically marginalized characters play in sf cinema. Kac-Vergne addresses some of the problems with the theory of hegemonic masculinity by examining black male antagonists: the Predator in Predator 2 (1990) and Phoenix (Wesley Snipes) in Demolition Man (1993). The author argues that these characters are positive depictions of “black violence as a form of resistance and an assertion of power by the disenfranchised over a ‘civilisation’ always defined as white” (134). The chapter’s strength is, once again, its clear development of the volume’s thesis. I greatly appreciate the discussion of Demolition Man, a film that deserves more praise than it has so far received. Not all black male stars in sf action cinema resist hegemonic masculinity, however. In an fascinating reading of Will Smith’s sf cycle, Kac-Vergne asserts that his character’s “safe” blackness, as portrayed in I, Robot (2004), and his display of hegemonic masculinity in After Earth (2013), highlight the ways in which black heroes “tend to integrate into the system and assimilate its values whereby empowerment comes from material success and the domination of others” (155). Kac-Vergne concludes her fourth chapter by noting that Smith’s characters, complicit with hegemonic masculinity, are lonely at the top—contemporary sf cinema is almost exclusively populated by whites. Thus Smith’s vehicles are a step backward for sf action cinema’s politics, as in the author’s conclusion in the third chapter about the roles women play in this genre. Due to the radically disparate themes, stars, and plots of contemporary sf cinema, Kac-Vergne does not make many strong conclusions about overcoming hegemonic masculinity, although her analyses tend to suggest that some films attempt it. Nevertheless, the author’s evidence and arguments clearly indicate the role hegemonic masculinity plays in this period of film history. At first, I was concerned by Kac-Vergne’s decision not to introduce the theory of hegemonic masculinity in detail in the Introduction. As the chapters progress, however, the author gives us a nuanced account of that theory and we are able to understand its implications through her discussion of the films. This said, the book is of more interest to film studies scholars than to gender studies scholars as it lacks a critical engagement with the field of masculinities studies (however exceptional the author’s use of hegemonic masculinity theory may be). One glaring oversight is that while Masculinity and Contemporary Science Fiction Cinema provides a breadth of analyses, it largely relies on action cinema characters at the expense of the men and women who do not resort to physical confrontations in other feature films (e.g., Moon [2009] and Her [2013]). But this shortcoming does not detract from this very readable and insightful volume. With Kac-Vergne’s study in hand, the field of masculinity and sf cinema studies is well poised to tackle films in the next era of sf blockbusters.—Troy Michael Bordun, Concordia University and Trent University An Impossible Good Book. Silvia G. Kurlat Ares. La Ilusión Persistente: Diálogos entre la Ciencia Ficción y el Campo Cultural. Pittsburgh, PA: Insituto Internacional de Cultura Iberoamericana, 2018. 430 pp. $30.00. 640 SCIENCE FICTION STUDIES, VOLUME 46 (2019) Silvia G. Kurlat Ares’s La Ilusión Persistente appears in the NUEVO SIGLO [New Century] series published by the prestigious Instituto Internacional de Literatura Iberoamericana, founded in Mexico in 1938 but currently based at the University of Pittsburgh. This information is pertinent to introduce an extremely ambitious volume that intends to bridge different cultural strata, but that is aimed for the most part at a highly specialized readership possibly more familiar with Latin-American culture than with science fiction. Kurlat, an independent scholar with an extensive CV, has taught at Johns Hopkins University, George Mason University, and the Universidad de Buenos Aires; she is also the editor of the forthcoming Latin American Science Fiction Studies Companion (Peter Lang). She is extremely well-positioned to connect the English-language field of science fiction and her native Argentinean context, which...