Books authored by members of the UNE community.
-
Domestic Broils: Shakers, Antebellum Marriage, And The Narratives Of Mary And Joseph Dyer
Elizabeth A. DeWolfe
In 1813, Joseph Dyer, his wife Mary, and their five children joined the Shaker community in Enfield, New Hampshire. Joseph quickly adapted to the Shaker way of life, but Mary chafed under its strictures and eventually left the community two years later. When the local elders and her husband refused to release the couple's children to Mary, she embarked on what would become a fifty-year campaign against the Shakers, beginning with the publication in 1818 of A Brief Statement of the Sufferings of Mary Dyer. The following year the Shakers countered by publishing Joseph's A Compendious Narrative, a scathing attack on what the title page called "the character, disposition and conduct of Mary Dyer."
The Dyers' dueling accounts of the breakup of their marriage form the core of Domestic Broils. In Mary's telling, the deceptions of a cruel husband, backed by an unyielding Shaker hierarchy, destroyed what had once been a happy, productive family. Joseph's narrative counters these claims by alleging that Mary abused her children, neglected her husband, and engaged in extramarital affairs.
In her introduction to the volume, Elizabeth De Wolfe places the Dyers' marital dispute in a broader historical context, drawing on their personal testimony to examine connected but conflicting views of marriage, family life, and Shakerism in the early republic. She also shows how the growing world of print facilitated the transformation of a private family quarrel into a public debate. Salacious, riveting, and immensely popular throughout New England, the Dyers' narratives not only captured imaginations but also reflected public anxieties over rapid cultural change in antebellum America.
The original version of this book is out of print, and copyright has reverted to its author.
-
Such News Of The Land: U.S. Women Nature Writers
Thomas S. Edwards and Elizabeth A. DeWolfe
This pathbreaking collection, which contains 19 essays from scholars in a variety of fields, illuminates the work of two centuries of American women nature writers. Some discuss traditional nature writers such as Susan Fenimore Cooper, Mary Austin, Gene Stratton Porter, and Annie Dillard. Others examine the work of Zora Neale Hurston, Gloria Anzaldua, and Leslie Marmon Silko, writers not often associated with this genre. Essays on germinal texts such as Marjory Stoneman Douglas's The Everglades: River of Grass stand alongside examinations of market bulletins and women's gardens, showing how the rich diversity of women's nature writing has shaped and expanded the genre, and enlarged the audience for whom nature mattered.
This second, digital edition contains an updated introduction and author biographies.
-
University Of New England: A Story In Pictures
UNE Office of Communications, Laura M. Duffy, Holly Haywood, Anouar Majid, Marine Miller, and Philip Shelley
From the Preface: “…This book is an attempt to capture UNE’s spirit through photography and minimal textual annotations. Finding a theme that runs through, and connects, the various colleges and organizations that eventually coalesced into the University of New England was relatively easy. Westbrook College, St. Francis College, and the New England Foundation for Osteopathic Medicine (NEFOM) were all motivated by providing opportunities to minority groups and improving the quality of life in our region. The pioneers who established these organizations and saw them through their early years left an indelible mark on the genetic makeup of UNE, one that continues to thrive today. A practical vision, rooted in an unshakeable commitment to human dignity, has been our guiding star from the start. A willingness to explore new strategies and adopt change have served us well.
This is the spirit that photographer Holly Haywood and writer Philip Shelley set out to convey in this book. … The book was designed by Marine Miller and Laura Duffy … and conceived and produced during the last year of Danielle Ripich’s presidency (2016–17)…”
-
Conversations In The Rainforest: Culture, Values, And The Environment In Central Africa
Richard B. Peterson
This book examines the environmental perceptions, values, and practices of inhabitants of Central Africa’s rainforests in order to help build a more firm foundation for ecological and social sustainability at the local level, while also making contributions to global environmental ethics from underrepresented African cultural traditions. It focuses on two case studies in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), one an integrated health and sustainable development project in the Ubangi region, and the other a large wildlife reserve in the Ituri Forest. Through in-depth interviews, focus groups, and participant observation conducted with local farmers and foragers, project staff, and local academics, the author records cultural and practical resources for the promotion of ecological sustainability both locally and globally. This revised and updated edition includes a new Preface and Afterword highlighting some of the key transformations that have taken place in the DRC, and relating those changes to the enduring themes discussed in the original work. In addition to several new color figures, new color photographs provide alluring images of the places and people with whom the author worked.
-
Two Weeks Notice...Aloha
John L. Bove
Written and published by John L. Bove, former Dean of Admissions for St. Francis College, Two Weeks Notice...Aloha documents his struggle to come to terms with his loss following the death of his wife. From its preface:
“This was originally a journal through which I sought to regain some equilibrium and understanding. The loss of Fran turned my world “topsy turvy.” I was so angry and grief stricken it threatened my health. Stress of any kind, left unchecked, attacks the immune system which inevitably leads to illness.
Writing gives you a focal point for your anger and grief. Introspective writing, I have discovered, is a lot like meditation. It allows you to view your thoughts much like an outside observer would do. In my case it helped me evaluate the anger, and give thoughtful consideration to my personal environment. It allowed the grief and anger to be brought into focus, and the unforgiveness to be understood. It is a great self-counseling tool.”