Books by Ruth Barcan

What does it mean to be an academic today? What kinds of experiences do students have, and how are they affected by what they learn? Why do so many students and their teachers feel like frauds? Can we learn to teach and research in ways that foster hope and deflate pretension? Academic Life and Labour in the New University.

Through fascinating case studies and interviews with practitioners, Complementary and Alternative Medicine critically examines the appeal of complementary and alternative medicines as well as the varied experiences of those who engage in them.

Why does nudity mean so many contradictory things, and why is it treated so differently in different contexts? Drawing on a wealth of examples from popular culture, literature, philosophy and religion, as well as first-hand interviews, this work goes deep into the naked underworld to answer these questions.