Books published by Vanderbilt University Press

An exposition of the birth and consistent growth of Dewey's commitment to an idealistic theory of knowledge in the context of a naturalistic empiricism.

The story and history of the Beats couldn't be found in the traditional libraries or archives of academic research. For preeminent historian of Beat culture John Tytell, it had to be found in the bars, towns, roads, and hangouts of these writers and figures. And as Writing Beat demonstrates, the same techniques apply to new and future writers.

""This book tells the story of TennCare, Tennessee's Medicaid program. It provides a common understanding of the program's events and how the four major stakeholding groups viewed those events. Using that common story, the book encourages public policy analysis of Tennessee's experiences to better construct ACA Medicaid Expansion programs"--Provided by publisher"--

By the early twentyfirst century, a startling consensus had emerged about the overall aim of American school reform. In an era of political discord, and in a field historically known for contentiousness, the notion of promoting educational excellence for all students was a distinct point of bipartisan agreement. Shaped by a corps of entrepreneurial reformers intent on finding "e;what works"e; and taking it to scale, this hybrid vision won over the nation's most ambitious and wellresourced policy leaders at foundations and nonprofits, in state and federal government, and in urban school districts from coast to coast. "e;Excellence for all"e; might, at first glance, appear to be nothing more than a rhetorical flourish. Who, after all, would oppose the idea of a great education for every student? Yet it is hardly a throwaway phrase. Rather, it represents a surprising fusion of educational policy approaches that had been in tense opposition throughout the twentieth centurythose on the right favoring social efficiency, and those on the left supporting social justice. This book seeks to understand why the "e;excellence for all"e; vision took hold at the time it did, unpacks the particular beliefs and assumptions embedded in it, and details the often informal coalition building that produced this period of consensus. Examining the nation's largest urban school districts (Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York), the author details three major reform efforts in chapters titled "e;The Right Space: The Small Schools Movement"e;; "e;The Right Teachers: Teach for America"e;; and "e;The Right Curriculum: Expanding Advanced Placement."e;

"Recounts the journeys of the author's autistic son Jonah and seven other children and their families in their quests for educational placements and therapeutic interventions, such as electroconvulsive therapy or ECT"--

During the five years in which he represented Brazil in the United States (under both the Cardoso and Lula presidencies), Ambassador Barbosa witnessed presidential elections that brought opposition parties to power in both the United States and Brazil, the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the outbreak of war in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the election of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.In this memoir, translated from the Portuguese, he recounts the most significant regional and global issues that arose, alongside the domestic political conflicts within a divided North American society. Barbosa provides sophisticated analysis of economic relations during these changing times, and also explores the many US misconceptions about Brazil and the Latin American region. From the privileged post of observation that an ambassadorship in the American capital represents, Barbosa had the exceptional opportunity over a considerable length of time to closely follow relations between Brazil and the United States. He witnessed relations evolve under two governments as they developed distinct foreign policies, which at times led to a breakdown in understanding between the two countries.

"Debates the pro-choice versus pro-life stance on abortion. Examines the legal status of the fetus in the recent Personhood Amendments in state legislatures and in Supreme Court decisions, and asks whether Roe v. Wade should have focused on the viability of the fetus or on the bodily integrity of the woman"--

Takes an intimate look at how health care practitioners struggle to live up to their professional and caring ideals through (or during?) twelve-hour shifts on the hospital floor. From 3,200 hours of participant-observation and 500 hours of follow-up interviews the authors create a complex picture of the workplace conflicts that different types of health care practitioners face.

One message that comes along with ever-improving fertility treatments and increasing acceptance of single motherhood, older first-time mothers, and same-sex partnerships, is that almost any woman can and should become a mother. The media and many studies focus on infertile and involuntarily childless women who are seeking treatment. They characterize this group as anxious and willing to try anything, even elaborate and financially ruinous high-tech interventions, to achieve a successful pregnancy. But the majority of women who struggle with fertility avoid treatment. The women whose interviews appear in Not Trying belong to this majority. Their attitudes vary and may change as their life circumstances evolve. Some support the prevailing cultural narrative that women are meant to be mothers and refuse to see themselves as childfree by choice. Most of these women, who come from a wider range of social backgrounds than most researchers have studied, experience deep ambivalence about motherhood and non-motherhood, never actually choosing either path. They prefer to let life unfold, an attitude that seems to reduce anxiety about not conforming to social expectations.