Adarna Sale; Summer Reading List c/o Ateneo Press

Adarna House has a back-to-school sale from May 21 to June 21 in their showroom at 2/F FSS Bldg., Scout Tuason cor. Scout Castor Sts., Bgy. Laging Handa, QC. They will be offering 50% to 70% discounts on books. The Adarna Showroom is open from Monday to Saturday (8AM to 5PM).

Suggested summer reads by Ateneo University Press:

“Acquiring Eyes” by Jonathan Beller brings into focus the works of HR Ocampo, Lino Brocka, Ishmael Bernal, and Emmanuel Garibay. The book analyzes these masters’ paintings and films not only for their contents, but also for what they have to say as media regarding modes of life and struggle.

“Body and Sexuality” edited by Agnes Brazal and Andrea Lizares Si. This groundbreaking anthology provide much needed insights for Asian Christian women to affirm their body and dignity. It makes significant contributions to Asian feminist theology and is a valuable resource for churches, clergy, seminarians and pastora workers involved in women’s emancipation and liberation.

“Colonial Pathologies” by Warwick Anderson traces the development of medicine in the American period, albeit in a context of analyzing how the political rationality of colonialism became manifest in a technical discourse on bodily practice, mundane contact, and the banalities of custom and habit. In short, it tries to show how experiencing hygiene was also a way of experiencing race and empire.

“In the Name of Civil Society” by Eva-Lotta Hedman chronicles the history of mobilization in the name of civil society, from NAMFREL in 1953 to People Power II in 2001. The book examines the notion of civil society not as a set of identifiable actors or interests, but rather a zone where opposing forces play out against each other, and where a powerful bloc seeks to perform a dominant role.

“Investing in Miracles” by Katharine Wiegele delves into the phenomenon of El Shaddai, and its so-called prosperity theology. It offers an in-depth look into this movement, characterized by its effective use of the mass media and its huge, emotion-filled outdoor rallies. The book argues that El Shaddai’s theology directly engages and affirms desires for material signs of modernity in ways that neither the mainstream Catholic church nor the leftist movement do not.

“Mindanao Ethnohistory Beyond Nations” by Shinzo Hayase traces how the maritime Southeast Asia tribal societies that prospered under the “Age of Commerce” lost their autonomy in the course of modernization and became minorities. In focusing his study on three societies–Maguindanao, Sangir and Bagobo societies– the author argues that history cannot just be written from a national historical point of view, nor a mainland-centered perspective.

“Minimizing Corruption” is the second in a series of Philippine Democracy Audit reports by Edna Co, Millar Lim, Melissa Jayme-Lao, and Lilibeth Jovita Juan. It takes stock of the extent to which public institutions and the society at large address the problem of corruption by examining the laws, policies, programs, as well as practice and culture, and examines how citizens deal with or even participate in corruption. In the process the book hopes to contribute to the effort of enlightening society about corruption and its meaning for democracy.

“Ang Sandali ng mga Mata” by Alvin Yapan relates the age-old story about Bicol, simultaneously with that of the past and contemporary events. The combination of the epic narrative with recent and current events gives depth to this first novel.

“Satanic Mills and Silicon Islands?” by Steven McKay looks at the high-tech electronics manufacturing sector in the Philippines, particularly semi-conductors. The book presents case studies of companies, and through these the everyday lives of workers are highlighted, showing how these are embedded deeply in the context of capital, the state and global workers’ networks.

All books are available or may be ordered from the following good bookstores: Fully Booked (756-5001), Popular Bookstore (372-2162), Powerbooks (490-1158), and Solidaridad (523-0870). On campus the books may be bought directly from the LS bookstore (4266001 loc. 5184) and the Ateneo press bookshop (4265984; 4266001 ext 4613; unipress@admu.edu.ph; www.ateneopress.org).