BiblioVault - Books by Brown, Steven

Alabama Justice

The Cases and Faces That Changed a Nation

Steven P. Brown

University of Alabama Press, 2020

WINNER OF THE ANNE B. & JAMES B. MCMILLAN PRIZE IN SOUTHERN HISTORY

Examines the legacies of eight momentous US Supreme Court decisions that have their origins in Alabama legal disputes

Unknown to many, Alabama has played a remarkable role in a number of Supreme Court rulings that continue to touch the lives of every American. In Alabama Justice: The Cases and Faces That Changed a Nation, Steven P. Brown has identified eight landmark cases that deal with religion, voting rights, libel, gender discrimination, and other issues, all originating from legal disputes in Alabama.

Written in a concise and accessible manner, each case law chapter begins with the circumstances that created the dispute. Brown then provides historical and constitutional background for the issue followed by a review of the path of litigation. Excerpts from the Court’s ruling in the case are also presented, along with a brief account of the aftermath and significance of the decision. The First Amendment (New York Times v. Sullivan), racial redistricting (Gomillion v. Lightfoot), the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment (Frontiero v. Richardson), and prayer in public schools (Wallace v. Jaffree) are among the pivotal issues stamped indelibly by disputes with their origins in Alabama legal, political, and cultural landscapes. By examining such landmark twentieth-century milestones and eras such as the Scottsboro Boys trial, the Civil Rights movement, and the fight for women’s rights through a legal lens, Brown sheds new and unexpected light on the ways that events in Alabama have shaped the nation.

In addition to his analysis of cases, Brown discusses the three associate Supreme Court justices from Alabama to the Supreme Court: John McKinley, John Archibald Campbell, and Hugo Black. Their cumulative influence on constitutional interpretation, the institution of the Court, and the day-to-day rights and liberties enjoyed by every American is impossible to measure. A closing chapter examines the careers and contributions of these three Alabamians.

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John McKinley and the Antebellum Supreme Court

Circuit Riding in the Old Southwest

Steven P. Brown

University of Alabama Press, 2012

Provides a penetrating analysis of US Supreme Court justice John McKinley

Steven P. Brown rescues from obscurity John McKinley, one of the three Alabama justices, along with John Archibald Campbell and Hugo Black, who have served on the US Supreme Court. A native Kentuckian who moved in 1819 to northern Alabama as a land speculator and lawyer, McKinley was elected to the state legislature three times and became first a senator and then a representative in the US Congress before being elevated to the Supreme Court in 1837. He spent his first five years on the court presiding over the newly created Ninth Circuit, which covered Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. His was not only the newest circuit, encompassing a region that, because of its recent settlement, included a huge number of legal claims related to property, but it was also the largest, the furthest from Washington, DC, and by far the most difficult to traverse.

While this is a thorough biography of McKinley’s life, it also details early Alabama state politics and provides one of the most exhaustive accounts available of the internal workings of the antebellum Supreme Court and the very real challenges that accompanied the now-abandoned practice of circuit riding. In providing the first in depth assessment of the life and Supreme Court career of Justice John McKinley, Brown has given us a compelling portrait of a man active in the leading financial, legal, and political circles of his day.

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Listening Myths

Applying Second Language Research to Classroom Teaching

Steven Brown

University of Michigan Press, 2011

This volume was conceived as a "best practices" resource for teachers of ESL listening courses in the way that Vocabulary Myths by Keith S. Folse (and Writing Myths by Joy Reid) is one for reading and vocabulary teachers. It was written to help ensure that teachers of listening are not perpetuating the myths of teaching listening.

Both the research and pedagogy in this book are based on the newest research in the field of second language acquisition. Steven Brown is the author of the Active Listening textbook series and is a teacher trainer.

The myths debunked in this book are:

§ Listening is the same as reading.

§ Listening is passive.

§ Listening equals comprehension.

§ Because L1 language ability is effortlessly acquired, L2 listening ability is too.

§ Listening means listening to conversations.

§ Listening is an individual, inside-the-head process.

§ Students should only listen to authentic materials.

§ Listening can’t be taught

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Second Language Acquisition Myths

Applying Second Language Research to Classroom Teaching

Steven Brown and Jenifer Larson-Hall

University of Michigan Press, 2012

This volume was conceived as a first book in SLA for advanced undergraduate or introductory master’s courses that include education majors, foreign language education majors, and English majors. It’s also an excellent resource for practicing teachers.

Both the research and pedagogy in this book are based on the newest research in the field of second language acquisition. It is not the goal of this book to address every SLA theory or teach research methodology. It does however address the myths and questions that non-specialist teacher candidates have about language learning.

Steven Brown is the co-author of the introductory applied linguistics textbook Understanding Language Structure, Interaction, and Variation textbook (and workbook).

The myths challenged in this book are:

§ Children learn languages quickly and easily while adults are ineffective in comparison.

§ A true bilingual is someone who speaks two languages perfectly.

§ You can acquire a language simply through listening or reading.

§ Practice makes perfect.

§ Language students learn (and retain) what they are taught.

§ Language learners always benefit from correction.

§ Individual differences are a major, perhaps the major, factor in SLA.

§ Language acquisition is the individual acquisition of grammar.

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Task-Based Listening

What Every ESL Teacher Needs to Know

Steven Brown

University of Michigan Press, 2019

Are you looking for activities to use in your listening classes beyond asking students to answer comprehension questions? In Task-Based Listening, author Steven Brown defines task-based listening (TBL) and describes how to build a task-based listening program, how to create a task-based listening lesson, ways to activate vocabulary acquisition and improve grammatical knowledge, and the links between listening and pronunciation. In addition, he covers the ways that metacognitive strategies can assist students when listening, the advantages of extensive listening, and the benefits of interactive listening. Readers will find specific tips and suggestions for using these concepts in the classroom.

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Trumping Religion

The New Christian Right, the Free Speech Clause, and the Courts

Steven P. Brown

University of Alabama Press, 2004

The first scholarly treatment of the strategies employed by the New Christian Right in litigating cases regarding religion

Trumping Religion provides a detailed analysis of the five major public-interest law firms that have litigated religion cases in the federal courts between 1980 and 2000. Allied with several highly vocal, evangelical ministries, such as those of Jerry Falwell and Pat Robinson, these legal organizations argue that religious expression is a form of protected speech and thereby gain a greater latitude of interpretation in the courts. The long-term agenda of the New Christian Right as illuminated by this study is to shape church-state jurisprudence in a way that permits free course for the Christian gospel.

Steven P. Brown presents his research and conclusions from a balanced viewpoint. In filling a distinct void in the literature, this book will be of considerable interest to political scientists, legal scholars, law schools and seminaries, and anyone concerned with the intersection of religion and judicial politics.

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Understanding Language Structure, Interaction, and Variation, Third Ed.

An Introduction to Applied Linguistics and Sociolinguistics for Nonspecialists

Steven Brown, Salvatore Attardo, and Cynthia Vigliotti

University of Michigan Press, 2014

Understanding Language Structure, Interaction, and Variation is an introduction to the study of language and applied linguistics for students who have had a minimum of exposure to the discipline of linguistics. Using clear, easy-to-understand explanations and examples, this text avoids the in-depth theoretical coverage found in texts written for those who specialize in linguistics or SLA. As a result, this book is perfect for students whose chosen fields require them to be acquainted with the ways language works--such as future teachers, psychologists, sociologists, and anthropologists--but who do not intend to become linguists. The text is also suitable for English or ESL/EFL teachers who need a reference volume about various aspects of language, particularly as it applies to teaching. Each chapter includes research projects and further readings.

The third edition of Understanding Language Structure, Interaction, and Variation features a new design and reorganization. All content has been significantly revised and updated. Each chapter also debunks a common language myth and now incorporates exercises that, for prior editions, appeared in a supplementary workbook. Extra practice for students is available online, as is additional materials for teachers. (There is no workbook for the third edition.)

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