BiblioVault - Books by Eck, Paul

Blueberry Culture

Paul Eck

Rutgers University Press, 1967

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Common Ground

Islam, Christianity, and Religious Pluralism

Paul L. Heck

Georgetown University Press, 2009

Christian-Muslim interaction is a reality today in all corners of the globe, but while many celebrate the commonality of these traditions, significant differences remain. If these religions cannot be easily reconciled, can we perhaps view them through a single albeit refractive lens? This is the approach Paul Heck takes in Common Ground: To undertake a study of religious pluralism as a theological and social reality, and to approach the two religions in tandem as part of a broader discussion on the nature of the good society.

Rather than compare Christianity and Islam as two species of faith, religious pluralism offers a prism through which a society as a whole—secular and religious alike—can consider its core beliefs and values. Christianity and Islam are not merely identities that designate particular communities, but reference points that all can comprehend and discuss knowledgeably. This analysis of how Islam and Christianity understand theology, ethics, and politics—specifically democracy and human rights—offers a way for that discussion to move forward.

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Message to Our Folks

The Art Ensemble of Chicago

Paul Steinbeck

University of Chicago Press, 2017

This year marks the golden anniversary of the Art Ensemble of Chicago, the flagship band of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians. Formed in 1966 and flourishing until 2010, the Art Ensemble distinguished itself by its unique performance practices—members played hundreds of instruments on stage, recited poetry, performed theatrical sketches, and wore face paint, masks, lab coats, and traditional African and Asian dress. The group, which built a global audience and toured across six continents, presented their work as experimental performance art, in opposition to the jazz industry’s traditionalist aesthetics.

In Message to Our Folks, Paul Steinbeck combines musical analysis and historical inquiry to give us the definitive study of the Art Ensemble. In the book, he proposes a new theory of group improvisation that explains how the band members were able to improvise together in so many different styles while also drawing on an extensive repertoire of notated compositions. Steinbeck examines the multimedia dimensions of the Art Ensemble’s performances and the ways in which their distinctive model of social relations kept the group performing together for four decades. Message to Our Folks is a striking and valuable contribution to our understanding of one of the world’s premier musical groups.

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Sound Experiments

The Music of the AACM

Paul Steinbeck

University of Chicago Press, 2022

A groundbreaking study of the trailblazing music of Chicago’s AACM, a leader in the world of jazz and experimental music.

Founded on Chicago’s South Side in 1965 and still thriving today, the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) is the most influential collective organization in jazz and experimental music. In Sound Experiments, Paul Steinbeck offers an in-depth historical and musical investigation of the collective, analyzing individual performances and formal innovations in captivating detail. He pays particular attention to compositions by Muhal Richard Abrams and Roscoe Mitchell, the Association’s leading figures, as well as Anthony Braxton, George Lewis (and his famous computer-music experiment, Voyager), Wadada Leo Smith, and Henry Threadgill, along with younger AACM members such as Mike Reed, Tomeka Reid, and Nicole Mitchell.

Sound Experiments represents a sonic history, spanning six decades, that affords insight not only into the individuals who created this music but also into an astonishing collective aesthetic. This aesthetic was uniquely grounded in nurturing communal ties across generations, as well as a commitment to experimentalism. The AACM’s compositions broke down the barriers between jazz and experimental music and made essential contributions to African American expression more broadly. Steinbeck shows how the creators of these extraordinary pieces pioneered novel approaches to instrumentation, notation, conducting, musical form, and technology, creating new soundscapes in contemporary music.

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Women and Work

A Reader

Edited by Paula J. Dubeck and Kathryn Borman

Rutgers University Press, 1997

Despite benefiting from the struggles of previous generations, working women today still face a dismaying gauntlet of sexual discrimination. This encyclopedic collection of 150 original articles by top scholars takes an inter-disciplinary look at the issues faced by women of all ages, races, ethnic backgrounds, and nationalities in a spectrum of diverse occupations, from doctors to journalists, from nuns to soldiers.

A variety of perspectives are used to investigate women's work experience at individual, organizational, and societal levels. Some of the essays focus on how women fare in a variety of occupations, summarizing women's representation in different jobs, and discussing the unique problems they face. Others examine the influences of religious and educational institutions on women's career choices. Women and Work also reviews the history of protective legislation.

The contributors consider current research on women's work interests, commitment, and satisfaction, and examine sexual discrimination, harassment and coercion, as well as gender bias in job evaluations and personnel decisions. They also explore various strategies for reducing or eliminating discrimination, harassment, and wage discrimination.

Issues surrounding the work/family intersection are addressed, including when to have children, the difficulties that arise from the competing demands of work and child care, the consequences for women's careers, research examining the effects of mothers' employment on children's development, and issues surrounding eldercare.

The volume surveys the status of women in an international framework, analyzing women and work in selected countries, arranged to reflect the varying levels of development. Women and Work is a valuable reference book, providing a thoughtful overview of the issues facing working women.

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