‘World Beyond Our Borders’ highlights international books

From oral traditions in northern Europe to modern Turkish-German novels, from an anthropologist’s memoir of India to Kissinger’s impact on the last century, this fall’s "World Beyond Our Borders" series offers a lively and eclectic mix of new work by University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty.

Attendees can join the authors for one — or all four — of these free, public events.

This series, sponsored by UW–Madison’s Division of International Studies, the International Institute and Borders Books, brings together avid readers and UW–Madison faculty for public, lively discussions about topics that span the globe.

• Tuesday, Sept. 11: B. Venkat Mani (Department of German). "Cosmopolitical Claims: Turkish-German Literatures From Nadolny to Pamuk" (University of Iowa Press, 2007). Mani explores literary claims of cosmopolitanism in four "Turkish-German" novels to argue that the cultural hyphen signals at best a scrutiny of German and Turkish national identities. The discussion will be held at 7 p.m. at Borders Books West, 3750 University Ave., Madison.
• Sunday, Oct. 14: Kirin Narayan (Department of Anthropology). "My Family and Other Saints" (University of Chicago Press, 2007). Narayan’s memoir, drawing on the author’s training as anthropologist and folklorist, is both an amusing and affecting portrait of her "immediate, extended and honorary family living at the crossroads between India and America at a time that spirituality directed much of the traffic." The discussion will be held at 2 p.m. in the On Wisconsin Room at the Armory and Gymnasium (formerly Red Gym), 716 Langdon St., Madison. This is a Wisconsin Book Festival event.
• Wednesday, Nov. 7: Thomas A. DuBois (Department of Scandinavian Studies). "Lyric, Meaning and Audience in the Oral Tradition of Northern Europe" (Notre Dame Press, 2006). DuBois draws on lyric songs from England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Norway, Sweden and Finland, and from medieval to contemporary times, to explore the question of meaning in folklore. The discussion will take place at 7 p.m. at Borders Books West, 3750 University Ave., Madison.
• Thursday, Dec. 6: Jeremi Suri (Department of History). "Henry Kissinger and the American Century" (Harvard University Press, 2007). A thought-provoking, interpretive study of one of the most influential and controversial political figures of the 20th century. "This book is different from every other book about Henry Kissinger. [It] is critical to our understanding of how and why Kissinger acquired his positions," said Melvin R. Laird, former secretary of defense. The discussion will take place at 7 p.m. at Borders Books West, 3750 University Ave., Madison.