Privileged Minorities: Syrian Christianity, Gender, and Minority Rights in Postcolonial India (Global South Asia)

History

Thomas, Sonja

Asia

University of Washington Press

Although demographically a minority in Kerala, India, Syrian Christians are not a subordinated community. They are caste-, race-, and class-privileged, and have long benefitted, both economically and socially, from their privileged position. Focusing on Syrian Christian women, Sonja Thomas explores how this community illuminates larger questions of multiple oppressions, privilege and subordination, racialization, and religion and secularism in India. In Privileged Minorities, Thomas examines a wide range of sources, including oral histories, ethnographic interviews, and legislative assembly debates, to interrogate the relationships between religious rights and women's rights in Kerala. Using an intersectional approach, and US women of color feminist theory, she demonstrates the ways that race, caste, gender, religion, and politics are inextricably intertwined, with power and privilege working in complex and nuanced ways. By attending to the ways in which inequalities within groups shape very different experiences of religious and political movements in feminist and rights-based activism, Thomas lays the groundwork for imagining new feminist solidarities across religions, castes, races, and classes.

Religion & Spirituality

From the Desk of Zoe Washington meets Ways to Make Sunshine in this “noteworthy” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) middle grade novel about a determined young girl who must rely on her ingenuity and scientific know-how to save her beloved cat.\nTwelve-year-old Mira’s summer is looking pretty bleak. Her best friend Thomas just moved a billion and one miles away from Florida to Washington, DC. Her dad is job searching and he’s been super down lately. Her phone screen cracked after a home science experiment gone wrong. And of all people who could have moved into Thomas’s old house down the street, Mira gets stuck with Tamika Smith, her know-it-all nemesis who’s kept Mira in second place at the school science fair four years running.\nMira’s beloved cat, Sir Fig Newton, has been the most stable thing in her life lately, but now he seems off, too. With her phone gone and no internet over the weekend at her strict Gran’s house, Mira must research Fig’s symptoms the old-fashioned way: at the library. She determines that he has “the silent cat killer” diabetes. A visit to the vet confirms her diagnosis, but that one appointment stretched family funds to the limit—they’ll never be able to afford cat insulin shots.\nWhen Mira’s parents tell her they may have to give Fig up to people who can afford his treatment, Mira insists she can earn the $2,000 needed within a month. Armed with ingenuity, determination, and one surprising ally, can Mira save her best (four-legged) friend before it’s too late?\nFrom School Library Journal\nGr 4–7—Mira dreams of being an astrophysicist, but first this middle-schooler must make it through the worst summer of her life. Things start out with a literal bang as her experiment to create plasma by microwaving grapes goes awry. Her unemployed dad searches unsuccessfully for a job, her best friend now lives hundreds of miles away, and her science-fair nemesis shows up at all the wrong times. And when Mira's beloved cat Sir Fig Newton falls ill, the family cannot afford treatment. Mira gathers information, analyzes data, and arrives at a plan to save him. Scientific facts are woven into the first-person narrative, with Mira's feelings often described in astrophysical terms: embarrassment as a black hole, frustration as superheated energy, and solitude as an asteroid's aftermath. A vibrant cast of secondary characters includes Mira's church-going grandmother, who convinces her granddaughter of the value of faith. Mira, whose mother is white and father is Black, finds inspiration through the experiences of noted women scientists of color; brief descriptions of trailblazers like Mae Jemison fit neatly into the narrative. The plot takes one detour that minimizes the potential seriousness of an allergic reaction, but gets back on track to reach a satisfying conclusion. VERDICT Middle grade readers looking for realistic stories with engaging protagonists will enjoy meeting Mira, a girl whose passion for science gives her a sense of purpose and the tools to solve problems.—Jenny Andrus

Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence

Children's Books

Animals

Aladdin

From the Desk of Zoe Washington meets Ways to Make Sunshine in this "noteworthy" (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) middle grade novel about a determined young girl who must rely on her ingenuity and scientific know-how to save her beloved cat. Twelve-year-old Mira's summer is looking pretty bleak. Her best friend Thomas just moved a billion and one miles away from Florida to Washington, DC. Her dad is job searching and he's been super down lately. Her phone screen cracked after a home science experiment gone wrong. And of all people who could have moved into Thomas's old house down the street, Mira gets stuck with Tamika Smith, her know-it-all nemesis who's kept Mira in second place at the school science fair four years running. Mira's beloved cat, Sir Fig Newton, has been the most stable thing in her life lately, but now he seems off, too. With her phone gone and no internet over the weekend at her strict Gran's house, Mira must research Fig's symptoms the old-fashioned way: at the library. She determines that he has "the silent cat killer" diabetes. A visit to the vet confirms her diagnosis, but that one appointment stretched family funds to the limit--they'll never be able to afford cat insulin shots. When Mira's parents tell her they may have to give Fig up to people who can afford his treatment, Mira insists she can earn the $2,000 needed within a month. Armed with ingenuity, determination, and one surprising ally, can Mira save her best (four-legged) friend before it's too late?

Olive Blackwood Takes Action!

Arts, Music & Photography

Product Description 
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Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls: 100 Real-Life Tales of Black Girl Magic is the fourth volume of 
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 Review 
"Reading can inspire you to do great things—what a great gift for a preteen! This series features boundary-breaking women and includes stories about some who have moved me the most—like Toni Morrison. They even included me!" -- Oprah says on OprahDaily.com"The ultimate inspiration for rebel girls-in-the-making." -- Denene Millner, New York Times bestselling author and publisher of Denene Millner Books "The book is a reminder for Black girls everywhere to be free-spirited, rebellious, and ultimately, their boldest, most courageous self." -- Glory Edim, Founder at Well Read Black Girl "A visual celebration of Black women from around the world, these pages vividly showcase a wide array of contributions and cultures. I’m glad this book exists for a new generation of Black girls." -- Tarana Burke, founder of the #MeToo movement "If only I had this book to help lay a blueprint for my own dreams when I was a kid, I imagine the roadblocks society placed in my path wouldn’t have been so intimidating to take on” -- Taryn Finley, Editor of HuffPost Black Voices "There’s nothing better than being reminded of how magical and magnificent it is being a Black woman. And that we just keep getting doper!" -- Julee Wilson, Beauty Director at Cosmopolitan "This book shows our Black girls that while yes, the path to success isn’t necessarily easy, that’s no reason to ever doubt yourself or feel discouraged about your future. Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls encourages readers to think and dream big, because the world cannot move without us." -- Kayla Greaves, Editor at InStyle Magazine "Historically, the c

Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls: 100 Real-Life Tales of Black Girl Magic

Rebel Girls

Workneh, Lilly

Thompson, Cashawn

Odero, Diana

Ware, Jestine

Biographies

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