The Press at Cal Poly Humboldt publishes high-quality trade and scholarly works by or of interest to our campus community. The Press supports Cal Poly Humboldt's mission to improve the human condition and our environment by promoting understanding of social, economic, and environmental issues. The Press welcomes proposals by all authors through the Submit Proposal link on the sidebar.
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Discursos del viaje del agua: Siglos XV-XXI
Lilianet Brintrup Hertling and Gladys Ilarregui
Estos textos pasados por agua nacen del “IV Simposio Libros, Viajes, Viajeros y el discurso del agua” que tuvo lugar en la Europa-Universität Flensburg en Julio de 2022, frente al Mar Báltico. En un marco interdisciplinario cuyo tema central fuera el agua, se abrió un diálogo para sumergirse en las rutas marítimas de los diarios de viajeros, la influencia de los océanos en las literaturas y en los escenarios acuáticos de poblaciones diversas dentro y fuera de la imaginación histórico-literaria. Este volumen no pretende abarcar la totalidad de lo presentado en esa ocasión, sino reunir una serie de ensayos sobre el agua en Latinoamérica y en Europa.
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The ABC's of Gratitude
Sharon K. Ferrett
Even while struggling with the realities of daily life, you may have a glimpse of wonder that opens your heart and changes everything. Instead of being irritated by small annoyances or wallowing in misery, focus on the good, and your life will be transformed. It sounds too simple, but I have experienced the power of gratitude. Once you make looking for the good a daily habit, your life will be a continual source of thanksgiving. I offer this modest book as a primer to help you find countless opportunities to look for the good and practice gratitude.
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A Photographic Exploration of Wigi (currently called Humboldt Bay)
Aldaron Laird
For decades, Aldaron has walked the shores of the bay, climbed its nearby sand dunes, and kayaked its entire periphery, taking over 25,000 photos that reveal the beauty of Wigi as it might appear in some magical, glimmering dream. From those thousands of photos, Aldaron selected 119 for this book. For each photo he kept, he discarded 209 others, which means that of those 25,000 images, he used less than one percent. We might think that taking all those photos required a tremendous amount of work, but it soon becomes clear that Aldaron did not work on this book, he lived and breathed its very essence, so that every photo he did select opens like a window, showing us yet another wonderful facet of Wigi, this place of ten thousand smaller places where land and water so subtly, so strikingly meet. -Jerry Rohde
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Oaxaca y más allá, microrelatos bilingües del corazón / Oaxaca and beyond, bilingual microstories from the heart
Rosamel Segundo Benavides-Garb, James Ephraim Gaasch, Rolando Fernándo MartÍnez Sánchez, and Francisco José Ruiz Cervantes
Oaxaca y más allá, microrrelatos bilingües del corazón, presenta una dimensión de la creatividad artística abundante que florece en este estado del sur de México. Los diecisiete escritores—ocho mujeres y nueve hombres—ofrecen aquí un total de treinta y seis relatos. Algunas historias presentan una relevancia tradicional y atemporal, mientras que otras se asocian a una estética diferente, una narrativa de ruptura y una exploración de la representación misma. De manera profunda, los microrrelatos de este breve volumen captan también nuestra humanidad compartida, y nosotros, los editores, apostamos a que las voces de esta colección nos conmuevan y unan.
Oaxaca and beyond, bilingual microstories from the heart, presents a slice of the rich artistic creativity flourishing in this southern state of Mexico. The seventeen writers—eight women and nine men—offer here a total of thirty-six stories. Some present a timeless, traditional relevance, while others are associated with a different aesthetic, a narrative of rupture and exploration of representation itself. In a profound way, the microstories in this slender volume also capture our shared humanity, and we the editors wager that the voices in this collection will touch and connect us. -
The Gray Bird Sings: The Extraordinary Life of Betty Kwan Chinn
Karen M. Price Ph.D.
“Touched by childhood tragedy, Betty Chinn brings hope to those who have fallen on hard times. Left homeless as a child in China, Chinn became mute. When she came to America, she found both her voice and her mission: aiding those without shelter on our own shores. ” -Barack Obama, awarding Betty the Presidential Citizens Medal
She worked tirelessly to establish homeless shelters and to feed thousands in her community. As a child, she was separated from her family and exposed to the worst of humanity. Despite these monstrous conditions, she journeyed from fear to forgiveness and became a beacon of hope for those most vulnerable and an inspiration for all.
Meet Betty Kwan Chinn.
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Trịnh Công Sơn and Bob Dylan: Essays on War, Love, Songwriting,and Religion
John C. Schafer
In this accessible deep-dive into the careers of Trịnh Công Sơn and Bob Dylan, Trịnh Công Sơn and Bob Dylan evaluates the relationship between two of the 20th century’s most beloved and essential songwriters. Schafer retells countless colorful stories from the two artists’ lives drawn from a wide range of Vietnamese and English-language sources, illuminating Vietnamese and American views on spirituality, romance, philosophy, identity, and conflict.
Schafer critically examines the singers’ lifestyles, relationships, and public statements, meticulously collecting primary and secondary sources into a handy reader of 20th century global literary culture. The book even includes English translations of Trịnh Công Sơn’s essays and lyrics by Cao Thị Như Quỳnh, many here in translation for the very first time.
Trịnh Công Sơn and Bob Dylan is an essential read for fans of Bob Dylan and Trịnh Công Sơn, and a substantive addition to the libraries of comparative literature scholars. -
Looking for Beauty: Humboldt’s Plein Air Community Shows Why Art Matters
CM Phillips
This historic publication serves as Humboldt County's first anthology of painters. It showcases a snapshot in time of thirty-seven members of Humboldt's Plein Air community—from beginners to world-renown professionals—in an avant-garde design that blends layers of paintings with commentaries about them, photographs of the artists, and responses to the prompt, "Does art matter in this crossroads of our time?"
Now more than ever, it is an important question to ask. In this book, you'll find answers from thirty-seven different artists, with each response as unique as Humboldt's thriving Plein Air community. In he words of Plein Air painter Steven Taylor, "I am a part of an active art community, and this is our story."
Designed and compiled by CM Phillips
Artist photographs by Kristy Hellum
Foreword by James Woglom -
Southeast Humboldt Hinterlands
Jerry Rohde
A history of southeast Humboldt County, covering the years from 1850 to 1964, illustrated with over 175 full-color historical photographs and maps. Includes:
- Stories about the sheep ranchers who gambled and drank their days away in Blocksburg, the rescue party that took “High Rock” Gordon across the snowy wastes of Showers Pass, and the shootout on the Bridgeville bridge.
- Accounts of the governors from Michigan, who collected redwoods on the Van Duzen; the “second largest city in Humboldt County,” whose businesses failed to fill a single street; and the navy that removed the pepperwoods from Pepperwood.
From Iaqua to Harris, from Carlotta to Dinsmore, this historic work covers the 28 towns and places that make up this remote corner of the country.
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Southern Humboldt Indians
Jerry Rohde
More than a century after they had spoken, these early day Indians will be heard. All of us who make Humboldt County our home deserve to have access to this information. We deserve to know the many, many names of the tribal groups that were once here and to learn the story of these groups. And we deserve to know the names of the Indian elders who transmitted these names and told these stories, just as we deserve to know the stories about the elders themselves.
This is the 2024 second printing, which includes minor updates.
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Southwest Humboldt Hinterlands
Jerry Rohde
A history of southwest Humboldt County, covering the years from 1850 to 1964, illustrated with over 200 full-color historical photographs and maps. Includes:
- Accounts of the oil “boom” in Petrolia, the building of the Redwood Highway, and the race to protect the redwoods of the Bull Creek and Dyerville flats.
- Stories about “sheriff” Ulysses S. Grant Myers, early- day environmentalist Laura Perrott Mahan, and Indian survivor George Burtt.
- Images, in words and pictures, of once-important but now nearly forgotten places such as Capetown, Dyerville, Briceland, and Bull Creek.
All of this and more will recall the rich history of the 24 places that make up this remote corner of the country.
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Acupuncture for Curious People: A Needle Healer's Manual
Kaz Wegmϋller
Welcome to the art of needle healing! In this handy manual designed for the lay reader and seasoned healer alike, acupuncturist Kaz Wegmϋller presents his art in a format that is clear, concise, instructive, philosophical, and practical. In a field dominated equally by clinical jargon and metaphysical Orientalism, Kaz’s approach is refreshingly down-to-earth. He starts by expanding acupuncture’s usual definition to encompass “a unique way of engaging with the mystery of existence,” and goes on to guide the reader in an exploration of this ancient art that centers on touch, curiosity, sensitivity, and humanity.
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Toyon: Seven Decades of Student Driven Publishing
Erika Andrews, Asha Galindo, and Sarah Godlin
This book is meant to capture the history and spirit of Toyon literary journal from its origin in 1954 to the future that surely will exist beyond these pages. The aim of this book is to inform future Toyon staffers of the unique history of the publication, to stress the importance of maintaining archives, and to provide insight into the inner workings of book/magazine production over the last 60+ years.
This book is also a place to tell the story of a student-run publication from the perspective of the student. We, Erika and Asha, are two former Toyon staff members who worked on issues 65 and 66, in the years of 2019 and 2020, respectively. We hope that these pages will entertain as well as educate—and that it truly honors the passionate and dynamic voices of the student editors, contributors, and volunteers that have published this magazine year after year.
We have striven to include many details and first-hand accounts and to properly interpret the information archived in the Humboldt State University library special collections. As with any archive, gaps remain in the history of Toyon that we’ve been able to access; for some periods we had very little information other than the finished magazine. In these instances, we worked hard to summarize what we could and fill in gaps using course catalogues and other materials from the archives to properly capture the era.
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The History of Congressional Apportionment
Charles M. Biles
NEW REVISED SECOND EDITION.
The Congressional apportionment problem is deceptively easy to state: How many seats in the U. S. House of Representatives does each state get? To answer that question, Charles Biles, award-winning Professor Emeritus of Mathematics at Humboldt State University, examines the math and politics that has shaped government and power from the founding of the country to the modern day.
Employing an interdisciplinary approach that stems from his research in mathematical modeling and the modeling of natural resource systems, Biles tells a flowing evolutionary tale of how slight changes in calculating apportionment has wrought massive shifts in political power and even decided presidents. Bile’s work adds another chapter to the rich story of American history and the people, politics, and debates that continuously shape the political system we have today.
This second edition includes a detailed account of the reapportionment based on the 2020 census, the impact of extreme partisanship, and an account of the precarious road ahead for the electoral college. This is an essential read for anyone who wants to understand the past and future of our representative democracy.
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Migraciones de la sangre: Textos de escritoras latinoamericanas
Lilianet Brintrup Hertling and Gladys Ilarregui
Migraciones de la sangre Textos de escritoras latinoamericanas, permite que diez autoras Marjorie Agosín, Esther Andradi, Lilianet Brintrup Hertling, Carolina Depetris, Ana María Dolores Huerta Jaramillo, Gladys Ilarregui, Isabel Lipthay, Blanca López de Mariscal, Sandra Lorenzano y Nora Strejilevich, dibujen los trayectos de la sangre en múltiples escenarios: los cuerpos, la sexualidad, los migrantes, los sistemas culturales, sociales y políticos del presente y el pasado a través de un collage de estilos literarios. La sangre con su fuerza atraviesa archivos, viajes, memorias cotidianas, lugares de destierro y migración. Leer este libro es asomarse al hilo de sangre que dibuja y une emotivamente nuestra historicidad.
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What Kind of Future Will Our Children Inherit?
Samuel P. Oliner and Ronnie Swartz
Over the years, my students, research associates, and I have reviewed the literature of psychology, ethics, ecology, climatology, and other areas of study to consider the direction in which our world is going and what kind of future our children will inherit. Our previous work focused on the nature of good and evil—with concern especially for goodness—through which we have considered good in the world and the application of good to achieve a better world. Our books concerned altruism, kindness, empathy, and moral responsibility for diverse others. In this book we concentrate on the areas of greatest concern regarding our future as a species. Scholars are warning us about the direction we are taking in this interconnected world. Many of these experts view our global situation as a “glass half empty”; their studies reveal a future that is bleak and on the verge of catastrophe. There are, however, other scholars who view the world and humanity’s future in more optimistic terms—those who see the “glass half full.” My own work indicates that goodness, defined as concern for others and for making the world a better place, is on the rise.
Making the world a better place is not simply about the glass being half full or half empty; it is both at the same time. With the complexity of global trends comes major challenges, and one cannot say that one perception is correct and the other incorrect. It is much more complicated than that. We have an emergence of those who see the future as promising and perhaps even more harmonious than we have ever imagined, as well as those who believe that we are declining and ruining ourselves. A number of institutions, groups, governments, and individuals have taken these challenges to humanity seriously—have “seen the light”—and are trying to do something about the future state of the world.
This book describes two sides to the future our children stand to inherit: the glass half full and the glass half empty of what has been the trajectory of the world, it seems, since the beginning of human history. The arc of human progress has at times taken major leaps forward; at other times it appears to have lain dormant, only to burst forth with a new energy at a later time. In this collection of writings, we have attempted to show both sides of the picture because to do otherwise would leave this endeavor incomplete. Depicting only the negative would lead one to think that there is nothing positive moving us forward; depicting only the positive would suggest that we have no further work to do.
What kind of future will our children inherit? It is a future like all futures—it contains both an evolution of our species towards a higher level of consciousness and a resistance to such change. This has been the balancing act throughout human history. It will be incumbent upon our children to make sure that the glass of the future is half full.
- Sam Oliner, Founder, Altruistic Behavior Institute
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Humboldt Bay Shoreline, North Eureka to South Arcata: A History of Cultural Influences
Jerry Rohde
In 1850 the area east of Arcata Bay was a tapestry of wetlands and sloughs, fringed by conifer-clad hillsides. Canoe channels and trails connected a string of Wiyot villages that nearly encircled the bay.
Then white settlers arrived, establishing towns at Eureka and Union (Arcata). With them came profound changes in the landscape. Rock quarries. Log drives. “Reclaimed” ranchland. An airport. Four and a half railroads. In 170 years the area was transformed into a web of structures and infrastructures that connected what became the two largest cities in Humboldt County.
Recently a new period of change has begun, promising far greater effects. Global warming has created sea level rise, and Humboldt Bay will be the most severely affected area on the California coast. In response, elected officials, agency experts, and the general public need to make informed decisions about how to deal with the resultant rising water levels. We need to recognize that preparing for the bay’s future requires gaining knowledge of the bay’s past. This book will help start that process.
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HSU Staff Cookbook 2020 - 2021
HSU Staff Council and Sulaina Banks
Recipes from the staff at Humboldt State University. These recipes were compiled during the 2020-2021 school year, and organized by the Humboldt State University Staff Council.
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Ecopsychology Revisited
Jorge Conesa-Sevilla
Ecopsychology Revisited is a critique of and deconstructive approach to several trends termed “ecopsychology.” This work attempts to bring light to some of the misconceptions that have hardened as “ecopsychology,” as these ideas have been reinterpreted and sometimes oversimplified by the general public and some professionals outside mainstream psychology. Part of the confusion arose when “ecopsychology” became inadequately amalgamated with other ideas. Nevertheless, within the social and behavioral sciences, at least, there is great value in devising and applying evidence-based strategies that track the normative ramifications dealing with cognition, emotion and behavior, exploring how or why humans relate to natural processes in a wide range of ways.
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Sewing Their Stories, Telling Their Lives: Embroidered Narratives from Chile to the World Stage (1969-2016)
Martha J. Manier
Embroidered narratives by women living in rural areas, shanty towns, inner cities, and refugee camps dominated markets during the last quarter of the 20th century and the first decade of the 21st. Sewing Their Stories, Telling Their Lives traces the beginning of this artistic movement from three independent Chilean sources to other countries on five continents. Moreover, this richly illustrated book’s own story defines an art form without academic overlay or political agenda but from the artists’ own perspectives, recounted directly in interviews and at sewing tables around the globe.
For Martha J. Manier, Ph.D., who taught Spanish and Women’s Studies at Humboldt State University, stories have always been a prime interest, from the personal stories of family and friends, to medieval exempla, Spanish and American folktales, and, finally, the microcuentos and short stories of contemporary Latin America. Her translations of the latter have appeared in journals, anthologies, and bilingual editions. Currently, she is a research associate at the Museum of International Folk Art where she also volunteers as a textile cataloger.
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Y.E.S.: 50 Years of Community Building
Erika Andrews and Amanda Ramirez-Sebree
Youth Educational Services (Y.E.S.) is more than just an easily acronymed program title. It’s a piece of Humboldt State University history. What started as an off-the-cuff idea has grown into a formidable force on campus and the community.
Y.E.S. provides community engagement programs for HSU students to volunteer in local school and community sites. Y.E.S. programs are student-initiated and student-led and directly serve local community needs. By creating a collaborative, inclusive and safe environment, Y.E.S. volunteers become active creators of their own learning.
Thousands of volunteers and community members have benefited from Y.E.S. programs. These are the threads that weave together the contributions of five decades of Y.E.S. community members, a quilt created by hands and hearts of all ages. This book honors all the voices and perspectives shared, and those yet to be shared, that together form the powerful legacy of Y.E.S.
TO DOWNLOAD THE SPANISH VERSION, CLICK HERE.
TO PURCHASE THE SPANISH VERSION, CLICK HERE.
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American Prometheus: Carnegie's Captain, Bill Jones
Tom Gage
American Prometheus: Carnegie’s Captain, Bill Jones presents a compelling historical memoir of the illustrious life of rebellious steel genius and inventor, Captain Bill Jones.
Hero of the Civil War and Johnstown Flood, Captain Bill Jones built and supervised the Edgar Thomson Steel Works, which in its first five years advanced to the rank of the world’s most productive and profitable steel mill. His “hands-on, all over” style solved Carnegie’s production problems on the spot, enlisted baseball teams from the Works’ departments to defuse ethnic strife, promoted the eight-hour work day, and patented inventions, including the Jones Hot Metal mixer, which revolutionized the steelmaking industry, all while turning down Carnegie’s offers of partnership.
A deft blend of historical narrative and family memoir, this absorbing account of Jones’ dynamic life as a founding key figure in post-Civil War America’s Second Industrial Revolution and as a philanthropist in his own right, is told by none other than his great-grandson. Tom Gage moves beyond the role of biographer and storyteller to delve into research that traces Jones’ relationship to the steel magnate and explores the mysteries posed by family lore.
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African Masks from the Collection of James Gaasch
James Gaasch
African Masks from the Collection of James Gaasch contains photographs of the African masks and carvers from the Bwa (or Bwaba), Winiama and Mossi peoples of Burkina Faso, and the Bamana and Dogon peoples of Mali. Gaasch acquired many of these masks in the villages where they were carved. When possible, he interviewed the village carvers, the creators, of these dancing masks. Gaasch’s interviews with the carvers underscore the cultural context where traditional African world views persist. And, to the extent possible, they give voice to the masks to reveal their own significance. “They are, in our times, signifiers of cultures increasingly under siege, hostage to religious fanaticism, or to impoverishing globalization,” Gaasch explains. “This small book reaffirms the rights of these masks to continue to dance.”
The new second edition of African Masks is now available at amazon.com/African-Masks-Collection-James-Gaasch/dp/1947112244
The Spanish translation of African Masks is now available at amazon.com/Máscaras-Africanas-colección-Gaasch-Spanish/dp/194711218X
The French translation of African Masks is now available at amazon.com/Masques-Africains-Collection-Gaasch-French/dp/1947112155
The trilingual edition of African Masks is now available at amazon.com/African-Masks-Burkina-Faso-Mali/dp/1947112309
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Võ Phiến and the Sadness of Exile
John C. Schafer
Võ Phiến and the Sadness of Exile describes the life and work of one of the most respected writers in the Vietnamese diaspora. A well-known writer in Vietnam before he sought refuge in the United States in 1975, Võ Phiến continued to write in the U.S. He published numerous stories and essays and edited a seven-volume collection of works written in South Vietnam from 1954 - 1975. In this first book-length study in English of a modern Vietnamese writer, Schafer introduces readers to an author who has much to teach us about war, revolution and exile in a strange land.
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The Extraordinary Voyage of Kamome; A Tsunami Boat Comes Home
Lori Dengler, Amya Miller, and Amy Uyeki
This sweet story, intended for lower elementary grades, is intended to provide a window for discussing earthquakes, tsunamis, marine debris, preparedness and cultural awareness in the classroom and within families.
On April 7, 2013, a little over two years after the magnitude 9 Tohoku-oki Japan earthquake triggered a massive tsunami off the coast of northeastern Japan, a lone boat washed up on the shores of Crescent City, California. The confirmation of the boat as belonging to a high school in Rikuzentakata was first step in an amazing story that has linked two tsunami-vulnerable communities on opposite sides of the Pacific and initiated friendships between high school students in Rikuzentakata. This story is now told in a children’s book to be released by Humboldt State University Press in November, 2015. Co-authored by Humboldt State University Emeritus Geology Professor Lori Dengler and Amya Miller, the Director of Global Public Relations in Rikuzentakata, the book features illustrations by Arcata artist Amy Uyeki.