Rooted In The Body

A unique comic-illustrated exploration of the rich vocabulary derived from body parts in Arabic We are all married to our bodies, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health. As a result, the body is a hard-wired, powerful presence in thought and speech. Rooted in the Body: Arabic Metaphor and Morphology considers this basic premise of linguistic embodiment and shows how it is especially true of Arabic. Consciously and unconsciously, speakers of Arabic use reams of vocabulary derived from the body, making it an ideal springboard for a deeper and more nuanced understanding of Arabic morphology. Structurally speaking, Arabic is a language built on abstract roots, short sequences of single consonants that are systematically modified to produce actual vocabulary. Learning to recognize and manipulate those roots is an invaluable skill, especially for non-native adult learners, because it lightens their memorization load significantly. Rooted in the Body uses delightful side-by-side essays and comic illustrations to invite readers to explore Arabic’s signature morphology as they reflect on some 120 metaphorically charged body parts. On the long road to proficiency, lexical precision is important, but so, too, is cultural fluency. As it demystifies the links between morphology and semantics, Rooted in the Body also uses citations from Arabic’s rich cultural history to highlight the body’s vital role in language. This book will be a fascinating and invaluable resource, not only for advanced learners of Arabic but for linguists, rhetoricians, and philosophers of language.

A unique comic-illustrated exploration of the rich vocabulary derived from body parts in Arabic We are all married to our bodies, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health. As a result, the body is a hard-wired, powerful presence in thought and speech. Rooted in the Body: Arabic Metaphor and Morphology considers this basic premise of linguistic embodiment and shows how it is especially true of Arabic. Consciously and unconsciously, speakers of Arabic use reams of vocabulary derived from the body, making it an ideal springboard for a deeper and more nuanced understanding of Arabic morphology. Structurally speaking, Arabic is a language built on abstract roots, short sequences of single consonants that are systematically modified to produce actual vocabulary. Learning to recognize and manipulate those roots is an invaluable skill, especially for non-native adult learners, because it lightens their memorization load significantly. Rooted in the Body uses delightful side-by-side essays and comic illustrations to invite readers to explore Arabic's signature morphology as they reflect on some 120 metaphorically charged body parts. On the long road to proficiency, lexical precision is important, but so, too, is cultural fluency. As it demystifies the links between morphology and semantics, Rooted in the Body also uses citations from Arabic's rich cultural history to highlight the body's vital role in language. This book will be a fascinating and invaluable resource, not only for advanced learners of Arabic but for linguists, rhetoricians, and philosophers of language.

Body Mind Balancing: Using Your Mind to Heal Your Body features meditation methods from one of the twentieth century’s greatest spiritual teachers. Many everyday discomforts and tensions arise from the fact that we are alienated from our bodies. With the help of Osho’s Body Mind Balancing, readers will learn to talk to and reconnect with their bodies. After just a short time, readers will begin to appreciate how much the body has been working for them and supporting them, and from this new perspective one can find new ways to work with the body and create a more harmonious balance of body and mind. Accompanying the book is a CD featuring the meditative therapy “Reminding Yourself of the Forgotten Language of Talking to Your BodyMind,” spoken by meditation teacher Anando Hefley. Developed by Osho, it guides the listener in reconnecting with his or her body and creating a new and greater sense of well-being. Osho challenges readers to examine and break free of the conditioned belief systems and prejudices that limit their capacity to enjoy life in all its richness. He has been described by the Sunday Times of London as one of the “1000 Makers of the 20th Century” and by Sunday Mid-Day (India) as one of the ten people—along with Gandhi, Nehru, and Buddha—who have changed the destiny of India. Since his death in 1990, the influence of his teachings continues to expand, reaching seekers of all ages in virtually every country of the world.

Winner, 2020 Body and Embodiment Best Publication Award, given by the American Sociological Association Honorable Mention, 2020 Sociology of Sex and Gender Distinguished Book Award, given by the American Sociological Association How the female body has been racialized for over two hundred years There is an obesity epidemic in this country and poor black women are particularly stigmatized as “diseased” and a burden on the public health care system. This is only the most recent incarnation of the fear of fat black women, which Sabrina Strings shows took root more than two hundred years ago. Strings weaves together an eye-opening historical narrative ranging from the Renaissance to the current moment, analyzing important works of art, newspaper and magazine articles, and scientific literature and medical journals—where fat bodies were once praised—showing that fat phobia, as it relates to black women, did not originate with medical findings, but with the Enlightenment era belief that fatness was evidence of “savagery” and racial inferiority. The author argues that the contemporary ideal of slenderness is, at its very core, racialized and racist. Indeed, it was not until the early twentieth century, when racialized attitudes against fatness were already entrenched in the culture, that the medical establishment began its crusade against obesity. An important and original work, Fearing the Black Body argues convincingly that fat phobia isn’t about health at all, but rather a means of using the body to validate race, class, and gender prejudice.

A permaculture expert and popular YouTube Homesteader shares the skills and the delights of becoming a part of your own food story in this inspiring, accessible, and beautiful invitation to a more abundant, healthy, and connected life. Have you ever wanted to experiment with growing your own food but didn’t think you had the space, the time, or the knowledge? Justin Rhodes thought the same thing—until after years battling systemic illness and struggling to provide the kind of wholesome food he wanted for his family, he bought a seed packet at the grocery store and was hooked! Justin discovered the miraculous potential and empowerment of working with nature to grow food for his family, and since that discovery, he has shared his self-taught skills with hundreds of thousands of growers via his popular YouTube channel and website. Whether you're looking for greater food security, better health, tastier food, to save or earn money, connect with your food source, this book is for you. If you're looking for a different kind of life—a life focused on health and wellness—take a look down the road less traveled. Looking for every opportunity to pass his hard-earned knowledge onto others, Justin Rhodes created this inspiring and practical invitation to growing your own food and experiencing a more connected, sustainable lifestyle, no matter where you live or how much space you have. Filled with beautiful and inspiring photographs from the Rhodes’ homestead and chock full of resources, including gardening plans, everything you need to know about raising chickens, tips for how to get your kids involved, and even recipes for how to serve up your home-grown goodness, The Rooted Life provides you with the inspiration, the encouragement, and the practical wisdom that you need to begin the journey to a more rooted life.

In The Meaning of the Body, Mark Johnson continues his pioneering work on the exciting connections between cognitive science, language, and meaning first begun in the classic Metaphors We Live By. Johnson uses recent research into infant psychology to show how the body generates meaning even before self-consciousness has fully developed. From there he turns to cognitive neuroscience to further explore the bodily origins of meaning, thought, and language and examines the many dimensions of meaning—including images, qualities, emotions, and metaphors—that are all rooted in the body’s physical encounters with the world. Drawing on the psychology of art and pragmatist philosophy, Johnson argues that all of these aspects of meaning-making are fundamentally aesthetic. He concludes that the arts are the culmination of human attempts to find meaning and that studying the aesthetic dimensions of our experience is crucial to unlocking meaning's bodily sources. Throughout, Johnson puts forth a bold new conception of the mind rooted in the understanding that philosophy will matter to nonphilosophers only if it is built on a visceral connection to the world. “Mark Johnson demonstrates that the aesthetic and emotional aspects of meaning are fundamental—central to conceptual meaning and reason, and that the arts show meaning-making in its fullest realization. If you were raised with the idea that art and emotion were external to ideas and reason, you must read this book. It grounds philosophy in our most visceral experience.”—George Lakoff, author of Moral Politics

“Set in 1970s Bombay, the novel explores art, ambition, gender roles and class with the same shimmering prose of Swamy’s first book, the story collection A House Is a Body.” —San Francisco Chronicle “[A] sublime, boundary-pushing exploration of sexuality, creativity, and love.” —NPR In this transfixing novel, a young woman comes of age in 1960s- and 1970s-era Bombay, a vanished world that is complex and indelibly rendered. Vidya’s childhood is marked by the shattering absence and then the bewildering reappearance of her mother and baby brother at the family home. Restless, observant, and longing for connection with her brilliant and increasingly troubled mother, Vidya navigates the stifling expectations of her life with a vivid imagination until one day she peeks into a classroom where girls are learning kathak, a dazzling, centuries-old dance form that requires the utmost discipline and focus. Her pursuit of artistic transcendence through kathak soon becomes the organizing principle of her life, even as she leaves home for college and falls in complicated love with her best friend. As the uncertain future looms, she must ultimately confront the tensions between romantic love, her art, and the legacy of her own imperfect mother. Lyrical and deeply sensual, with writing as mesmerizing as kathak itself, Shruti Swamy’s The Archer is a bold portrait of a singular woman coming of age as an artist—navigating desire, duty, and the limits of the body. It is also an electrifying and utterly immersive story about the transformative power of art, and the possibilities that love can open when we’re ready.

Originally published by Viking Penguin, 2014.