CSB/SJU Books

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Emotions in Reading, Learning, and Communication

Catherine Bohn-Gettler and Johanna Kaakinen

This book brings together experts engaging in empirical studies on how emotion influences learning and processing for varying text types in different contexts.

In our current era, learners are confronted with many and varying sources of information, such as news media, books, websites, social media, scientific articles, communicative interactions, and more. In addition, individuals must learn from such sources, making it important to critically examine the factors underlying learning from text and discourse. Importantly, the valence (pleasantness) and activation (intensity) of learners’ emotions can influence the quality of processing, which could help or hinder the learner’s ability to understand and learn from text. The chapters included in this book work toward developing a more comprehensive understanding of the influence of emotions in supporting learning, comprehension, processing, and conceptual change to draw important connections to the broader fields of text and discourse, learning, and motivation. --From publisher's website
Encountering Artificial Intelligence: Ethical and Anthropological Explorations.

Noreen L. Herzfeld, Matthew J. Gaudet, Paul Scherz, and Jordan J. Wales

What does it mean to consider the world of AI through a Christian lens? Rapid developments in AI continue to reshape society, raising new ethical questions and challenging our understanding of the human person. Encountering Artificial Intelligence draws on Pope Francis's discussion of a culture of encounter and broader themes in Catholic social thought in order to examine how current AI applications affect human relationships in various social spheres and offers concrete recommendations for better implementation. The document also explores questions regarding personhood, consciousness, and the kinds of relationships humans might have with even the most advanced AI. Through these discussions, the document investigates the theoretical and practical challenges to interpersonal encounter raised by the age of AI. --From the Publisher's website
Be Transformed: A Biblical Journey toward a More Just World

Micah D. Kiel

Discover the ways Catholic social teaching and its biblical roots can guide us toward authentic Christian living in a world in need of profound change.

The goal of every Christian life is to be shaped and transformed by God. In Scripture we are reminded that transformation requires sacrifice and that if we care about the poor, the environment, and those in prison, we need to be transformed into agents of justice. But how are we to take up that responsibility in a world dominated by greed, division, environmental destruction, and violence?

In Be Transformed, Micah Kiel brings together Catholic social teaching and its biblical roots and applies them to instances of injustice in our world today. When understood together, Catholic social teaching and Scripture create authentically Christian ways to live in a world in need of profound change. Be Transformed is an accessible guide that encourages readers to break open their hearts and minds to the possibility of life-giving transformation. By applying art, history, tradition, and Scripture to modern issues, readers will be challenged and empowered to consult these traditions in a meaningful way, every day.

--From publisher's website
Exploring Discrete Geometry

Thomas Q. Sibley

Together with its clear mathematical exposition, the problems in this book take the reader from an introduction to discrete geometry all the way to its frontiers. Investigations start with easily drawn figures, such as dividing a polygon into triangles or finding the minimum number of “guards” for a polygon (“art gallery” problem). These early explorations build intuition and set the stage. Variations on the initial problems stretch this intuition in new directions. These variations on problems together with growing intuition and understanding illustrate the theme of this book: “When you have answered the question, it is time to question the answer.” Numerous drawings, informal explanations, and careful reasoning build on high school algebra and geometry.
Speak Lord Your Servant is Listening: Reflections on Faithful Communication in a Digital Age

Daniella Zsupan-Jerome

In step with the Spirit, how can we communicate faithfully as we encounter one another online?

Communicating faith is about living it, and sharing it with others, in word, and witness of life. These days, many people find themselves navigating the joys and struggles of life through screens and scrolling digital devices. As pilgrims on the journey, we are called to be intentional about how we share our stories and may wonder how our presence in digital spaces invites faithfulness. How can we communicate authentically as we encounter one another online? In Speak Lord, Your Servant Is Listening, pastoral theologian Daniella Zsupan-Jerome invites readers on a retreat—rooted in the Benedictine tradition—that promotes a spirituality of communication built on listening, engagement with the Word, and hospitality to others.

Intended as a devotional resource for all faithful communicators, Speak Lord, Your Servant Is Listening is a lectio divina-based guide that invites prayer and reflection around the theme of communication in the Bible. Through the lens of Scripture, readers will discover what each selected passage reveals about communication, and in particular, the realities of digital culture today. It is for anyone seeking a more life-giving way of being connected with one another faithfully out of a sense of Spirit and communion.

From publisher's website
Mary and the Liturgical Year : a Pastoral Resource

Katharine E. Harmon

In Mary and the Liturgical Year: A Pastoral Resource, liturgical scholar and professor Katharine E. Harmon offers an engaging survey of Mary's role in the Church's liturgical prayer from the first days of the early Church to our own day. In this unique resource, Harmon examines the twelve prominent Marian solemnities, feasts, and memorials celebrated throughout the liturgical year. Pastoral ministers, theology students, and persons seeking to reflect on Mary as a source of wisdom and faith will discover the riches of Marian theology and will come to understand how Mary always leads us to a deeper and more intimate relationship with her son, Jesus. --From publisher's website
The Artifice of Intelligence: Divine and Human Relationship in a Robotic Age

Noreen L. Herzfeld

AI is becoming ubiquitous. Whatever its arrival portends for our future, whether riches or ruin, it cannot be avoided. The Artifice of Intelligence explores two questions at the heart of a theological response to AI. Is it possible for human beings to have authentic relationships with an AI? How does the increasing presence of AI change the way humans relate to one another? In pursuing answers to these questions, Herzfeld explores what it means to be created in the image of God and to create AI in our own image. It utilizes and expands Karl Barth's relational understanding of the imago Dei to examine humanity's relationship both with AI and, through it, with one another.

Barth's injunctions--look the other in the eye (embodiment), speak to and hear the other (communication), aid the other (agency), and do it gladly (emotion)--provide the basis for the main chapters, each of which concludes with a case study of a current AI application that exemplifies the difficulties AI introduces into human relationality. The Artifice of Intelligence concludes with an examination of the incarnation, one that points toward the centrality of embodiment for full relationality. [from publisher's website]
Religious and Cultural Implications of Technology-Mediated Relationships in a Post-Pandemic World.

Noreen L. Herzfeld, Ilia Delio, and Robert Nicastro

"This book offers a variety of positions on how technology is influencing religious communal and cultural life. There is no doubt that our interaction with technology will shape the human community up ahead. These essays provide a basis for thoughtful choice and action"-- Provided by publisher.
Davis's Q&A Review for NCLEX-RN®

Kathleen Ohmann

The best Next Gen NCLEX^®-prep on the market—12,575 questions, including brand-new Next Gen NCLEX^®-Style Questions and Case Studies!

FREE 1-year access to Davis Edge NCLEX-RN^® included with purchase of a new print book. This online Q&A program creates practice quizzes based on your personal strengths and weaknesses and tracks your progress every step of the way. No other single NCLEX product offers this much value.

The text and Davis Edge work together to put you on the road to exam success based on the Next Generation NCLEX-RN^® test plan, including brand-new Next Gen NCLEX^®-style questions and case studies testing clinical judgment skills! You’ll have 12,575 questions in all—2,575 in the book and 10,000 online.

See what students are saying about the previous editions…

Love love love. “If I could give this book 10 stars, I would. I’m halfway done with nursing school & I wish I had it sooner. My school teaches by concept, so it’s perfect for me. I feel confident for my tests now that I’m able to do so many practice questions beforehand.”—Anna H., Online Reviewer

The most comprehensive guide to the NCLEX-RN exam. “This is likely the best guide to the NCLEX-RN available. It includes two practice tests, but the high spot that really makes this the guide to get is the comprehensive rationales. If you're really serious about taking and passing the test, this appears to be the guide you need.”—Neal R., Online Reviewer

Fantastic! “A MUST HAVE for Nursing students.”—Online Reviewer

Tons of SATA questions to prepare you for the NCLEX. “...WAY more questions than any other NCLEX review book I saw. There are tons of SATA questions, which is what I'm most nervous for so that was really helpful. On top of that, the rationales are really comprehensive and help you understand the question, and not just memorize the answer. There's a code in the book where you can take Q&A online and by taking a few quizzes, I was able to see which areas I needed to focus my studying on. Overall, I love that this is a print book with questions online as well - I really feel like I got my money’s worth and that this is preparing me well for the exam. Fingers crossed!—Sarah R., Online Reviewer
Sovereign of a Free People : Abraham Lincoln, Majority Rule, and Slavery

James H. Read

When Abraham Lincoln was sworn into office, seven slave states had preemptively seceded rather than recognize the legitimacy of his election. In his first inaugural address on March 4, 1861, Lincoln replied to the secessionists and set forth a principled defense of majority rule as “the only true sovereign of a free people.” His immediate purpose was to argue against the legitimacy of a powerful minority forcibly partitioning the United States because it was dissatisfied with the results of a free, constitutionally conducted election. His wider purpose was to make the case that a deliberate, constitutionally checked majority, though by no means infallible, was the appropriate ultimate authority not only on routine political questions but even on the kind of difficult, deeply divisive questions—like the future of slavery—that could otherwise trigger violent contests.

Sovereign of a Free People examines Lincoln’s defense of majority rule, his understanding of its capabilities and limitations, and his hope that slavery could be peacefully and gradually extinguished through the action of a committed national majority. James Read argues that Lincoln offered an innovative account of the interplay between majorities and minorities in the context of crosscutting issues and shifting public opinion. This story is particularly timely today as a new minority of dissatisfied voters has threatened and enacted violence in response to a valid election.

Read offers the first book focused on Lincoln’s understanding of majority rule. He also highlights the similarities and differences between the threats to American democracy in Lincoln’s time and in our own. Sovereign of a Free People challenges common assumptions about what caused the Civil War, takes seriously the alternative path of a peaceful, democratic abolition of slavery in the United States, and offers a fresh treatment of Lincoln and race.
Religion, Education, and Peace: Proceedings of an Online International Conference Held in March 2021

Jon Armajani and Wilbert van Saane

This volume contains the proceedings of the international online conference entitled Religion, Education, and Peace, which was organized by Haigazian University in Beirut, Lebanon, and the Jay Phillips Center for Interfaith Learning at Saint John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota, USA, and was co-sponsored by the Peace Studies Department at the College of Saint Benedict I Saint John's University in Minnesota.

The conference took place on March 4 and 5, 2021. The chapters in this volume analyze religion, education, and peace in various parts of the world in a variety of settings including secondary schools, colleges, universities, governmental agencies, and nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations. This book's unique contributions involve its interfaith and interdisciplinary approaches to topics related to peace and religion in educational settings and local communities. [description from back of book]
Working across Lines: Resisting Extreme Energy Extraction

Corrie Grosse

How are communities uniting against fracking and tar sands to change our energy future? Working across Lines offers a detailed comparative analysis of climate justice coalitions in California and Idaho—two states with distinct fossil fuel histories, environmental contexts, and political cultures. Drawing on ethnographic evidence from 106 in-depth interviews and three years of participant observation, Corrie Grosse investigates the ways people build effective energy justice coalitions across differences in political views, race and ethnicity, age, and strategic preferences. This book argues for four practices that are critical for movement building: focusing on core values of justice, accountability, and integrity; identifying the roots of injustice; cultivating relationships among activists; and welcoming difference. In focusing on coalitions related to energy and climate justice, Grosse provides important models for bridging divides to reach common goals. These lessons are more relevant than ever.
A Hit of Hope (for when it gets really bad)

Betsy Johnson

In 2018, Betsy Johnson’s life went sideways. She was diagnosed with breast cancer, had to undergo chemo and radiation, and was asked for a divorce she didn’t want. Betsy knew there were all kinds of things she could do to numb the pain, but she wanted to get better, not worse. She decided to walk through this crucible with hope and grit, and thus began these meditations.

To heal, we have to get real and name the mess, the fear, the pain. And we have to see a way forward. A way out. Or at least a way to sit while the storm crashes . . . because no storm in the history of the world has ever been able to hold the sky forever. Whatever you or someone you love are facing, these meditations can bring a hit of hope and help you not only to survive but to live light.

Betsy Johnson hails from a small town in southwestern Minnesota, and her meditations have been downloaded over 100,000 times on the Insight Timer app. She is a writer, professor, and yoga teacher who talks to trees and believes the blue eggs from her local food coop are magic.
Interrupting a Gendered, Violent Church

Anna Mercedes

This project brings readers into conversation at the intersections of gender studies and Christian theology--particularly diverse feminist and queer theologies. Interrupting a Gendered, Violent Church develops over three parts to an extended essay that points to the real ways churches foster violence around gender. This volume discusses this violent reality while also exploring church as a nexus for resistance to gender-based violence and sketches the contours of a Christian theology mapped apart from patriarchal heteronormativity's hold on late modern Christian life.

The goal of the Dispatches series is to offer a genuinely creative and disruptive theological-ethical ressourcement for church in the present moment. Volumes illuminate and explore, creatively and concisely, the implications and relevance of theology for the global crises of late modernity. Our authors have been invited to introduce succinct and provocative arguments intended to provoke dialogue and exchange of ideas, while setting in relief the implications of theology for political and moral life.
A Quick Review of Statistical Thinking (4th Edition)

Richard M. Wielkiewicz

A Quick Review of Statistical Thinking (4th Edition) is for those who need to become familiar with the content of a typical intro stats course prior to beginning an honors thesis or any research project, taking advanced statistics, reviewing for the MCAT, or starting graduate school. QRST covers effect sizes and confidence intervals for all tests typically covered in an undergraduate statistics course. SPSS also includes a very useful power analysis routine that is carefully explained in QRST.
Kura: prophetic messenger

Richard Bresnahan

"In August 2020, Richard Bresnahan's Kura: Prophetic Messenger became the first permanent installation of the Jon Hassler Sculpture Garden on the grounds of Saint John's Abbey and University in Collegeville, Minnesota. Richard is the founder and director of the Saint John's Pottery and for more than 40 years has served as artist-in-residence of Saint John's University and the College of Saint Benedict. The intention of this book is to describe the people, thought processes, materials, and stories that compose the sculpture Kura: Prophetic Messenger. But even this is not complete, because the stories will go farther and have traveled further than we know. Kura: Prophetic Messenger is a teaching sculpture, with a message for the present and a deep well of care for the future"--Jacket.
Women's empowerment and disempowerment in Brazil : the rise and fall of President Dilma Rousseff

Pedro A. G. dos Santos and Farida Jalalazai

"Women's Empowerment and Disempowerment in Brazil uses both quantitative and qualitative methods to investigate how Dilma Rousseff, Brazil's first female president, shaped women's political empowerment in her country and what the implications of these findings may be for women's executive leadership globally"-- Provided by publisher.
Inclusion in Higher Education: Research Initiatives on Campus

Amanda M. Jantzer and Kyhl Lyndgaard

Inclusion in Higher Education: Inquiry-Based Approaches to Change presents an inquiry-based approach to inclusion in higher education that embraces scholarly inquiry, collaborative efforts, and data-driven interventions to inform transformative institutional change. Contributors analyze inclusion initiatives that address the experiences of minoritized groups on college campuses and recommend tailored interventions for the needs of underrepresented students in varied fields of study.
Connections: a History of Psychology as Science

Michael Livingston

Connections: A History of Psychology as a Science is a departure from the standard history of psychology textbook, which focuses most heavily on the pre-scientific antecedents of psychology or the early history of the field, with scant attention to developments after 1950. In contrast, one-third of Connections traces the history of psychology, focusing on specialty areas such as perception, cognition, social, personality, developmental, and clinical psychology since 1950 to the end of the 20th century.

Michael G. Livingston fell in love with the history of psychology in 1976 when, as a second semester senior at the University of Michigan, he took his first seminar in the history of the field. After a three year hiatus from college, during which he served in the Peace Corps and continued to cultivate his passion for history and for psychology, he began graduate studies at the University of Minnesota´s Institute of Child Development where his professors graciously allowed him to take one of his four preliminary exams in the philosophy and history of psychology. Livingston eventually earned his Ph.D. in Child Psychology and, after a few part time jobs as a contingent faculty member, began teaching full time at the College of St. Benedict/St. John´s University in Minnesota in 1985.

One of the first courses he was assigned to teach was history of psychology, a course he has taught on a regular basis since 1986. Students taking the history of psychology course often had little interest in the content of the course. History was a required capstone taken at the end of their undergraduate major. Over the years, Livingston tried many texts and experimented with many active learning strategies with the goal of fostering in his students an interest in the history of the field and an appreciation for how the field has evolved within the broader social context. Eventually, he started writing and then using his own history in these course, modifying the text in response to student feedback.

In addition to the History of Psychology course, he regularly teaches Developmental Psychology, Research Methods in Psychology, the Psychology of Emotions, and a seminar on Freud and Psychoanalysis. He also has directed five study abroad programs, two in Spain and three in Chile, and taught his university´s first year writing and speaking seminar. He has won Saint John´s University teacher of distinction award in 2003, the Minnesota Psychological Association´s undergraduate teacher of the year award in 2005, and the Robert E. Sloan award from the Minnesota Association of University Professors for his contributions to academic freedom and the professoriate in 2007.
Politics of Latin America: the Power Game

Gary Prevost and Harry E. Vanden
- "Politics of Latin America: The Power Game, Seventh Edition explores both the evolution and the current state of the political scene in Latin America. This text demonstrates a nuanced sensitivity to the use and abuse of power and the importance of social conditions, gender, race, globalization, and political economy throughout Latin America. Unique in the market, the text is divided into two parts-thematic chapters in the beginning of the text explore big picture issues and themes in the region; country by country chapters in the second half of the text provide in-depth discussions of those issues and themes, country by country. The thematic chapters outline the region's geographic setting, history, economics, society, gender, race, and religion, setting the stage for a more detailed analysis of the politics, democratization, political culture, political movements, and revolution in Latin America. The second part of the book consists of carefully constructed case studies of ten representative Latin American nations: Guatemala, Mexico, Cuba, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Venezuela, Colombia, Nicaragua, and Bolivia. Each case study traces the historical and political development of key actors and institutions, analyzing contemporary power configurations"-- Provided by publisher.
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Latin American Politics

Gary Prevost and Harry E. Vanden

This encyclopedia reviews and interprets a broad array of research on Latin American politics, including topics related to political institutions, processes, and parties; social movements; political economy; racial and gender politics; and Latin America's international relations. Bringing together peer-reviewed contributions by leading researchers, this publication is the definitive resource for understanding contemporary politics in the region. It includes entries by CSB/SJU professors Gary Prevost and Pedro A. G. dos Santos.
Madres, mentoras, mediadoras. Reconciliando espiritualidad y feminismo en la narrativa de escritoras latinoamericanas del Siglo XX

Elena Sanchez-Mora

Este libro combina un interés profesional en las áreas de la crítica literaria y los Estudios Hispanos; específicamente, se enfoca en las conexiones entre la espiritualidad y el Feminismo en la literatura latinoamericana del siglo XX escrita por mujeres, reflejadas en un análisis de sus personajes femeninos.

Dicho análisis se basa, por un lado, en estudios del misticismo medieval femenino en Europa; por otro lado, en estudios sobre escritoras que rompieron con los estereotipos de los alcances de la espiritualidad de las mujeres en el siglo XVI español y XVII de Nueva España. Estos se contrastan con los prototipos limitantes de personajes espirituales femeninos inspirados en la Biblia, y la historia y la literatura europeas del siglo XVIII y XIX, que subrayan la incapacidad de las mujeres para lograr autonomía espiritual.

Así mismo, se incluye una perspectiva histórica que abarca las tres olas del feminismo, que han enfatizado diferentes aspectos de la lucha por la igualdad social y política de las mujeres. Otro elemento fundamental del desarrollo espiritual son las funciones de Madre, Mentora y Mediadora, que enfatizan el papel de proveedoras de apoyo emocional, educadoras y enlaces entre diversos grupos sociales. A la vez, se incluyen diferentes tradiciones religiosas de raíces indígenas, europeas y africanas y cristianas; a estas se aúnan ideologías basadas en la lucha por la justicia social fundamentadas en la interacción entre el medio rural tradicional y el medio urbano moderno.

En resumen, mediante la convergencia de espiritualidad y feminismo, los prototipos literarios que habían limitado el desarrollo espiritual de las mujeres a lo largo del siglo XIX y la primera mitad del XX, abren paso a otros centrados en la búsqueda de equilibrio personal y conexión con una comunidad.
Thinking Algebraically: An Introduction to Abstract Algebra

Thomas Q. Sibley

Thinking Algebraically presents the insights of abstract algebra in a welcoming and accessible way. It succeeds in combining the advantages of rings\-first and groups\-first approaches while avoiding the disadvantages. After an historical overview, the first chapter studies familiar examples and elementary properties of groups and rings simultaneously to motivate the modern understanding of algebra. The text builds intuition for abstract algebra starting from high school algebra. In addition to the standard number systems, polynomials, vectors, and matrices, the first chapter introduces modular arithmetic and dihedral groups. The second chapter builds on these basic examples and properties, enabling students to learn structural ideas common to rings and groups: isomorphism, homomorphism, and direct product. The third chapter investigates introductory group theory. Later chapters delve more deeply into groups, rings, and fields, including Galois theory, and they also introduce other topics, such as lattices. The exposition is clear and conversational throughout.\n\nThe book has numerous exercises in each section as well as supplemental exercises and projects for each chapter. Many examples and well over 100 figures provide support for learning. Short biographies introduce the mathematicians who proved many of the results. The book presents a pathway to algebraic thinking in a semester\- or year\-long algebra course.
Shia Islam and Politics : Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon

Jon Armajani

This book argues that ever since Iran’s Islamic Revolution in 1979, which established a Shia Islamic government in Iran, that country’s religious and political leaders have used Shia Islam as a crucial way of expanding Iran’s objectives in the Middle East and beyond. Since 1979, Iran’s religious and political leaders have been concerned about Iran’s security in the face of the hostility and expansionism of the United States and other western countries, and the threats from powerful neighboring Sunni leaders and countries. While Iran’s government has attempted to align itself with Shia Muslims in various countries, such as Iraq and Lebanon, against American and Sunni expansionism, the Iranian government has attempted to religiously nourish and politically mobilize those Shias as a matter of principle, not only because of the Iranian government’s desires to protect Iran from external threats. The book analyzes Shia Islam and politics in Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon which have among the largest proportional Shia populations in the Middle East and are vibrant centers of Shia intellectual life. The book's clear and jargon-free approach make it especially accessible for students and general readers who would like an introduction to the book's topics. (--Publisher's website)
Glorify the Lord by Your Life: Catholic Social Teaching and the Liturgy

Bernard F. Evans

This resource provides a unique approach for understanding the important connection between the liturgy and the seven primary themes of Catholic social teaching. -- Publisher's website