• Geology and Landscapes of America’s National Parks
• Oxford University Press (Dec. 1, 2021)
• By David Osleger, professor of teaching, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
• WHAT: The author in conversation with Jullianne Ballou, associate director, strategic initiatives, UC Davis Institute of the Environment. Sponsored by the UC Davis Humanities Institute.
• WHEN: 5:30-7 p.m., Wednesday, May 10, in person (wine and cheese reception, 5:30 p.m.; book talk, 6 p.m.)
• WHERE: International House, 10 College Park, Davis

Geology and Landscapes of America’s National Parks provides a readable introduction for the nonscientist to understand the landscapes of our parks at a deeper level, beyond their aesthetic appeal. Each park provides context for illustrating geologic concepts such as deep time, volcanism, mountain-building, glaciation and the fossil record of life. The chapters on individual parks build upon each other to tell the larger narrative of how North America was assembled over time. An epilogue focuses on environmental threats to our national park system, including resource exploitation, overcrowding, air quality, and the effects of climate change.

• Queering Mesoamerican Diasporas: Remembering Xicana Indígena Ancestries
• University of Illinois Press (August 2022)
• By Susy J. Zepeda, associate professor of Chicana and Chicano studies
• WHAT: Book talk sponsored by the Hemispheric Institute on the Americas
• WHEN: Noon-1:30 p.m., Friday, May 12, in person
• WHERE: 2203 Social Sciences and Humanities Building (Andrews Conference Room)
• OTHER INFORMATION: Lunch provided for participants.

From the publisher’s description: “Zepeda highlights the often overlooked yet intertwined legacies of Chicana feminisms and queer decolonial theory through the work of select queer Indígena cultural producers and thinkers. By tracing the ancestries and silences of gender-nonconforming people of color, she addresses colonial forms of epistemic violence and methods of transformation, in particular spirit research.

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