Research Methods in Human Rights introduces the reader to key methodological approaches to Human Rights research in a clear and accessible way.
Drawing on the expertise of a panel of contributors, the text clearly explains the key theories and methods commonly used in Human Rights research and provides guidance on when each approach is appropriate. It addresses such approaches to Human Rights research as qualitative methods, quantitative analysis, critical ethnography and comparative approaches, supported by a wide range of geographic case studies and with reference to a wide range of subject areas. The book suggests further reading and directs the reader to excellent examples from research outputs of each method in practice.
This book is essential reading for students with backgrounds in law as well as political and social sciences who wish to understand more about the methods and ethics of conducting Human Rights research.
Dr Lee McConnell is Lecturer in Law at University of Bristol Law School.
Dr Rhona Smith is Professor of International Human Rights and Head of School (Law) at Newcastle University.
Research Methods in Human Rights
Edited by Lee McConnell and Rhona Smith
First published 2018 by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge
The right of Lee McConnell and Rhona Smith to be identified as the authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record has been requested for this book
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Names: McConnell, Lee, editor. | Smith, Rhona K. M., editor.
Title: Research methods in human rights / [edited by] Lee McConnell and Rhona Smith.
Description: Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2018. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017051557| ISBN 9781138943230 (hbk) | ISBN 9781138943247 (pbk)
Subjects: LCSH: Human rights—Legal research. | Human rights— Research—Methodology.
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017051557
ISBN: 978-1-138-94323-0 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-138-94324-7 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-67263-2 (ebk)
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Contributors
Suzanne Egan is Assistant Professor at the Sutherland School of Law, University College Dublin, Ireland and Director of the UCD Centre for Human Rights. She has served two terms as a member of the Irish Human Rights Commission, worked with the Law Reform Commission in Ireland and worked with an independent research centre on refugee law and policy in Canada. Her research spans a number of human rights themes, including the UN human rights treaty body system, refugee law and human rights education.
Sue Farran is Professor of Laws at Northumbria University Law School and an Associate of the Centre for Pacific Studies, St Andrews University. Sue’s main area of interest is the impact development has on economic, social, cultural and human rights. She is particularly interested in the complexities of plural legal systems, the use of comparative methodology to address new and emerging legal issues and the interface of different legal systems. Much of her research uses Pacific Island case studies to explore wider and more global themes such as the rights of indigenous people to determine their own futures, women’s and children’s rights and the challenges posed by the different and often conflicting agendas of global players and state sovereignty in the context of small island developing states.
Lindsey Raisa Feldman is a doctoral candidate in sociocultural anthropology at the University of Arizona in the United States. Her research is focusing on the role of labour in the prison rehabilitative process with ethnographic research on the inmate wildfire fighting programme in Arizona. Photography is a central component of the research. Previous work has included research on the social effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Todd Landman is Professor of Political Science and Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Nottingham in the UK. His research focuses on analyses of problems in development, democracy and human rights with quantitative and qualitative methodologies. He has written several books and numerous articles, as well as authoring a number of research reports and consultancy reports.
Lee McConnell is a Lecturer in Law at the University of Bristol in the UK. His principal research combines public international law and legal theory, focusing in particular on the regulation of non-state actors such as multinational corporations and non-state armed groups. He also researches in the field of animal law.
William Paul Simmons is Professor of Gender & Women’s Studies and Director of the online Human Rights Practice graduate program at the University of Arizona. His research is highly interdisciplinary; using theoretical, legal, and empirical approaches to advance human rights for marginalized populations around the globe. His books include Human Rights Law and the Marginalized Other (Cambridge UP, 2011) and the forthcoming Joyful Human Rights (University of Pennsylvania Press). With Michelle Téllez, he has conducted ethnographic research on sexual violence against migrant women and he has published articles and a book chapter exploring legal remedies for the feminicides in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. He is currently working on a project in Niger, Nigeria, and Mozambique to empower people affected by leprosy using international human rights documents.
Lorna Smith was Senior Lecturer in Social Sciences at James Watt College in Scotland and is now Teaching Enhancement Lecturer at West College Scotland. She currently teaches across a range of social sciences including research methods. She has previously worked as a researcher in education, drawing on her background in psychology.
Rhona Smith is Professor of International Human Rights and Head of Law at Newcastle University in the UK. She has researched and written across a range of human rights issues. Her consultancy projects and human rights capacity building work has focussed mainly on academic and justice sector partnerships and projects, particularly in China and South East Asia.
1 Introduction to human rights research methods
Rhona Smith and Lee McConnell
This book will provide an overview of the core methods utilised in human rights related research. While the book is aimed at a broad audience of academics, senior undergraduate and postgraduate students, NGO and civil society workers, each chapter will be pitched at an introductory level. The central aim is to equip newcomers to human rights based research with a basic understanding of the core elements of the dominant research methodologies in the field. Each chapter will enable readers to determine the suitability of a particular method in relation to their particular projects. It is hoped that the book will empower readers to adopt new approaches in their research activities. Perhaps at the outset, it is useful to clarify the difference between methods and methodologies as the terms are often used interchangeably. ‘Method’ is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as
a special form of procedure or characteristic set of procedures employed (more or less systematically) in an intellectual discipline or field of study as a mode of investigation and inquiry, or of teaching and exposition.
‘Methodology’ is defined as
the branch of knowledge that deals with method generally or with the methods of a particular discipline or field of study . . . . Subsequently also: the study of the direction and implications of empirical research, or of the suitability of the techniques employed in it; (more generally) a method or body of methods used in a particular field of study or activity.
This book seeks to explain several methods which can be used in human rights research. In doing so, it explores a methodology in the sense of the body of methods used in the field of human rights. It is not, however, exhaustive in this endeavour.
Human rights affect everyone and pervade all aspects of society. No person is excluded from the protective remit of human rights and no state can avoid international responsibility for ensuring at least a minimum standard of human rights within their jurisdiction. This process began with the General
Assembly adopting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.1 Today there are hundreds of treaties giving effect to human rights. These are concluded under the auspices of the United Nations2 and the principal regional organisations.3 States elect which of these treaties to accept. All rights and freedoms should be given effect to in national laws and policies. It is left to a variety of (international) committees, courts, commissions, experts and even other states to determine whether the standards are realised. However, it can be difficult to measure compliance with human rights. Moreover, individuals and states may differ in their understanding and expectations of human rights. Since human rights are not necessarily static, and may evolve over time, it can be ever more difficult to ascertain the extent of human rights obligations and duties.
Are falling mortality rates proof of an increased respect of the right to life? When is the right to an adequate standard of health realised? Can degrading treatment be defined? Is country K better than country M at respecting human rights? How can true equality be measured? Is human rights education having a positive impact on society? Do journalists understand human rights issues? What are the barriers to combatting trafficking in persons? What is it really like to live in a country that is being subsumed by the surrounding seas?
When researching human rights, a number of diverse questions emerge. How can they best be answered? This book seeks to demonstrate that there is no single method which offers an approach for answering all human rights questions. Rather a range of approaches may be used. Human rights are a common focus of international development aid and partnership funding. All funds and resources must be accounted for. This brings a unique challenge. Proof of progress and success is required. For human rights strategies, this can be interesting. Many human rights projects aim at long term, even generational, change. It is difficult to demonstrate and quantify change in the shorter term as is often required to satisfy funders. Human rights present extensive opportunities for research. Greater understanding of human rights is needed for states so they can give effect to the obligations accepted. Groups and individuals deserve better awareness of those rights and freedoms to which they are entitled. Courts and tribunals need to be able to adjudicate on whether rights and freedoms have been infringed. With the pervasiveness of human rights, students, academics, governments, non-governmental organisations, civil society actors and individuals engage in human rights research.
1 General Assembly resolution 217(A) III, 10 December 1948.
2 See http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/UniversalHumanRightsInstruments. aspx
3 Principally Council of Europe (see www.coe.int/en/web/conventions), Organisation of American States (www.oas.org/en/sla/dil/inter_american_treaties.asp), African Union (au.int/ en/treaties).
The human rights based approach is, in effect, a conceptual framework for human development. It originally focussed on development, and attempts to ensure more sustainable third-party interventions in states. Accordingly, the human rights based approach sought to rationalise development work, focussing on sustainability of results and addressing root causes of poverty. The principles have evolved to become a recognised standard. As the international community focussed more strongly on development of states, a greater understanding of the causes of inequality and wealth and power imbalance emerged. This was simultaneous to a series of particularly ill-conceived aid attempts and linked more positively to the millennium development goals and the inherent calls for stronger relationships and support. Emerging postcolonial theories questioned the ‘them and us’, ‘north and south’ divisions and approaches. Capacity building and empowerment became the new buzzwords. The UN sought to capitalise on this and strive for agreement that assistance should respect and promote human rights principles. A human rights based approach should respect human rights principles and aim at securing the better fulfilment of human rights. Moreover, such an approach must work towards strengthening the capacities of either rights holders, once they and their entitlements are identified, or duty bearers, once they and their obligations are identified. A strict legal approach, however, does not necessarily accurately explain a particular situation. Human rights in context advocates placing human rights and law in their natural setting, considering a range of factors including historical, cultural, religious and socio-economic, which influence the interpretation and application of the law. Traditional practices may shape relationships and limit state action. A deeper level of understanding of the real position in a state is thus achieved by examining law in its actual context. Law in context developed in popularity in the 1960s and some aspects evolved into socio-legal studies. This contribution will focus on those elements of a situation which need to be considered in order to properly understand the actual human rights situation. States and rights holders both need an understanding of law in context to maximise the opportunity for human rights to be meaningfully realised in the state.
As rights are currently expressed in legal forms, there remains a tendency to use legal methods for analysing and explaining human rights. Cases, statutes, treaties and related instruments and associated documentation are undoubtedly a primary source of information on human rights. Such a traditional approach offers an insight as to how human rights standards are interpreted and applied. This approach is of course also relied on in many court processes. Lawyers need to use cases and documentation to make arguments; judges need them to make decisions. A substantive chapter thus examines the traditional doctrinal legal approach to research. It is expected that legal researchers will find this familiar but the chapter will serve as an introduction to the different legal sources required for international human rights. The emphasis will be on legal analyses using textual analysis of cases, treaties, instruments and
commentaries. Many of these sources are now readily available to the researcher online and in local languages as well as official UN languages.
Of course, the realisation of human rights raises a number of philosophical questions. There are a range of theoretical approaches which offer different ways to understand and apply international human rights. These include naturalist, positivist, liberal, cosmopolitan, feminist, critical and postmodern theoretical perspectives, among others. Each offers a different window through which problems can be viewed and responses conceptualised. Different theoretical models can help researchers to view human rights situations differently. Students often adopt a particular theoretical tradition to frame their research questions. For external actors, understanding different theoretical approaches can help explain the application of human rights in specific country situations. Ultimately, all human rights research raises questions of a theoretical nature. This chapter aims to challenge readers to externalise and confront the seemingly natural theoretical presumptions embedded in their work, in the hope of fostering self-aware, reflexive future scholarship.
Proving progress and regress in human rights often requires a credible and reliable evidence base. Many funders now prefer statistical evidence. This brings unique challenges of how to measure human rights. What indicators can be used? Are they reliable? Do they reflect the reality? There are a number of strategies for gathering, analysing and presenting empirical evidence. The best choice in a particular situation depends on what is being measured or researched.
A qualitative analysis of data is based on a systematic method of analysis of textual matter. Human rights obviously affect humans. Accordingly, it is often necessary to establish the impact of particular practices on individuals. Often such data will be collected through interviews. These may be structured or semi-structured, depending on the research questions and the time available and scope of the research. Data can also be collected through face-to-face interviewing or through a more remote survey of some type. There are clear ethical issues which have to be considered when dealing with individuals. A human rights based approach to such research demands that the process must do no harm; individuals cannot be re-traumatised by being asked to relive and relate experiences of torture for example. The actual analysis of the resultant data can be undertaken in different ways. Much depends on the volume of material and on what questions are being addressed.
In contrast, quantitative analysis is a method often used for analysing material which is reduced to a set of digits or symbols. It is particularly useful for identifying trends and patterns which are statistically significant. Thus, this analysis could be used to indicate improvement in human rights conditions. Quantitative research can also be used to objectively analyse phenomenon. Increasingly, human rights are defined in terms of indicators –the millennium development goals are a prime example – and thus quantitative methods are required to populate progress charts and demonstrate compliance
with standards. As noted above, funding agencies often require evidence of progression in human rights standards to be presented in statistical formats.
Critical ethnography: lived experiences evolve from the understanding that human rights obviously affect people. Accordingly, researchers focus on analysing human rights issues through case studies. Lived experiences of individuals are of key importance, as are ethical considerations. Some aspects of this approach are drawn from anthropological studies. The emphasis is usually on empowerment of the rights holders or informing the duty bearers, with the goal of improving the situation. An understanding of the specific situation can be achieved through a variety of media including texts, images, drama and music.
As human rights problems are common to all countries, it is often useful to compare experiences in different countries and situations. However, comparisons need to be made carefully. An understanding of the different legal, political and cultural systems being compared is necessary. Comparative approaches can be used to contextualise knowledge and understanding. They can offer cross-cultural or transcontinental understandings. Comparative research can involve researching on the same questions, using the same methods and can even use a similar schedule. The European Union has funded a wide range of projects examining phenomena across member states. Some of these are initially explanatory or descriptive in nature.
Any single method has its limitations and strengths. Different research questions and different funders require different methods to be used. Perhaps unsurprisingly, a lot of human rights research thus follows a mixed approach. Hence, different methods are blended to ensure the research questions are fully addressed. This can produce more credible results as a degree of ‘testing’ is inbuilt by using a second or third method to corroborate or crosscheck findings. Accordingly, this is a good ‘method’ with which to conclude the text.
It is not possible in a book this size to comprehensively explore each method. Rather, the authors introduce each method, and seek to explain its value and possible contribution in human rights terms. Further reading options are presented to advance knowledge and skills if required. A range of textbooks are available, particularly in social sciences which can provide a thorough grounding for many of the approaches outlined in this text. Courses and training are also widely available. This book intends to whet appetites for a diversity of approaches to human rights research and, in so doing, promote a greater degree of understanding of human rights issues, and better ensure all rights and freedoms are adequately respected, protected, and promoted for the benefit of everyone.
2 Human rights based approaches to research
Rhona Smith
Research on human rights issues takes a variety of different forms. The various chapters of this book look at some of the popular options engaged by legal academics as well as social and political scientists when researching human rights. The language of human rights has evolved dramatically since 1948 and the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the General Assembly of the United Nations. In 1993, member states attending the World Conference of Human Rights in Vienna agreed the Vienna Declaration and World Programme of Action.1 This emphasised the indivisibility of rights, their interdependence and their interrelatedness as well as linking human rights with democracy, sustainability and development.2 As the global power shifted with decolonisation tapering off, having been largely achieved, and the ideological divisions of the Cold War easing, human rights discourse gained more prominence. Contemporaneously with technological and travel advancements, human rights concerns became increasingly linked to, and drawn on, in development literature, strategies and practice. Indeed, the current UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, has identified human rights as central to his vision for the UN organisation, emphasising the need for an inclusive approach to conflict prevention, peace and development.3
Prioritising the application of human rights became a cornerstone of UN activities in 1997 when the then Secretary-General called upon all UN agencies to mainstream human rights in their activities.4 This call was, in
1 Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action adopted by the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna on 25 June 1993, http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/ Vienna.aspx, accessed 7 February 2017.
2 Vienna Declaration, n1, paras 5, 8–11.
3 Antonio Guterres, Vision, outlined in January 2017, Secretary-General’s remarks to the Security Council Open Debate on ‘Maintenance of International Peace and Security: Conflict Prevention and Sustaining Peace’, https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/statement/2017-0110/secretary-generals-remarks-security-council-open-debate-maintenance, accessed 7 February 2017.
4 Renewing the United Nations: A Programme for Reform, report of the Secretary General, UN Doc A/51/950, paras 78–79.
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The Times [London] Lit Sup p580 O 23 ’19 900w
COOK, W. VICTOR. Grey fish. *$2 Stokes
“In the Shetland Islands they have a toast which they drink on New Year’s day, ‘Health to man and death to the grey fish.’ In this novel both name and toast are applied to a grim sort of hunting and of prey, the German submarines off the coast of Spain during the war. The story consists of twelve connected episodes in which two of the characters are always in the centre of interest, a few others come and go, and still more appear only in single tales. The two chief actors are a young Scot ostensibly in the employ of a British firm of wine merchants with offices at various Spanish ports. The other is a middle-aged Spaniard, a stevedore, once a peasant and an exsmuggler. A double motive urges him into the grey fish hunting, a love of dangerous adventure for its own sake and a passionate hatred of the Germans because his brother’s boat had been sunk and his brother drowned by a German submarine.” N Y Times
Ath p30 Ja 2 ’20 120w
“The author of ‘Grey fish’ has provided a series of fascinating, well spiced tales so closely connected that they deserve to be called a
+ novel, into which he has put not a little of the atmosphere and color of the Spanish coast.”
N Y Times 25:28 Jl 18 ’20 400w
Reviewed by H. W. Boynton
Review 3:254 S 22 ’20 130w
The Times [London] Lit Sup p754 D 11 ’19 70w
COOKE, GEORGE WILLIS. Social evolution of religion. *$3.50 Stratford co. 201 20–4088
“The author is dominated by one thought throughout his work, and that is ‘all religion is essentially communal or social.’ Primitive man, like the child, he asserts, does not know himself apart from the group; and he adds: ‘It must be recognized that all the evidence is in favor of the conclusion that the earliest manifestations of religion were those of a group, and not those of individuals.’ And the conclusion is drawn that man has been religious from the beginning. After a few chapters in which are described the social transmission of human experience, the creative genius of social man, and communal and tribal religion; feudal, national, international and universal religion are described; and the closing chapter is on religion as cosmic and human motive. Two fundamental points underlie and color this entire work, namely, that religion is a natural phenomenon and that it is primarily social.” Boston Transcript
Booklist 17:48 N ’20
“He has collected a great mass of facts, and his interpretation of those facts, while evidencing a vigorous mind, is but the judgment of a human being; and there will be no lack of dissent on the part of readers.” F. W. C.
Boston Transcript p6 Jl 7 ’20 800w
“The author has drawn heavily upon writers of his own way of thinking. Nowhere is there evidence of any scientific discernment.”
Cath World 111:258 My ’20 500w
“The author tells us that this book contains fifty years ’ study of religion but there is not the slightest suspicion in it of an old man ’ s conservatism. Few books about religion are more radical, more fearless, more resolutely faced toward the future than this one. ” A. W. Vernon
“After discussing the demand for a League of nations and answering the question whether or not such a league is possible, and after stating the political difficulties in the way of such a league, the author concludes that the league will need all the spiritual power of the church to make it effective. He says that ‘while the League of nations may do much to prevent war, it cannot eradicate the desire for war. It would seem, therefore, absolutely essential that the physical power of the League shall be supplemented by a spiritual power, some mighty generating influence which, by its appeal to the souls of man, shall be able to cool super-heated passions, and for treasured wrong substitute desire for justice and not revenge, for peace and not war. ’ There must then be a Christian league, a league of Christendom supplementing the political League of nations.”—
Boston Transcript
Bib World 54:652 N ’20 280w
“The book is a strong one, well argued, clearly written, and exceedingly timely. It closes with an inspiring note of optimism.”
Boston Transcript p6 Jl 28 ’20 240w
COOLEY, ANNA MARIA, and SPOHR, WILHELMINA. Household arts for home and school. 2v il v 1 *$1.50; v 2 *$1.60 Macmillan 640.7
20–4147
These volumes are intended for the use of household arts classes in school and as a help in home work. Volume 1 describes how the girls of the Ellen H. Richards school chose the furniture and all accessories for the Sunnyside apartment of five rooms, to be occupied by two of the teachers, and to be used as a practice house for the school. The girls made all the curtains, couch covers, dresser scarfs, table doilies, towels, etc., and while doing so learned all about the decorations and furnishing of a home, its management and upkeep, the use of the sewing machine, the making, mending and cost of clothing and the care of the baby. Volume 2 is more especially devoted to the daily work in the home. The storing and canning of fruits and vegetables, cooking, cleaning and laundering, the preparation of breakfasts and dinners, keeping well and happy are discussed. Each volume has an appendix and an index and many illustrations.
Booklist 16:333 Jl ’20
Boston Transcript p4 My 5 ’20 260w
“The lessons are selected with discrimination, and suitable balance is maintained between the various topics. The book does not make adequate provision for the development of thought and initiative on the part of the pupil and fails to give opportunity for the understanding of principles through experiments.”
El School J 21:75 S ’20 370w
St Louis 18:221 S ’20 30w
COOLEY, ANNA MARIA, and others.
Teaching home economics. *$1.80 Macmillan 640.7
19–15655
“The authors took upon themselves a large task as indicated in the statement of their aim, namely, to ‘offer suggestions for the organization, administration, and teaching of home economics subjects.’ The authors say, ‘It is taken for granted that the students who will use it will be familiar with the scope of the field,’ and that ‘the book is intended for use primarily in normal schools and colleges’ though they ‘hope that the social workers, vocational advisors, and lay readers will find in this book suggestions of value.’ They specially stress the fact that they wish to ‘attack the subject in the light of the new vision of education as a factor in social evolution.’ The attempt to cover in outline the whole field is treated under four different divisions: (1) Home economics as an organized study in the school program; (2) Organization of courses in home economics; (3) Planning of lessons; (4) Personnel, materials, and opportunities; (5) Addenda.”—J Home Econ
“One of the good features of the book is the list of questions after each chapter and the suggested references for collateral reading. While the authors have succeeded in bringing together in one volume material which will be very helpful to the discriminating teacher of home economics, the undertaking was so great as almost to prevent adequate treatment of the various parts.” Isabel Bevier
“One finishes the reading of the book with the realization that innumerable statements as to existing conditions have been given, but a feeling akin to bewilderment is not cleared away by any definite conclusion as to wise selection of material, clear emphasis on abilities to be developed, or teaching methods to be used.”
School R 28:311 Ap ’20 360w
COOLIDGE, DANE. Wunpost. *$2 Dutton 20–10766
“‘Wunpost’ was the nickname bestowed on John C. Calhoun, who, though he came from a good old southern family and had ‘the profile of a bronze Greek god,’ was nevertheless so illiterate that, when he found a gold mine and decided to call it the ‘One post,’ he spelled the name ‘Wunpost.’ He had a habit of finding gold mines. During the course of the narrative he discovers no less than three, but he is cheated out of two of them by the wickedness and ingenuity of old Judson Eells and his ‘yaller dog,’ Lapham, the lawyer who thoroughly understood how to draw up a contract of the most deceptive kind. ‘Wunpost’ went to work to get even with Eells, with Lapham, and with ‘Pisenface’ Lynch, who was Eells’s ‘hired mankiller and professional claim-jumper.’ Of course he succeeded. But meanwhile he learned something about the dangers of boasting, had any number of adventures, including one with an Indian scout whom he outwitted and made a trip across the famous Death valley, besides falling in love.” N Y Times
Booklist 17:31 O ’20
Boston Transcript p6 S 1 ’20 320w
“The best of this book is the descriptions.”
N Y Times 25:23 Jl 11 ’20 390w
“The work is an excellent specimen of the better class of western fiction, glowing with local color, featured by continuous and well sustained action and containing an abundance of its own variety of love and adventure.”
Springf’d Republican p11a S 12 ’20 100w
COOPER, HENRY ST JOHN. Sunny Ducrow.
*$1.90 (1½c) Putnam
20–6635
The story of a little girl of the London slums who leaves a pickle factory to go on the stage. Her name is Elizabeth Ann but everybody calls her Sunny and it is as Sunny Ducrow that she rises to fame. Later she buys an interest in the pickle factory and moves it to the suburbs where she establishes a model village called Sunnyville. A noble lord falls in love with her and for a time Sunny thinks she is in love with him, but she finds out that she is not and gives her hand to a less distinguished suitor in her own profession.
“The book is brightly and vivaciously written, and many people will be glad to become acquainted with Mr Cooper’s heroine.”
Ath p1138 O 31 ’19 60w
“Sunny Ducrow is an amusing impossibility.”
Boston Transcript p8 D 11 ’20 300w
“In ‘Sunny Ducrow’ Henry St John Cooper barely escapes unwittingly surpassing the ‘novels’ that first established Stephen Leacock’s reputation. His heroine outglads Pollyanna and outbunks Bunker Bean.”
N Y Times 25:31 Jl 18 ’20 380w
Outlook 125:223 Je 2 ’20 70w
“There is much that is good in the book and much that is interesting. Good types in all classes of society are here, and the writing is sincere and simple in style. Sunny is almost too perfect, too infallible, too easily successful, and all the various humans who come into her life are almost too regenerated.” G. I. Colbron
Pub W 97:991 Mr 20 ’20 350w Sat R 128:sup16 N 29 ’19 170w The Times [London] Lit Sup p613 O 30 ’19 200w
COOPER, JAMES A. Tobias o ’ the light. il *$1.75 (2c) Sully
20–9142
Tobias is the light-keeper in one of the Cape Cod lighthouses. In addition, he is a born matchmaker, and when Ralph and Lorna declare they will not marry each other, although or perhaps because —their families urge it so strongly, he tries to patch up their difficulties by telling each that the other is in financial difficulties. Their pity and chivalry aroused, all might have gone well, had it not been for the bank robbery, of which Ralph is suspected. When Lorna believes Ralph to be the thief because of his need of money, Tobias feels that perhaps he may have overreached himself in his stories. But fortunately the discovery of the part Conny Degger, Ralph’s enemy, has played in the whole affair, puts the matter to rights, and the prospect is bright for Ralph and Lorna, financially and sentimentally.
“Democracy is more than a form of government: it is a social ideal, a mode of life and a quality of the human spirit; therefore it cannot
be imposed on a people; it must be acquired.” How it can be acquired and how our educational plans and ideals can be made to express personal-social values and a common good will in all phases of life is the subject of these essays. A partial list of the contents is: Education in a democracy; Democracy as a religious ideal; The spiritual nature of education in a democracy; Beginning at home; the public schools and democracy’s program; Spiritual values in school studies; Organizing the community; Democracy in the crucial hour.
“This little volume contains many excellent suggestions on the subject of education for democracy, and is worth reading both by teachers and by parents. But it is not always self-consistent, nor does it seem to us well grounded in fundamental principles.”
Outlook 126:334 O 20 ’20 270w
Reviewed by J. K. Hart
“Another story of naval adventure by the author of the widely read tale entitled ‘The lost naval papers. ’ Plot and war romance abound. The area of activity covered is, as before, purely naval, and, like the
former book, this not only includes stories of spies and their detection but also furnishes a true and amusing picture of the British sailor in wartime.” (Outlook) “The hero is a descendant of Grenville of the ‘Revenge,’ and his life is related from boyhood till he enters the naval service and goes through the great war. ” (Ath)
“The experienced author makes ‘history repeat itself’ in excellent fashion for the youthful reader.”
Ath p1083 O 24 ’19 40w
Reviewed by M. E. Bailey
Bookm 51:208 Ap ’20 280w
“Mr Copplestone knows the sea and ships as few writers know it, and ‘The last of the Grenvilles’ is a stirring example of his storytelling power. ”
N Y Times 25:23 Jl 18 ’20 320w
Outlook 124:291 F 18 ’20 60w
“No one who has read one of Mr Copplestone’s books will allow another of them to pass him unread.”
Sat R 129:70 Ja 17 ’20 90w
“In the sentimental episode entitled ‘The warm haven’ the author challenges comparisons with ‘Bartimeus’ and without success; a
Spec 124:214 F 14 ’20 380w
CORBETT, ELIZABETH F. Puritan and pagan.
*$1.75 (1c) Holt
20–20188
Nancy Desmond is the puritan, Mary Allen the pagan. Nancy is a painter with a studio on Washington Square. Mary Allen is a distinguished actress. Max Meredith, who has married one of Nancy’s college friends, comes to New York on business and looks her up. They see much of one another during his stay and find to their dismay that they have fallen in love. True to her instincts and her ideals Nancy sends Max away from her. In the meantime, Roger Greene, Nancy’s friend and teacher, has become infatuated with Mary and between these two there is no question of renunciation. They accept their love as a fact altho Mary refuses marriage. When Nancy learns of the affair she is crushed and finds how much Roger has meant to her. Later after a long separation, after she has seen Max again and after the other love has run its course, Nancy and Roger come together.
“Her picture will prove fascinating to those who do not know that it is not faithful.”
+ + lighter touch is needed. But with this deduction the book is a spirited and enjoyable performance.”
Bookm 52:552 F ’21 90w
“There is a palpable unevenness in ‘Puritan and pagan. ’ It is so surprisingly good in spots that we should not expect that an author could maintain that high level everywhere. The novel very frankly contrasts the puritan and the pagan, but it is a contrast, fortunately, which possesses no element of didacticism, no hint of moral purpose. ” D. L. M.
Boston Transcript p7 D 4 ’20 1050w
“The author has vividly portrayed several phases of New York life and analyzed skilfully several original characters, without forgetting that her main purpose was to tell a very old and very human story.”
N Y Evening Post p18 D 4 ’20 180w
“The plot is sound, the dramatis personae consistently interesting, and the action logical and generally swift.”
N Y Times p25 D 26 ’20 340w
“All the plans, hopes, fears, regrets and dreams of three young lives find their expression between the covers, and while there is much that is bitter-sweet in the reading, the sympathetic reader will follow with unflagging interest to the end.”
20–8648
“In the official history of the great war prepared by direction of the historical section of the British committee of imperial defense, this is the first volume devoted to naval operation, and concludes with the battle of the Falklands in December, 1914. It gives a detailed account of all the activities of the British navy during the first five months of the war, and this account is entirely based on official reports and other documents. Besides the maps, plans and diagrams inserted in this volume, there is a separate case containing eighteen maps and charts.” R of Rs
“The pictures presented are consecutive and clear. The efforts of the author to produce a plain and interesting narrative are ably seconded by the publishers; for the make-up of the book is admirable in the highest degree, and presents a model that makes the work of most American publishers seem crude. In comparison with this book, any other book, even though it deal with mighty armies, seems modelled on microscopic lines.” B. A. Fiske
Am Hist R 26:94 O ’20 1150w
“Sir Julian Corbett had a moving tale to tell, and he has told it well. It is not altogether impossible to imagine it better written. But the story is at least clear and objective. His judgments err in being a little over-kind.”
Ath p412 Mr 26 ’20 1850w
“Scrupulous care in the presentation of facts and reticence in criticizing them characterize this very detailed, well documented history.”
Booklist 17:64 N ’20
Boston Transcript p6 S 1 ’20 420w
Reviewed by Reginald Custance
Eng Hist R 35:460 Jl ’20 2600w
“Sir Julian Corbett is a master of naval lore; he is deeply versed in the strategy and the tactics of the great captains of the old days. The maps are of the highest value and importance.”
Nature 105:546 Jl 1 ’20 250w
“Sir Julian’s style is clear and concise, his treatment of the subject admirable in every way. A more thrillingly interesting book would be hard to find, or one more valuable.”
Review 4:36 Ja 12 ’21 1150w
R of Rs 62:223 Ag ’20 90w
“The chief merit of Sir Julian Corbett’s volume consists in its exposition of the interplay of naval and military considerations.”
Sat R 129:370 Ap 17 ’20 1250w
“The author’s lucid and dispassionate works on the past history of our navy had shown that he was specially qualified to record its greatest undertaking, and his new book is all that we had expected it
to be as a narrative, even if some of his occasional remarks and deductions may provoke dissent.”
Spec 124:348 Mr 13 ’20 1250w
“Sir Julian S. Corbett reveals himself a student of detail, a scholarly narrator, and a man who is not impatient of research. These virtues, together with an ability to retain throughout a comprehensive view of the worldwide field of operations and the political or military necessity governing many moves that were unavailing, give this history an uncommon value.”
Springf’d Republican p9a Ag 15 ’20 170w
“In our judgment Sir Julian has accomplished his extremely difficult task with very great skill. The difficulty of the task is, indeed, in large measure concealed by the skill of its accomplishment. No naval historian has ever had to paint on so large a canvas. None has ever had such intricate and far-reaching operations to describe.”
“Defining emotional repression as ‘the defense of conscious thinking from mental processes which are painful’ the author goes on
to explain the nature of repression, its relation to the unconscious, the part it plays in mental disorders and the manner in which it may be treated through psychoanalysis. He gives a description of the unconscious, emphasizing its importance in the light of the new psychology, and states that it ‘originated not only in the childhood of man but in the childhood of the world,’ and that in it ‘is condensed and capitulated the cultural history of mankind.’ The process of psychoanalysis is outlined, and its value, not only in the treatment of neuroses, but also for the insight it furnishes into certain character defects, is pointed out. The author lays special stress on the fact that psychoanalysis is largely educational since it serves to further the development of character.” Survey
Nation 111:694 D 15 ’20 30w
“Dr Coriat has made good his promise of adding to the knowledge of the race. A simpler vocabulary would sublimate the complexities of his thought.”
N Y Evening Post p12 D 31 ’20 110w
“On the whole the book is very well written, avoiding terminology which might confuse the lay reader, and while it contains nothing especially new, it does help to clarify one ’ s ideas on the subject and is well worth reading.”
