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Software for Your Keychain
by Jon Ritterbush, Associate Librarian

Students have busy lives keeping up with their studies, work, and socializing.  While computers and Internet access are more ubiquitous, it’s not always convenient to lug around a laptop computer or work on a desktop PC that’s been locked down by an IT administrator. 

Image 1 - http://www.urubatan.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/portableapps1.PNG

Enter the increasingly popular USB key, which has supplanted the “floppy” disk for portable data storage.  The latest USB keys can store gigabytes of data for less than $30 and are far more durable and reliable than their fragile, “floppy” predecessors.  In addition to storing data files, USB keys can also be used to run special versions of popular software programs.  Imagine having your customized version of Firefox accessible at any computer, complete with bookmarks and browser add-ons!   Or being able to create, edit, and play a slide show from any PC without having PowerPoint installed!

Windows users can find a wide range of free, open-source applications for their USB keys at http://www.PortableApps.com.  These PortableApps programs can even run from a portable hard drive or an iPod/ MP3 player.  After installing PortableApps and connecting to a Windows PC, your USB device can launch its program menu from the system tray in the bottom right corner, giving easy access to all your portable applications (see Image 1). Mac OS X users need not despair as Mac versions of these open-source applications are available at http://www.freesmug.org/portableapps.

Another popular standard for portable applications is known as U3, a proprietary standard created by SanDisk.   To use a U3 program however, you must use a U3-enabled USB key.  These U3-enabled devices are marked with a special logo (see Image 2) and are typically sold with a handful of pre-installed applications. 

Image 2 - http://www.roboform.com/pics/u3smart.gif

A complete listing of U3 programs is available at http://software.u3.com.  Bec ause the U3 standard is not constrained toopen-source applications, this website offers more program choices than the PortableApps.com website though some will have a price tag.  Unfortunately, the U3 applications will not work on the Mac platform.

Try out these portable applications and you’ll have powerful, customizable software apps at your disposal no matter which PC you’re working on!

Are you too busy to leave your office, but are wondering about how to access eBooks or the best database search strategies to employ for your research?  Then, ask your library liaison to make a house call.  The Research Rx service is the prescription for your research needs.
                            
The Research Rx service is a 20 minute mini-workshop brought to the comfort of your office on the topic of your choice.  Some possible topics may include:

• E-reserves, and print reserves
• RefWorks database
• Electronic Books: How to access them and read them online
• Finding full-text articles

Or, any other topic that may be of interest to you. 

Contact your library liaison today for more information or to make an appointment.   

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Library Faculty Recommendations
by Georgi Bordner, Associate Librarian

Language-Learning Resources

¿Hablas español?  Parlez-vous français?  Whether you need to brush up on your high school Spanish or French or want to learn a more exotic language like Croatian, Turkish, or Farsi, the Library can help!

The Foreign Language Collection in Room 214 contains a selection of materials designed to help you teach yourself a new language.  The popular Rosetta Stone courses provide instruction via CD-ROM, while other courses from series such as Teach Yourself, Berlitz, and Pimsleur are primarily audio-based.  Many of the kits include a textbook in addition to the audio portion of the course.  To find out what’s available, you can browse the shelves in Room 214, search the Library catalog under any of the series titles, or do a subject search for the name of the specific language you’re interested in, such as “Ukrainian—Language—Self instruction.”

For an even greater selection of languages than what is available in the Library building, check out the Pimsleur titles in the e-Audiobook collection.  When downloaded to an MP3, these resources provide an easy way to take your language course with you wherever you go.

The next time you’re planning a vacation in Brazil or a mission trip to Japan, be sure to stop by the Library first for a head start on learning the language!

 

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Collection Spotlight-- Islam, Fundamentalism, and the Betrayal of Tradition: Essays by Western Muslim Scholars, edited by Joseph E.B. Lumbard; foreword by Seyyed Hossein Nasr
Reviewed by Dr. Mary Manjikian, Department of Government, School of Undergraduate Studies

Islam, Fundamentalism, and the Betrayal of Tradition: Essays by Western Muslim Scholars is a masterful work. This collection of eight essays provides a broad overview of some of the major debates today regarding the interpretation of key doctrines within Islam – including the notion of jihad against the West, the proper relationship between Muslims, Jews, and Christians, and specific doctrines of war and what it means to fight a war according to the tenets of Islam. Although billed primarily as a philosophy text, the viewpoints and ideas provided in the essays by leading Western Muslim scholars are equally enlightening and provocative for scholars in all social science disciplines as well as the field of theology. 

Although the essays cover diverse areas of interest, and the scholars themselves come from a variety of academic fields, the overall theme of the volume can be summed up as follows: Contemporary portrayals of “the Islamic world” which appear in both media coverage and more scholarly works rest on a package of incorrect assumptions. 

First is a tendency for scholars and experts to take particular passages from the Koran and interpret them outside of the original political, social and religious context in which they were written. As contributor David Dakake argues, the Koran is different from the Bible in that it is not a cohesive narrative but rather a collective of verses which hang together thematically. The verses were “revealed” to Mohammed by God at different periods and they loop back and forth between these periods rather than appearing chronologically. For this reason, Dakake argues, Islam has always depended not only on the Koran but also on the explanations which accompany it (similarly to the commentaries which Talmudic scholars use in studying Torah) and which lay out linguistic interpretation, literary interpretation, and the context of regional customs and norms within that historic time period. In his broad-ranging essay (aimed at a beginning scholar who may never have picked up a Koran), he examines key passages which became known to most of us in the West from media coverage following the terrorist acts of September 11, 2001. The passages “do not Take Christians and Jews as Friends,” “slay Them wheresoever you find them,” and “perform jihad Against the kafirun” are illuminated and made clear to his readers, causing us to consider the many different ways each passage can be read. Of particular interest is Dakake’s clarification of the relationship between Christians, Jews and Muslims based on his understanding of the phrase “people of the Book,” as it is used in the Koran.

The second mistaken assumption which Westerners frequently make is to consider the Koran and Islam as having only one source. In his essay, “The Decline of Knowledge and the Rise of Ideology in the Modern Islamic World,” Joseph Lumbard argues that Islam rests both on Scripture (if you will) as well as doctrine which has developed historically throughout the history of Islam. He argues that this doctrine actually includes a richer intellectual tradition (known as ihsan or wisdom) which derives from the Sufi portion of Islam. This portion, he feels, has been dismissed by Western scholars, although it also informs Islam today. However, he admits that more radical Islamic scholars today also tend to downplay this important doctrinal grounding, thus giving rise to many of the “perversions” of Islam today.  

The third way in which contemporary Western scholars of Islam err is in not acknowledging the perhaps flawed historiography on which their understanding of contemporary Islam rests. Revisionist histories in recent years have caused scholars to rethink the ways in which what Edward Said called “orientalism” have colored contemporary Western understandings of the Islamic world, in particular the emphasis on exoticism, irrationality, and otherness, when compared to the Western, or “civilized” world. This has caused analysts to stress aspects of Islam that paint it as a violent religion stressing conflict.

Throughout this volume, I was struck by the parallels between the divisions within Islam and the divisions within Christianity, as well as the tendency towards simplification and error which can accompany analyses of both Islamic and Christian doctrine when they are improperly informed. Many of the issues which form the crux of lively debates within the Christian academic community appear to have parallels in the Islamic world as well—for example, the debates on whether Darwinism can or cannot be reconciled with the Islamic doctrine of creationism. The volume raises important issues concerning the ontology and epistemology of Islam and whether in fact one “true” meaning can be said to adhere to any passage within the Koran. It also raises issues concerning the relationship between Islamic warfare and Koranic teleology. For this reason, the volume would be a wonderful accompaniment to not only a social science class, but a class on the philosophy of knowledge or research methodology as well.

Dr. Mary Manjikian is an adjunct professor in the Department of Government in the School of Undergraduate Studies.

Are you interested in writing a book review for the Library Link? If so, please contact Harold Henkel at harohen@regent.edu.

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