This collection of scholarly essays examines reality television. The first show, Survivor, inspired a national craze when it aired in the summer of 2000. Ever since, successors and copycats have been on each of the four largest networks. The basics stay the same: put a group of people into situations bound to cause conflict, and watch them squirm. Rather than criticize the series' voyeuristic appeal, this work evaluates what goes on within the text of such shows and how they reflect or affect our larger culture. Contributors include researchers from communications, sociology, political science, and psychology. The contributions cover such topics as reality television's relationships with cultural identity, publicity rights, historical perspectives, trust, decision-making strategies, political rationality, office politics, and primitivism. Each chapter includes a bibliography. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

“The folktales are appropriate in terms of language because the mother-tongue is used in narrating/reading them. Studies have proven that learners who begin in their mother tongue have more efficient cognitive development and are better prepared for more cognitively demanding subject matter. They tend to be smarter if they start education using their mother tongue.” —Joanne Marie Igoy-Escalona

Using a simple language and creative images, this book in Philippine folklore explains how living things and heavenly bodies were formed; and why storms, dust and wind exist. Apart from the rich moral that is delivered in the story, its length is great for introductory readers. While it enhances the imagination, it also introduces the appreciation of folklore from other cultures.

Tribal Warfare thoroughly investigates a central element of the hit reality television show Survivor that the existing literature on reality television has overlooked: class politics. Christopher J. Wright combines textual analysis and survey research to demonstrate that Survivor operates and resonates as a political allegory. Using the work of Fredric Jameson, this book reveals how Survivor frames its 'characters' as 'haves' and 'have-nots.' For those new to Jameson, Wright breaks down the theorist's complex notion of the political unconscious into easily understandable language. Furthermore, using the results of a survey of Survivor viewers, Tribal Warfare demonstrates that viewers divide along gender, racial, age, and—most significantly—class-related lines in their consumption of, and reaction to, the program. The first book to explore the premise of 'Survivor as society,' this unique work serves as both an engaging analysis of a popular television program and a highly readable primer for those new to critical theory.

The groundbreaking novel by Allan N. Derain (who also drew the wonderful illustrations). Published by Anvil Publishing, Inc., it was the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature grand prize winner for the category Novel in Filipino in 2011.