Hyphen : Object Lessons

Object Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things.To hyphenate or not to hyphenate has been a central point of controversy since before the imprinting of the first Gutenberg Bible. And yet, the hyphen has persisted, bringing & bridging new words & concepts. Hyphen follows the story of the hyphen from antiquity - "Hyphen” is derived from an ancient Greek word meaning “to tie together” - to the present, but also uncovers the politics of the hyphen & the role it plays in creating identities. The journey of this humble piece of connective punctuation reveals the quiet power of an orthographic concept to speak to the travails of hyphenated individuals all over the world. Hyphen is ultimately a compelling story about the powerful ways that language & identity intertwine. Mahdavi — herself a hyphenated Iranian-American — weaves in her own experiences struggling to find a sense of self amidst feelings of betwixt & between. Through stories of the author & three other individuals, Hyphen collectively considers how to navigate, articulate, & empower new identities.“The Object Lessons project, edited by game theory legend Ian Bogost & cultural studies academic Christopher Schaberg, commissions short essays & small, beautiful books about everyday objects from shipping containers to toast. The Atlantic hosts a collection of ‘mini object-lessons’. . . . More substantive is Bloomsbury’s collection of small, gorgeously designed books that delve into their subjects in much more depth.” — Cory Doctorow, Boing Boing Pardis Mahdavi is Dean of Social Sciences in The College of Liberal Arts & Sciences & a Professor in the School of Social Transformation at Arizona State Univ. She is a non-fiction writer with 20 years of experience as an anthropologist, public health researcher, & expert in sexual politics ac "Object Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things. To hyphenate or not to hyphenate has been a central point of controversy since before the imprinting of the first Gutenberg Bible. And yet, the hyphen has persisted, bringing and bridging new words and concepts. Hyphen follows the story of the hyphen from antiquity - 'Hyphen' is derived from an ancient Greek word meaning 'to tie together' - to the present, but also uncovers the politics of the hyphen and the role it plays in creating identities. The journey of this humble piece of connective punctuation reveals the quiet power of an orthographic concept to speak to the travails of hyphenated individuals all over the world. Hyphen is ultimately a compelling story about the powerful ways that language and identity intertwine. Mahdavi - herself a hyphenated Iranian-American - weaves in her own experiences struggling to find her own sense of self amidst feelings of betwixt and between. We meet three other individuals who are each on a similar journey and watch as they find a way to embrace the space of the hyphen - rejecting the false choice of trying to fit into previously prescribed identities. Through their stories, we collectively consider how belonging only serves to fulfill the failures of troubled states, regimes, or institutions and offer possibilities to navigate, articulate, and empower new identities. Object Lessons is published in partnership with an essay series in The Atlantic"-- Provided by publisher Object Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things. To hyphenate or not to hyphenate has been a central point of controversy since before the imprinting of the first Gutenberg Bible. And yet, the hyphen has persisted, bringing and bridging new words and concepts. Hyphen follows the story of the hyphen from antiquity-"Hyphen" is derived from an ancient Greek word meaning "to tie together" -to the present, but also uncovers the politics of the hyphen and the role it plays in creating identities. The journey of this humble piece of connective punctuation reveals the quiet power of an orthographic concept to speak to the travails of hyphenated individuals all over the world. Hyphen is ultimately a compelling story about the powerful ways that language and identity intertwine. Mahdavi-herself a hyphenated Iranian-American-weaves in her own experiences struggling to find a sense of self amidst feelings of betwixt and between. Through stories of the author and three other individuals, Hyphen collectively considers how to navigate, articulate, and empower new identities. Object Lessons is published in partnership with an essay series in The Atlantic. Object Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things. To hyphenate or not to hyphenate has been a central point of controversy since before the imprinting of the first Gutenberg Bible. And yet, the hyphen has persisted, bringing and bridging new words and concepts. Hyphen follows the story of the hyphen from antiquity-"Hyphen” is derived from an ancient Greek word meaning “to tie together” -to the present, but also uncovers the politics of the hyphen and the role it plays in creating identities. The journey of this humble piece of connective punctuation reveals the quiet power of an orthographic concept to speak to the travails of hyphenated individuals all over the world. Hyphen is ultimately a compelling story about the powerful ways that language and identity intertwine. Mahdavi-herself a hyphenated Iranian-American-weaves in her own experiences struggling to find a sense of self amidst feelings of betwixt and between. Through stories of the author and three other individuals, Hyphen collectively considers how to navigate, articulate, and empower new identities. Object Lessons is published in partnership with an essay series in The Atlantic . "Hyphen follows the story of the hyphen from antiquity - 'Hyphen' is derived from an ancient Greek word meaning 'to tie together' - to the present, but also uncovers the politics of the hyphen and the role it plays in creating identities. The journey of this humble piece of connective punctuation reveals the quiet power of an orthographic concept to speak to the travails of hyphenated individuals all over the world. Hyphen is ultimately a compelling story about the powerful ways that language and identity intertwine. Mahdavi - herself a hyphenated Iranian-American - weaves in her own experiences struggling to find her own sense of self amidst feelings of betwixt and between. We meet three other individuals who are each on a similar journey and watch as they find a way to embrace the space of the hyphen - rejecting the false choice of trying to fit into previously prescribed identities. Through their stories, we collectively consider how belonging only serves to fulfill the failures of troubled states, regimes, or institutions and offer possibilities to navigate, articulate, and empower new identities."-- Rabat Title Page Copyright Page Contents Author's Note Preface Part 1: Ancestors Worshipped Chapter 1: My Big Fat Persian Wedding Chapter 2: U-Hyphens Chapter 3: Ancestors Hear My Prayers Chapter 4: Hyphen Justification—Gutenberg and His Travails Chapter 5: Lost in Migration Chapter 6: Like Water for Chocolate Part 2: Hyphen as Divider Chapter 7: Scolding Private Hyphen Chapter 8: Pardis 9/11 Chapter 9: Ade Chapter 10: A Hyphen Set in Stone Chapter 11: Dani Chapter 12: Ania 2.0 Part 3: The Death and Re-birth of the Hyphen(ated) Chapter 13: Hyphen Thief On-The-Loose? Chapter 14: The Big Moment Chapter 15: The Big Game Chapter 16: The Big Debate Chapter 17: The Big Read Chapter 18: The Big Reveal Acknowledgments Notes Index Preface -- Part 1 Ancestors Worshipped -- 1. My Big Fat Persian Wedding (Pardis) -- 2. U-Hyphens -- 3. Ancestors Hear My Prayers (Daniel) -- 4. Hyphen Justification ? Gutenberg and His Travails -- 5. Lost in Migration (AdeChike) -- 6. Like Water for Chocolate (Ania) Part 2 Hyphen as Divider -- 7. Scolding Private Hyphen -- 8. Pardis 9/11 -- 9. Ade -- 10. A Hyphen Set in Stone -- 11. Dani -- 12. Ania 2.0 Part 3 The Death and Re-birth of the Hyphen(ated) -- 13. Hyphen Thief On-The-Loose? -- 14. The Big Moment -- 15. The Big Game -- 16. The Big Debate -- 17. The Big Read -- 18. The Big Reveal -- Acknowledgments -- Endnotes -- Index