Some students like to complain about course textbooks, whether because they are overpriced, confusing or just plain ineffective. But occasionally, students need to be extra careful about complaining too loudly about their textbook - because it was written by their professor.
For example, students in ECON 1170: "Welfare Economics" use a textbook written by Allan Feldman, professor of economics and the course's instructor. His book, "Welfare Economics and Social Choice Theory," is the main textbook for the class - the first edition was published in 1980, and a second edition, which he currently uses for the class, was published two years ago. For that edition, Feldman collaborated with another professor of economics at Brown, Roberto Serrano.
Feldman said the reason he decided to use his own book was that welfare economics is a "small, theoretical area" and that there weren't many options for textbooks. After reviewing current books on the topic, Feldman came to the conclusion that he could explain the material on his own better than any of the existing books could, so he wrote his book, which was published by Kluwer Nijhoff Publishing.
Feldman said most professors don't necessarily hire an agent to hawk their textbooks - some will just write one and send it to publishers.
Since Feldman's book was originally published in 1980, he has always used it to teach the class, and other professors have used it to teach the course as well, because there are "only a couple of other competing" resources available in the field. Though Feldman said he assumes other professors around the country use his book, he was unaware of any schools in particular.
Feldman said one of the benefits of using his own book in class is simply that he knows it well. Also, by using his own textbook, Feldman avoids the problems of having to keep track of new editions published by other authors. It's easy, Feldman said, to adapt the curriculum to the textbook each year.
Nancy Jacobs, associate professor of history and Africana studies, is in the middle of compiling her own book. "Send Down the Rain: African Records and Remembrance" is a compilation of primary sources dealing with Africa in the 20th century.
While teaching AFRI 0160: "Twentieth-Century Africa," her students "showed interest in primary sources," Jacobs said. As she started to gather some for the class, and eventually it grew to the point Jacobs thought she might have enough material for a book.
Jacobs said the project was originally "for Brown students" but was transformed "by Brown students." She compiled the documents with the assistance of five Undergraduate Teaching and Research Assistants and various other students - including six this semester as a part of an independent study group. She hopes the work will be finished within the next year and a half.
Even though the volume is not yet ready to be published, Jacobs has been introducing the work into her AFRI 0160 class. Students download PDF files of the working copy chapter-by-chapter and use the primary documents in both essays and section discussions.
Part of the motivation for writing the book was to improve her teaching, because using primary sources is "a different way to tell history," Jacobs said.
One of Jacobs' goals in publishing the collection is to have it be used not just by Brown students, but to make it available to the world, ultimately making the collection available to African students. At the University, Jacobs has access to resources to compile the volume that aren't available in Africa, and she wants to find a publisher that can make her vision a reality.
Though Jacobs said her book could always become available to students internationally thanks to the Internet, "no one wants to curl up in the evening with a laptop."
