At a time when the world watches in horror the unfolding drama of millions of refugees and the anxiety of identity figures prominently among globalization’s many side effects, this is certainly a very timely book, with contributions that address the momentous issues at hand in ways that are not just varied but also surprisingly illuminating. It seems only appropriate that the book starts and ends (“Whoever is not Greek is a barbarian”; “The Women of the Other and us”) with well contextualized, historical / theoretical reflexions on the unfailingly self-serving construction and ultimate appropriation of “the other”, be it the supposedly inarticulate savage of neighboring barbarian shores or the haunting background presence of Arab women - the barely acknowledged half of the West’s reified “Rest”. ln fact, although the chronological distance between the two historical moments is such as to discourage hasty generalizations, the continuities and the potential relevance are just too striking to be ignored.

Service-learning and Writing: Paving the Way for Literacy(ies) through Community Engagement discusses service-learning as a teaching and learning method and its integration with writing. The various authors, from different disciplines and institutions, present service-learning as a means of having students practice writing in real world settings, and they show how relationship-building and partnerships between higher education and diverse communities produce benefits for all involved - the students, faculty, administrators, and the communities themselves. This volume demonstrates how writing instruction and/or writing practice can complement community engagement and outreach at local, national, and international contexts. Through different cross-cultural contexts and academic disciplines, the various authors explore reflection, assessment, internalization, diversity, and multiple literacies and their importance when integrating service-learning in higher education and community literacy.