Knowledge in the Service of Community
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CORGEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY NERSTONE COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES SPRING 2018 Knowledge in the Service of Community INSIDE THIS ISSUE: SEEDS OF DOMESTIC MILITARISM A VIRGINIA TEACHER ON THE GOVERNOR’S TEAM FALL FOR THE BOOK TURNS 20 GROWING INTERFAITH CONNECTIONS IN IRAQ The College of Humanities and Social Sciences at George Mason University is committed to providing a challenging education to undergraduate and graduate students, expanding the frontiers of knowledge through research, and contributing intellectual leadership to the community. The college values the rich scholarly traditions of the past while embracing evolving disciplinary and interdisciplinary innovations. It believes that a liberal arts education is the best preparation for a multitude of careers and a lifetime of success. Visit chss.gmu.edu to learn more. DEPARTMENTS CORNERSTONE Communication Editor – Anne Reynolds Criminology, Law and Society Associate Editor – Robert Matz Economics Contributors – Alecia Bryan, Allison Cobb, MFA ’97, Cathy Cruise, MFA ’93, English Laura Powers, Suzy Rigdon, MFA ’17 History and Art History Designer – Joan Dall’Acqua Modern and Classical Languages Photographers – Ron Aira, Evan Cantwell, MA ’10, Rachel Emmons, Charles Slocomb Philosophy Illustrator – Marcia Staimer Psychology Religious Studies Cornerstone is published annually by the College of Humanities and Social Sciences Sociology and Anthropology at George Mason University. Cornerstone is intended to keep alumni, the Mason community, and the public informed about the activities, growth, and progress of the SCHOOL college. Articles reflect the opinions of the writers and are not those of the magazine, School of Integrative Studies the college, or the university. INTERDISCIPLINARY PROGRAMS We welcome your questions and comments. Please email us at [email protected] African and African American Studies or mail a letter to Editor, Cornerstone, 4400 University Drive, MS 3A3, Fairfax, Cultural Studies Virginia 22030. Global Affairs Please send address changes to Alumni Relations, College of Humanities and Social Higher Education Sciences, George Mason University, 4400 University Drive, MS 3A3, Fairfax, VA Individualized Study 22030. Alternatively, address changes may be made through George Mason Interdisciplinary Studies University’s Alumni Association website: alumni.gmu.edu. Latin American Studies Middle East and Islamic Studies The College of Humanities and Social Sciences Advisory Board Russian and Eurasian Studies Michael J. Hoover, MA ’81 M. Yaqub Mirza, parent BA ’00, BA ’09, Lynn E. Huggins, BIS ’92 and member of the Mason Foundation Inc. Women and Gender Studies Eric M. Johnson, MA ’05 Board of Trustees Robert C. Lightburn, MA ’04 Jason D. Reis, BA ’93 Allen C. Lomax, MPA ’82 Edward M. Staunton III Nicole Tyler, BA ’90 Board Members Emeriti David W. Bartee, MPA ’06 Jonathan C. Lamb, BA ’97 Gail A. Bohan, BA ’70, MPA ’82 Samantha E. Madden, BS ’89 George C. Cabalu, BA ’92 Matthew S. Plummer, BA ’00, MS ’11 Randolph W. Church Jennifer C. Shelton, BS ’94 Dr. Ashok Deshmukh V. Reid Shelton, BA ’93 Nicole A. Geller, BS ’86 Stanley E. Tetlow, BS ’84 C. Michael Hincewicz Michael Whitlock, BA ’96 Ian G. Hogg John A. Wilburn, MA ’76 George Mason University is an equal opportunity chss.gmu.edu employer that encourages diversity. Dear friends, identifying with a religious identity. Yet the study of reli- It is my pleasure to present to gion could not be more relevant. Religious belief shapes lives and grounds choices, large and small. We present you Questions? you this edition of Cornerstone, Comments? the magazine of the College of the work of two of our Department of Religious Studies faculty members, one of whom is discerning new mean- Humanities and Social Sciences. Email ing from ancient Mayan texts, and the other forging new, Each year, we offer a look [email protected] inside the college, to bring our intrafaith relationships between youth in Iraq. In distinct alumni and friends news of ways, each expands our sense of human values and culture. the scholarship, people, and Fall for the Book has, for nearly 20 years, brought the campus and community together around the joy of read- changes that make up the day- Get involved to-day life of learning here at Mason. ing. We look at the many authors who have visited Mason with CHSS! And there is big news for the college. In fall 2017, Dean through this program, and learn about the ways that the chss.gmu.edu/ Deborah Boehm-Davis closed her long and distinguished festival is changing as it moves forward. events career at Mason and embarked on an adventure help- As in every edition of the magazine, you will meet amazing students who are making the most of their days For college news ing to design the next generation of augmented reality chss.gmu.edu/ at Mason, as well as alumni who bring the Mason spirit devices (think Google Glasses, but better!). It has been my articles honor to serve as interim dean while a nationwide search into their communities to make a difference. Maybe you proceeds to find her successor. In the summer of 2018, will see someone you know? Maybe you will see yourself Robinson Hall, home to many of the college’s classrooms in their stories. We offer this magazine as a reminder that and departments, will begin the three-year process of you always have a home at the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. And we welcome your own stories as you Follow the college being replaced by a new, modern home for the humanities @MasonHumSocSci and social sciences. move from Mason to make changes in the world. In this edition of Cornerstone, we offer what is new, with a Like the best scholarship, we continue to strive toward measure of understanding of what we have learned from the the new while recognizing the importance of what came past. We begin with an excerpt from a new book, released before. We hope that you are doing the same, and we are Like the College in April 2018, from economics professor Christopher J. pleased to be a part of your “before.” With Patriot Pride, of Humanities Coyne, in which he and co-author, University of Tampa and Social Sciences economics professor Abigail R. Hall, consider the history www.facebook.com/ of law enforcement technology and the consequences of MasonCHSS that history for policing in American communities. We follow with a conversation about religion. A 2016 Gallup report on religion in the United States found a Robert I. Matz, Interim Dean consistent downward trend on the number of Americans College of Humanities and Social Sciences CONTENTS In Memoriam: Yoonmee Chang ...........2 20 Years of Fall for the Book ............13 New Minor Crosses Disciplines Fall for the Book photos ................14 to Meet Student Needs .................3 Faculty Research: Garry Sparks ...........16 Tyranny Comes Home (Book excerpt) ......4 Faculty Outreach: Abdulaziz Sachedina Alumni Profile: Atif Qarni ...............7 (Culture of Toleration) .................18 New Programs .........................8 Student Profile: Katrina Gagliano ........19 Student Profile: Ferris Samara ...........11 Honor Roll ...........................20 Faculty Profile: Bill Miller ...............12 Creative Piece: Allison Cobb, MFA ’97 .....28 1 cornerstone.gmu.edu CORNERSTONE In Memoriam: Yoonmee Chang n January, the college mourned the passing of faculty Her research interests included work in race and class, as member Yoonmee Chang. Chang was an assistant pro- well as disability studies. She was the author of Writing fessor in the Department of English and was affiliated the Ghetto: Class, Authorship, and the Asian American Iwith Mason’s Cultural Studies Program. Ethnic Enclave (Rutgers University Press, 2010). A poet, Born in Seoul, South Korea, Chang grew up in the United she published research and creative work in journals such States, where her family settled in Jericho, New York. She as Modern Fiction Studies, the Journal of Asian American graduated summa cum laude from Tufts University in 1992, Studies, the Asian American Literature Review, and Beltway earning bachelor of arts degrees in art history and English, Poetry Quarterly. At the time of her death, she was work- as well as membership in Phi Beta Kappa. ing on a book on the zainichi, a group Korean people IN MEMORIAMIN Chang received her PhD in English from the University living in Japan who had immigrated prior to 1945, and of Pennsylvania in 2003, where she was instrumental in their descendants. founding its Asian American studies program. Following Debra Lattanzi Shutika, English Department faculty her graduation, she served as an assistant professor of member and chair, noted Chang’s intellect and sense of English and American studies at Indiana University humor, as well as her strong connection to the Korean and was awarded a Mellon postdoctoral fellowship at community near Mason. “She was a greatly respected Northwestern University. member of the department, and will be missed by her col- Arriving at Mason in 2005, Chang taught in the leagues and students alike.” English Department and the Cultural Studies Program. 2 SPRING 2018 New Minor Crosses Disciplines to Meet Student Needs PROGRAMS NEW he college is working with the College of Visual new ways to consider some of the most critical issues fac- and Performing Arts and the Volgenau School ing society. In fall 2017, 23 proposals were advanced; of Engineering to offer a web design minor. This 16 were selected for funding, and 11 of these involved fac- Tshared project brings together related courses in web design ulty from the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and development that are now distributed across Mason, acting in concert with other units on Mason’s campus. The resulting in a curriculum where students can investigate web design minor is among the first to be ready for stu- each of the contributing disciplines and explore new fields dents to enroll. complementary to their majors.