Bridgewater Review

Volume 36 | Issue 2 Article 1

Nov-2017 Bridgewater Review, Vol. 36, No. 2, November 2017

Recommended Citation Bridgewater State University. (2017). Bridgewater Review. 36(2). Available at: http://vc.bridgew.edu/br_rev/vol36/iss2/1

This item is available as part of Virtual Commons, the open-access institutional repository of Bridgewater State University, Bridgewater, Massachusetts. Bridgewater Review

WHITE NATIONALISM ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES: IS BRIDGEWATER STATE READY? A view by CAROLYN PETROSINO

Also in this issue: DEREK LEUENBERGER on BENJAMIN CARSON and Percy B. Shelley’s The Cenci interviews JOHN J. WINTERS Book Reviews by LEONID HERETZ’s on his exciting new biography of WARD HEILMAN, Collecting Thoughts Sam Shepard JENIFER SARVER, DAVID TILLINGHAST on Notes on Teaching by JABBAR AL-OBAIDI, and why the BSU Police Department MICHAEL PENZO and by MICHAEL CARSON supports Massachusetts Senate KIMBERLY E. FOX and Bill No. 1305 NORMA J. ANDERSON

NovemberVolume 36, 2017 Number 2 November 2017 Bridgewater State University1 Photo credit: George Rizer

Credits for Author Photographs Jabbar Al-Obaidi (by Josh Moulding); Norma Anderson (by Linneah Anderson); Benjamin Carson (by Lori LeComte); Kimberly Fox (by Claudette Agustin); Leonid Heretz (by Eric Weeks); Andrew Holman (by Frank Gorga); Derek Leuenberger (by Kelsey Leuenberger); Carolyn Petrosino (by Gwendolyn Hampton-VanSant); and David Tillinghast (by George Rizer).

2 Bridgewater Review Bridgewater Review Volume 36, Number 2 November 2017

2 Editor’s Notebook EDITOR Andrew C. Holman Andrew C. Holman History & Canadian Studies 4 In the Crosshairs of the White Nationalist Movement: Is Bridgewater State Ready? ASSOCIATE EDITORS Carolyn Petrosino Norma Anderson, Sociology Interim, 2017-18 9 Percy Bysshe Shelley’s The Cenci and the Ellen Scheible, English “Pernicious Mistake” of the Regency-era Melodrama On leave, 2017-18 Derek Leuenberger EDITORS EMERITUS 13 Collecting Thoughts Michael Kryzanek Leonid Heretz Political Science & Global Studies 17 Working to Serve and Protect an Immigrant-Friendly Community: William C. Levin Why the Bridgewater State University Police Department Supports Sociology Massachusetts Senate Bill No. 1305 Barbara Apstein David H. Tillinghast, Esq. English 21 Staging a Life: An Interview with John J. Winters Brian Payne Benjamin Carson History 25 TEACHING NOTE DESIGN Bridging the Gap between the Classroom and Business: Philip McCormick’s Design A View from Geology Works, Inc., North Easton, Mass. Michael A. Penzo, PG, CPG, LSP

29 TEACHING NOTE Bring Class Concepts to Life: Implementing Intensive Interview Projects for Deep Learning Kimberly E. Fox and Norma J. Anderson

33 BOOK REVIEWS Has Comfort Made Us Weak? Ward Heilman Wardance, Jenifer Sarver Inspirational Reading, Jabbar Al-Obaidi Why We Do What We Do, Michael Carson On the Front Cover: HATE (iStock).

Bridgewater Review is published twice a year by the faculty and librarians of Bridgewater State University. Opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the policies of Bridgewater Review or Bridgewater State University.

Letters to the Editor are encouraged and should be sent to: Editor, Bridgewater Review, [email protected]

November 2017 1 writings, including those by Edward Editor’s Notebook Said, Georg Lukács and Sigmund Freud on exile, “homeloss,” transcendental Andrew C. Holman homelessness and other concepts. hen I left this country 18 years ago,” Wood is careful to point out that his loss is not tragic, not in the way it is Englishman, literary critic and for real exiles or refugees torn from Harvard professor James Wood wrote their homes by war, persecution or “W violence. But he stipulates that his loss in a moving piece in the London Review of Books in constitutes something more than base 2014, “I didn’t know how strangely departure would nostalgia for mundane bygones: local obliterate return… I made a large choice a long time accents, smells, flora, or particular brands of chocolate. Leaving, for him, ago that did not resemble a large choice at the time has created a sort of retrospective [and] it has taken years for me to see this.” Wood trauma. Even though none of Wood’s family resides in Durham anymore, to was born near, raised and educated in Durham, “think about home and the departure a cathedral town in northeast England, before from home, about not going home schooling at University of Cambridge and work and no longer feeling able to go home, is to be filled with a remarkable sense in America wrested him away from the familiarities of ‘afterwardness’.” of his boyhood home. His long essay, “On Not I was given Wood’s piece last summer Going Home,” is beautifully written and strewn by a buddy, a fellow Canadian ex-pat through (in the online version) with hyperlinks to from Toronto who, for the past 16 years, has taught Literature in English at music, sounds and images that evoked for him the the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia. memory of home. In an effort to make sense of This piece wrought for him, I suspect, that weirdly attractive melancholic his journey, Wood turns to a selection of scholarly feeling that comes with setting down roots abroad and, at the same time, a plausible and rational way to explain it. Wood’s essay is an intensely personal one, but it had a broader purpose, too. It aimed to connect his own life with dominant themes in world literature today. It was also probably meant to resonate with others who have strug- gled to articulate their own changing conceptions of “home.” That’s why it resonated with me. But I am sure I’m not alone. What Wood does not acknowledge (and may not have realized) is just how ubiquitous the experience of departure and loss is among modern academics like him. University faculties are strange polyglot creatures. At large, metropolitan, research-driven institutions, they have

2 Bridgewater Review been so for some time: massive collec- that each have less in common with as a collectivity, bring a wonderful tions of talented people “from away.” southeastern Massachusetts, one might variety of experiences, learning, world- Indeed, part of the appeal of elite higher argue, than Wood’s elite Durham circle views and pedagogical styles to our education has been the exposure that did with the leafier parts of Cambridge, classrooms and to one another in the students can gain to a world of experts, Mass.). And I would guess that most time we have and the time we make assembled in and imported to their own other departments at BSU have under- for interaction. BSU is the better for communities. The situation has been gone similar transformations. In the it. But on another level, it must also mean that most of us have experience in leaving, losing, and remaking “home,” sometimes more than once. University faculties are strange That we’ve sacrificed something we never anticipated. We inhabit strange polyglot creatures. At large, spaces between our here homes and our homes of old—those places where metropolitan, research-driven our siblings still live and childhood friends retire, where parents move institutions, they have been so house, age too quickly and then pass for some time: massive collections away. The places that are different every time we return, and not ours anymore. of talented people “from away.” To make the point is not to bemoan the situation but merely to observe Indeed, part of the appeal of a condition. It may be, as New York Times columnist Roger Cohen once elite higher education has been observed (“In Search of Home,” 3 the exposure that students can April 2014), that a principal feature of our modern existence is displacement gain to a world of experts, anguish. Modern academics are, to borrow another one of Wood’s terms, assembled in and imported to “homeloose.” It’s a part of the changing complexity of the people who make up their own communities. the community of scholars at places like Bridgewater State. less true at the many public, teaching- past two decades, a glutted job mar- oriented colleges and universities like ket and the university’s wish to fill its ours, or at least until fairly recently. faculty openings through national and When I arrived at Bridgewater State international searches has produced this College in the fall of 1996, only about demographic shift. Today, our BSU half of the members of my department faculty—one colleague who was in a (History) were from out of state (and position to know estimates as much as two of them were from nearby New 80 percent—is a motley collection of York). Twenty-one years later, we are transplants, some from very far away. almost all “leavers” who hail from such What does this mean? It’s hard to far-flung places as Arkansas and west- measure, but there are very positive ern New York, Chicago and Colorado, institutional effects from this change. Los Angeles and Baltimore, Hong As we are fond of saying these days, Kong and southern Ontario (places diversity means richness. Today, we,

November 2017 3 tend to view hate crime as something In the Crosshairs of the that occurred in the distant past and was primarily committed by the Ku Klux White Nationalist Movement: Klan. Coming to grips with the fact that hate crime is an ongoing and present Is Bridgewater State Ready? problem is challenging for our students who commonly observe and embrace Carolyn Petrosino inclusion in a diverse social world. But ocial movements often emerge to bring attention recent media reports describe bold acts of racism, anti-Semitism, and other to social problems and to apply sufficient pressure forms of bigotry occurring today on the to affect change. The Civil Rights Movement, country’s college campuses. Students S who were not familiar with the con- the Women’s Movement, and the Gay and Lesbian temporary nature of hate crimes are Liberation Movement all had the primary objectives having their naiveté dashed, and some of challenging systemic oppression and neglect and of them are vulnerable to the advances of the hate movement. attaining improvements in the quality of life for affected persons. Many among us see these as positive Hate on Campus Acts of intolerance, bigotry, and hate- developments that seek a greater good: equality. But, motivated crimes take place on college it seems, for every action there is an opposite reaction. and university campuses across the Social movements that are negative—that advocate U.S. In California, the state assembly’s Committee on Higher Education the institutionalized devaluation of others—are issued a 2010 white paper on hate inci- what I refer to as dark social movements. The White dents (behavior that does not rise to the Nationalist Movement is in that category. level of a crime) and hate crimes (criminal acts) occurring across the state’s For the last 18 years, I have taught bring, it provides students a historical public colleges and universities. The a course at BSU on hate crimes. In context, and includes an examination Committee’s report (Hate Violence and addition to focusing on the nature of of hate ideology, its resilience, and Bigotry on Public College and University these crimes and the social harms they existential hate movements. Students Campuses) mentions several disturbing

4 Bridgewater Review crimes: the stabbing, in April 2010, of … Large-scale mixing together River College student Greg Withrow the Chico State student body president of races is being forced ONLY IN founded one of the first student organi- by two men who uttered racial epithets WHITE COUNTRIES! zations based on race—the White as they did it; the slashing of a transgen- Student Union—in 1979. Most youth People who welcome that say der graduate student at California State leaders in the white supremacist move- they’re anti-racist. What they are is University, Long Beach, in April 2010; ment in the 1980s started their careers ANTI-WHITE. and, in the same semester, the carving while either in high school or college of a swastika into the dormitory door of Anti-racist is a codeword for (Hamm, American Skinheads [1993]). a Jewish student at UC Davis. anti-white. The White Genocide Project is a grassroots Similar acts have happened more “Diversity” is a code word for effort to reintroduce ideas of racial recently in the eastern U.S. In May White Genocide. segregation and white supremacy, and 2017, an African-American Bowie State “Diversity” means chasing down to normalize these ideas in mainstream university student, Richard Collins the last White person. culture. Today, this “dark movement” III, was stabbed to death while visiting has energized its efforts to target friends at the University of Maryland by a white student who identified with the white nationalist movement. And in fall 2016, Black freshmen at the University The emails were sent “to of Pennsylvania were victimized by racial taunts and threats through the intimidate our community and social media tool “GroupMe.” The text threads were titled “Mud Men” and to get us to respond in a way that “N---Lynching” and contained a daily would allow it to recruit members lynching calendar and images of people hanging from a tree (www.washington from around the country.” post.com, 11 November 2016). Most of these incidents were student-on- student attacks, a trend noted as early The concerted effort to openly American colleges and universities. as 1993 by scholars Jack Levin and Jack approach college students is an impor- In April 2017, the Anti-Defamation McDevitt in their book Hate Crimes. It tant development in the agenda of League (ADL) reported at least 147 is paradoxical that such acts of intoler- organized modern racialists, though incidents involving the distribution ance can occur in a setting committed it is hardly new. Such groups have of racist fliers on 107 different cam- to nurturing enlightenment. attempted to make inroads on campus puses across 33 states since September White Nationalist settings over the last several decades. 2016 (www.adl.org). In addition, the Recruitment Efforts But current efforts indicate greater campaign involves the sending of mass coordination and the effective use of emails and organization of speeches on Campus social media. and rallies on campuses. The outreach In April of this year, BSU faculty efforts are reportedly inspired by the In the 1980s, the Federal Bureau of and students were the recipients of a campaign and election of Donald J. Investigation reported a disturbing disturbing email message: “Stop (or Trump, who has become a symbol increase in the number of neo-Nazi Fight) White Genocide.” The message of white nationalism to adherents of skinheads and, concomitantly, an in the emails (there were three differ- white supremacist and xenophobic increase in violent hate-motivated acts. ent compositions) contended that the ideology (K. Vogel, www.politico. Federal authorities and watch-dog university’s emphasis on inclusion, com, 17 April 2017; C. Riotta, www. groups have noted that many of these multiculturalism, equality, and diver- Newsweek.com, 17 August 2017). acts were committed by school-age sity is tantamount to embracing the White nationalist organizations that are racist skinheads (C. Turpin-Petrosino, extinction of the white race. The email actively involved in campus campaigns Journal of Social Issues [2002]). Through also argued that to be “anti-racist” is to include Identity Evropa, American the efforts of the White Aryan be “anti-White.” The White Genocide Renaissance, and American Vanguard. Resistance (WAR), founded by white Project website describes the email cam- These organizations advocate the idea separatist Tom Metzger, American paign aimed at the BSU community:

November 2017 5 of America as a white homeland, white to get us to respond in a way that who opposed Spencer’s presence with a superiority, and the devaluation of all would allow it to recruit members large-scale “silent” protest designed to persons who are not Caucasian. from around the country.” show their rejection of his message. Still others protested loudly. Appealing to the intellectual curiosity It is vital that colleges and universi- of college students, these groups have ties become more aware of the efforts This response confirms the First repackaged ideas about white suprem- of white nationalists to target college Amendment rights of all involved— acy as a legitimate subject for scholarly students for recruitment and other white nationalists and those who stand investigation, much as the eugenics purposes. The current leader of the in full opposition. Hate speech is offen- movement did in the early 20th century. white nationalist movement in the sive speech that degrades others based Emerson College was recently targeted U.S. is Richard B. Spencer, who has on race, ethnicity, gender, gender- by American Vanguard. In December made clear his goal of targeting col- identity, sexual orientation, religion, 2016, several posters were placed in leges for recruitment. Spencer believes age, disability, nationality, or any other prominent areas on the campus with that the time is right to advocate for the similar rationale. The First Amendment messages touting white supremacy creation of, “a white state in America” clearly permits the Richard B. Spencers and white nationalism. More recently, and that students are now open to this of the world the freedom to espouse in March 2017, approximately 500 message due to “political correctness repugnant ideas. Although most who emails messaging the same theme were fatigue” (S. Jaschik, www.inside- cherish democracy appreciate the importance of this constitutionally protected right, others are concerned when the First Amendment potentially com- The White Genocide Project is a promises the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection clause. When hateful grassroots effort to reintroduce speech influences public perspectives, it has the potential to shape law and create ideas of racial segregation public policy that negatively impacts and white supremacy, and vulnerable groups. Evidence of this is offered by the to normalize these ideas in Southern Poverty Law Center, which reported that in 2010 there were at least mainstream culture. Today, this 23 candidates for public office with radical right-wing views, nine of “dark movement” has energized whom they described as white suprem- acists or white nationalists (E. Conant, its efforts to target American www.thedailybeast.com, 4 July 2011). Steven Bannon, the former chief strate- colleges and universities. gist for President Trump, has provided a media platform for the alt-right movement (Breitbart News), which supports and advocates white national- received by members of the Emerson highered/news, 28 November 2016). ist ideology. All of this points to the College community. In an NPR inter- Spencer gave a speech in December importance of responding effectively view (8 April 2017), Emerson President 2016 at Texas A&M answering an to the efforts of white nationalists to Lee Pelton clearly recognized what was invitation from a university alum. recruit college students. at stake: “American Vanguard is a white The university was obligated to permit supremacist group. It’s an anti-Semitic the engagement because, as a public Institutions of higher education must organization that believes biological institution, private citizens are permit- recognize that some students are and genetic determinism assert the ted to use the facilities. Concurrent vulnerable to the messages of white intellectual superiority of what it calls with Spencer’s two-hour speech on nationalists and be aware that this the white race.” The emails were sent white supremacy was a counter demon- vulnerability can affect the quality of “to intimidate our community and stration marshalled by student groups life for all students. Several years ago,

6 Bridgewater Review I conducted a study to test high-school College administrators and campus threatened to kill one fellow student.” and university students’ agreement leaders should acknowledge that hate In addition, he delivered photographs level with the messages of hate groups crimes occur on college grounds. of Holocaust victims to one student and affiliation potential with hate As early as 2001, the Department and stated, among other things, that groups. Even though only a small of Justice (DOJ) published a major the photographs were “a reminder number of study participants reported report (Hate Crimes on Campus) that of what happened to your relatives contact with written material (e.g. brought to light “a range of criminal because they too made a mockery fliers, leaflets) from hate groups, more conduct from threats to bombings of Christianity” (3). The Samar case is atypical com- pared to the more frequent types of Because of the predicted seismic hate crimes or hateful incidents that occur on college campuses. The DOJ shift in demographics in the report reminds us that acts of bigotry, although not hate crimes, occur far United States, the efforts of more frequently. But if bigotry (in the form of verbal harassments, racial slurs white nationalists to appeal to and related insults) is not challenged, mainstream white America are the conditions for more overt hate crimes are established. Left unchecked, poised to intensify over the next an atmosphere of fear and intimidation can invade a college campus and affect several years. students significantly. Is BSU Prepared? When BSU received the Stop White Genocide emails, both students and than 60% of the exposed group indi- to violent physical assaults.” One of faculty voiced disapproval and dismay. cated supportive attitudes towards these these hate crimes involved a student at This reaction is encouraging and groups (C. Turpin-Petrosino, Journal a small Massachusetts college, James underscores the university’s stated of Social Issues [2002]). Samar, who “used anti-Semitic slurs, values, which were adopted by the threatened two fellow students, and Board of Trustees in December 2015:

November 2017 7 Hate Groups 1999-2016

1002 1018 1007 926 932 939 917 888 892 844 803 939 751 762 708 676 602

457

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

(Source: Southern Poverty Law Center, www.splcenter.org/hate-map)

In response to growing and we better prepare BSU students from antagonize white nationalists who widespread incivility, bigotry, what may be just the beginning of see these changes as a form of “white and hostility, we, the undersigned periodic targeting by racialists? genocide.” We are charged with the members of Bridgewater State responsibility of equipping BSU When the Stop White Genocide incident University, reaffirm the values students to effectively engage the occurred on campus, it provided an of our community as a welcoming, world as they encounter it. This opportunity for discussion in the compassionate, and intellectually includes making them aware of the classroom. I asked students in my hate rigorous learning, working, and world view of white nationalists crime class what they would want to living environment. We reject as they seek to shape our present see happen at BSU. Almost to a person all forms of bias, discrimination, and future democratic institutions they acknowledged that the reality xenophobia, and violence. We and way of life. of hate groups and their respective re-commit ourselves to actions agendas should be brought to the atten- that put into practice our indi- tion of the student population. While vidual and institutional values of some thought that the topic should diversity, inclusion, and equality be part of the orientation reserved for all (http://www.bridgew.edu/ for new students, others believed bsuvalues/). that that would be insufficient. Most However, questions remain. How students recommended that my hate many students (and perhaps faculty) crimes course (or courses like it) should were intrigued by the arguments pre- be part of the core curriculum. And sented in the emails? How many mem- I agree. Too many of our students lack bers of the BSU community sought awareness of the extent of this problem further information from Stop White today. Because of the predicted seismic Genocide or have the potential to be shift in demographics in the United Carolyn Petrosino is Professor in the influenced? Should the BSU commu- States, the efforts of white national- Department of Criminal Justice. nity adopt a proactive stance in antici- ists to appeal to mainstream white pation of further incursions by white America are poised to intensify over nationalist propaganda campaigns? Can the next several years. The United States is becoming a more diverse society, not less. These developments

8 Bridgewater Review license by the government. This posi- Percy Bysshe Shelley’s The Cenci tioned melodramatic performances outside the control of authorities, and and the “Pernicious Mistake” of elite observers of the time were quick to fret over the potential consequences the Regency-era Melodrama of the form’s rise to prominence. George Colman the Younger (1762- Derek Leuenberger 1836), Examiner of Plays during the uring the widespread social and economic reign of George IV, claimed in 1824 that melodrama espoused “the doc- th th tumult of late-18 - and early-19 -century trine that government is Tyranny, that Britain, popular markets for art and literature Revolt is Virtue, and that Rebels are D Righteous” (quoted in M. Hays and A. emerged quickly and had immense influence on the Nikolopoulou, eds. Melodrama [1996], form, content, and style of the cultural genres they ix). In the chaotic years immediately fueled. In the Romantic theater especially, the arrival following Waterloo, the radical writer Percy Shelley (1792-1822) might typi- of melodrama—plays with extravagant plots and cally have used the same words in far physical action accompanied by songs and an orchestral backdrop—gave voice to millions of Britons displaced geographically, economically, and socially by decades of war, industrialization, and political repression. The melodrama was introduced to England in 1802 by Thomas Holcroft’s A Tale of Mystery, initiating what Romanticism scholar Jeffrey Cox deems “a popular response to the excitement and anxiety generated as traditional social and cultural orders were challenged by the revolutions in America, France, and elsewhere” (47).

Melodrama—literally “drama with melodrama portrayed the victims of music”—provided a dispassionate the new British world as alienated from description of the passionate stories of the protections and justice afforded to suffering and moral vindication that the wealthy. On the stage, this sensibil- the lower classes of Britain told to ity drove toward a climactic moment themselves. Melodrama and its starkly of acclamation, in which the audience divided moral world, emotionally- gave loud voice to its condemnation of The Cenci, Title page of the first edition. fraught dialogue, frequent violence, the villain, hailed the exposure of his and raucous audiences became a potent (nearly, but not always, “his”) crimes, more approving tones, but Shelley, channel for poor Britons to dramatize and cheered the delivery of justice. too, was alarmed by the intersection complaints against the government, of melodrama’s drive for retributive In a direct and literal sense, melodrama mill owners and overseers, landlords, justice and its targeting of poor and represented the fundamental exclusion and other modern villains. In the working-class audiences. While Shelley of the lower orders from elite society: context of disappearing economic bases had expressed conflicted views about the patent theater system in England in agriculture and domestic manufac- the lower classes since his earliest forays prohibited the exhibition of “serious” turing in the early 19th century—the into radical literature, his 1819 play spoken drama in theaters other than the traditional mainstays of the British The Cenci highlights his deep concerns few—such as Covent Garden, Drury economy—and the altered social struc- about working-class melodrama and its Lane, and the Haymarket—granted tures that accompanied these changes, moral and political effects. Specifically,

November 2017 9 Shelley worried that melodrama’s The legendary story of Beatrice’s recent events, indicating that the ability to ignite its audiences’ passions traumatic suffering and her revenge is convention was still in practice dur- and desire for vengeance was socially the direct connection forged by Shelley ing Shelley’s day. He certainly would dangerous and morally suspect. with the dramatic world of working- have been familiar with the con- class theater, especially its elements of ceit: Charles Brockden Brown, the The Cenci is one of Shelley’s most strik- gothic horror, which melodramas read- American writer who was a favorite ing works, not merely because of its ily incorporated. Shelley’s Dedication of both Percy Shelley and his wife, the violence, but also because it contains and Preface to the published version of famous gothic novelist Mary Shelley some of his most striking depictions the play states that “the drama which (1797-1851), suggests in the preface to of social and political power, as well as I now present to you is a sad reality,” Wieland (1798) that his readers may genuinely tender portrayals of personal based on a manuscript that was “com- remember a notorious murder case suffering that intensify the play’s hor- municated” to him in Italy and “copied on which his novel is based. For the rors. The play follows the destruction from the archives of the Cenci Palace at gothic novelist, these kinds of prefatory of the Cenci family in 16th-century Rome” (R. Ingpen and W.E. Peck, eds, declarations offer a kind of half-serious Rome and, particularly, the tragic fall Complete Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley, means of warding off accusations of a of its eldest daughter, Beatrice. Central v.2 [1965], 67, 69). This move mirrors depraved imagination—an accusation to Shelley’s critique of the working- not only the purportedly historical with which the radical and atheist Percy class melodrama is the complex moral horrors of the gothic novels from which Shelley was all too familiar—as well world that emerges out of a seemingly the play borrows many of its structural as offering an initial promise of exoti- straightforward opposition of evil and characteristics, but also the true-crime cism and mystery to readers hungry innocence. The Cenci family is led by bases of many melodramas. The debt to for sensational characters and scandal- the sinister Count Cenci, tormentor gothic fiction is clear: the preface to the ous acts. Most significantly, though, of his second wife Lucretia, his sons first edition of Horace Walpole’s The these “found” manuscripts somehow, imaginatively, have worked their ways into English (or American) hands, and they augur terrible secrets that demand Shelley says in the Preface to to be made public. Though the facts of The Cenci that “Revenge, Shelley’s tragedy are to a broad extent historical, the play inhabits that twi- retaliation, atonement are light region between documented fact and centuries-old legend. Therefore, pernicious mistakes,” no less in the story of la Cenci must be fitted, as Shelley says, “to the apprehensions of drama than they are in real life. my countrymen in such language and action as would bring it home to their hearts” (70). For him, this uncovered history holds an essential kernel of Giacomo and Bernardo, and his daugh- Castle of Otranto (1764), for instance, public appeal, but it is one that must be ter Beatrice. The Count is a remorseless claims that “The following work deployed cautiously. villain, whose crimes against his family was found in the library of an ancient Shelley seeks from his audience a and others are detailed throughout Catholic family in the north of England. response of conflicted empathy with the play, but the crux of the plot is the It was printed at Naples, in the black Beatrice’s suffering and transforma- shocking rape of Beatrice by her father. letter, in the year 1529” (v). Likewise, tion, and not a unified condemnation. Beatrice, with the help of her step- Anne Radcliffe’s The Italian (1797) In her 1995 book, Melodramatic Tactics, mother and Giacomo, later contracts begins with the framing device of a University of Chicago scholar Elaine the murder of Count Cenci. They medieval manuscript found by English Hadley says that the melodramatic are discovered by agents of the Pope, tourists in Italy, William Beckford mode’s theatrical polarization of scoun- tortured, and sentenced to die. Shelley’s pretends to be the editor rather than drel and hero, villain and victim, is an interest lies primarily in the complex the author of Vathek (1787), and Charles invitation for the audience to identify character of Beatrice, who in the course Maturin’s Melmoth the Wanderer, with the idealized victim (31-32). of carrying out and attempting to con- published one year after The Cenci, Hadley points to an important trans- ceal the murder of her father, becomes professes to base some episodes in formation in English theater in the way victimizer as well as victim.

10 Bridgewater Review Percy Bysshe Shelley by Alfred Clint, after Amelia Curran, and Edward Supposed Portrait of Beatrice Cenci by Guido Reni (Bologna 1575-1642). Ellerker Williams. Oil on canvas, circa 1829, based on a work of 1819. Oil on canvas, 1599. Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Antica di Roma, © National Portrait Gallery, London, UK. Palazzo Barberini. audiences’ sensibilities were implicated for melodrama. As they worked of the authors, but their key similarity in the performance. Audiences claimed toward climactic moments of the was the insistence on a conclusive the long-standing “right” to voice exhibition of guilt, they fed audiences’ identification of a guilty agent. Thus, their approval or disapproval of a play’s desire to know not so much “what’s the bond to “sad reality” in melodrama aesthetic merits. In the Regency years, happened” as to express “what it was crucial to the radical and communal playwrights now sought to anticipate already knows” (196). goals of working-class theater, which audiences’ reactions, to harness their sought to clarify the baffling web of the Just two years before Shelley wrote The political voice and “bring out onto the causes of individual misery into a com- Cenci in Italy, workers in England had stage, before the audience, that which prehensible target for class anger and been outraged by the 1817 murder of a had been recently rendered private and action. Shelley, though, was particu- young woman named Mary Ashford, mysterious and to make it public and larly wary of the theatricalized wish- allegedly by the son of a wealthy explicable again” (59). Thus, a vocal fulfillment of the melodrama, wherein landowner in Warwickshire. In his and participatory audience was essential the revelation of guilt is accompanied Theatric Revolution (2006), Georgian to the melodrama’s attempt to coalesce by satisfactory retribution. drama scholar David Worrall describes and collectivize popular political con- the furious reactions to the murder, In melodrama, the audience’s judg- sciousness. The genre’s means of doing including reams of popular “news” ment is not determined by the action so was exhibiting recognizable and stories, pamphlets, and at least three on the stage but confirmed by it. This “real” acts of violence, revelation, and separately authored melodramas: The requires the vocal and public consensus just desserts. The desire and demand for Murdered Maid, The Mysterious Murder, of the audience through acclamation, these sorts of moral pronouncements, and Presumptive Guilt, or, the Fiery Ordeal which seeks to generate a stabilized and according to Simon Shepherd and (318-19). These contemporary treat- collectively experienced moral world. Peter Womack in their 1996 cultural ments defended or condemned either Shelley’s depiction of Beatrice under- history, English Drama, created a Ashford or her accused killer, Abraham cuts this process, however, by denying peculiar expectation among audiences Thornton, according to the sympathies audiences any climactic moment of

November 2017 11 Shelley recognized the double-edged The Cenci is one of Shelley’s nature of revolutionary action with its capacity to spiral into a cycle of most striking works, not merely recrimination and revenge, as it did in the French Revolution, or to result in because of its violence, but also violent repression and retribution by because it contains some of his government forces, as it did in British working-class revolts—the Pentrich most striking depictions of social Uprising of 1817, and the Peterloo Massacre of 1819, which had occurred and political power, as well as only two months before the completion of The Cenci. These events, and genuinely tender portrayals of others like them during the turbulent last years of the Regency, became ral- personal suffering that intensify lying cries for workers’ movements in Britain, and they were kept persistently the play’s horrors. before the public through popular art. Shelley says in the Preface to The Cenci that “Revenge, retaliation, atonement acclamation. This begins with Count killers dump it out a window, and it are pernicious mistakes” (71), no less Cenci’s rape of Beatrice in Act II. The gets hung up in a tree. It is eventually in drama than they are in real life. For rape is never shown on stage. It is never discovered by agents of the Pope, but him, the “sad realities” of history must explicitly named or described by any- Shelley never allows a cathartic display provoke a corrective reconsideration of one; no curtain drops over a portentous of Cenci’s corpse. And after the arrest the nature of justice and its dramatiza- encounter. But Beatrice’s agonized con- of the family and the killers, Beatrice tion. He insists that the play’s moral versation with Lucretia, in which she turns on all who might reveal the plot. tension resides in the “restless and anat- refuses to name “the thing that I have Again, though, Shelley denies the omizing casuistry with which men seek suffered” (III.i.88), leaves little doubt audience an easy shift to a new target. the justification of Beatrice, yet feel that about what has happened and who has Threatened with torture, Beatrice she has done what needs justification” done it. Shelley felt that he had made argues that no one has the moral (142). It is this humanizing of suffering it clear enough, and he later wrote to standing to judge her guilt, and her and of guilt that Shelley believed could his friend, Thomas Love Peacock, that questions are pointedly directed at stop the responsive cycles of revolu- his greatest concern was whether “such the audience: tionary violence and authoritarian a thing as incest in this shape…would Who stands here repression that had stalled progress and be admitted on the stage” (quoted in happiness in his time. Ingpen and Peck, eds. Complete Works, As my accuser? Ha! wilt thou v.10, 61). But the “delicacy,” as Shelley be he, calls it, with which he treats Beatrice’s Who art my judge? Accuser, trauma refuses to bring the Count’s witness, judge, crimes entirely into the public light. What, all in one? (V.ii.173-76) Likewise, any satisfaction that Beatrice’s revenge might afford is withheld from The play ends with Beatrice and the audience’s view. Count Cenci is Lucretia awaiting execution, bind- murdered offstage by hired assassins, ing up one another’s hair in a gesture who initially refuse “to kill an old and of intimacy and mutual compassion sleeping man” (The Cenci, IV.iii.9) out that again denies the possibility of an of pity. After stopping Beatrice from acclamatory moment. Shelley’s depic- carrying out the murder herself, the tion of Beatrice as both sufferer and Derek Leuenberger is Director of English assassins finally kill Cenci, but the perpetrator undercuts the Manichean Language Learning in the Minnock Institute entire affair is bungled and pathetic: moral world of the melodrama and its for Global Engagement. in trying to conceal the body, the collective judgment.

12 Bridgewater Review the time my grandfather brought me to Collecting Thoughts Tony’s, the area was already in decline (or I maybe I just had become old Leonid Heretz enough to perceive it). Whether by or as far back as I can remember myself I’ve fair means or foul, Tony had assembled the most amazing collection of loved old people and old things—mainly old things I had ever seen. Just to give because they were different. Old people’s you an idea—there was a conquistador F helmet, there were feather boas like stories put me on the path to becoming a historian. the kind Marlene Dietrich wore in the Much of my scholarly work has involved oral history, movies, and there were enough accor- and in my teaching I have students work with dions of various calibers to equip the Lawrence Welk champagne orchestra memoirs and interviews. I haven’t yet figured out (not that I liked Lawrence Welk, mind a way to incorporate old things into research, but you, but my grandparents on the Heretz side sure did, so I saw a lot of from the beginning of my career as a teacher, I’ve him when I was a kid). In retrospect, used historical artifacts in the classroom. The editor it’s lucky for me that I got such a power- of the Bridgewater Review has been kind enough to ful thrill from my first impressions of concentrated bric-a-brac, and not, let me present a couple of my favorite teaching props. say, gambling (no doubt Tony would have arranged that, along with the As a child, I first learned to admire burglary and loan-sharking operations financing), or you might be reading old things in places like the Children’s for the local mob). The shop no longer now about a life misspent at the dog Museum and the Oneida County exists, and the building that housed it track. After a couple of very happy Historical Society in my home town on South Street has been torn down, hours searching through the store, I of Utica, New York. I began acquir- along with many of its neighbors, as chose what I took to be 12-pound ing them in fifth or sixth grade, when is typical of downtown areas in post- Civil War cannonball (although it my grandfather, John Smoley, took industrial upstate New York. But back might actually be a shot-put) and a me to Tony’s Swap Shop, which we in in the day, South Street was a big deal, curved Moorish dagger, which seemed our innocence called the “junk store” and one of my earliest memories is of impossibly exotic and attractive to (decades later the Utica Observer Dispatch my grandparents dressing up in formal my young mind, formed as it was at reported that Tony was in charge of clothes to take us shopping there. By a time when Orientalism was still

Figure 1. Paper money of the French Revolution.

November 2017 13 Figure 2. Medal issued to commemorate the assassination of Francis Ferdinand. doing its work unhindered in the frankly rather boring to look at unless By the time I arrived at Bridgewater world. My grandfather bought these you or someone close to you earned in 1995, I had gathered all sorts of for me, after some efficient haggling them). From the start, I taught myself old things, mostly related to topics in with Tony. Since then I’ve tried doing to collect on a shoestring, because my European history that were of per- a bit of haggling myself, but the results allowance and any incidental income sonal interest to me. They had already have generally been laughable—I just from odd jobs also had to cover pizza become a mainstay of my teaching, can’t feign contempt for something I and trips to the video game arcade at alongside anecdotes that I myself had really want the way my grandfather Riverside Mall. I look for quirky heard from eyewitnesses of various learned to at market in the old country. things that are not that expensive, events (that way there is a living and At any rate, the cannonball and dagger and I’ve gotten years of amusement at short chain of transmission from the have been in my office in Tillinghast little cost. It’s important to know that history under discussion to the class- since my first days at BSU (please don’t there are many such things around room). While at BSU, I have acquired let that keep you from stopping by— even today—you can buy a perfectly many more, often with an eye toward the dagger is rickety and duller than presentable Roman coin for $10, or a pedagogical application. In my expe- a wooden ruler, and I’ve never been World War I postcard for $5 (maybe rience, what works best are artifacts much of an athlete). I shouldn’t be giving this away—part related to particularly dramatic events, of the interest for students comes from and ones that have many elements or Soon after, I started collecting coins. the thought of handling something details of composition that can be Stamps didn’t work out as well—the very rare and valuable). taken apart. Illustrated here are a couple title of philatelist struck me as vaguely unseemly (it was probably my wiseacre cousin John who pointed that out), and I soon got bored of sorting through In my experience, what works the endless tinted portraits of Queen Elizabeth and Francisco Franco that best are artifacts related to made up the bulk of cheap stamp grab bags. Later, I discovered paper money, particularly dramatic events, and then my life-long favorite—commemorative medals (not to be confused and ones that have many elements with military decorations, which are or details of composition that can be taken apart.

14 Bridgewater Review that I use very often in class, with a The commemorative medal (Figure been offered. What we have here few of the highlights that come out in 2) was issued in the summer of 1914 in Latin is “Austria will be the last presentation and discussion. as propaganda for Austria’s attack on [empire] in the world”—the most Serbia that would escalate into World hubristic and apocalyptic of the Figure 1 shows two fine examples of War I. The person depicted has the various attempted readings. the famous assignats of the 1790s. The advantage of almost total recogni- French Revolution had been pre- In collecting, as in most of my activi- tion—he might appear in a Western cipitated by the bankruptcy of the Old ties, I’m a dilettante by nature. In Civ mid-term exam answer as “air Regime. Once they were in power, contrast, my colleague, Mike Ierardi, is to the Austrian thrown,” or with one the revolutionaries implemented a a pro, and his field happens to be coins, or the other half of his name miss- complicated scheme that made sense of the ancient Greek and Roman vari- ing, but students have all heard of the to them but ran into trouble in practice. ety. Once, when the two of us were at Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his The extensive property of the Catholic the Bay State Coin Show (back when fateful assassination in Sarajevo, and the Church was confiscated, creating it was held in the Park Plaza Hotel in imagery on the medal lends itself well “national domains” that could be downtown Boston, which made for to discussion. On the other hand, the purchased by individuals willing a fine outing), we stopped at a booth anagram and inscription on the reverse to accept assignat (in the sense of a with some unusually beautiful and is something that students couldn’t transfer of title) in payment of govern- expensive (prices in the four and five possibly know, so I have to explain it ment debt. Rather than resolving the digits) Greek coins. Mike started tell- to them. Years ago, I enjoyed learning fiscal problems of France, the assignats ing me all sorts of interesting things that Frederick III (1415-1493), the first turned into a force for monetary and about them, things I never would have economic chaos. The assignat still shows the sunny side of the Enlighten ment (justice and natural law in Grecian garb), but already the Republic The assignat still shows the is baring its teeth: on the left, it reads “The law punishes counterfeiting sunny side of the Enlightenment with death,” and on the right, “The nation rewards snitches.” The second (justice and natural law in Grecian dates from the height of the Terror. garb), but already the Republic is It makes no mention of national domains—this is money and you had baring its teeth: on the left, it reads best accept it if you’re not a traitor. It justifies violence within the revo- “The law punishes counterfeiting lutionary camp—Robespierre sent the more-moderate Girondins to the with death,” and on the right, guillotine on the accusation that their policy of federalism was a plot to “The nation rewards snitches.” dissolve France, so we have in the upper-left “Unity and Indivisibility of the Republic.” In the upper-right, of the Austrian Habsburgs to be elected guessed at or even seen on my own. “or Death” is added to the Revolution’s Holy Roman Emperor, liked to put the This piqued the dealer’s curiosity and immortal slogan “Liberty-Equality- formula AEIOU everywhere he could he started a conversation. It was one Fraternity.” The threats against fit it, so I was very excited to find it of the high points of my collecting counterfeiting are presented even here. Frederick himself was eventually life when the dealer did a double-take more starkly, though we know from convinced to reveal that the mysterious and asked “Are you THE Ierardi?” on history that they didn’t work, and letters mean Alles Erdreich ist Oesterreich hearing Mike’s name. certainly not against the British, untertan (“All earthly realm is subject At this year’s show (now much reduced, who printed fake assignats by the to Austria”), but many have suspected and held far out in Metrowest), Mike, shipload (maybe one of these is a him of holding back, and over the with his unerring eye, spotted the British counterfeit). centuries other interpretations have

November 2017 15 Figure 3. Medal commemorating the abolition of the slave trade. medal at Figure 3, and I bought it best things that has come from this taken most of the sport out of collect- right away for its intrinsic interest and activity is that students often learn ing, which, for me at least, has to have classroom potential. It was issued to new things about their own families’ the element of serendipity and the publicize and celebrate Britain’s aboli- experiences connected to the history unexpected find. eBay has a bit of that, tion of the slave trade in 1807. History covered in class. One student brought but it’s not nearly as interesting as find- Department Chair Keith Lewinstein, her grandmother’s ration booklet from ing something in your grandparents’ our go-to person for help with texts in World War II, and it was very inter- attic, or in Tony’s Swap Shop. Middle Eastern languages (and he’s no esting for the class to see the products slouch with the modern European ones, and quantities listed. Another brought either) was kind enough to provide me her grandmother’s report card from a with the following translation of the grade school in the newly independent Arabic writing on the reverse: The sale Ireland of the 1920s. Visually most of slaves was prohibited in England in 1807 spectacular was a grandfather’s bomber of the Christian era in the reign of King [lit- pilot jacket (imagine being and wear- erally: Sultan] George the Third. Truly, we ing the real thing) with a beautiful, are all brothers. We will be discussing the brightly colored silk map of Europe medal in class this semester, and I invite in the pocket—sad to say, only a few the reader to think about it as well. people chuckled when I asked to see the location of Stalag 13. For many years I had students bring in artifacts to my upper-level classes, first As of last year, I no longer have students for extra credit and then as a require- doing this activity. Basically, it was ment. So as not to put a financial ruined by the Internet, which gradu- burden on the students, I made it clear ally became students’ almost exclu- that they should look first among their sive source for artifacts and images. I own possessions, that digital artifacts hasten to add that I’m not a complete Leonid Heretz is Professor in the (images found online) were also per- Luddite—the Internet has done fan- Department of History. fectly acceptable, and that no purchases tastic things for access to books, for should cost more than $10. One of the example. Nevertheless, it has definitely

16 Bridgewater Review One legislative bill that is currently Working To Serve And Protect An pending before the Massachusetts State Senate (Bill No. 1305, the Safe Immigrant-Friendly Community: Communities Act [2017]) would strictly limit state and local cooperation with Why the Bridgewater State federal immigration authorities. The bill specifically includes college and University Police Department university police departments, as well as other law enforcement agen- Supports Massachusetts Senate cies. Among other provisions, the bill stipulates that “No officer or employee Bill No. 1305 of a law enforcement agency shall arrest or detain a person solely for immi- David H. Tillinghast, Esq. gration purposes.” The Bridgewater Implicit in the term “national defense” is the notion of defending those values and ideals State University Police Department which set this nation apart. — United States Supreme Court, United States v. Robel, (BSUPD) supports this bill because 389 U.S. 258, 264 (1967). it reflects our values and supports an important goal of the department: to n the midst of a massive push on the federal level create and maintain an immigrant- for more aggressive immigration enforcement, friendly campus environment. Ithere are renewed calls for state and local police Immigration Enforcement participation in immigration law enforcement. Indeed, by State and Local Officers a provision in the new federal policy (Executive “At 8:46 on the morning of September 11, 2001,” the 9/11 Commission Report Order No. 13769, 25 January 2017) allows for the reads, “the United States became a deputization of state and local police, permitting them nation transformed” (1). The devastat- to enforce federal immigration law. At face value, the ing terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon – new policy seems eminently reasonable: it would add perpetrated by 19 foreign nationals significant law enforcement resources in the effort to residing in the U.S. – turned the “self- confident and blithely liberal United implement the nation’s immigration system. While States,” Princeton scholar Kim Lane on the surface this concept appears to make a good Schepple writes in her 2004 article deal of practical sense, ultimately it is seriously flawed “Terrorism and the Constitution” (University of Pennsylvania Journal of as a matter of policy. Constitutional Law), into a nation “haunted by fear, more inward-look- There is no question that, in the after- that weigh against the proposal to ing, and less open to debate” (1023). math of the September 11 attacks and utilize state and local officers in the Perhaps partly as a result of this all that has followed, Americans feel at enforcement of federal immigration new climate of fear, the U.S. has sig- risk in a way that they have never felt laws. For example, an increased state nificantly changed its attitude toward before, and thus many have argued that and local role in immigration enforce- immigrants. Post-9/11, much of the there is a greater need for creativity in ment is likely to alienate vulnerable domestic response to the terror attacks the government’s strategies to protect immigrant communities to the detri- has been a legal one. A major strategy the homeland. Security is at a premium ment of local community policing in the “War on Terror,” for example, in the post-9/11 world. Nevertheless, strategies. Moreover, increased state has been to greatly increase the enforce- while the need for improved homeland and local immigration enforcement ment of the nation’s immigration laws. security is a crucial consideration in will distract officers from their primary today’s America, there are substantial mission, which is to serve and protect One aspect of the government’s focus countervailing public policy concerns their local communities. on immigration enforcement is the proposal to use state and local police to

November 2017 17 supplement federal resources devoted traditionally sought to maintain a even terrorism. (The federal govern- to that task. The 9/11 Commission, degree of separation from federal ment has recognized this wisdom as for instance, noted with approval the immigration agencies. This has been well, by creating the special S, T, and “growing role for state and local law done out of a sense that the principal U visa categories, allowing otherwise enforcement” as part of the nation’s mission of state and local police depart- unauthorized aliens to remain in the overall anti-terrorism strategy, includ- ments – maintaining public safety in U.S. for a term of years if they provide ing the formation of partnerships with the community – is hindered when information concerning criminal or federal law enforcement at “every stage members of immigrant communities terrorist organizations, have been of our border and immigration system” who harbor strong fears of deportation victims of human trafficking, or have (390, 285). begin to view state and local police as been abuse victims). immigration agents. The proposal to allow state and local Moreover, because most undocu- police a greater role in immigration Police need to win the trust of the mented immigrants are members enforcement appears straightforward communities they serve to effectively of minority groups, state and local and simple enough: it is attractive as a maintain public safety and confidence. immigration enforcement will, at best, substantial “force multiplier” which could be brought to bear on the immigration enforcement problem. There are only about 2,000 federal The BSU Police Department immigration agents nationwide, but, in theory, as Daniel Booth observes in supports Senate Bill 1305 because his recent study in the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy, “Federalism on it wants to ensure that a person’s ICE” (2006), as many as 700,000 state and local officers could be authorized right to file a report or receive to assist in immigration enforcement efforts (1065). Despite its seeming police services is not contingent advantages, however, the proposal on citizenship or immigration to deputize state and local police to enforce immigration laws has proved status. The department values controversial. Perhaps the most powerful of the arguments against the the diversity of the community proposal is the substantially increased danger of racial and ethnic profiling by it serves and makes every effort the police. to ensure that its campus is a At issue, also, is the very real concern that limited local law enforcement safe space for immigrants, both resources will be distracted from their true mission, which is to prevent and documented and undocumented. investigate community-based crime and disorder. This is especially true in a period when declining state and local budgets have become the norm. This is an essential element of the increase the numbers of confrontations The need for jail space, transportation, “community policing” philosophy between state and local officers and information technology, and staffing to which many state and local police minorities. But, what is worse, the use are all implicated in this issue. departments subscribe. Good informa- of police officers as part-time, de facto Moreover, a major worry is that the tion is a vital law enforcement tool: immigration agents will undoubtedly enforcement of immigration laws by if immigrants are at odds with law encourage some of them to engage in state and local police will chill the enforcement, the police lose valuable or increase racial or ethnic profiling. reporting of crimes by victims and relationships that can lead to informa- Of course, when police officers stop witnesses. Police departments have tion that prevents crime, disorder, or a person solely on the basis of his or

18 Bridgewater Review her racial or ethnic heritage, they act police from cooperating with fed- A further argument against the use of illegally. Undeniably, in U.S. consti- eral immigration authorities. As legal state and local officers in immigra- tutional jurisprudence, no form of dis- scholar Laurel Boatright notes, these tion enforcement is that the diversion crimination has been condemned more are sometimes referred to as “don’t of limited state and local police offic- roundly than invidious discrimination ask, don’t tell” policies (“Clear Eye ers’ time to the enforcement of federal based on a person’s race or ethnicity. for the State Guy,” Texas Law Review immigration laws will inevitably result In a more practical sense, targeting [2006], 1648). Sanctuary policies have in the diminution of resources devoted people in this way does little to enhance come under attack, however, on to ordinary law enforcement functions, homeland security. Yet, as Katherine various constitutional and public policy including those on which U.S. home- Culliton writes in her 2004 essay in the grounds. A 2006 lawsuit against the land security policies depend. These University of the District of Columbia Law Los Angeles Police Department include the protection of critical infra- Review: “immigration enforcement and (LAPD), for example, asserted that, structure, and service as all-important unconstitutional profiling of Latino because “it was Congress’s purpose “first responders” forming the front immigrants in the name of national and objective to promote the enforce- line of defense to protect the nation’s security has become the new status ment of U.S. immigration laws and cities and towns. quo” (144). The routine and permanent the detection and apprehension of participation of state and local police illegal aliens by eliminating the restric- Massachusetts Senate Bill in immigration enforcement may also tions on the free flow of information No. 1305 increase the troubling likelihood of between federal, state, and local If adopted, Massachusetts Senate Bill racial profiling in non-immigration officials,” LAPD’s sanctuary policy 1305 would establish uniform statutory contexts and outside of periods of actual is preempted by federal law (Sturgeon guidelines for state and local interaction or perceived national danger. v. Bratton, California Superior Court, with federal immigration authorities. 1 May 2006). Nevertheless, the It is for all of the reasons set out above Enactment of the bill would essentially number of localities adopting such that some localities have adopted codify in law the Commonwealth’s policies has only increased since “sanctuary” policies prohibiting stance in response to the issues dis- September 11, 2001. cussed in this paper. For certain, it

November 2017 19 immigration laws. The proposal has the potential to blur the lines of authority and accountability that characterize the American dual-sover- eignty model of federalism. It may also encourage racial and ethnic profiling. In a practical sense, there is the question of whether community policing efforts will be jeopardized. Police departments contend that their communities will become less safe if undocumented immigrants stop reporting crimes because they fear deportation. This is why scores of municipalities have adopted immigration sanctuary policies limiting the ability of local officers to cooperate with federal authorities. State and local police officers, as first responders, should concentrate on protecting their communities against crime and terrorism and decline the federal government’s invitation to enforce immigration laws. Massachusetts Senate Bill No. 1305 would make this non-participation philosophy state policy. The Bridge water State University Police Depart ment supports Bill 1305, which reflects our desire and duty to support, serve, would definitively bar state and local and makes every effort to ensure that its and protect all people, regardless of participation in immigration enforce- campus is a safe space for immigrants, their immigration status. ment: because police officers are both documented and undocumented. creatures of state government, they In the aftermath of September 11, 2001, cannot exercise any authorities exceed- as the United States has hastened to ing the brief established for them by fortify domestic security throughout the state. the nation, Americans’ philosophy on The BSU Police Department supports immigration has changed drastically. Senate Bill 1305 because it wants to As part of the overall tightening of ensure that a person’s right to file a immigration law enforcement, the report or receive police services is not national government has proposed contingent on citizenship or immigra- to federalize state and local police to David Tillinghast is Chief of tion status. The department values the assist in the enforcement of federal Police, Bridgewater State University diversity of the community it serves immigration laws. While this proposal Police Department. is appealing at first blush, there are critical concerns that accompany state and local enforcement of federal

20 Bridgewater Review John Winters: Your question reminds me Staging a Life: of something Shepard wrote to Brandeis in 1976 in acceptance of the first of the two An Interview with John J. Winters Creative Arts Awards he received from the n April 2017, BSU News and Digital Communi university: “I’m dedicated to the possibilities of exploration and discovery in my work.” This cations director John J. Winters published Sam says it all. He wrote without preconceived IShepard: A Life (Berkeley, Cal: Counterpoint ideas about plot and character, and cared Press), a major biographical treatment of the renowned little what audiences expected from a night American playwright, actor and musician, who has at the theater. The so-called Well-Made Play wasn’t even on his radar. Waiting for Godot had since passed away—in July—at age 73. The book blown his mind, not only in its language and is John’s first, and it has already received important humor, but in the things that Samuel Beckett accolades. John has taught for many years in the was doing on the page. Beckett cleared the decks, tossed out the traditional ideas of English department as an adjunct faculty member. what theater was supposed to do and be. A veteran journalist, he writes for many newspapers, Shepard proceeded from there. He was also including The Boston Globe, and regularly contributes lucky in that he came to New York after the reviews and commentary to Boston’s WBUR. His Beats, the Abstract Expressionist painters and other leaders of the avant-garde had made work has appeared in Playboy, Salon, The Providence the radical somewhat acceptable. The early Journal, Art New England, Runner’s World, and Rhode 60s also brought to significance, culturally Island Monthly. In late summer 2017, BSU Professor of speaking, a youthful generation intent on being heard and desirous of seeing their own English Benjamin Carson interviewed John about his lives and predicaments presented onstage remarkable subject. and onscreen.

Ben Carson: In his Introduction to Shepard’s identify clear themes. They often reject linear BC: While Shepard was born in Illinois and Seven Plays, Richard Gilman writes, “the real plot development and end ambiguously, and grew up in California, he, like so many artists difficulty I share with many critics isn’t so much consistent characterization gives way to sudden of his generation, got his start in New York deciding what the work is as knowing how to shifts in personality and role reversals. How City. How important was NYC and the “Off-Off- write about what it is.” Shepard’s plays are would you characterize Shepard’s plays? Broadway” movement for his development? formally challenging and resist attempts to JW: Shepard often remarked how lucky he was to arrive in the city, specifically Greenwich Village, just as Off-Off-Broadway was getting its legs. While he brought a singular vision and voice to his work, his writing fit right in with the nascent OOB scene. Many downtown writers, directors and actors were familiar with the European theorists who’d emerged in the 50s, like Bertolt Brecht and Antonin Artaud, and these ideas were in the air. Also, the plays of Beckett and Eugene Ionesco were beginning at that time to be produced in America, which cleared the way for Edward Albee’s game- changing The Zoo Story. As one playwright told me, Albee showed you didn’t need fancy sets, large casts or sophisticated dialogue to stage a play. Experimental work soon became the Sam Shepard (1943-2017) (Getty Images).

November 2017 21 and you can see this in all his plays. His early work was notable for its use of soliloquies, which Shepard (and many critics) felt were like jazz solos. As for Joseph Chaikin, the guru of avant-garde theater, he reinforced Shepard’s experimental tendencies as a writer, especially with regard to the theories of Brecht and Artaud. He also taught Shepard about the importance of actors using the body and breath, and how actors need to be “present” and in the moment. These last lessons would come to affect Shepard the actor and later, Shepard the director. As for Patti Smith, she opened his eyes to the importance of great literature and how it can serve as sustenance for one’s own artistic endeavors. She definitely turned him on to the Symbolist poets, particularly Arthur Rimbaud.

BC: What about Bob Dylan, with whom Shepard co-wrote the brilliant song “Brownsville Girl”?

JW: When Sam arrived in the Village around 1963, Dylan owned the place. He lived there, was a regular on the local folk stages and had written some of his greatest songs in various locales around the Village. It was a dozen years before they met, but Dylan’s freedom with language and penchant for creating a mystique about himself influenced Shepard from early on. When Shepard signed on for the Rolling Thunder Revue tour in 1975, he got to see John J. Winters (Photograph by Karen Callan). Dylan up close, onstage, and even discussed writing with him. Concision is the main lesson order of the day in the handful of little theaters rhythms on top of rhythms in his playing, and he took away from Dylan, as well as the that were springing up all over the Village in how, generally, a jazz performance can take reinforcement of the importance of rhythm in the early 1960s. Shepard and his writing could off in an entirely new direction at the drop of any kind of writing. Also, Dylan’s lyrics can be not have found a more simpatico place to land. a hat. And in his notebook, Shepard is trying oblique; even his songs that feature a narrative to figure out how language – dialogue in this BC: What were Shepard’s early influences don’t necessarily have a traditional structure or case – could mimic this. He also felt there was and how did they shape his aesthetic and his firm ending. The same can be said about pretty a close affinity between language and music, intellectual development? I’m thinking here not much all of Sam’s plays. only of Joseph Chaikin and Patti Smith but also jazz musicians like Charles Mingus and Eric Dolphy. All of these figures, particularly Chaikin, His work is strange, challenging, left their marks on Shepard’s work. and funny and the best of it JW: I found in the archives one of Shepard’s notebooks where he dissects the playing of has at heart a sense of mystery, Charles Mingus, discussing how there were something ineffable.

22 Bridgewater Review BC: Shepard was introduced to the work of deployment of structure and design. Some of how he viewed the films in question. With mystic G.I. Gurdjieff by his life-long friend (and the scenes speak to others, a few scenes end movies he cared about – usually high-quality one-time father-in-law) Johnny Dark in the early on dramatic high notes, and the play includes projects, those featuring rural settings, or films 1970s. You say in your book that Shepard took some of the most compelling images Shepard dealing with matters close to his personal Gurdjieff’s spiritual awakening program, “The ever put onstage. It is also the play where concerns – the scripts are marked up with plot Work,” seriously, attending meetings of the Shepard cuts closest to the bone in dealing details, thoughts on his character’s motivation Gurdjieff Society regularly for decades. with his father’s alcoholism, its effect on his and reminders to “be present” etc. For the TV real-life family, and the old man’s death. movie Ruffian, for instance, where he plays a JW: Someone who’d known him well told me that to understand Shepard one needs to realize the impact Gurdjieff’s teachings Unauthorized doesn’t mean had on him. Ultimately, the Work seeks to help adherents reach a higher level of “hatchet job,” but only that the consciousness. Gurdjieff’s primary teaching was that man sleepwalks through life. He subject of the biography was not also believed that every individual has multiple “I”s inside. Those who “wake up” given final say over the content can reach happiness and that higher level of of the book; they may or may consciousness. This is as deep as Shepard went into The Work, but he remained not have participated in other dedicated to it. In plays like Angel City and Action, there are characters who are described ways. Authorized indicates that as sleepwalking, being in a trance, or portrayed either the family or the estate was as desperately disconnected from their surroundings and life in general. This can involved, and that can be tricky as also be seen in several of Shepard’s plays, particularly True West, where both “sides” of far as getting to the truth of any the brothers at the center of the play come to the fore. The brothers actually seem to trade matter, for obvious reasons. places. The fluidity of character, apparent from the outset in Shepard’s plays, post-1970, becomes more sophisticated. Think of the BC: Although Shepard appeared in roughly horse trainer, Shepard tweaked the dialogue grandson Vinnie in Buried Child, who visits his 60 films, I get the sense from your book that to be more realistic, based on his personal grandparents but is not recognized by his own he was always a reluctant film star. knowledge of the racing life. The films he family. Or the various character “switchbacks” is only doing for money are free of any such JW: A few years ago an interviewer asked that occur in A Lie of the Mind. Gurdjieff’s basic marks. That’s not to say he was ever anything Shepard how he picked his film roles. He beliefs, like the other influences that were key less than professional in any film role. laughed and said, “Sometimes I just need the to Shepard, untethered him from the traditional work.” When he first started doing films in BC: You detail the beautiful, stormy, and needs and expectations of dramatic writing. the mid-70s, he worried a great deal that it tempestuous love affair Shepard had with BC: Shepard won the Pulitzer Prize in 1979 for might undermine his writing. Then, he found Jessica Lange. Their 25-year relationship ended Buried Child but you tend to agree with most he could, as he put it, feed his horses for a full around 2010. critics that A Lie of the Mind (begun in October year just by acting in one film. On this point, I JW: Their torrid affair was clearly the impetus 1979 but not staged until 1986) is Shepard’s find it interesting that as uncompromising as behind Shepard’s Pulitzer-nominated play best play. Shepard was in his writing, when it came to Fool for Love. When they got together, he was film work, he was able to compartmentalize, working on this play about forbidden love. JW: There are many reasons for this, aside separating movies that meant something to As far as his acting goes, there’s no evidence from this play having one of Shepard’s best him and those that were just a paycheck. You that she had any effect on Shepard. She’s one plots and a wholly satisfying ending. A Lie can tell from the working scripts in his archives of the Mind also marks his maturity in the of the greatest actresses of her generation,

November 2017 23 became clear that he would not make himself JW: Tension and humor are the keys to available for interviews. Whether that was Shepard’s best plays. Tension, in that one never due to his illness or his long-held disdain for knows when things are going to go awry or the media and publicity in general, it’s hard to explode onstage. His dark humor, meanwhile, say. As for authorized versus unauthorized, tempers his bleak vision. Shepard doesn’t even sophisticated readers don’t always fully “do” hope, believing that in the end we all get understand these terms. Unauthorized doesn’t clobbered. But his plays are shot through with mean “hatchet job,” but only that the subject a mordant humor, something he inherited from of the biography was not given final say over Beckett. His work is strange, challenging, and the content of the book; they may or may not funny and the best of it has at heart a sense have participated in other ways. Authorized of mystery, something ineffable. See one of indicates that either the family or the estate his plays, and just as with Beckett or Pinter, was involved, and that can be tricky as far as you may find yourself discussing it for days getting to the truth of any matter, for obvious afterward. reasons. I like to say my book is “proudly BC: How do you think Shepard will be unauthorized.” Frankly, with the letters and remembered? archival material I worked with – particularly the dozens of journals I found – I think I was JW: He’s one of the greatest dramatists of the past half century. He was also an actor who brought to the screen something rare Experimental work soon became – “authenticity” is the term most used to describe it. He was more than just a Pulitzer- the order of the day in the winning writer and Oscar-nominated actor, handful of little theaters that were however. He wrote the screenplay for the now-classic film Paris, Texas and played springing up all over the Village drums with the cult 60s band The Holy Modal Rounders, who once opened for Pink Floyd. in the early 1960s. Shepard and He had his short stories regularly featured in his writing could not have found a The New Yorker, and on top of all this, he was a damn good horseman whose thoroughbred more simpatico place to land. breeding operation produced its fair share of fine racehorses. That’s a long list of accomplishments. But I know he wanted to be yet her work, for Shepard, merely served to remembered as a writer of plays and prose. In better off “unauthorized.” Shepard is so open take her away from him. One thing she did that regard, I think his lofty reputation is secure and candid in his letters and these journals successfully was turn him into a family man. for a long time to come. that I doubt any number of interviews with him If you can imagine Shepard getting up at the would have been as revealing. These materials, crack of dawn to make breakfast for their two along with dozens of interviews with those kids, packing their lunches and then dropping who know and worked with Shepard, gave me them off at school—for years this was part of all I needed for the book. his life. BC: Shepard’s key early plays remain popular BC: You note in the acknowledgements that here and abroad, particularly in England, Shepard “didn’t participate in this project.” where Shepard lived for three years. Why Did you invite Shepard to participate? does Shepard’s work still resonate with JW: Yes, as I like to say, he resisted my charms theater-goers? Benjamin Carson is Professor in the at every turn. I wrote him several letters and Department of English. was in touch with his agents and it quickly

24 Bridgewater Review consulting position with a Bachelor’s TEACHING NOTE degree in Geology: academic mastery, technical application, business compe- Bridging the Gap between tence, and accountability. Academics includes understanding surface and the Classroom and Business: groundwater flow, groundwater quality, the hydrologic cycle, Darcy’s Law, A View from Geology the Theis and Theim equations, flow nets, and performing routine hydroge- Michael A. Penzo, PG, CPG, LSP ological calculations. Technical applica- When we hire entry-level geologists fresh out of school … we have to pay them for a week of tions include preparing groundwater training, plus the cost of training… We’re certainly not averse to hiring entry-level geologists. contour maps and flow nets, running We can and do hire them when the need arises. But I could see looking for someone with one groundwater flow simulations, moni- or two years of experience over an entry-level candidate … They know what work is, and toring wells and sampling groundwater, understand the field a bit better. and understanding soil vapor extraction systems and other remedial technolo- hese words were uttered by one of my former gies. Business skills include communi- colleagues in the environmental consulting cating findings comprehensibly to an audience in clear and concise writing, Tindustry. They address a question often asked working cooperatively, meeting dead- by students in my Geology courses at Bridgewater lines, accepting constructive criticism, State: “Why is no one hiring entry-level geologists?” and networking with other environmental professionals. The final skill is In truth, entry-level geologists with experience and accountability, a very difficult concept training are being hired. But how does anyone get to teach. However, it can be modeled. The course sets high expectations and that experience and training while going to school standards; no excuses are accepted for and working part-time or, in some cases, full-time? late work except illness or work, and In Geology, there is a disconnect between what students and their instructor are responsible to each other. colleges offer their students and what businesses in In this course, it is critical for students the field need. It is a problem that I am attempting to perform the same types of writ- to address in my courses at BSU. ing, calculations, field activities and

The challenge is to provide students rigorous academic content. Drawing 0 10 20 MILES

with a rigorous learning experience by upon my 35 years of experience as an Atlantic Ocean 0 10 20 KILOMETERS modeling the methods and expectations environmental consultant, I have that they will face in the environmental begun to frame courses in Geology consulting profession after graduation. that bridge the divide between the Two models have existed for some worlds of university learning and MASSA time: the Cooperative Education professional practice. CHUSETTS (or Co-op) model, which alternates Hydrology 240 Inc. Massachusetts academic quarters with work; and the Military Reservation Summer Internship Model, which In the fall of 2015, I had the opportu- many universities offer in some form. nity to teach “GEOL 240 Hydrology,” But at BSU, neither model works. an upper-level undergraduate course Cape Cod We have no Co-Op program and too required for Geology majors. The

few of our students have time for a course is modeled after a function- Plume of summer internship. But there is a ing environmental consulting firm. treated wastewater third option: create a classroom that Specifically, it aims to impart four main U.S. Geological Survey’s Toxic Research mimics the environmental consulting skills necessary to succeed in obtain- Site on Cape Cod (Source: U.S. Department business workplace while insisting on ing an entry-level environmental of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey, http://ma.water.usgs.gov/MMRCape/toxics.html)

November 2017 25 professional activities that they will conductivity, created groundwater cleaned up using a soil vapor extraction as environmental consultants. This contour maps and performed seepage system, then in the process of being includes how to act, dress and speak measurements from groundwater to installed. With the permission of in a professional environment. Course surface water. The second field Gulf Cumberland Farms, this site assignments aim to develop students’ trip went to the Gulf Cumberland was used for our second group project. capabilities in hydrogeologic calcula- Farms (GCF) Middleborough MCP In addition to field trips, students in tions; technical writing; crafting maps, Disposal Site, where Matthew Young, Geology 240 attended two professional cross-sections and tables; researching Senior Environmental Project Manager conferences, gatherings that are critical to any environmental professional’s career advancement. The first was the AEHS Conference on Soils, Sediments, In this course, it is critical for Water and Energy at UMass Amherst in October 2015. There, six BSU students students to perform the same attended seminars run by environmen- types of writing, calculations, tal professionals and networked with senior environmental professionals field activities and professional from a variety of consulting firms. Our students brought their resumés with activities that they will as them, and one of them was impressive enough to get a job interview. The environmental consultants. second gathering they attended was the Licensed Site Professional Association This includes how to (LSPA) membership meeting in November 2015. The LSPA is a profes- act, dress and speak in a sional association that advocates for the cleanup and reuse of Massachusetts professional environment. properties that have been contaminated with hazardous waste—“brownfields.” At this meeting, our students had the opportunity to network with and reviewing Federal and State regula- with GCF (and a BSU alumnus), pro- senior environmental profession- tions, laws and databases; monitoring vided an overview. A former gas als and attend a technical presenta- and sampling to collect field data; and station/convenience store, this site tion on Massachusetts Environmental making technical presentations and had soil and groundwater contamina- Regulations. client presentations—both individually tion and is now being assessed and and in groups. Field trips are central to the course. In fall 2015, we did two. The first one went to the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) Toxic Research Site on Cape Cod. Denis LeBlanc, Senior Hydrologist at USGS, ran the visit, which gathered student groups from Bridgewater State, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Students gauged monitoring wells, collected and field-analyzed groundwater samples, calculated hydraulic

The Wells G & H Superfund site in Woburn, Massachusetts (Source: United States Environmental Protection Agency)

26 Bridgewater Review Students in Geology 240 doing a groundwater seepage study of a pond on Cape Cod. Denis LeBlanc of the US Geological Survey is instructing the students (Author’s photo). Group projects and client projects the 1998 film, A Civil Action (both of respective clients were responsible. continued the exposure of these stu- which we discussed in class). In two The exercise concluded with a presen- dents to the sorts of hands-on work groups consisting of project managers, tation from Dr John Guswa about his that hydrologic professionals do. Most project geologists, technical writers experiences as a real expert witness on projects at environmental consulting and graphic artists, students represented Wells G & H site case. firms are group efforts. In fall 2015, expert-witness consulting firms for two For our second group project, involv- the two projects we undertook pro- potentially responsible parties. Using ing the Middleborough GCF site, vided students with a chance to learn the Wells G & H data set to calcu- students reviewed the work that had about the federal Superfund regula- late groundwater flow, contaminant already been performed at the cleanup tions and the Massachusetts environ- transport and the sources and extent of site and, using data gathered from mental regulations related to waste site contamination, each group then pre- the Massachusetts Department of cleanups. The first of these concerned pared a technical report and an argu- Environmental Protection (MassDEP) the Wells G & H Superfund site in ment specifying for how much of the on-line database, put together a Phase Woburn, Massachusetts made famous contamination in Wells G & H their I Initial Site Assessment Report and by Jonathan Harr’s 1996 book and

November 2017 27 Phase II Scope of Work plan. The and it requires hard work, clarity of In addition, the students developed and students prepared groundwater contour thought and perseverance. Especially exemplified self-confidence as a group. maps, isochem maps, proposed addi- perseverance. But how to teach that After our joint field trip to the USGS tional subsurface investigation maps, quality is a challenge that faces us all. Toxic Substances Research Center on and a Method 3 Risk Characterization. Cape Cod with students from MIT Self-confidence is key for our students The project was completed in formal and UMass, I received an email message to make a successful transition to the client presentations—in oral and from my contact at the USGS telling world of professional work. Many written forms—to GCF Project me how impressed the professor from of our students arrive at BSU with a Manager Matthew Young, almost MIT was with BSU students and their ability to learn and perform the skills taught during the field trip. And when I showed my students The challenge is to provide this email, they were visibly moved the students with a rigorous by it and seemed even more self- confident afterward. learning experience by Of the seven students in that fall 2015 course, two were immediately hired modeling the methods and by environmental consulting firms and are currently working in the expectations that they will face field. One received a scholarship in the environmental consulting from the LSP Association and was a summer intern at the Museum of profession after graduation. Natural History in New York. One went on to graduate school. So, overall, the course was successful in achieving its goal of preparing students for exactly as a consultant would perform self-confidence deficit and it is impera- entry-level geologist positions with a project under the Massachusetts tive that we tackle it head on. It can be environmental consulting firms. Contingency Plan. a direct impediment to getting a good And in making them “job-ready,” position after graduation. GEOL 240 helped explode the some- Learning Work Culture: times intimidating psychological There’s No Crying One of my Hydrology students had low self-esteem and self-confidence barriers that separate classroom study in Baseball and felt that she could not do well in from the “real world” of work. There is an often-quoted line from the this course. To this I responded that it 1992 film A League of Their Own that was my goal to help her realize that, by says “There’s no crying in baseball.” doing the real work that professional The same goes for the business world. hydrogeologists do, she is capable of To be successful, there’s no room for succeeding and having confidence in whining or excuses. There’s no hid- her own abilities. That student turned ing mistakes. We have to learn to take out to be one of my best and earned responsibility for our actions and errors; an A in the course. When one of my to recognize, admit and correct things colleagues in the field asked me to rec- when something goes wrong. The ommend a student for a position with working world is much more competi- his company, I recommended her. She Michael A. Penzo is Adjunct Professor in tive than the academic environment, is working at his consulting firm and the Department of Geological Sciences. my colleague thanks me every time I see him.

28 Bridgewater Review Chickering proposed in 2000 in a New TEACHING NOTE Directions for Higher Education piece, were collaborative group efforts, vital Bring Class Concepts to Life: for building networks among students at commuter schools. We also wanted Implementing Intensive Interview to pursue projects that could build on the readings, theories and lectures at Projects for Deep Learning hand and that would enable students to practice sociological methods—highly Kimberly E. Fox and Norma J. Anderson marketable skills when students go out on job searches, as scholars Kathy any of us are familiar with the statistics: Charmaz and Kathleen McKinney at BSU, low-income (35%) and first- have asserted in Teaching Sociology generation students, and students of articles (1991 and 2005, respectively). M Finally, we wished to deliver pro- color (21%), make up a significant part of our jects that would help students con- community. An even greater percentage of our nect to other people’s lives and ideas. Interviews require that students really students are commuters (~60%), juggling work and listen to others, learn about the incred- family commitments with education. As educators, ible lives lived around them, recognize we strive to make learning possible for all of our parallels to their own lives and experiences, and also, ideally, begin to see students so that they leave BSU prepared for work or themselves as both researchers and further study in a highly competitive and globalized actors who can make a difference in the world. Achieving these goals economy. We know that students learn best when required significant planning, organi- they are actively engaged in their courses (through zation, and attention to detail through- teaching strategies sometimes referred to as “active out the process. learning” or “learner-centered teaching”) and we Logistics: Making know that student research has the power to change it Happen students’ lives. But designing and implementing Including a qualitative interview project in a university course delivers courses and assignments that achieve these goals is a variety of benefits to students but in not simple. How can we bridge the needs of students order to complete the project success- with vastly different interests and abilities, maintaining fully, instructors must attend to practical requirements of planning adequate time for course content while also teaching and implementation. The main useful skills? elements of the project include pre-interview planning, student We do not claim to have the answer, lectures, and content with methods training, and wrapping things up. but in this essay we want to celebrate a preparation and data collection. We Prior to completing the interviews, collaborative class interview project we teach in the Department of Sociology interview guides must be designed, each have implemented, with success, but believe that this type of project participants must be chosen, and in three separate courses. Dr. Anderson could be adapted for courses in other Institutional Review Board (IRB) used interviews in a course on the disciplines, as well. approval must be gained. Some of Anti-Apartheid Movement and in a the logistics can be completed prior Social Movements course and Dr. Fox Why Attempt a Massive to beginning the class. For example, implemented the project in a course Qualitative Course Project? Dr Anderson solicited the interview focused on gender roles. The interview The goals for designing a course inter- subjects prior to class by requesting project was the focus of each class: view project were many. We wanted individual participation through the we brought together course readings, to do class projects that, as Arthur

November 2017 29 faculty listserv and other networks, but Dr Fox allowed students to set up their own interviews after class had begun. It is imperative that students understand the ethical practice of research. To foster this, we held discussions of ethics in class and had the students review and sign the IRB application. Dr Anderson secured respondents’ consent while Dr Fox had students do so. The final component of pre-interview planning is developing an interview guide. We each used multiple class periods to design interview guides, starting with eliciting major topics of interest, then narrowing them down to specific questions, and finally editing questions to ensure they would work well for qualitative interviews. This process was particularly informative as it allowed students to decide what was interesting to them and important to their understanding of the course material. Once the interviewees, IRB approval, and interview guides were set, the bulk of the work could begin. Students set up interview times, completed the interviews, and transcribed respondents’ schedules are tight, and the semester has very obvious bounda- “The interview project was ries that do not allow much wiggle room. More than these simple incredibly useful because it concerns, though, are procedural showed we are actually able to issues. Our students are not professional interviewers—most have never done apply concepts we have learned an interview at all. While this is part of the purpose of the project (to give in our sociology classes in them first-hand experience in data collection), it creates challenges. In the real world!” semi-structured interviews, there are sets of questions, but if a respondent has a fascinating experience or story, them. Student groups were each Challenges: Managing the we often go off-script, probing to responsible for the completion and Chaos with a Light Touch learn more. Recognizing when to go transcription of multiple interviews. off-script, as well as how to do it, is These interview materials were then Logistically, organizing a class in which difficult for beginning interviewers: combined into one large document students must go out and do work is it usually happens when we walk for all the students to review and code never easy. Their schedules are full, away and think, I wish I had asked more for patterns and themes.

30 Bridgewater Review about that. So getting students a little looking forward to graduate school experience of what it is like to practice before they go into the field in sociology, but even those without be a social researcher—not many is important. ambitions for advanced education found classes give you this opportunity. the project useful. One student noted: Also, it helps you connect with Students’ relationships to participants what you learn in class. can also cause difficulties. If students the interview project was incred- interview people they see as “authori- ibly useful because it showed we The interviewing skills were an ties,” they may be anxious to push for are actually able to apply concepts important learning opportunity but information or ask sensitive questions. we have learned in our sociology also helped students bridge class mate- Similarly, if students know participants classes in the real world! … all the rial with real-life experience. Several well (for instance, family members), concepts and skills we have gained of Dr Anderson’s students noted students may also be hesitant to ask difficult questions. What’s more, they may also assume they know what the respondent will say, given A student emphasized that class their shared history. discussions and performing the Helping students learn to interpret the data is also challenging. The process interviews “helped me in my of coding—in which we analyze the transcript data for patterns—is not race and ethnicity class I am strict. Each researcher will likely do it somewhat differently. Yet, there also taking this semester. I was are common practices to avoid, such as over-generalizing the informa- able to use these discussions tion and cherry-picking quotes to fit a pre-ordained agenda. Helping students and knowledge to better analyze the data to find commonalities understand that class.” and patterns is imperative. Despite these largely procedural issues, the project has been overwhelmingly successful in teaching and reinforcing the content from the interview project, will that talking with strangers about of the course, and in terms of building definitely help me with finding sensitive topics was uncomfortable students’ skills. a career that is right for me. but helped them learn to listen and to try to understand where people Successes: Putting it All Other students similarly mentioned were coming from, rather than judging in Context that conducting interviews was a useful opinions or experiences different from experience and noted the enjoyment of The logistical considerations and their own. challenges make an interview project completing a project like this: “I have like this difficult but the potential never done an interview project in any The experience of seeing class concepts for students to learn skills and con- of my classes so I thought it was really through the eyes of individuals was a cepts makes it worthwhile. Through awesome to be able and go out and common theme in all of the classes. informal course evaluations, students record that kind of data” and: In Dr Fox’s gender class, students expressed the importance of listening expressed their increased interest in At first I was anxious for the to multiple voices: “hearing from learning about our methods, about con- project—but in the end I found it women, and not just our professor, nections between the classroom content enjoyable and a very exciting way speaking about how they view gender, and real-life experience, and about to learn and come out of my politics, and their family expecta- professional skills. One student noted “bubble.” … it is important to tions spoke volumes.” A student from the importance of this experience when do projects like this—for a few Dr Anderson’s class on social move- reasons. It gives you a hands-on ments said, “We were able to see how a

November 2017 31 movement we have been learning about Finally, students connected the ideas materials and real-life experiences has affected people. And hearing their they learned from our classes and their and gained a rich, data-driven under- own personal stories really made the interview projects to other classes and standing of the work of sociologists issues faced more real.” areas of interest. A student emphasized and the lives we study. that class discussions and performing Students found concepts from the class the interviews “helped me in my race present within their interview results, and ethnicity class I am also taking ones that “show how ‘doing gender’ this semester. I was able to use these has been around for a long time and the

Several of Dr Anderson’s students noted that talking with Kimberly E. Fox is a former Assistant strangers about sensitive topics Professor in the Department of Sociology. She is now a research associate and project was uncomfortable but helped director for the Workplace and Well-being Initiative at the Center for Population and them learn to listen and to try to Development Studies at Harvard University. understand where people were coming from, rather than judging opinions or experiences different from their own.

dominant society has been saying the discussions and knowledge to better Norma J. Anderson is Assistant Professor same thing about it for more than fifty understand that class. The interviews in the Department of Sociology. years but there seems to be no differ- brought the material to life.” ence even with minor changes.” One While the planning, organization, student expressed surprise that respond- and implementation needs of a ents understood concepts from the massive course interview projects like class, saying: “Without knowing the these are many, the outcomes in terms concepts that we learned in class, the of student learning, self-efficacy, and participants were able to connect their skill-building are worth the effort. activism or stories with the goal[s] of Through the process, students learned the class. For example, one of my inter- to plan, implement and conduct viewees mentioned the importance of interviews and they practiced having or not having leaders coding and analyzing qualitative in a social movement.” data. More importantly, they saw connections between the course

32 Bridgewater Review BOOK REVIEWS

For Carney, one key to understanding Has Comfort Made Us Weak? Hof’s exploits is the idea of hijacking or hacking the body’s autonomic nerv- Ward Heilman ous system. We use drugs to hack our Scott Carney, What Doesn’t Kill Us: How Freezing bodies every day, short-circuiting some systems to stimulate others beyond their Water, Extreme Altitude, and Environmental current capacities. We do skydiving or, Conditioning Will Renew our Lost Evolutionary more modestly, carnival rides, to hack our fear responses. We hack the body’s Strength (New York: Rodale Press, 2017). programs the way a computer whiz ow was it possible for our ancestors to wander redesigns the intentions on a microchip. out of Africa “across frozen mountains and Beyond the ordinary, the author inves- over parched deserts with only a whisper of tigates a number of extreme hacks, such H as the Extreme Pool Training (XPT) technology?” (xv). What made it possible for Samoset, of the legendary super surfer Laird on a freezing March day in 1621, to walk into the Hamilton (85), a hack technique that short-circuits an autonomic reflex (50) Plymouth colony dressed only in a loincloth and and allows him to stay warm in cold moccasins? Do you ever wonder whether humans ocean waters. Carney also gives us a view into the startling world of suffer- have lost some of our useful evolutionarily developed fests (captured in the recently released mechanisms for survival and endurance? Dutch movie “Rise of the Sufferfests”) and adventurist Wim Hof thinks so, but claims to have “tough” competitions. These obstacle marathons are races that usually include developed ways to regain our lost resilience. His at least one leg of swimming through techniques include swimming in ice water, meditating muddy ice water, often under barbed wire, in a course designed to plumb the in snow, intense breathing exercises and climbing body’s limits and act as a transformative Mount Everest in shorts. Hof says that he can teach people to consciously control their autonomic nervous and immune systems, contrary to traditional modern science, which has declared this impossible. In his book, What Doesn’t Kill Us, After a week of training, Carney author Scott Carney sets out to debunk could hold his breath much longer and Hof’s claims. Carney has built his do many more pushups, lost weight investigative career discrediting false quickly and built his endurance. He prophets, exposing fake regimens and was able to hike up a snowy hillside chronicling tragic frauds such as the shirtless and in shorts while staying Diamond Mountain cult. After his first warm. Carney decided to investigate meeting with Hof, Carney remarks that more deeply. He studied Hof and his Hof “speaks in a familiar creole of New strange story. As a teenager, on a lark, Age mumbo jumbo” (3) and that Hof’s Hof jumped through a thin layer of ice “grandiose and self-congratulatory into a frigid river. The exhilaration of claims” made it easier to “ponder the that experience, along with 20 years charlatan idea” (3). However, Carney of studying Vedic and Buddhists texts, felt that he owed Hof the courtesy of motivated him to develop his own actually trying part of the program. techniques.

November 2017 33 experience. “The race isn’t only about than the typical 20 year old” (14). BAT Carney observes: “Despite my expe- overcoming barriers; it’s about emerg- causes the body to burn white fat, riences with the Hof method, it still ing a totally different person” (179). which the body normally stores for later seems too good to be true and the Although often sold as tests of mas- emergencies. BAT’s ability to trigger skeptic in me still wonders if perhaps it culinity, currently up to 40% of the the burning of white fat on command is …I want my own … impossible feat participants in these obstacle course allows followers of Hof’s regime to stay that I can overcome for myself” (109- races are women. warm in cold temperatures and lose 10). And so the book culminates in the weight. The “on command” part, is author’s expedition— in shorts and Another Hof-like movement that what Hof teaches. often shirtless—up Mount Kilimanjaro, attracts the author is the free fitness in record time. November Project started in Boston in Hof asserts that “our bodies have grown 2011, where people do exercise routines weaker as a result of clinging to com- More convincing for most readers, year-round, in public places and often fort” (217). Carney interviews several however, will be the scientific evidence accumulated from the repeated experi- ments on Hof, his followers and mice, which shows that Hof’s techniques “The entire human race has actually work. “Hitherto,” one recent article in the Proceedings of the National been conditioned to think that Academy of Sciences (May 2014) starts, “both the autonomic nervous sys- the outdoors is dangerous. Or tem and innate immune system were that working out in the cold is regarded as systems that cannot be voluntarily influenced. The present lunacy. But guess what? This is study demonstrates that, through practicing techniques learned in a something that people have been short-term training program, the sympathetic nervous system and doing for hundreds of thousands immune system can indeed be volun- of years. We were made for it” tarily influenced” (104). Hof’s method takes us one more step away from the mind/body dualism that dominated much of western philosophy for so long and closer to Dutch philoso- on snowy steps and paths. As one of the seriously ill people who have come to pher Spinoza’s assertion of the one- founders, Bojan Mandaric, declares: Hof as a last resort. They provide star- ness of the material that makes up the “The entire human race has been con- tling testimonials of the changes Hof’s human mind and body. ditioned to think that the outdoors is techniques have brought about. Patients dangerous. Or that working out in the with Parkinson’s, Crohn’s Disease, cold is lunacy. But guess what? This is rheumatoid arthritis, and Type-II something that people have been doing diabetes describe using the Hof method for hundreds of thousands of years. We to “strengthen environmental signals to were made for it” (153). override failing neurology” (128). His exercises seem especially effective on Or, perhaps, we can remake ourselves autoimmune diseases. Hof’s philosophy for it. One result of Hof’s training suggests that the parts of ourselves that program that has been intensely studied are not under our conscious control fail, is the buildup of “mitochondria–rich get weak, or even attack us: “without brown adipose tissue” (13) (BAT), or Ward Heilman is Professor in the something to fight against, the body “brown fat.” Researchers discovered Department of Mathematics. will fight itself” (114). that Hof had developed so much BAT, apparently due to his repeated exposure Still, amidst all this evidence, Carney to cold, that he could, on command, maintains a healthy skepticism. After “produce five times more heat energy trying the program for a long time,

34 Bridgewater Review Wardance Jenifer Sarver Karen Eliot, Albion’s Dance: British Ballet during the Second World War (New York: Oxford University Press, 2016). here is a famous war-era quote attributed to British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. TWhen it was suggested that he cut government funding for the arts to support the fight against the Nazis, his fabled response was: “So, then, what are we fighting for?” Though this quip cannot be verified, the determination of Britons to fight to live according to their values and their steadfast refusal to be reduced to mere existence—even One of Eliot’s gifts is her ability to maintain an academic tone while during the psychological unease of the “Phony War” explaining and contextualizing the and later the genuine horror of the Blitz—is both many names and acronyms that pepper the ballet world in this period. These well documented and widely remembered. include the two main governing bodies that supported entertainment for Karen Eliot’s exquisitely researched Classical ballet has been seen as a civilian and military audiences: the Albion’s Dance: British Ballet during the “civilizing” force as far back as its Council for the Encouragement of Second World War provides a portrait of inception in the Florentine ballrooms Music and Arts (CEMA)—the precur- an important aspect of this time. Odd under the watchful eye of Catherine sor of the British Arts Council, which though it may seem, classical ballet de Medici. In the early 20th century, focused on funding and supporting actually flourished in Britain during it became powerful propaganda in the professionally oriented companies; the Second World War, and when peace Soviet Union, which used both ballet and Entertainments National Service arrived in Europe, English ballet found and folk dance to bring the illiterate Association (ENSA), which supported itself in a secure and respected place peasant population under the hopeful amateur groups as well as professional amidst post-war austerity. Eliot argues mantle of socialist realism. Later, ballet organizations. The author does not that despite the horror that reigned, the and, to a lesser degree, modern dance fall into the trap of simply tracking story of wartime ballet was more than a became tools of Cold War interna- the work of the two great British struggle of beauty vs fear. In retrospect, tional exchange. In all cases, plots and balletic grand dames, Ninette de the war years provided a “discrete time programs were carefully designed to Valois (1898-2001) and her Sadler’s period during which the British ballet serve the “party line” of whomever was Wells Ballet, and Marie Rambert formulated its identity as a classical art presenting the work. What makes bal- (1888-1982) and her Ballet Rambert. form after the eclecticism and choreo- let’s rise in wartime England particu- This is important because entire books graphic experimentalism of the 1920s larly interesting, then, was its apolitical could be written, for example, on the and 1930s, and describes a moment in nature; instead of ultra-patriotic ballets Sadler’s Wells Ballet company’s har- time when ballet flirted with populism that took political stances in the Soviet rowing escape from the Nazi invasion in spite of the pressures exerted by the Union later in the century, it was the of Holland. Eliot chooses to tell stories dyed-in-the-wool balletomanes to classical works that were presented to about other dances, choreographers, guard its elitist status” (3). the public in England. critics, impresarios and balletomanes

November 2017 35 who worked with equal dedication, but instead the costumes, sets and color- for both troops and war workers, and in less public prominence. These include ful plots that delighted British audi- London, a series of “lunchtime” ballets sensitive portraits of Cyril Beaumont, ences used to traditional pantomimes? were produced at 1:00 pm in the cellar and his legendary bookshop and back- Mona Inglesby’s International Ballet of a small theater. These became so room on Charing Cross Road, and exemplified the populist view. Despite popular that management soon added Arnold Haskell, the fierce defender of her youth (she began the company in performances at 2:15 and, later, another ballet as an elite art, and his gradual her early 20s with family money), and at 3:15. Though the freelance dancers conversion to the idea that British ballet her scanty preparatory training, her were unionized, there was little respite was worthy of the affection and respect company was hardly an amateur affair. for these victims of artistic overwork; accorded his beloved Russian ballet. Nikolai Sergeyev (1876-1951), the in 1941, women without young chil- Eliot also assesses the work of P.J.S. famous former Imperial Ballet master dren were “called up” to contribute to Richardson, editor of Dancing Times who had smuggled notations of the war work. Performing professionally and author of some of the most impor- great Russian classics to Paris during allowed these women to defer the call, tant primary-source material that exists the Revolution, staged Act II of Swan which contributed to an eagerness to carry on with artistic work, however arduous. But things were far more difficult for men. Unless rejected for mili- Eliot weaves in stories of tary service because of physical ailment (unusual among ballet dancers), there individual difficulty and heart was no “decent” way of avoiding it. The emotional and practical difficulties break with those of the fierce, took their toll, not only on individual men, but on ballet generally, which resolute courage that was required developed an overly feminine look out to carry on with ordinary work of necessity. Eliot weaves in stories of individual and life in an extraordinary difficulty and heartbreak with those of the fierce, resolute courage that was era. Albion’s Dance provides required to carry on with ordinary work and life in an extraordinary era. numerous accounts of previously Albion’s Dance provides numerous accounts of previously unpublished unpublished stories, explained in stories, explained in the context of the the context of the time. time. This is where Eliot’s work shines: she has drawn a complete portrait of an art in an age, and one that inspires as much as it educates. on this period, including his erudite Lake for the International Ballet in column “The Sitter Out,” a series as 1941, and in 1942, a full-length Giselle. entertaining as it was informative. Inglesby’s company was dedicated Throughout the book, Eliot traces the to producing ballet as spectacle, with key debate in the theatrical world at this full costume and sets, and bringing it time: should ballet be less concerned to all of Britain, not just the London with strict classicism and move toward elite. It contributed enormously to a more populist appearance? Should the affection for ballet that developed it embrace dancers with less pristine among the British middle classes. training and pedigrees and emphasize These performances were not only Jenifer Sarver is Assistant Professor of a balm to war-beleaguered civilians, Ballet in the Department of Dance. however. Ballet evenings were provided

36 Bridgewater Review by history, geography, and language. Inspirational Reading: Reynolds writes: “no other cluster of modern nation states is so commonly Understanding the Arab World referred to as a ‘world’ in English political parlance” (1). The Arab World label Jabbar Al-Obaidi clears up the cloud and confusion that usually surrounds the well-known and Dwight F. Reynolds, The Cambridge Companion to often-used label the “Middle East and Modern Arab Culture (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge North Africa” (MENA). While a gen- University Press, 2015). eral western audience, for example, he Cambridge Companion to Modern Arab Culture is an easy read for both the general public and T specialists, providing insights about the diverse array of people, cultures, and nations that comprise the Arab Middle East. A quick glance at the maps of the Ottoman Empire in 1800, the European-controlled territories in the 20th-century Middle East, and Northern Africa and the Middle East today provides readers a powerful visual contrast and a sense of how much this region has changed in the past two centuries (14-16). These profound changes deserve deep analysis and, indeed, the Arab people, their society, cultures, religions, history, literature, art, music, language, and lifestyle have been discussed by dozens of books over the last 10 years. What distinguishes this volume tends to include Afghanistan and from other publications is its comprehensiveness, Pakistan in the mix of Arab and non- cohesiveness, and analytical depth. In addition to the Arab countries that comprise MENA, along with the states of Iran, Israel, and editor of this book, 15 scholars with various interests Turkey, The Cambridge Companion to and backgrounds contributed to this book. Modern Arab Culture defines the term “Arab World” as countries where Dwight E. Reynolds begins the book and 3) the emergence of the concept of Arabic is the official written and by offering three general historical Arab Nationalism and Pan-Arabism, communication medium and which measures that, in his opinion, allow as well as conservative Islamist move- share other cultural components and readers to delve into the current state of ments over the last century and a half. history. Indeed, the Arabic language the countries of the Arab World. The In his introductory piece, Reynolds is the primary identifier of Arabs and three measures are: 1) the spread of the alerts readers to the boundaries of lin- their countries. Arabic language, the culture associated guistic terminologies that characterized with the language, and the Arabization The Arabic language has sustained its the Arab people and their countries. It of the Middle East and North Africa written and spoken form since the is rather remarkable that 20 Arab coun- th (MENA); 2) the influence of European 18 century; however, the spoken tries are labeled by historians, geogra- colonization and the movements of lib- dialects of Arabic are quite diverse. Do phers, and politicians alike as the “Arab eration and independence that shaped accents in and pronunciations of spoken World.” These states are connected the Arab World that we know today; Arabic vary? The answer to this critical question is yes. However, accents

November 2017 37 and pronunciations do not abstract or the First World War. Subsequently, a in the Middle East, including those change the full delivery and under- sense of Arab nationalism emerged and in Syria and Iraq. For example, mil- standing of meanings, or the quality voices for independence and political lions of Iraqis and Syrians have fled of communication. While accents and unification captured the public mind. their homes recently to Jordan, Turkey, pronunciations change, written words The book successfully draws attention and European countries. A few have remain the same. And, it should be to popular terms among historians such reached the United States. It is worth noted that the eloquent classic Arabic as the Nahda, which in English trans- noting that intellectuals and writers is the language of the Quran. lates as “getting up, rising” or, more later created societies and clubs to formally, “Renaissance, Revival, or the sustain their writing and contribute While the Arabic language and culture most recent use for the term Awakening” to the intellectual and cultural circles have endured over time, it is important (15). After the Nahda took place in of the countries in which they settled. to acknowledge that the impact the late 19th and early 20th centuries, For instance, the mahjar, or émigré, of European colonization and occupa- the cultural contributions of the Arab writers, developed their own literary tion on the Middle East and the Middle East increased, especially in the styles that are being recognized in Arab World was deep and significant. areas of translations, literature, poetry, the United States and South America, The book recognizes that a number sciences, and religious studies. especially Brazil and Argentina. The of states in the Arab World have multicultural makeup of the Arab mahjar writers is reflected in their writing and is connected with the What distinguishes this volume rich traditions of the literature in from other publications is its their homelands. In conclusion, the best description comprehensiveness, cohesiveness, for this edition is that it is many books in one. Any reader who wishes and analytical depth. In addition to gain an in-depth understanding and appreciation of law, art, the Arabic to the editor of this book, narrative, poetry, music, theater, film and television, humor, and food and 15 scholars with various interests cuisine in the Arab World will find The Cambridge Companion to Modern and backgrounds contributed Arab Culture a good resource. to this book.

“a cultural tilt toward the language Importantly, this book also draws and culture of the country that readers’ attention to the issue of mosaic colonized them” (11). For instance, identities in the Middle East and the French is the second language of recent development of migration and elites and educated people in Algeria, diaspora. The Arab diaspora includes Lebanon, Morocco, and Tunisia, different forms of migration: internally while English is the second language displaced refugees, stateless refugees, Jabbar Al-Obaidi is Professor in the for Iraqis, Egyptians, the people of the exiles, and intra- and extra-regional Department of Communication Studies. Arab Gulf States, and the Sudanese. immigrants. Interestingly, the discus- This kind of tilting toward the culture sion of this vital topic is connected of colonization gave birth to the term by colonial history to European “Arab Middle East” during and after countries such as France and Italy, and to the recent wars and conflicts

38 Bridgewater Review Why We Do What We Do Michael Carson Robert M. Sapolsky, Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst (New York: Penguin Random House, 2017). was 74 pages into Robert Sapolsky’s new book, Behave, when its section on gambling and the Idopamine reward system became personally relevant. I was at the Orient Point Ferry Terminal at the eastern tip of Long Island, cruelly misdirected by my GPS and without a reservation. Backtracking towards New York City, my originally intended route, The why is also strongly influenced by the brain’s intrinsic reward system. would have lengthened my trip substantially. But if Studying behaviors such as pathological I could get on a ferry, it would be a shorter and more gambling, addiction, or even catching a ferry on standby, show that “dopa- enjoyable journey. Fortunately, my decision to wait mine is more about the anticipation of paid off and I felt extremely happy when, as a standby reward, than about reward itself” (73). passenger, I was finally directed onto the boat. Having “Why did that behavior occur?” read Sapolsky, I understood this burst of happiness remains the central question for the next eight chapters as Sapolsky guides at various levels, including brain anatomy, the the reader progressively back in time physiology of neurotransmitters, the connections from when the behavior occurred. between various parts of the brain, and, in my case, In the chapters “Seconds to Minutes Before” and “Hours to Days Before,” the dopamine reward system. I even understood the author examines the sensory stimu- why I felt much happier than if I had had a ferry lation that prompts or cues a behavior and the effects of hormones, such reservation in the first place. as testosterone, on the brain and on In Behave, Sapolsky provides a multifac- helps readers achieve a sophisticated behaviors. Sapolsky explores the areas eted and detailed understanding of how and comprehensive understanding of of the brain that are targeted by outside and why different human behaviors behavioral causation. stimuli, including subliminal stimuli. occur. He achieves this for a non-spe- Of special interest is the brain’s very In the chapter, “One Second Before,” cialist audience using a clever organi- quick response (less than a tenth of a the reader looks at human behavior zational approach. In the first chapter, second) to the face of a person from a through the lens of sensory stimula- “The Behavior,” Sapolsky posits that different “race,” along with activation tion and the neural circuitry that affects a behavior has just occurred then takes of the amygdala, an area of the brain communication between various parts the reader on a journey back in time associated with “fear conditioning.” of the brain. Although the behavior through all of that behavior’s precipi- By clarifying popular perceptions, itself may be described in very simple tating events. He leads readers from Sapolsky provides a nuanced view of terms, the real challenge is in the ques- “prior second,” to “prior seconds to the effects of stimuli and hormones tion: why did that behavior occur? This minutes,” to “prior hours to days,” and, on behavior while emphasizing their chapter explores the why at the level of ultimately, to evolutionary forces in the importance. As an example, he writes neural communication between areas “prior millions of years.” This approach that testosterone “increases whatever of the brain involved in automatic is needed to maintain status. In a responses, emotion and cognition.

November 2017 39 world in which status is awarded for development of morality, the ability that influence behavior could be acted the best of behaviors, testosterone to regulate emotions and behavior as upon by evolutionary forces. It remains would be the most prosocial hormone shown by the very interesting “marsh- uncertain, however, whether any recent in existence” (135). mallow test,” childhood adversity, and human behavioral adaptations are the the effects of male and female hor- result of evolutionary, as opposed to In the chapter titled “Adolescence; or mones on development are some of the cultural, factors. The end of this chapter Dude, Where’s My Frontal Cortex?,” more interesting topics covered. introduces the “sociobiology debate” we learn that the adolescent brain really over the evolutionary underpinnings of does work differently. Specifically, the The remainder of the first part of the human behaviors, including violence “limbic, autonomic and endocrine book considers the roles of genes, cul- and war-mongering. systems are going full blast while the ture and evolutionary factors in shaping frontal cortex is still working out the behaviors. Sapolsky’s chapter on genet- The final part of the book explores assembly instructions” (155). Sapolsky’s ics is comprehensive and accurate. He some of these most important human behaviors, including “human clan- nishness and xenophobia,” hierarchy, obedience to authority, and morality. As Sapolsky puts it, when Sapolsky also examines free will and the criminal justice system, ending recognizing people such as the book with a chapter on “War and Peace.” Sapolsky’s wonderful synthesis Nelson Mandela or even far less of neuroscience, built progressively through the book, provides a strong well-known individuals whose foundation from which to examine these influential forms of behavior. behavior has made an enormous Although human behavior is compli- difference in this world: cated, “hellishingly” so, and includes the most horrendous acts, ultimately, “Individuals no more exceptional Sapolsky gives us hope. As he puts it, when recognizing people such as than the rest of us provide Nelson Mandela or even far less well- known individuals whose behavior stunning examples of our finest has made an enormous difference in this world: “Individuals no more moments as humans.” exceptional than the rest of us provide stunning examples of our finest moments as humans.” (674). argument is that the frontal cortex is recognizes the complexities of gene and the brain region “least constrained by environment interaction and refutes the genes and most sculpted by experience” idea of genetic determinism in the case (173). This is the most monumental of human behaviors. However, genes idea in the book, for it helps explain are clearly important for brain develop- how humans function in remarkably ment; genetic variation in neurotrans- complex social environments, environ- mitters, hormone responses, and other ments that are extremely variable even aspects of brain biology does occur. over recent time periods and among The role of culture on behavior is simi- different societies living today. The larly nuanced. A comprehensive chapter Michael Carson is Professor in the chapter “Back to the Crib, Back to the on evolution of behavior provides the Department of Biological Sciences. Womb” seeks the roots of adult behav- basic science of evolutionary processes, ior in childhood. Brain development, recognizing that variation in genes

40 Bridgewater Review LOOKING AHEAD In the Spring 2018 issue of Bridgewater Review… • Medieval scholar John Sexton reports on his research on the Holy Island of Lindisfarne off England’s northeast coast. • Archivist Orson Kingsley reconstructs the life of Robert Pellissier, a 1903 graduate of Bridgewater Normal and Doughboy who perished in World War I. • Sasha Link explores the intersectionality of her scholarly research and teaching by “tracing her lineage.” • A photo essay explores the work of BSU adjunct faculty members in Art and Art History B• And more… R

Call for Submissions Bridgewater Review invites submissions from full- and part-time faculty assistance with revision and in polished pieces that are publication-ready. members and librarians, and others in the BSU community. Bridgewater All submissions will be reviewed, but there is no guarantee that submitted Review is published twice yearly by the faculty and librarians of work will be published. Bridgewater State University. It provides a forum for campus-wide conversations pertaining to research, teaching, and creative expression, Bridgewater Review also welcomes Letters to the Editor with the hope as well as a showcase for faculty art. Articles in all disciplines and that BR may become a locus for community discussion at Bridgewater genres are welcome and encouraged, including scholarship about State University. research interests and trends, scholarship about teaching and learning, creative writing, and short reviews of other publications. Submissions should be sent electronically to: Andrew Holman Articles should be 1700-2200 words in length, though shorter articles Editor, will also be considered. Creative writing can be submitted at lengths Bridgewater Review briefer than 2200 words. Those wishing to submit are asked to consult [email protected] the Bridgewater Review submission guidelines (available from the Editor). Articles published in Bridgewater Review may be reprinted with In keeping with the founding spirit of our faculty magazine, the editors are permission of the Editor. equally interested in unfinished pieces of writing that may need Bridgewater Review Nonprofit Org. Bridgewater State University U.S. Postage 131 Summer Street PAID Bridgewater, MA 02325 Augusta, ME Permit No. 121

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