The Mason Spirit

The stories in Right of Way (Washington Writers’ Publishing House, 2010)describe fictional Cleave Springs, a gentrifying neighborhood in the nation’s capital. These insightful stories introduce the neighborhood’s dazzling variety of characters—longtime survivors and new arrivals, preservationists and visionaries, black people and white people—as they navigate the complexities of diversity and change, and strive to realize…

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Prior to coming to Mason in 1997, anthropology professor David Haines worked for the federal government’s refugee resettlement program. A two-time Fulbright scholar, he has worked on and written about immigration issues for much of his career. In his most recent book, Safe Haven? A History of Refugees in America, Haines examines seven decades of…

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Self-Study Teacher Research: Improving Your Practice through Collaborative Inquiry Anastasia P. Samaras, Associate Professor, Graduate School of Education Designed to help teachers plan, implement, and assess a manageable self-study research project, Self-Study Teacher Research: Improving Your Practice through Collaborative Inquiry (Sage Publications, April 2010), this textbook covers the foundation, history, theoretical underpinnings, and methods of…

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Organizational Learning at NASA: The Challenger and Columbia Accidents Julianne G. Mahler, Associate Professor of Government and Politics Organizational Learning at NASA: The Challenger and Columbia Accidents (Georgetown University Press, April 2009) thoroughly examines NASA’s loss of the space shuttles Challenger and Columbia. After offering an account of the processes that constitute organizational learning, Mahler…

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Real Stories of Nursing Research: The Quest for Magnet Recognition M. Maureen Kirkpatrick McLaughlin (PhD Nursing ’04), Adjunct Professor, School of Nursing, and Sally A. Bulla (PhD Nursing ’03) Real Stories of Nursing Research: The Quest for Magnet Recognition (Jones and Bartlett, 2010) demonstrates how direct care nurses in clinical settings can conduct nursing research…

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On the Trail of the D.C. Sniper: Fear and the Media Jack Censer, Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences In On the Trail of the D.C. Sniper: Fear and the Media (University of Virginia Press, April 2010), Jack Censer uses the October 2002 Washington, D.C., sniper attacks to explore the shifting character of…

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Peter’s War: A New England Slave Boy and the American Revolution Joyce Lee Malcolm, Professor of Law Peter’s War: A New England Slave Boy and the American Revolution (Yale University Press, December 2008) tells the story of a slave born in Massachusetts in 1763. Malcolm describes Peter’s life in rural New England, which became increasingly…

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Cinema and Classical Texts: Apollo’s New Light Martin Winkler, University Professor of Classics, Modern and Classical Languages Cinema and Classical Texts: Apollo’s New Light (Cambridge University Press, February 2009) interprets films as visual texts and demonstrates the affinities between Greco-Roman literature and the cinema. The book examines major themes from classical mythology and history, such…

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Public policy professor Janine Wedel has been a pioneer in applying anthropological insights to topics that are typically the terrain of political scientists and economists. In her new book, Shadow Elite: How the World’s New Power Brokers Undermine Democracy, Government, and the Free Market (Basic Books, 2010), she details a new system of power and influence…

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Torture as Public Policy: Restoring U.S. Credibility on the World Stage James P. Pfiffner, University Professor, School of Public Policy Torture as Public Policy: Restoring U.S. Credibility on the World Stage Stage (Paradigm Publishers, October 2009) is a model of detailed policy analysis that demonstrates how greatly public policy matters beyond the back corridors of…

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