Italy Journal: The Ladies by the Water
There are young women dressed in fancy but obviously fake medieval dresses and masks who stand around the fondamente near San Marco, on San Zaccaria. They make their living taking […]
Italy Journal: The Humanities in an International Context
I’m in Italy for the semester, teaching at the Venice International University. I’m about halfway through my time here, and I thought (belatedly) I’d start writing periodic posts about everything […]
Why Sanders?
I’ve been wondering, why Sanders? How did a 74-year-old Jewish man born in Brooklyn, a self-described democratic socialist, and a longtime resident of the largely rural state of Vermont become […]
Italy Journal: Becoming Immigrants
We are in Italy. I was offered an opportunity to teach in Venice during the Spring term, and my family and I jumped at it. What a chance to try […]
Reading Laudato Si’ in the Wake of the Charleston Massacre
Today has obviously been filled with mourning over the Charleston church shooting, during which nine African American parishioners were killed. The likely perpetrator has since been identified as Dylann Storm […]
Policing the Present
This is the text of a talk I gave on a panel at Boston College entitled “Race in the USA: Expectations, Concerns, and Hopes in 2015.” * What is the […]
Contemporary American Fiction: Graduate Seminar (Syllabus)
“Books have to be read (worse luck, for it takes a long time); it is the only way of discovering what they contain.” E.M. Forster This seminar examines works of […]
A Former Student’s Response to the AASP Statement
I have received an out-pouring of responses from students, alumni, and faculty in the short time since the BC Asian American Studies Program released its statement on the St. Mary’s protest. I […]
BC Asian American Studies Program Statement on the St. Mary’s Protest
We write on behalf of the Asian American Studies Program at Boston College, which supports research and coursework on the experiences of Asians in the United States. Recent protests in […]
Star Wars, Episode Whatever (Updated)
The main cast of the new Start Wars trilogy has just been announced, and honestly the actors they’ve chosen seem very talented. But, as at least one observer has already […]
