College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Commencement student speaker Caroline Little found her family while at George Mason

Shayla Brown — Tue, 10 Dec 2024 21:25:40 +0000

Commencement student speaker Caroline Little found her family while at George Mason Shayla Brown Tue, 12/10/2024 - 16:25

Graduating psychology student Caroline Little said she grew up at ��AV.

“I have grown from a child to an adult at George Mason in ways I could have never thought possible. I came here a teenager, and left here a married mother of two,” said Little.

Little, who will travel from Alabama to address her fellow graduates as the 2024 Winter Commencement Student Speaker, will welcome her second child, Isabella, this winter.

Graduation student speaker Caroline Little and her son, Saint. Photo provided.

George Mason’s rigorous education and location being so close Washington, D.C., made her decision to attend pretty easy, said Little. “George Mason really helped foster rapid maturation in the best way possible,” she said.

Originally an in-state student, Little transferred from Germanna Community College in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Since then, she has lived in Rhode Island, New Orleans, and currently resides in Alabama. 

“I chose psychology as my major because I have always had a special interest in the study of how the human brain works and how humans behave. I definitely plan to take my psychology education further,” said Little, who was part of George Mason’s psych club during her first two years.

Little’s passion for psychology was fueled by College of Humanities and Social Sciences professor Michael Hurley, the undergraduate academic advisor in the Department of Psychology who helped her get a job in applied behavioral analysis.

“I worked with older autistic individuals, mostly individuals who are about to graduate from high school,” said Little. “I taught them how to be self-sufficient in their homes and they learned to do their own laundry, cook basic meals, clean up after themselves, and things like that.”

Little also met her husband, former George Mason basketball player and star forward Joshua Oduro, BS Business ’23, during an on-campus voting event.

Little has had many great experiences during her time as a student at George Mason, but some of her favorite memories, she said, come from the Homecoming basketball games and getting married to Oduro.

Little and her husband, Joshua Oduro, celebrate on Wilkins Plaza. Photo provided.

“We came back to campus and popped a bottle of champagne in front of the George Mason statue to celebrate meeting each other on campus,” said Little.

Throughout that summer, while Oduro was away at pre-draft, Little was a full-time mother and simultaneously took seven accelerated courses. It was a big challenge, said Little, because both she and her son, Saint, were struggling with sleep deprivation.

“My son and I would go to campus every day to meet with my tutor at The Globe [dining hall],” said Little. “We would be on campus all day, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. I breastfed him, walked him around the halls, and brought him a big blanket for tummy time, just trying to keep him occupied while I studied.”

Little’s biggest piece of advice for incoming students is pursue yourself first. “So much happens in your four years of college, don’t ever forget why you’re here in the first place,” she said. “Never give up on your dreams, no matter how hard it may seem! No one will do it for you. You are in charge of your own destiny.”

Following graduation, Little plans to pursue her master’s degree in marriage and family counseling.

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In her new 'memoir in animals,' Creative Writing professor examines her writing life

Colleen Rich — Tue, 03 Dec 2024 17:46:28 +0000

In her new 'memoir in animals,' Creative Writing professor examines her writing life Colleen Rich Tue, 12/03/2024 - 12:46

George Mason English professor Kyoko Mori writes both fiction and nonfiction. Her latest book, Cat and Bird (Belt Publishing, March 2024), has been called a “memoir in animals” and focuses on the six house cats who defined the major eras of her life as a writer.

Kyoko Mori with her cats. Photo provided

What inspired you to write this book?

I’ve lived my entire adult life with cats and yet my previous books—both fiction and nonfiction—only featured cats in the periphery of the story, as colorful minor characters at best. In truth, getting my first cat at 22 was a life-altering event: that cat saw me through graduate school, my first full-time teaching job, marriage and divorce, and the publication of my first two books. I wouldn’t be the same person I am now if I hadn’t been with him for 18 years. So my first impetus was to finally do justice to him and to his successors.

I wanted to push against the misconception that cats and dogs are opposites—the cliché that cats are selfish and independent while dogs are loving and loyal. For those of us who are devoted to our animal companions, cats and dogs, equally, can be our alter ego or avatar—the core of who we are.

The real contrast is between cats and dogs on one hand and songbirds and other wildlife on the other. Even with birds who come to our window feeder or end up in our care (I worked as a songbird rehabilitator), we can only admire them from a distance or nurse them back to health in order to return them to the wild. We love companion animals by holding on; we love wildlife by letting go. I wanted to explore this contrast.

What surprised you about the process of writing this book?

I knew from the beginning that the book was going to be about the way the two kinds of devotion—to cats and to birds—have sustained my work as a writer and helped me to make a home as a single childless woman who is happy in her solitude and yet fulfilled by her involvement in the community. Having a husband and children is not the only way to engage meaningfully with the world and make a positive impact.

The balance between solitude and community and the joy of making a home alone (with cats) did remain important ideas in the book. But I also realized that a book about living with animal companions and witnessing the dangers that threaten birds, other wildlife, and the whole planet will have to dig deep into grief. The desire to hold on and let go at the same time—as when a beloved animal companion dies or when we watch from the ground as migratory birds navigate the sky full of danger—became the essential aspect of the book’s narrative and investigation.

What are you working on now?

My last nonfiction book before Cat and Bird was a knitting memoir titled Yarn: Remembering the Way Home. Since finishing Cat and Bird, I’ve picked up where Yarn finished and published four personal essays about women and clothes: shopping with my close friends, how we express ourselves with our clothes, etc. At the same time, I continue to be interested in backyard wildlife—birds that were not included in Cat and Bird and squirrels—especially after a squirrel made a nest in the flowerpot on my window ledge, had two babies, and stayed for two weeks before moving her nest to a maple tree in the backyard.

Sei Shōnagon, the 11th-century Japanese writer who appears in Cat and Bird as the embodiment of the book’s spirit, was equally interested in the beauty of nature and of human-made objects. I don’t think clothes and backyard wildlife can fit into the same book for me as they did for her, but for now I’m following the inspiration of her astute observations about both and seeing where my work goes.

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Public history students highlight local Indigenous communities

Shayla Brown — Tue, 19 Nov 2024 21:19:53 +0000

Public history students highlight local Indigenous communities Shayla Brown Tue, 11/19/2024 - 16:19

��AV associate professor Gabrielle Tayac’s course, HIST 397 Public History in Action, looks at how indigenous communities interact with our student population through community-based engagement and projects.

“Like anywhere in the Americas, George Mason is indigenous land, but we’re trying to get a sense of the interplay between past and present,” said Tayac, who is a member of the Piscataway Indian Nation. “My goal is to get students ready for museum work, give them accessible history, and guide them to work really deeply with communities.”

Gabrielle Tayac and her students. Photo by James Wells.

Tayac and research partner the Center for Humanities Research (CHR) applied for and received an Access to Research and Inclusive Excellence (ARIE) grant for their project, “IndigenoUs Northern Virginia.”

This project, completed by students in the Spring 2024 course, is in the form of an exhibit titled “Offerings for Tauxenent: Acknowledging Indigenous Place” at the National Trust for Historic Preservation, another project partner through George Mason alum James Wells, BA History ’22.

Wells previously took this course with Tayac and reached out to inform her of an open space at Woodlawn, which he offered as a place for current students to look at what the indigenous reality is and what needs to be remembered, explained Tayac.

“Professor Tayac’s class was one of my first real exposures to Indigenous history and cultures. It was really eye-opening,” said Wells, who came to George Mason from Northern Virginia Community College through the ADVANCE Program and was a member of George Mason’s student organization Native American and Indigenous Alliance.

“This exhibit was the most crowded I’ve seen Woodlawn in the two years that I’ve worked here. The work the students did on this project made that possible and opened the door for us to interpret Indigenous histories at our site,” said Wells, a program assistant at Woodlawn & Pope-Leighey House, one of National Trust for Historic Preservation’s locations.

Meghana Bandaru (left) and Odessa Lamborn with their presentation. Photo by James Wells.

For the project, the students were divided into three teams, focusing on different Indigenous communities: the International Mayan League, Indigenous Andean, and a combination of local tribes including the Doeg, Intertribal urban community, Piscataway, and Rappahannock tribes.

The groups had to collect research, objects, and images to produce interactive art and media that accurately represent their assigned Indigenous communities.

History graduate student Odessa Lamborn worked on this project during their last semester as an undergraduate student at George Mason.

“The mission of the project is about bringing awareness to the Indigenous and First Nations people in the Washington, D.C., area,” said Lamborn. “It was a really phenomenal experience being able to collaborate with Indigenous people in the area and uplift their voices.”

Lamborn is now working alongside Wells as a historical interpreter at Woodlawn & Pope-Leighey House.

“This project gave me great insight into the behind the scenes of creating exhibits for the public, and it also influences my current work at Woodlawn with the tours I provide,” said Lamborn. “I make sure to point out where we have a John Smith map, detailing Indigenous culture [from before] colonization.”

Some of the students in Tayac’s course contributed their original art or personal objects to the exhibit as well.

“This whole project was basically what I want to do as my professional career once I graduate,” said senior and history major Sinead Monaghan.

“I’ve gotten to take a lot of classes with Professor Tayac, and I’m so grateful for all her guidance,” said Monaghan. “What we're doing goes beyond the classroom and makes a valuable impact in the world beyond. If it just touches one person or changes the way one person thinks, then it will have done its job.”

The exhibit is being brought to George Mason’s Fairfax Campus in 2025 through Mason Exhibitions and will open on April 15 as “Offerings to the Potomac: Acknowledging Indigenous Place.”

Guests at Woodlawn & Pope-Leighey House for the exhibit. Photo by Woodlawn & Pope-Leighey House.

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George Mason researchers receive NEH funding for Connecting Threads project

Colleen Rich — Tue, 19 Nov 2024 18:49:31 +0000

George Mason researchers receive NEH funding for Connecting Threads project Colleen Rich Tue, 11/19/2024 - 13:49

Deepthi Murali and Jason Heppler of ��AV’s Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media have received a level two Digital Humanities Advancement Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), in support of their ongoing global textile history project titled Connecting Threads: Digitally Connecting Collections, Expanding Public Engagement.

Deepthi Murali. Photo provided

Connecting Threads is a collaborative digital history project by George Mason in the United States and the University of Edinburgh in the United Kingdom. Led by Murali, an assistant professor at George Mason’s Department of History and Art History, and Meha Priyadarshini, a senior lecturer at the University of Edinburgh, the project is dedicated to amplifying the contributions of Indian weavers and Afro-Caribbean consumers to global histories of dress.

"We wanted to pursue original research and scholarship while connecting collections that allow people other than us to find information about these textiles more easily, and offer our research and interpretation to a global public audience, particularly those audiences whose histories we were exploring in our work," said Murali.

The digital project includes archival and material sources from more than 12 archives and museum collections, creating a network of institutional data and scholarship on these textiles. In its first phase, the project utilized the work of an interdisciplinary team of researchers to examine the history of the Madras handkerchief, an internationally popular dress accessory made of brightly colored checked cotton.

The project's institutional partners include the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Bristol Museum and Archives in England, the University of Glasgow Archives in Scotland, the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum in New York, and Louisiana State Museum in New Orleans.

Jason Heppler. Photo provided

The NEH grant will allow the project team to complete building the digital infrastructure and processing of collected data, setting up the project for Phase 2 development.

"The data is a mix of things: material compiled by the Connecting Threads team but also data that we’re computationally compiling from museum open data," said Heppler, senior developer at RRCHNM and the technical lead on the project. "Having those materials in our own database allows us to structure data in a way that serves our purposes."

Heppler said they are also building public-facing interfaces for browsing and viewing the data they’ve compiled. "We’ll be making interactive visualizations, primarily timelines and maps, to follow the movement of textile materials over time and space," he said. "To me, this really is the crux of the project—to understand how materials followed people and cultural ideas."

Murali said she is eager to see how they resolve the challenges of mapping these textiles with their fragmented histories. "This is a problem that most of us who work on non-Western art and material culture history face. The incompleteness of data makes it difficult to produce meaningful digital visualizations and networks," she said. "I am really excited by the possibility that we might be able to work out a solution and further make our process accessible to others dealing with the same issues."

In the next phase, the Connecting Threads team will further expand their research into the history of production of these textiles in southern India as well as begin research on the use of Indian cotton checked textiles in Southeast Asia.

The NEH is the nation's largest public funder of the humanities. The Digital Humanities Advancement Grants program supports innovative, experimental, and/or computationally challenging digital projects, leading to work that can scale to enhance scholarly research, teaching, and public programming in the humanities.

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The Anti-Defamation League honors George Mason’s Charles Chavis Jr. for his work in civil rights education

Paul Snodgrass — Wed, 06 Nov 2024 19:32:34 +0000

The Anti-Defamation League honors George Mason’s Charles Chavis Jr. for his work in civil rights education Paul Snodgrass Wed, 11/06/2024 - 14:32

Charles Chavis Jr., a professor at ��AV’s Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, as well as the founder and director of the John Mitchell, Jr. Program for History, Justice, and Race, will be honored at the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) In Concert Against Hate, which celebrates everyday heroes who speak out against hate and make a difference in their communities.

Founded in 1913, the Anti-Defamation League is one of the country’s largest and most influential anti-hate organizations with a long history of addressing bigotry, antisemitism, and injustice.

Charles Chavis. Photo by Ron Aira/Office of University Branding

Chavis is a historian and prolific author whose work focuses on the history of racial violence and civil rights activism as well as Black-Jewish relations in the American South. Recently, Chavis and the Mitchell Program expanded the experiential learning initiative and began a partnership with Operation Understanding, DC (OUDC), to expand upon shared goals to build community among high schoolers and advance peacebuilding and social justice.

“I am deeply honored and humbled by this recognition,” Chavis said. “The work of building community never ends; we have a responsibility to plant, nurture, and grow partnerships that advance our common ideal for a better world, beginning in the communities where we live.”

Chavis will receive the Kay Family Award from the ADL for his scholarship and work in the field of civil rights, activism, and Black and Jewish relations, as well as his work on bridgebuilding and conflict de-escalation.

Alpaslan Özerdem, dean of the Carter School, praised Chavis for his groundbreaking and transformational work in the field of race relations. “His dedication and commitment to fostering understanding and reconciliation among diverse communities has made a significant impact. This prestigious award highlights why his work is crucial in our ongoing journey towards creating more just, equitable, and peaceful societies. Dr. Chavis’ contributions not only inspire us but also pave the way for a future where peace and justice prevail.”

Ann Ardis, dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, highlighted Chavis’ work: “Dr. Chavis' commitment to civil rights education and advocacy, his place-based research uncovering untold local histories of both trauma and community-building in the U.S., and his leadership in fostering relationships among Black and Jewish youth enriches our academic community and exemplifies values we hold dear as a college.”

“Each year, at this powerful event for our organization, we relish the opportunity to shine a light on heroes who should be celebrated,” said Meredith R. Weisel, ADL Washington, D.C. Regional Director. “At a time when our world is so rife with conflict and division, Dr. Chavis is an embodiment of a light we all need. We are thrilled to highlight him and his crucial work.”

Also receiving Kay Family Awards at this year’s event are Mehnaz Afridi, director of Manhattan University’s Holocaust, Genocide, and Interfaith Education Center; and Holocaust survivor Rosette Goldstein. Previous honorees have included Ruby Bridges, the first African American student to integrate into a southern elementary school; Holocaust survivor Tova Friedman and her grandson, Aron Goodman, who create TikTok videos to educate people about the Holocaust; and Susan Bro, the mother of Heather Heyer who was killed in Charlottesville, Virginia, and the founder of the Heather Heyer Foundation.

About the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution

��AV’s Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution is a community of faculty, students, staff, alumni, and partners with a fundamental commitment to building peace. Through the development of cutting-edge theory, research, education, and practical work, we seek to identify and address the underlying causes of conflict and provide tools for ethical and just peacebuilding on the local, national, and global stages. Learn more at carterschool.gmu.edu.

About the College of Humanities and Social Sciences

The College of Humanities and Social Science is one of the largest colleges at George Mason, employing more than 800 faculty and staff, delivering critical courses for the university community, and offering an expansive range of disciplinary and interdisciplinary degree programs (23 undergraduate majors, 14 graduate certificates, 18 master’s degrees, 9 doctoral degrees, and 22 accelerated master’s degree pathways). Learn more at chss.gmu.edu.

About ��AV

��AV is Virginia’s largest public research university. Located near Washington, D.C., George Mason enrolls more than 40,000 students from 130 countries and all 50 states. George Mason has grown rapidly over the past half-century and is recognized for its innovation and entrepreneurship, remarkable diversity, and commitment to accessibility. In 2023, the university launched Mason Now: Power the Possible, a one-billion-dollar comprehensive campaign to support student success, research, innovation, community, and stewardship. Learn more at gmu.edu.

About The Anti-Defamation League

ADL is the leading anti-hate organization in the world. Founded in 1913, its timeless mission is “to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all.” Today, ADL continues to fight all forms of antisemitism and bias, using innovation and partnerships to drive impact. A global leader in combating antisemitism, countering extremism and battling bigotry wherever and whenever it happens, ADL works to protect democracy and ensure a just and inclusive society for all. More at www.adl.org.

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Charles Chavis

Alpaslan Özerdem

Listen to Podcast - EP36: Charles Chavis: The truth will set you free

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Scholarship will help creative writing student further her career

Colleen Rich — Fri, 01 Nov 2024 15:20:09 +0000

Scholarship will help creative writing student further her career Colleen Rich Fri, 11/01/2024 - 11:20

��AV undergraduate Jasmine Haskins is the first recipient of the Bill Miller BFA Scholarship in Creative Writing, established in 2023 to support undergraduate creative writing students who are part of an under-represented group at George Mason or who are involved in an organization that works on issues or causes related to under-represented groups. The scholarship provides $2,500 in support.

Jasmine Haskins talks with George Mason alum Bill Miller, who endowed the scholarship she received. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

Miller, MFA Creative Writing ’87, taught at George Mason for 33 years and directed Creative Writing Program in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences from 1992 to 2018. He also helped start the bachelor of fine arts (BFA) in creative writing during this time. It is one of only a handful of BFA programs for undergraduates in the country.

“Jasmine is so clearly a worthy recipient to inaugurate this scholarship,” said Miller. “She is a talented writer, and I hope that this support and her having been selected will encourage her to develop her talent to its fullest potential. I think we will be seeing her by-line accompanying a lot of written words before long, and I wish her well as she works toward that goal.”

A Virginia native, Haskins grew up reading fantasy and supernatural fiction with her father, which led to her writing fiction throughout her childhood. Today she primarily writes poetry, a passion she discovered during a high school project.

Jasmine Haskins. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

“I’ve always had an interest in reading and writing that has only strengthened over time thanks to my family’s influence,” Haskins said. “Their storytelling and passions still influence me to this day.”

Haskins said that her experience in the Creative Writing Program at George Mason has given her the space to grow and change as a writer. Her favorite class was an advanced poetry workshop she took with Professor Eric Pankey in the spring semester.

“It was such an insightful session,” Haskins said. “I enjoyed the poets, Professor Pankey’s feedback, and the amazing people I got the chance to workshop with. I felt so happy that I got to be in Professor Pankey’s last class before his retirement, and a poem I workshopped in that class was actually published in Volition’s spring issue.”

Haskins said this scholarship will help her pursue a career as a writer. “I had so many doubts about myself, my writing, and my career choices, so after hearing that I was selected for something because of my writing, I cried. After supporting myself through school for so long, to have this help as I finish my time at Mason feels like a blessing and a push forward to my career as a writer.”

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Katie Richards is November Employee of the Month

Colleen Rich — Wed, 30 Oct 2024 14:44:39 +0000

Katie Richards is November Employee of the Month Colleen Rich Wed, 10/30/2024 - 10:44

When nominating Katherine (Katie) Richards for Employee of the Month, her colleagues emphasized her giving nature, positivity, and interpersonal strengths, in addition to her commitment to the program. A two-time George Mason alumna, Richards, the senior graduate program coordinator in ��AV’s Higher Education Program (HEP), is in her 10th year of working at George Mason.

Katie Richards and George Mason President Gregory Washington during the November Employee of the Month ceremony. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

“Every day, we witness the positive energy, willingness to help, sincerity, and vast knowledge of university operations that Katie brings to her work,” said Kelly Schrum, a professor in the Higher Education Program. “Katie is a model staff member and a proud Mason alum whose exemplary service to the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and ��AV exemplifies the values honored through this award.”

In her role she serves as the academic advisor to all HEP's master’s students and is their main point person from the application phase to admissions and through coursework to graduation. She connects students with targeted resources like the Writing Center, Counseling and Psychological Services, and emergency funds.

She also supports HEP faculty and is a key liaison throughout the college and university.

Richards has also worked to strengthen partnerships, such as with University Life, to support assistantships for incoming students and to honor student achievements and successes.

David Powers Corwin, assistant professor in the School of Integrative Studies, said, “Katie is always eager to lend a helping hand where needed and is such a positive presence in whatever space she is in.”

Chrystal Mwangi, associate professor in the Higher Education Program, agreed. “I have always known her to exemplify Mason’s commitment to excellence, innovation, and inclusion,” Mwangi said. “Katie is a joy to work with and I am grateful to call her a colleague. She definitely demonstrates that our students come first.”

“Katie is consistently sought out by students, faculty, and community members for her caring and wise counsel,” said Julie Owen, associate professor of leadership and integrative studies. “She has an uncanny ability to listen deeply and ask insightful questions. Though not part of her formal job description, Katie has been trusted by students with their personal stories and struggles and is always able to connect them with relevant campus resources and support.”

“Katie simply embodies the spirit and aims of our institution—in every wise word and important action, she represents the very best of Mason as an institution committed to community, inclusion, and a just, free, and prosperous world,” said Graziella McCarron, assistant professor in the School of Integrative Studies.

How did you come to Mason:

I received my undergraduate degree from George Mason in English and then went to work in the private sector. After about two years, I knew I wanted to come back to George Mason to pursue an MFA in Creative Writing (Poetry). I knew about Mason’s great tuition benefit, so I started applying to staff roles and was hired by the Higher Education Program, where I have been for the last 10 years. I completed my MFA in 2020 and have my first book of poetry, Apple Mind, coming out Nov. 14 from Harbor Editions. George Mason has opened up a ton of opportunities for me as a staff member, student, and now alum.

Best day on the job:

I always love the end of spring semester when we do our Celebration of Achievements event. My favorite role is supporting our students, so it is very meaningful to me to be able to celebrate their successes with them.

What do you like best about working at Mason:

I enjoy working with our students and feeling that I have made a difference in their lives. It is exciting to feel that the work you do can have a positive impact on others’ lives.

What do you like to do when you’re not working:

I enjoy spending time with my husband and two children. I also like to knit and garden when there is downtime (which there’s not a lot of these days!). And, of course, I do my writing in the evenings.

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For this historian, the Salem Witch Trials are personal

Colleen Rich — Wed, 30 Oct 2024 12:14:58 +0000

For this historian, the Salem Witch Trials are personal Colleen Rich Wed, 10/30/2024 - 08:14

When Daniel T. Howlett was a junior in high school, he needed to do a history project. Growing up in Massachusetts, near the historic Salem Village, he decided to do one on the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 and his own ancestry.

Daniel T. Howlett. Photo provided

“I knew at the time we were descended from the Putnam family, and the Putnams were the main accusing family,” said Howlett, who has completed an MA and is now working on a PhD in history at ��AV. “So going back 10 generations, all of the people who were making accusations are related to me.”

Howlett’s family also has an ancestor on the other side—Mary Bradbury, who was accused of witchcraft and convicted but managed to escape her death sentence.

For his project, he ended up focusing on the relationship between Reverend Cotton Mather, the Boston minister who was leading the charge against witchcraft, and Reverend George Burroughs, who was executed for witchcraft. And that provided the basis for a chapter in the dissertation he is writing.

His dissertation focuses on religion and disability in early America, and the Salem Witch Trials play a role. Howlett said, in a way, that high school project never ended for him. It just grew in scope. He has been a tour guide in Salem and estimates he has visited more than 150 cemeteries for his research, which may make him the perfect candidate for a Halloween-themed interview.

Witches? 150 cemeteries?

I'm originally from North Andover, the town where most people were accused [of witchcraft]. My high school was on the land where Sarah Osborne, one of the first accused, lived. I grew up down the street from the cemetery where Timothy Swan, one of the accusers, is buried. The Salem Witch Trials were quite literally in my backyard. I've been surrounded by this is topic for a very long time.

But part of it was more—I'm a historian. This is a historical place. It's just kind of neat. I never thought it would end up being a key component to my research.

The gravestone of Timothy Swan, one of the accusers at the witch trials. Photo provided

Do you have a favorite cemetery?

I have a bunch that I like, and I've gone back to a couple of them. So the one in my hometown, North Andover’s First Burial Ground is obviously a favorite because it's close to home. I've been there a ton of times. A lot of the important graves that I look at are from there. But I also like Marblehead's Old Burial Hill, Newburyport’s Old Hill Burying Ground, Hingham Cemetery, Plymouth’s Burial Hill. There are so many fun cemeteries out there.

Everyone goes to Salem for Halloween. Are they going to the wrong place?

I've worked as a tour guide in Salem for a summer job, and I've had Salem residents shout out that “the witches weren't from here.” Salem was larger than it is today. Salem Village, which is now the town of Danvers, where my high school was, is where it starts. Salem is like the seat of the county at the time so the trials happened there.

In your research, you’ve been able to make connections between disability and the witch trials. Can you talk about that?

When these accusations of witchcraft are being made, the young accusers are said to be falling “deaf, dumb and blind”—that’s the quote that gets used. So they're losing their speech, their hearing, and their sight because that's what they expect witchcraft afflictions to do.

"Trial of George Jacobs, August 5, 1692" by Thomkins H. Matteson (Wikimedia Commons)

All of those have very important theological meanings because you're supposed to be able to say your prayers, read the Bible, hear the minister's sermons. All your religious participation is dependent on your senses working. The idea is if your body is unable to do that, your soul can't be nourished with the faith and religion that it needs for you to gain your eternal salvation. So that's the threat that's behind a lot of these witchcraft afflictions.

But for the accusers, this is a temporary state. They get afflicted by witchcraft and then they come out of it because they arrest the witch. They pray to God and there's divine intervention that helps them pass these disabilities.

When they accuse someone of witchcraft, it's not necessarily because they have a disability. But whenever they get the chance, the accusers seem to make a connection to [the accused’s] disability. For example, Rebecca Nurse [who was convicted of witchcraft and executed in 1692] being “hard of hearing” in her own words, that's what she says in the trial transcript.

They say that's the devil, or the black man, whispering in her ear. The black man was often used as the stand-in for Satan at the time. That has a ton of racialized tones because Indigenous people were referred to as Black. There's a ton of frontier violence going on. It's one of the big threats.

For my research, I'm looking at the word disability as some stated version of difference so maybe not disability as we recognize it today. At the time, illness and disability are conflated a lot. Whatever that difference is its often used to insinuate motivation, but also proof that the devil has hardened your heart to God. You are therefore a sinner and more likely to be guilty in a witch.

That’s still a lot of cemeteries. Do you believe in ghosts?

I don't believe in ghosts. I want them to be real because I think that'd just be kind of fun. [George Mason] history grad students sometimes joke that a great indie horror film would be a grad student doing their dissertation with a Ouija board to interview their sources. I've been to 150 cemeteries. I've not been haunted yet.

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Communication alumna went from intern to CEO of national running organization

Shayla Brown — Wed, 23 Oct 2024 17:02:22 +0000

Communication alumna went from intern to CEO of national running organization Shayla Brown Wed, 10/23/2024 - 13:02

��AV alumna Jay Ell Alexander, BA Communication ’08, joined Black Girls RUN!, a national running organization, as a PR intern in 2012. In 2018, she bought the company and has been the owner for the last six years.

“I was looking for hands-on work after graduate school and really immersed myself in learning every end of the business,” said Alexander. “From merchandise and working with our local groups and sponsorships to understanding how to work with corporate partners and building relationships.”

Jay Ell Alexander at one of the Black Girls RUN! marathons. Photo provided.

She added, “The consistency and passion that you need to run a business does not happen overnight, and my time as an intern and contractor with Black Girls RUN! was planting those seeds for me to have what I need now.”

Black Girls RUN! aims to bring Black women to the pavement in terms of endurance, as well as raise awareness of the health disparities that they face.

“Black women are at the top of the charts for most chronic diseases and there’s a stigma that we just don’t care about our health, but we do. We’re trying to change that narrative and show that Black women can be healthy,” said Alexander, who is also a member of George Mason’s Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.

“Working for entrepreneurs, you become a jack of all trades very quickly. George Mason and a dynamic group of communication professors really prepared me for that,” she said.

Her time at George Mason gave her a strong foundation for the tech savviness she would need to helm Black Girls RUN!

“I learned everything from writing code and how to build a website to going out and being a one woman show with a camera and mic,” explained Alexander, who received a Top 40 Under 40 Award from George Mason’s Black Alumni Chapter. “I didn’t have to pay for a new company website. I just do it myself because I have the skills from those classes at George Mason.”

Black Girls RUN! has roughly 248,000 members, 75 groups across the country in most of the major cities, and year-round national conferences. Members participate in national meetups and training for a 5K or a half marathon.

“These are races that we partner with across the country where you come out and meet Black Girls RUN members and we just create a community within the race that people want to come out and be a part of,” said Alexander.

Since 2021, Black Girls RUN! has been in a partnership with Saucony, the running shoes, clothing, gear, and accessory company, and produced a custom shoe, the Endorphin Speed 4 BGR, which has sold thousands of shoes. The shoes also come with a custom shoebox and key chain.

In 2020, Saucony reached out to the organization to make a donation to their Black Lives Matter movement.

“[Saucony] was really trying to make an effort to build up their initiative with supporting minorities. Those conversations we were having continued to happen and our relationships continued to blossom,” said Alexander.

Jay Ell Alexander at a shoe signing event. Photo provided.

“The shoe really has been the cherry on top of all the work that we've done over the last three years. This was [Saucony’s] first time doing a pink shoe.”

Black Girls RUN! and Saucony have a multi-year deal and another collaboratively designed shoe will be released in 2025.

“Jay Ell is a super leader. That was always a natural trait that she carried. She really brings people together; she's a facilitator, organizer, and very much so just had a strong suit in terms of operations,” said alumna LaShonda Wilson, BA Communications ’08, who was Alexander’s college roommate and is also godmother to Alexander’s children.

“All of us working together were able to create an organization that was foundationally sound and we all took turns in the various leadership roles,” said Wilson, who along with Alexander and their peers started Urbanknowlodgy 101, a hip-hop dance group at George Mason in 2005, which now has a spin-off nonprofit called Dance Foundation Inc. for alumni.

“My friends and I were those kids that used to stand in line all day to buy Jordans and now my shoe is sold out. Life has just come full circle for me and it’s kind of surreal,” said Alexander.

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Live Discussion with David French: What Do Evangelical Christians Want, Liberty or Authority?

Andrew J Schappert — Mon, 14 Oct 2024 19:12:50 +0000

Live Discussion with David French: What Do Evangelical Christians Want, Liberty or Authority? Andrew J Schappert Mon, 10/14/2024 - 15:12

In the 1970s and ’80s, David French said, the idea of the separation between church and state began to fray due to “some of the constitutional overreach that occurred. Governments became way too vigorous in suppressing religious expression in public places, up to and including private religious expression.

“Now we’ve moved into a world where a number of Christians are saying, ‘liberty isn’t enough—we also want authority.’”

New York Times columnist David French. Photo provided.

That apparent evolution in contemporary religious thinking is the theme of French’s talk on Monday, October 21, at 7 p.m., when the New York Times columnist addresses “Liberty or Authority? Christian Political Engagement at the Crossroads” in Merten Hall, Room 1201, on ��AV’s Fairfax Campus. The event is free, and no registration is required.

The appearance is cosponsored by the Schar School of Policy and Government and the Department of Religious Studies at the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.

The talk will appeal to “members of the George Mason community who want to understand the vicissitudes of contemporary evangelical Christianity,” said Professor John Turner, who is the chair of the Department of Religious Studies and will introduce French. “David French understands the fervency and anguish that characterize contemporary Christian engagement with politics.”

A Times conservative columnist who has been critical of Donald Trump, French is a former Harvard Law School-trained constitutional lawyer and an Army Reserve veteran of the Iraq War. His military service and legal expertise often inform his perspectives on issues related to national security, military ethics, and foreign policy.

“French has been a fearless advocate for free speech, religious liberty, and a principled politics in which character and virtue matter more than partisan victories,” Turner said. “Almost all Americans admit that we need to make more of an effort to talk with people across partisan and ideological boundaries. Few journalists and activists do that better than David French.”