[Catalyst Project & Chelsea E Manning:] Statements on Orlando Mass Shooting
Dear friend, Yesterday morning I checked the news groggy-eyed and learned of the massacre in Orlando at ‘Latin Night’ at the Pulse gay club. The grief is overwhelming. I find myself unexpectedly in and out of tears. Queer space is sacred. We owe the fact that there is space for us to go seek community, … Continue reading
[Press release] PJSA hires Michael Loadenthal as new Executive Director
Peace and Justice Studies Association (PJSA) Press Release Date: June 5, 2016 Re: PJSA hires Michael Loadenthal as new Executive Director Dear Friends and Colleagues, The Peace and Justice Studies Association is very pleased to announce that Michael Loadenthal has been hired as the new Executive Director of the PJSA, beginning July 1, 2016. Michael … Continue reading
Updates from a manic writer
For a great many of us who work on an academic calendar, this week tastes especially sweet. For me, it means that my work load goes from heavy to light as students depart campuses and the year winds down. For those outside of the September-May work cycle, this may not be immediately apparent, but those … Continue reading
Poverty, Welfare, & Religion: Towards Understanding and Addressing Working Poverty in the United States
For the past two years, I have been working with Hebrew Union College’s Center for the Study of Ethics and Contemporary Moral Problems as the coordinator of their Beyond Poverty Project through the Dr. Normal K. and Donald J. Stone Fellowship. In this position, I am tasked with developing and managing a few projects aimed … Continue reading
[New syllabi] ‘Social Change’ & ‘Criminology’
After a resounding success of a semester, and some very encouraging student evaluations, I am once again teaching at the University of Cincinnati (UC) Department of Sociology. Last semester I developed three new classes (#1, #2, #3), and this semester, I completed two more. This combined with my classes at George Mason University, Georgetown University and … Continue reading
[New syllabus] Reflective Practice in Conflict Resolution
Recently I had the opportunity to spend 3 weeks in Malta teaching a course in reflective practice as it relates to conflict analysis and resolution. While an honest Michael would have to admit a bit of hesitation and pessimism going into the topic, after spending the last 2 months reading, designing, teaching and evaluating the … Continue reading
[New publication] Like finding a needle in a pile of needles: Political violence and the perils of a brave new digital world
For the second year I a row I was able to partner with the great folks at the journal Critical Studies on Terrorism and publish an issue of the journal featuring articles researched and written by my students at Georgetown. My JUPS-402 class, which I taught in various forms at Georgetown the past 5 springs (2011, 2012, … Continue reading
WHAT MICHAEL IS READING #4
Over the past few months I have read quite a bit. I guess I’m always in the process of reading at least 4 or 5 books, and depending on the seasonal work I’m engaged with, more or less. I am in the process of teaching/designing 6 new classes (Introduction to Sociology, Contemporary Social Problems, Social Movements, … Continue reading
[Prison journal]: Sixth and final entry
Today was ‘officer appreciation’ day at JCI, and also my last day of the semester. When I arrived, I sat for a few minutes in the parking lot to gather my thoughts, but was abruptly brought back to reality through a near constant crackle of gun fire just off into the distance and led in … Continue reading
[Prison journal]: Fifth entry
I arrived this week at JCI 45 minutes early, having come from speaking at the DC Queer Studies Symposium at UMD. I decided, since it was such a nice day, to spend the time in the parking lot of the prison, to read the material we were about to discuss, namely the writings of George … Continue reading
