Linda Heidenreich, Associate Professor of Women's Studies and American Studies, recently published her decolonial study of the multiracial history of Napa, This Land Was Mexican Once: Histories of Resistance from Northern California (University of Texas Press).

Alex Kuo, Writer in Residence and Professor of English and American Studies, published his novel Panda Diaries, a playfully allegorical story of Chinese political intrigue.

Joan Burbick, Professor of English and American Studies, published her critique of American gun fetishism, Gun Show Nation.

Kim Christen, Assistant Professor of CES and American Studies has just published her groundbreaking work on Digital Dynamics Across Cultures in the onlne interactive multimedia cultural studies journal, Vectors

Noël Sturgeon, Chair of Women's Studies and Professor of WSt and American Studies, was the keynote speaker at the "Against Patriarchy" eco-justice conference in Eugene, OR, and a participant in a "Queer Natures" book-in-progress workshop at York University in Toronto.

David Leonard Assistant Professor of the CES and American Studies recently published, Screen Fade to Black, his study of racial representation in recent Hollywood films by and about African Americans.

T.V. Reed's review essay, “Back to the Future: Finding Internationalism, Cross-Ethnic Solidarity and Race-Class Analysis in Ethnic Movements of the Sixties/Seventies,” appeared in the winter 2007 issue of Contemporary Sociology

Pamela Thoma, has been hired as an Assistant Professor of Women's Studies. Pam's research is centered in Asian American literature and culture, pop culture, and global poltico-cultural economies. She has recently been focusing on the politics of consumption in Asian American feminist cultural studies.

The WSU Vancouver campus hired Thabiti Lewis, a specialist in contemporary African American Literature and Cultural History, Gender Studies, Popular Culture, Race and Sports, and Film. Dr. Lewis is working on a book about fiction writer, filmmaker, and essayist Toni Cade Bambara.

The English department here in Pullman has hired Aaron Oforlea whose work focuses on black masculinity in literature, documentary film, and popular culture.

We also welcome a new cohort of American Studies graduate students: Brett Atwood (pop culture; digital media) and Robert Richardson (queer literature, pop culture and digital media), both mid-year admits; Jacqueline Almdale (Latino/a studies; poverty), returning after a deferred admission; and Marc Robinson (black studies; multiracial social movements), Shawn LameBull (gaming sub-cultures; Native studies), and Mary Jo Klinker (feminist studies; gender and political economy), joining us for the first time in the fall.

Congratulations to Erik Carter, PhD. and Cheris Brewer, PhD, on completion of your degrees! You've been stellar members of our community, and we wish you the best in all your future endeavors.

Likewise congratulations to Sky Wilson and to Josue Estrada on successful completion of their Master's degrees.

Alma and Etta

Sky and Laura are also to be congratulated on the successful completion of the two seriously cute new members of their family, Alma and Etta, pictured above.

Josue also did our team proud by receiving a scholarship to support his attendance at the National Association of Chicano/Chicana Studies

A large contingent of WSU American Studies graduate students and faculty represented the program in brilliant fashion at both NACCS and the Pacific Northwest American Studies Association annual conference in April.

PhD student Ayano Ginoza recently published, "The American Village in Okinawa: Redefining Security in a Militourist Landscape," in the Journal of Social Science No. 60, ICU Social Science Research Institute.

PhD candidate Margo Tamez's, reecently published book of poems, Raven Eye (University of Arizona Press), was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in literature.

Loren Redwood, PhD student, presented at several venues and an article from her work on race, political economy and post-Katrina New Orleans is forthcoming.

Academic Year 2006-07 was an eventful and successful year for the program. We created a more cohesive "core faculty" for the program, and we completed a revised curriculum plan that will add a number of new courses for graduate students.

We also received a very positive External Review as mandated every 10 years by the WSU faculty senate. We received high praise from our reviewers from the University of Minnesota and the University of Wisconsin.

Erik Carter, PhD

Sky Wilson, MA

Cheris Brewer, PhD