Boston College Assistant Professor of Communication Renée Pastel considers media representations of the “War on Terror,” notably films, television shows, and online videos, in her new book War in Pieces: “War on Terror” Media and the Fracturing of American Identity (Rutgers University Press, 2026). Focusing on the period of 2001-2013, War in Pieces points to four central figures in depictions of the conflicts: the war journalist, the active-duty service member, the veteran, and the military family. As consensus about America’s response to 9/11 ebbed, and as Americans sought to deal with various post-9/11 cultural anxieties, explains Pastel, these four main narrative figures helped uphold a continued sense of unified national identity—even as different audiences came away with divergent understandings of the war and its ramifications. Read more in BC News.
The War on Terror
‘The Making and Breaking of the American Constitution’
Mark Peterson, the Edmund S. Morgan Professor of History at Yale University, will speak on his most recent book, The Making and Breaking of the American Constitution: A Thousand-Year History, at Boston College on September 16 at 7 p.m. in Gasson 100. Peterson’s narrative paints an arresting picture of a dynamic republic whose frame of government has changed enormously to meet the challenges of the modern age but whose written constitution has changed very little. The Making and Breaking of the American Constitution reveals how this widening disconnect threatens the very existence of American democracy. Peterson issues a call to action for a nation confronted by challenges its founders could never have imagined. Peterson is also the author of The City-State of Boston: The Rise and Fall of an Atlantic Power, 1630–1865 and The Price of Redemption: The Spiritual Economy of Puritan New England. His lecture is presented by the Lowell Humanities Series and cosponsored by the History Department. The event is fee and open to the public, but advance registration is required.
Posted in Lowell Humanities Series
Tagged American history, American politics, democracy
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‘Light of the East’
Light of the East: The Calcutta School of Jesuit Indology on Hindu Advaita Non-Dualism brings together key writings of Jesuit theologians and Indologists William Wallace, Pierre Johanns, Georges Dandoy, and Michel Ledrus, missionary-scholars who played a pioneering role in early 20th-century Catholic engagement with Indian religious thought. Edited by Sean M. Doyle, the volume gathers essential primary sources—many long out of print—into a single, accessible collection, along with introductory context on the Calcutta Jesuits and their intellectual contributions. As leaders of the Calcutta School of Indology, these Jesuits developed a careful and respectful approach to Hindu spirituality and their work remains one of the most rigorous bodies of comparative theological reflection on Hindu traditions. Light of the East was published by the Institute of Jesuit Sources, which is dedicated to preserving, editing, and publishing the foundational texts and studies of Jesuit history, spirituality, and pedagogy. Since 2014, Jesuit Sources has been part of Boston College’s Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies.
Under a spell
Bestselling author Jen Calonita, a Boston College graduate, has written a new book about two sisters who happen to be witches. Practically Magic (Avon/Harper Collins, 2026) tells the story of Kat and Harriet Hadley of Mystic Hollow. Harriet casts a curse to protect Kat from heartbreak. Kat is so furious, she loses control—and every spell a Hadley witch has ever cast starts reversing. The sisters must race to repair the balance of magic—and their relationship. In its review, Publishers Weekly writes: “Tidy storytelling charmingly blends tender lessons about sisterly bonds and self-reliance with sweetly predictable romance, making for a feel-good, pumpkin-spice-latte-coded outing.” Calonita has written more than 40 books for teens and middle grade readers. Her books have sold more than a million copies and have been translated into 15 languages.
A dog’s life
In the first book-length study that combines the history of Britain with animal studies, Boston College Professor of History Robin Fleming explores the social, cultural, and ritual histories of Roman Britain’s people through an investigation of their entanglements with dogs. Thinking with Dogs in Roman Britain: Lived Experience, Inequality, and Ritual in a Roman Province (Oxford University Press, 2026) examines the evidence of more than 1,700 Roman-period dogs preserved in structured deposits. Fleming investigates the lives of real dogs in Britain under Rome, some of which were pampered working or personal animals, but many of which had hard lives and had to fend for themselves. The book then explores how the period’s authors used both pampered dogs and strays as metaphors, shedding light on issues of hierarchy, inequality, and enslavement. Fleming also looks at the widespread use of dogs as a material of religion, investigating their role as sacrificial animals and ritual agents. Thinking with Dogs in Roman Britain is based on Fleming’s 2022 James Ford Lectures in British History. Fleming is a MacArthur “Genius Grant” recipient whose previous publications include The Material Fall of Roman Britain: The Roman Material Culture Regime and its End and Britain After Rome: The Fall and Rise of the Middle Ages, c. 400–c. 1050.
Feathered & Famous
In a new book, Gail Martino introduces young readers to the bald eagle, the official bird of the United States, as well as to the many official state birds. With stunning photographs, fascinating facts, and easy-to-read pages, Feathered & Famous: Meet America’s All-Star Birds depicts the birds that represent the country’s landscapes, values, and history. A board member of the Connecticut Audubon Society, Martino was motivated to produce a book that connected nature, history, and conservation in ways that inspire curiosity and discovery. Martino earned a doctorate from Boston College. Her other publications include Flightlines: Birds in Haiku, Image, and Wonder and Chickadee Tales: A New Haven Bird Club Anthology.
What does authenticity at work actually mean?
In Authentic: The Myth of Bringing Your Full Self to Work (Flatiron Books/Macmillan, 2025) author Jodi-Ann Burey uses pop culture, personal storytelling, and interviews to examine what authenticity really means in the workplace. Part memoir and criticism, Authentic argues that expectations to “come as you are” and “bring your full authentic self to work” are part of an ongoing cycle of trading on people’s identities when it’s convenient and profitable. A 2008 graduate of Boston College, Burey is a writer and critic who works at the intersections of race, culture, and health equity. She also is the creator and host of Lit Lounge: The People’s Art, a prose and poetry salon. More from Boston College Magazine.
‘Untamed Unicorns’
In her new book, Untamed Unicorns: Why Startup Finance Is Broken and How to Fix It (Harvard University Press, 2026), Boston College Law School Professor Renée Jones delineates the harms that have come from deregulating venture capital financing and presents a roadmap for reform to restore proper boundaries between public and private securities markets. Against a backdrop of dramatic startup scandals, from FTX and Theranos to WeWork and Uber, Jones explains how changes in the law have allowed startups to grow to enormous sizes while remaining shielded from the accountability mechanisms that have long protected investors and the public from corporate misconduct. Jones, the Dr. Thomas F. Carney Distinguished Scholar at BC Law, is a nationally recognized expert in corporate and securities law who served as the director of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Corporation Finance from 2021 to 2023. More from Boston College Law School Magazine.
Posted in Boston College Authors
Tagged Boston College Law School, business, economics
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Pamela Mordecai
Pamela Mordecai, an award-winning poet, novelist, and children’s book author, will release her second collection of short stories in September. Set largely in the Jamaican diaspora, the stories in Two Days in Mayaro (Goose Lane Editions, 2026), are driven by reimaginings of lore, ancestry, and history. A native of Jamaica, Mordecai graduated from Newton College of the Sacred Heart in 1963. Her body of work includes the novel Red Jacket; the children’s books Ezra’s Goldfish and other storypoems and Don’t Ever Wake a Snake; and the poetry collections The True Blue of Islands, Subversive Sonnets, and Certifiable. She also has edited/co-edited several anthologies, such as Jamaica Woman, Her True-True Name, and From Our Yard: Jamaican Poetry since Independence.
Story of a nurse leader
Karen A. Daley, who holds master’s and doctoral degrees from BC’s Connell School of Nursing, has overcome personal and professional challenges to become an influential and respected nurse leader. She shares stories of determination and insightful lessons on leadership in her memoir, Overcoming: Stories of Leadership, Resilience, and Action. Daley is a past president of the American Nurses Association. In 1998, she sustained a needlestick injury as a nurse; she later tested positive for HIV and hepatitis C. After this turning point in her career, she became a national advocate for mandating safer medical sharps and was instrumental in the passage of the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act. The Connell School honored Daley with its Dean Rita P. Kelleher Award in 2017.
BC Bookmarks 