Broadcast journalist Judith Bishop, a member of the Newton College of the Sacred Heart Class of 1962, reflects on her career covering political milestones, breaking news, and the arts in the new book,
Broadcast journalist tells her story
An innocent man
In a small Missouri town in 1992, the body of 19-year-old Mischelle Lawless was found in her car, stalled on the side of a road. Joshua C. Kezer was arrested and charged for her murder—and spent the next 16 years of his life in prison. In the new book, The Murder of Angela Mischelle Lawless: An Honest Sheriff and the Exoneration of an Innocent Man (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2023), 1969 Boston College alumnus Stephen R. Snodgrass writes about how Kezer was imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit. Snodgrass is an award-winning lawyer who worked to exonerate Kezer and two other men wrongfully convicted of murder. Writing with Kezer, Snodgrass unveils the web of manipulation and corruption that led to Kezer’s conviction. This book has been called “a timely, compassionate work of true crime that calls for better and more equitable justice for all.”
Sublime poetry
Emu Blis, Bums Lie, Blue-ism (Broadstone Books, 2024) is a collection of poetry by 1976 Boston College graduate Michael Brosnan. According to the publisher: “In this profound volume of experimental poetry, Michael Brosnan exhibits exquisite control as he employs (and invents) tools of verse language (far beyond mere ‘odd enjambments’) to interrogate—and deconstruct, literally—the word sublime, in all of its senses. Many sublime companions (real and imaginary) are along for the ride—Mozart, Coltrane, Jimmy Page, Moby-Dick, Dr. Philosophy—while erasures of Wordworth poems frame and intersperse the work (an act of distillation that serves as a model for the book as a whole).” Emu Blis, Bums Lie, Blue-ism was a finalist for a Wandering Aengus Book Award. Brosnan’s previous poetry collections are Adrift and The Sovereignty of the Accidental.
Ecological hospitality
Hosting Earth: Facing the Climate Emergency (Routledge, 2024) is a timely volume in the emerging literature of environmental philosophy. Co-edited by Boston College Charles Seelig Professor of Philosophy Richard Kearney and BC alumni Peter Klapes and Urwa Hameed, the book engages the question of ecological hospitality: What does it mean to be guests of the Earth as well as hosts? While most books on the climate emergency focus on science and politics, the editors say “our volume also invites artists, poets, and philosophers to add new light and depth to this urgent ecological debate.” Hosting Earth features a dialogue with former President of Ireland and climate justice advocate Mary Robinson, drawn from a 2022 conference at Boston College. Read more about the book from BC News.
Posted in Boston College Authors
Tagged climate change, Earth, environment, nature, Philosophy Department
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Early Christianity encyclopedia
The Brill Encyclopedia of Early Christianity, co-edited by Boston College’s Margaret O’Brien Flatley Professor of Catholic Theology David G. Hunter, focuses on early Christianity from a historical perspective in order to uncover the lasting legacy of the authors and texts. The publication of the six-volume set was the culmination of a 15 years of work. According to the publisher: “Its content is intended to bridge the gap between the fields of New Testament studies and patristics, connecting a number of related fields of study including Judaism, ancient history and philosophy, covering the whole period of early Christianity up to 600 CE. The BEEC addresses a range of traditions, including iconographic, martyrological, ecclesiastical, and Christological traditions, as well as cultic phenomena, such as the veneration of saints.”
The Battle of Sitka
At the turn of the 19th century, Russia was a rising power in North America, with an empire that extended across the Bering Sea, through the Aleutians and Kodiak Island, and down the Alaskan panhandle. The objective was to corner the lucrative North Pacific fur trade and colonize the American coastline all the way to San Francisco Bay. The new book The Last Stand of the Raven Clan (Simon & Schuster/Pegasus Books, 2024) recounts how Imperial Russia’s grand plan was thwarted by the indigenous Tlingit people of southeast Alaska. The Tlingit stance against Russian colonization—during the Battle of Sitka and beyond—was arguably the most successful indigenous resistance against European imperialism in North America. The Last Stand of the Raven Clan co-authors Gerald Easter and Mara Vorhees used Tlingit oral histories and Russian eyewitness accounts to bring this history to life. Easter is a professor of political science at Boston College. He and Vorhees previously collaborated on the book
Posted in Boston College Authors
Tagged Political Science department, Russia, U.S. history
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International intrigue follows James Krieg
The Neighbor from Geneva is the second international thriller written by 1977 Boston College grad F. David Ford. Like his debut novel, The Great Trade, this book features the adventures of former U.S. Department of Justice lawyer James Krieg, who finds himself involved in the world of banking, espionage, and organized crime. Born and raised in Paris, Ford also has lived in Germany, Switzerland, and the United States. An expert in financial crime controls, he spent more than 20 years working for international private banks based in Geneva. Prior to working in the financial industry, Ford was a special legal advisor for the Office of International Affairs, United States Department of Justice, in Washington, D.C. and a U.S. Navy JAG.
Discover What Matters
As a resident assistant at Boston College, Elizabeth McColloch ’21 gave support and advice to many students. She tapped the wisdom gained from those conversations and her own college experience and wrote a book for incoming and current college students titled Discover What Matters: Finding Meaning, Hope, and Love in a Success-Driven College Culture. Her book’s message to college students, who may get caught up in the obsession with achievement, is to take time to embark on a purposeful college journey. McColloch says Discover What Matters invites readers to savor the beauty in the present and stop comparing oneself to others and curating an image. She encourages readers to discover meaning by infusing intention into their classes, everyday routines, and relationships. A California native, McColloch also has a Substack newsletter called Letters From Your RA.
Posted in Alumni Authors
Tagged Carroll School of Management, college, discernment, Ignatian
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A school principal’s must-have
The seventh edition of The Principal’s Legal Handbook (Education Law Association, 2024), co-edited by Lynch School of Education and Human Development Associate Professor Raquel Muñiz, is the definitive guide to key legal and policy topics that impact school leaders. This volume draws on the experience and expertise of more than 50 scholars and practitioners, providing readers with context around important recent legal changes affecting schools, and helping to translate the law for education professionals without a legal background. With an enhanced focus on equity, The Principal’s Legal Handbook is an essential resource for both aspiring and current principals and school administrators. Muñiz’s research focuses on the intersection of education, law, and policy. Read more about the new book in this article from the Lynch School.
Honors for Eaton
Associate Professor of History Nicole Eaton has won honors for her 2023 book German Blood, Slavic Soil: How Nazi Königsberg Became Soviet Kaliningrad (Cornell University Press). The book offers a deep exploration of this port city on the Baltic Sea—the only city to be ruled by both Hitler and Stalin. She is winner of the Reginald Zelnik Book Prize in History, presented annually by Association for Slavic, East European, & Eurasian Studies in recognition of an outstanding monograph published on Russia, Eastern Europ, or Eurasia in the field of history. The ASEEES also awarded her a W. Bruce Lincoln Book Prize honorable mention. The W. Bruce Lincoln Book Prize honors an author’s first published monograph or scholarly synthesis that is of exceptional merit and lasting significance for the understanding of Russia’s past. In addition, she is the recipient of a DAAD/GSA Prize for the Best Book in History and Social Sciences honorable mention from the German Studies Association. The DAAD/GSA citation describes German Blood, Slavic Soil as “sharply and lucidly written, a pleasure to read and think about. Particularly impressive as a debut book, this is a brilliant and original contribution to several different kinds of literature, one which scholars will be able to read with profit for many years to come.”
Posted in Awards/Honors, Boston College Authors
Tagged Germany, History Department, Russia
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