Boston College alumna Maria Cimperman is a Religious of the Sacred Heart of Jesus whose scholarship is at the intersection of moral theology, social ethics, and spirituality. In her new book, Religious Life For Our World: Creating Communities of Hope (Orbis Books, 2020), Sister Cimperman addresses how congregations can adapt to what is being asked of them today by both people and the planet. She explores how God’s call, the needs of the world, and the charisms of consecrated life can come together in a way that dynamically engages the vows, prayer, community, and ministry for today’s world. Sr. Cimperman is an associate professor of theological ethics at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago and director of CTU’s Center for the Study of Consecrated Life. Her other publications include Social Analysis for the 21st Century: Faith and Action Toward a Socially Conscious Spirituality and Engaging Our Diversity: Interculturality and Consecrated Life Today, co-edited with Roger Schroeder, SVD.
Consecrated life in today’s world
Alumna’s debut novel is a bestseller
Fifty Words for Rain (Dutton, 2020), a New York Times bestseller and a Good Morning America Book Club Pick, is the debut novel of 2015 Boston College alumna Asha Lemmie. Fifty Words for Rain tells the story of Nori, the daughter of a married Japanese aristocrat and an African American GI, coming of age in post World War II Japan. Abandoned by her mother, Nori is taken in by her grandparents, only to be concealed because she is a threat to their royal pedigree. The sweeping epic spans decades and countries and tackles topics such as love and loss, prejudice, and family ties. Fifty Words for Rain was named a “Best Book of the Month” by Amazon and a “Discover Pick of the Month” by Barnes & Noble. It also was listed on USA Today‘s best-selling books list. Publishers Weekly review: “Sometimes bleak, sometimes hopeful, Lemmie’s heartbreaking story of familial obligations packs an emotional wallop.” Good Morning America interview.
Imagine…
This month marks the 40th anniversary of the murder of legendary musician John Lennon. In a new book, Boston College alumnus Dave Wedge and his frequent co-author Casey Sherman team up with bestselling novelist James Patterson to tell the story of Lennon, from his childhood days to Beatles superstardom to his maturity as an artist, husband, and father. The Last Days of John Lennon (Little Brown and Co., 2020) includes exclusive interviews with Lennon’s friends and associates, including Paul McCartney. According to the publisher: “The Last Days of John Lennon is the thrilling true story of two men who changed history: One whose indelible songs enliven our world to this day—and the other who ended the beautiful music with five pulls of a trigger.” WBUR interview.Poetry from Brendan Galvin
Partway to Geophany (LSU Press, 2020) is the newest collection from acclaimed poet and Boston College alumnus Brendan Galvin. As a naturalist and environmentalist, Galvin’s poems celebrate the wildlife and landscape, particularly of his beloved Cape Cod. In Partway to Geophany, Galvin also reflects on the passage of time and love and loss. From the publisher: “His masterful use of the narrative lyric produces poems of great mystery and intimacy, in tones varying from grave to playful, as he reflects on the cruelties of time and the pleasures of being alive.” Galvin is the author of 18 poetry collections, including Habitat: New and Selected Poems, 1965–2005, a finalist for the National Book Award. In 2015, Galvin was the cover story for Boston College Magazine.
Super polluters
Award-winning BC environmental sociologist Andrew Jorgenson and colleagues Don Grant (University of Colorado Boulder) and Wesley Longhofer (Emory University) have published a groundbreaking global analysis of approximately 20,000 fossil-fueled power plants across more than 160 countries. In Super Polluters: Tackling the World’s Largest Sites of Climate-Disrupting Emissions (Columbia University Press, 2020), the researchers identify the conditions connected to the most egregious polluters in the energy generating sector and suggest that a focus on these super polluters could be an effective approach to reducing overall net carbon emissions. Jorgenson is a professor and chair of sociology and professor of environmental studies. He was awarded the 2020 Fred Buttel Distinguished Contribution Award from the American Sociological Association Section on Environmental Sociology. Read an interview with Jorgenson on BC News.
Posted in Boston College Authors
Tagged energy, Environmental Studies, pollution, research, Sociology Department
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A case for identity in Ezekiel
In his new book Ezekiel, Law, and Judahite Identity (Mohr Siebeck, 2020), Boston College alumnus Joel B. Kemp highlights how the book of Ezekiel uses legal elements to advocate for the reconfiguration of a Judahite identity under Neo-Babylonian dominance. The consistent presence of juridical diction, legal metaphors, and courtroom imagery reveals that Ezekiel 1-33 is set within a precise juridical framework. Kemp argues that focusing upon these legal elements provides greater clarity and coherence to some passages within Ezekiel 1-33 and articulates a version of Judahite identity under Neo-Babylonian hegemony. Kemp, who earned a doctorate in Biblical studies from BC’s Theology Department, is an assistant professor of Hebrew Bible at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology.
Minnesota murder mystery
In the latest mystery written by Boston College alumna Priscilla Paton, police detectives Erik Jansson and Deb Metzger work to solve the murder of Dan Routh, a man who rescued trafficked teen addicts from a vindictive crime boss, but was also an alcoholic and disgraced ex-cop. Kirkus Reviews calls Should Grace Fail (Epicenter Press/Coffeetown, 2020) “an ambitious mystery that tackles heavy themes, such as the darkness of addiction and the fragility of human existence.” Detectives Jansson and Metzger were first introduced to readers in Paton’s whodunit Where Privacy Dies.
Essay in honor of Fouad Ajami
Professor of Near Eastern Studies and Chair of the Department of Eastern, Slavic, and German Studies Franck Salameh is the author of the essay “And If He Were Here Today,” an encomium to scholar, teacher, and mentor Fouad Ajami. Salameh calls Ajami one of the pillars of Middle East studies. The essay is part of a Gedenkschrift published by the Hoover Institution to launch Ajami’s posthumous work Crosswinds. Salameh is the author of several works, including The Other Middle East and Lebanon’s Jewish Community: Fragments of Lives Arrested.
A path to forgiveness
True forgiveness can be complicated because the pain of betrayal, loss, deception, and personal attack clings tightly to a person’s emotions, memories, and bodies. In The Ignatian Guide to Forgiveness (Loyola Press, 2020), Boston College Professor of Philosophy Marina Berzins McCoy uses the principles of Ignatian spirituality to lay out 10 steps toward forgiveness. Each chapter offers stories, real-life steps to take, and a powerful prayer for healing. McCoy is an educator, spiritual director, and volunteer at a men’s prison, where she leads discussions on spirituality. She was interviewed about her new book by the Jesuit Conference’s podcast, AMDG: A Jesuit Podcast.
Posted in Boston College Authors
Tagged Ignatian spirituality, Philosophy Department
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Mask manifesto
An expert in the intersection of science, medicine, and law, Boston College Law School Associate Professor Dean Hashimoto provides a clear and compelling argument in favor of mask wearing to fight the spread of COVID in his new book, The Case for Masks: Science-Based Advice for Living During the Coronavirus Pandemic (Skyhorse Publishing, 2020). According to the publisher, Hashimoto cites specific examples of situations where infected individuals wore masks versus ones who didn’t and how that changed the outcome. He also references population-based studies in individual states and by country, and the undeniable effect that universal masking had on Mass Brigham Hospital’s staff. His book also addresses safety concerns and medical misconceptions about mask wearing and why the CDC didn’t recommend universal mask wearing at the beginning of the pandemic. Hashimoto teaches health care policy at BC Law School and is the chief medical officer overseeing the Workplace Health and Wellness division at Mass General Brigham, a Harvard Medical School-affiliated healthcare system. More from Boston College Law School Magazine.
Posted in Boston College Authors
Tagged Boston College Law School, coronavirus, pandemic, research, science
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