Glenn Hendler on Gun Control

Read American Studies Affiliated Professor Glenn Hendler's thoughtful and important article "To the NRA, and to Legislatures that Submit to the NRA's Will":

I get the pleasure of guns; I really do. For a few summers in the 1970s and early 1980s I taught riflery at a summer camp. I was a pretty good shot myself, and I quite enjoyed target shooting. So much of the rest of summer camp involves running, yelling, team sports, kicking a ball, swinging a bat. Those things are fun, but the rifle range was a pleasurably different world, characterized by calm, control, patience, quiet. And, interestingly, it was not the all-male world one might expect. Girls were often better at target shooting than boys, perhaps because they didn’t tend to link the sport with the Dirty Harry and Rambo movies that were running through many boys’ heads. I liked my job. [To read more, click here . . .]

Oneka LaBennett Quoted in Elle Magazine

American Studies Director Professor Oneka LaBennett is quoted in the April issue of Elle Magazine, currently on newsstands. The issue has hip hop artist Nicki Minaj on the cover with a photo shoot and story about her inside. The story quotes LaBennett's Ms. Magazine article about Minaj. The whole article is not available online yet, but here is where LaBennett is quoted:

Anthropologist Oneka LaBennett, an associate professor of African and African American studies at Fordham University, has noted that the controversy extends far beyond loyal viewers of American Idol. "Minaj has become a lightening rod for conversations about race, youth, girls, and beauty standards," she wrote in response to some critics' claims that the rapper glamorizes traditionally white standards of beauty. "Minaj's prismatic wigs. . . defy the easy categories of 'black' or 'white' hair.  Like 'the black girl' herself, Minaj is a complex figure who 'flips' mainstream norms in a manner that often goes unrecognized." 

You can check out selected parts of the article and photo shoot with Nicki Minaj on Elle's website.

Christiana Peppard on the Melissa Harris-Perry show

Dr. Christiana Peppard

Fordham American Studies affiliated faculty member, Christiana Peppard discusses morality, the Pope, and gun control on MSNBC's Melissa Harris-Perry Show! Check out Prof. Peppard's segments here:

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On "the rebirth of morality"

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"A real-world ethics test"and "practicing what you preach on a global scale . . ."