Rebecca Overmyer-Velazquez, associate professor of sociology at Whittier College, recently published the book, Folkloric Poverty: Neoliberal Multiculturalism in Mexico (Penn State Press). The book tells the story of an indigenous peoples movement in the southern Mexican state of Guerrero that gained unprecedented national and international prominence in the 1990s and yet was defunct by 2002. Folkloric Poverty examines the many challenges this, and other indigenous groups, face in trying to secure a foothold in the country's political and economic system. Meanwhile, political science professor Joyce Kaufman co-authored the book, Women and War: Gender Identity and Activism in Times of Conflict (Kumarian Press). Women and War examines how women respond to situations of national conflict and how conceptions of gender are deeply intertwined with ideas about citizenship and the state. As the authors show, women do more than respond to conflict situations; they are active agents in their own right shaping political and historical processes. Their conclusions encourage readers to rethink the prevalent assumptions of international relations, history, and feminist scholarship and theory.
