USC Rossier summer reading

Summer means downtime, a break from the bell schedule and more time to read! USC Rossier faculty plan to enjoy the time between semesters unwinding with a good book or three. From biographies and a history of the free market to a treatise on mortality to family book clubs, our professors have shared a few of the books they have lined up for the summer.

Brinell Anderson, Professor of Clinical Education
“I am reading Uphill: A Memoir by Jemele Hill. Growing up I loved watching sports and there were so few examples of African American women who were sports journalists. When Jemele Hill spoke out as a journalist in support of racial justice, my respect for her as not solely a journalist but also as a person, skyrocketed. She was willing to lose her status and professional privileges associated with ESPN to stand for and with her community by speaking truth to power. So, what better way to understand who and what has shaped Jemele than by reading her memoir.”

Yasemin Copur-Gencturk, Associate Professor of Education
“One of the books I’m planning to read this summer is Rough Draft Math by Amanda Jansen. Students are not willing to participate in discussions when they are not sure about their answers, and this book provides strategies to address this equity issue.”

Zoë Corwin, Research Professor
“This summer I’m looking forward to finishing reading The Three Mothers: How the Mothers of Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation. The care Anna Malaika Tubbs put into researching and sharing the mostly untold stories of three women who had a profound influence on the United States is palpable—and the book is beautifully written.”

Kim A. Ferrario, Professor of Clinical Education
“I’m reading The Way of Integrity by Marth Beck for the purpose of personal growth and healing. In her book, Beck shares a process to find our integrity, which includes a sense of purpose, emotional healing, and a way to “right size” our human struggles. Much of what plagues us—people pleasing, detrimental thinking, negative habits—all point to what happens when we are out of touch with what truly makes us feel whole.”

Laila Hasan, Professor of Clinical Education
“This summer, I am reading A Thousand Brains: A New Theory of Intelligence by Jeff Hawkins because it challenges me to think about how the brain produces intelligence and rethink old theories of intelligence. I plan on reading The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander to better understand the evolution of some U.S. laws that target social and moral injustices. The Power of Now: A Guide To Spiritual Enlightenment by Eckhart Tolle. I am a big fan of Eckhart, and his readings always support me in keeping centered in life.”

Eugenia Mora-Flores, Assistant Dean of Teacher Education
“My three older kids and I will be reading Yo No Soy Tu Perfecta Hija Mexicana by Erika L. Sánchez and Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow this summer for our mini-family book club. With my 10-year-old, we will continue discussing the Dogman series by Dav Pilkey and Big Nate series by Lincoln Peirce.”

Pedro Noguera, Emery Stoops and Joyce King Stoops Dean
“And Finally, Matters of Life and Death by Henry Marsh, Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande and Troublemakers: Lessons in Freedom from Young Children at School by Carla Shalaby. There will probably be others but this is a start.”

Morgan Polikoff, Associate Professor of Education
“Next on my reading list is The Man Who Ate Too Much, the biography of James Beard. I’m a big food guy and love fine dining and books about the food industry. This seems like a good beach/poolside read to me!”

Tracy Poon Tambascia, Professor of Clinical Education
“Besides summer beach reads (which are probably not worth discussing here), I’m reading Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps that Explain Everything by Tim Marshall. It’s a really accessible and interesting book about how natural features such as mountain ranges and coastlines can influence how governments make decisions about war, peace and geopolitical alliances. It’s fascinating! I’m also reading the Norton Guide to Equity-Minded Teaching, which was recommended by Tia Brown McNair at AAC&U, to up my teaching game!”

Julie R. Posselt, Associate Professor of Education
“I’m excited to read The Deluge by Stephen Markley, after meeting him at the LA Times Festival of Books. Like Octavia Butler’s amazing books, Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents, it imagines the world toward which we are headed, in which our interdependence and the social consequences of climate change cannot be ignored.”

Artineh Samkian, Associate Professor of Clinical Education
“I will be reading Mike Rose’s posthumous and final book titled When the light goes on: The life-changing wonder of learning in an age of metrics, screens, and diminished human connection. Mike Rose was my dissertation co-chair and each time I read his work, I am reminded of all the lessons he taught me and why I pursued a life and career in education. He taught me the deep value of humans, the complexity and wonder of learning, the importance of disrupting reductive binaries, and how to cultivate a commitment to our public institutions.”