About the Essayists

Peter A. Harmer

Professor in the Department of Exercise Science. He views critical thinking as the foundation of his approach to teaching as it is at the heart of a liberal arts education. Professor Harmer is a Fellow of both the American College of Sports Medicine and the Research Consortium of AAHPERD.

Sammy Basu

Sammy received a B.A. and M.A. in political science from the University of Calgary, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in politics from Princeton University. His research and teaching interests encompass historical and thematic approaches to the study of Western political policy, with particular attention to mid-17th century English political thought, death, and humor. He is a distinguished fellow of absolutely no national or international associations and would like to keep it that way.

Arminda Lathrop

taught English composition at the college level for four years before taking the position of Communications Director and Project Coordinator for International Debate Education Association (IDEA) at Willamette University. After a good deal of time spent memorizing her job title, Arminda now coordinates international projects in an eclectic assortment of countries and enjoys traveling to far-off places that boast delicious and exotic entrŽes she cannot pronounce. Arminda can be seen roaming about the Willamette campus with a toy-sized mutt and a large man in a suit—her dog and husband, respectively.

Chris Hanson

A senior at Willamette majoring in English and minoring in sociology. He is the creator and editor of a popular satirical newspaper on campus, The Mill Stream Report, which has been published weekly for over a year. After graduating, Chris hopes to find a position in an independent newspaper and continue his various artistic endeavors.

Tobias Menely

Tobias received a B.A. in literary studies from Beloit College and a Ph.D. in English at Indiana University. An Assistant Professor of English at Willamette, he teaches courses on the literature and culture of the long eighteenth century. He is currently completing a book, Sympathy’s Kingdom: Sentimental Culture and the Birth of Animal Rights.

Warren Binford

Warren holds a B.A., summa cum laude with distinction, and an Ed.M. from Boston University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. She is an Assistant Professor of Law and Director of the Clinical Law Program at Willamette University College of Law where she also teaches international children’s rights. Professor Binford has traveled extensively to research, lecture, and publish on children’s issues and continues her advocacy for children and families through the university’s legal clinic. Her interest in freedom of expression stems from her familiarity with research suggesting that children are harmed by unbridled free expression and a concern that our society’s value of free expression, in too many circumstances, seems to trump the well-being of our children and other disempowered groups.

Joseph Kaczmarek

Graduated from Willamette University in 2007 with a degree in rhetoric and media studies and a minor in economics. He is now living and working in the Portland area. He has no firm plans for the future, but would not be averse to saving the world some day.

Douglas R. McGaughey

Completed his Ph.D. under Paul Ricoeur at the Divinity School of the University of Chicago. He is the author of a three-book trilogy in philosophical theology (1997), systematic theology (1998), and practical theology (2007). In 2006 he was among the prize winners of an essay contest sponsored by the Philosophy Research Institute in Hannover, Germany, on the theme “Does Moral Development Need Religion?” He has taught at Willamette University in the Department of Religious Studies since the fall of 1988.

Cassandra Farrin

currently serves as the Interim Director of Community Service Learning for Willamette University. After graduating from Willamette in 2005 with a B.A. in religious studies, Cassandra taught English in the shadow of Mt. Fuji for a year and learned about the people and culture of Japan. Following that, she served as the Campus Life Assistant at Tokyo International University of America, where her primary role was to assist TIUA students in integrating into an American campus. Besides traveling around the world, learning to cook exotic dishes, and dabbling in creative writing, Cassandra hopes to eventually pursue a Ph.D. in religious studies with an emphasis on the relationship between religion, culture, and society.

Rich Schmidt

used to attend Willamette but now he doesn’t any more. He exited in 2003 armed with an English degree, and now spends much of his time in the Hatfield Library, where he is in charge of Interlibrary Loan and Electronic Reserves. He plans on someday earning a Masters’, likely in library science. Despite his English degree, he can’t stand Shakespeare and relishes the fact that he will never again spend a week taking apart a poem line by line, word by word. His interests include playing and watching sports, examining popular culture, and eating.

Nathaniel (Nacho) I. Córdova

holds an M.A. and a Ph.D. in rhetoric from the University of Maryland, College Park. He teaches courses in contemporary rhetorical theory, Latino discourse, public moral argument, and race, ethnicity and the public sphere, and serves on the faculty of the departments of Media and Rhetoric, Latin American Studies, and the American Ethnic Studies. His primary areas of research revolve around issues of political subjectivity, public memory, religious discourse, and Puerto Rican political identity. Nacho writes and lectures on how public discourse mediates and negotiates political access and participation in society, and has worked extensively throughout his career on minority outreach and public awareness campaigns, including working as a project manager for the National Council of La Raza and other social service agencies in the Washington, D.C. area.

Shannon Lawless

graduated from Willamette University in 2007 with majors in English, philosophy, and Spanish. She now lives in Seattle, where she attends University of Washington School of Law. She enjoys hiking, swing dancing, and the pursuit of justice.