Recently
Published Works from CSUS Faculty
Encuentros: Hombre a Hombre
(2001, California Department of Education)
Francisco
Reveles, professor of educational administration and policy studies
Rocket scientists and farm workers. Politicians and poets. Media anchors
and
construction workers. They’re all examples in the California state
department of education’s first Latino role model book. The book
is the result of a five-year effort by Sac State professor Francisco Reveles,
who worked with a group 30 Latinos to develop the new book. “A role
model isn’t someone who has had an easy life, a role model is someone
who struggled,” Reveles says. “This book deals with life management
and identity issues among Latinos.”
The book features interviews with various Latino role models illuminating
the struggles they faced and how they survived. “We worked on a lot
of themes like ‘What do we call ourselves: Latinos, Hispanics, Chicanos?’
We had some great debates fueled by positive energy,” Reveles says.
His book is part of a series: Mariposa for Latinas, Images
for African-American females, Visions for African-American males
and Generations for American Indians.
Changing Dreams and Treasured Memories: A Story of Japanese Americans in the Sacramento Region
(Sacramento Japanese American Citizens League, 2000, $35)
Wayne Maeda, professor of ethnic studies
When Wayne Maeda sat down to document the history of the Sacramento area’s Japanese Americans, he was surprised at what he learned about his own past. “It reawakened memories of what it was like growing up,” says Maeda, a Sac State alumnus and professor of ethnic studies.
The book, which was commissioned by the Japanese American Citizens League, tells the stories of the Japanese who settled in the region, from Vacaville to Penryn and south to Walnut Grove. Most of the text is devoted to second generation Japanese Americans and how the communities established themselves, such as by defining territories by the use of insider names. The Walnut Grove area, for example, was known as Kawashimo or “downstream” in Japanese, and Sacramento was Ofu, which includes the Japanese name for capital. “Each ethnic group in the Sacramento area could write a book like this,” Maeda says.
Women and the Holy Qur’an: A Sufi Perspective
(2001, M.T.O. Shahmaghsoudi Publications, $16.95)
Lynn Wilcox, professor of counselor education
In her years of research as a Sac State professor, author and practicing marriage and family therapist, Lynn Wilcox noticed a recurring theme in her work. “American women think Muslim women are treated terribly,” she says. “And yet, Muslim countries have had female heads of state and America has not.”
Wilcox, an internationally known expert in Sufi psychology with a background in Islam, counsels many Muslim women in search of social understanding. That led her on her own cultural quest.
“Muslim women are often confused about what within their concept of appropriate behavior is based in cultural traditions and what is based in Islam,” she says. “Their families tell them about certain expected behaviors and they assume the rule is based in Islam. To help them, I set out to find out: What does the Qur’an actually say about women?”