Mason Welcomes Prospective Students to Fall Premiere

College Faculty Speak to Students

Mason Welcomes Prospective Students to  Fall Premiere

Members of the college faculty address prospective students and parents at the annual Mason Fall Premiere, an admissions open house scheduled for Saturday, November 13, 2010.  Professors Brian Platt of History and Art History and Jeffrey Mantz of Sociology and Anthropology deliver brief lectures related to their fields of studies.  The lectures are included in the event as a way for prospective applicants and families to learn more about the educational experience at Mason.

Brian Platt, chair of History and Art History, is a specialist in Japanese history, with a research focus on the 18th and 19th centuries.  His current research project deals with historical commemoration and autobiography in 18th and 19th century Japan.  His topic is "Western Imperialism and Japanese Jihad" and he will discuss ways in which  jihad can be seen in Japanese visual culture.

Jeffrey Mantz, professor in Sociology and Anthropology, has conducted research in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Caribbean on the political, economic, and cultural changes underlying the digital age. His research interests include political economy, religion and the supernatural, and science and technology. His topic is "Zombies … They’re Everywhere: The Zombie Problem in Cross-Cultural Perspective."

Abstract for Platt's Talk

Like many nations in the nineteenth century, Japan faced the threat of Western Imperialism. Although it was able to weather that threat by building a strong nation-state, amidst the crisis of the 1930s many in Japan articulated a form of jihad against Western Civilization. In this presentation we will look at how that jihad can be seen in Japanese visual culture.

Abstract for Mantz' Talk

There has been an explosion of popular culture around themes related to the undead. The undead are hardly new, having haunted us for millennia. References to zombies and other undead figures can in fact be found around the world through much of human history. Still, the frenetic, ravenous pace with which we have recently come to consume this particular genre is quite novel. What is it about the fast paced, digital-age environment within which we currently live that feeds our fascination with the walking dead?

Photo and thumbnail image by Creative Services.