Faculty Profiles

Samuel McReynolds, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Department of Sociology

Samuel A. McReynolds, Ph.D. is founder and Chair of the Department of Sociology. He is also the Chair of the College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Assembly and the Coordinator of the Citizenship Program. He earned his doctorate from Cornell University in Developmental Sociology, and he holds an MA in Russian History from the University of Vermont. He earned his BA from the University of Virginia, where he double-majored in History and Government. Dr. McReynolds has taught a wide range of courses at UNE since his arrival in 1991. These include: Introduction to Sociology; Society in the Former Soviet Union; In the Still of the Light: Society in Black and White; Visual Sociology; Society Through Cinema in Latin America; Society in Latin America; Classical Social Theory; Environmental Sociology; and the Senior Citizenship course. He has also supervised numerous sections of the Sociology Internship.

Dr. McReynolds’ recent scholarship includes “Land Reform in El Salvador and the Chapultepec Peace Accord” published in The Journal of Peasant Studies, and “Frontiers, to Farms, to Factories: The Economic and Social Development of Vermont from 1791 to 1991" published in Vermont History. He currently has a manuscript, entitled “Civic Engagement and Social Capital: The Processes and Impact of Core Curriculum Citizenship Education at the University of New England,” under review in the journal Higher Education.

At first glance, Dr. McReynolds’ scholarship appears to be eclectic. There is extensive work on El Salvador, environmental sociology, eugenics, citizenship, and agriculture; a book on Russian history; and even a chapter on service learning co-authored with a marine biologist. He has also written numerous grants and presented several photographic exhibits. While there is diversity in his work, there are several major threads that tie it together. The first of these is perspective. His approach to scholarship is to try to understand the larger narrative. This is a foundation from his undergraduate and masters training in history that has been brought into his sociology. It is also a perspective from his training as a political economist during his doctoral studies at Cornell. Political economy is a sub-field in sociology that is focused on the social impacts of the macro political and economic forces that move societies. The combination of these perspectives is evident in his dissertation on the entirety of the Agrarian Reform in El Salvador. During the El Salvador civil war in the 1980s, he was a principle researcher in developing an agricultural census. He was responsible for managing over 6,000 interviews throughout the country. These data provided an opportunity unparalleled in land reform research in El Salvador. His work on the Peace Accords noted above is another effort to see the whole story.

His manuscript, “Revolution or Revulsion: Alexander Herzen and the Emancipation Process in Russia”, is another effort to see the big picture. It is an examination of what key intellectual thought needed to be done to handle the emancipation of several million impoverished serfs. Currently, he is working on a manuscript on the origins, history, and development of the field of environmental sociology that looks to capture and conceptualize the bigger picture.

A second focus of his scholarship is thematic. Most of this scholarship focuses on developing of rural societies domestically and in other countries. In El Salvador, he was looking at the impacts that land redistribution had on people’s lives. He also examined how that society was going to respond to the “outbreak” of peace. His work on eugenics examined efforts in Vermont during the depression to revitalize the “worn-out and inbred society.” Even his “Beginners’ Guide to Environmental Sociology,” which was published in Brazil, was geared toward helping scholars in a developing society build foundations in this field.

A third common aspect of Dr. McReynolds’ scholarship is that it has a distinct global focus. First, most of his topics are international in nature. His work has also been published in Portuguese (Brazil) and Spanish (El Salvador) as well as in the United States and great Britain. In addition, he has completed a book using primary sources in Russian. He has conducted fieldwork in Mexico, Central America, and Brazil. He has also explored land reform in Scotland. He has given a variety of presentations in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.

In reviewing global scholarship, Dr. McReynolds notes that one must make parallels with long-term science experiments. It takes time to build a lab and develop benchmarks over time. The same is true of international scholarship. In working in other cultures you must learn the language and maintain it. You must have the resources to travel. You must also have contacts in the field. You cannot simply drop in and start interviewing. As a result, it takes time to build the foundations of international scholarship. This is typically done over time with colleagues in universities and public agencies. But because these positions abroad are often more political than they are here, the personnel change more frequently and you have to begin again.

Finally, most of Dr. McReynolds’ scholarship has the potential of application. While it is clearly academic, there are policy applications in much of his work. For example, all of the scholarship on agrarian reform he has completed in El Salvador had strong implications for policy. Indeed, the work he did in the late 1980s and early 1990s had significant impacts on agricultural policy there.

His domestic scholarship has the same focus of application. His work on the Citizenship curriculum at UNE offers insights into what the program has accomplished and how it can be improved. His work in Vermont has been closely tied to economic and social policy in the state. Even his work on environmental sociology is meant to provide directions for improved understanding of the field and new directions for it. He has also collaborated with the Island Institute to produce the book, Sustaining Island Communities in Maine. The premise of the book was the recognition that community economy and ecology are inextricably linked. The lessons learned from encouraging sustainable island communities, in terms of economic security, ecological integrity, and quality of life, can provide a paradigm for other rural and island communities.

Beyond his written work, Dr. McReynolds is an avid photographer. He has taken over 15,000 images in his work in the field. “The photographs are not just for fun. They are part of my fieldwork. They bring a humanity to the numbers; they put a face to the poverty, and the problems I am addressing.” He has had six exhibits of his work, and he uses his visual material regularly in the classroom.

While teaching is his primary focus, scholarship is central to his work. Dr. McReynolds believes that scholarship is integral to good teaching. Scholarship keeps the professor’s mind primed for new information, methods, insights, and theories. Scholarship keeps alive the sense of exploration that is so important to demonstrate to students through teaching. In his field, or fields, of study, scholarship can contribute to the resolution of problems and provide new understanding of social relations. Scholarship can also be the creative component that makes the craft of professorship an art.

Faculty

Research

And

Scholarship

Activity

PUBLICATIONS

Books

Elizabeth A. DeWolfe, Ph. D., Associate Professor/American Studies, Department of History

(2004). Shaking the Faith: Women, Family, and Mary Marshall Dyer’s Anti-Shaker Campaign, 1815-1867. New York: Palgrave MacMillan, paperback edition.

Susan McHugh, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of English

(2004). Dog. London: Reaktion Books.

David Smith, Ph.D., Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy and Religion

(2004). Why We Lie: Evolution, Deception and the Unconscious Mind. New York: St. Martin’s Press.

(2004). Ed., with R. Haskell. Proceedings of NEI Conference on Religion, Cognitive Science and Evolutionary Psychology. Evolution and Cognition 10(1).

Articles

Michael Arciero, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Mathematical Sciences

(2004). Limits for Szego Polynomials in Frequency Analysis. Journal of Mathematical Analysis and Applications, Fall.

Amy M. Deveau, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry and Physics

(2004). Freistad, Gregory K., Jean-Charles Marié, and Amy M. Deveau. Stereoselective Mn-Mediated Coupling of Functionalized Iodides and Hydrazones: A Synthetic Entry to the Tubulysin γ-Amino Acids. Organic Letters 6(19), 3249-3252.

Brian Duff, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science

(2004). Duff, Brian, Mike Hanmer, Won-Ho Park, and Ismail White. Learning About Politics from History: Political Generations, Democratic Engagement, and Transformative Events. Working Paper published on the Web in CIRCLE Foundation and American National Election, May.

(2004). Duff, Brian, Mike Hanmer, Won-Ho Park, and Ismail White. How Good is This Excuse?: Correction of Over-Reporting of Voter Turnout in the 2002 Election Study.” Working Paper published on the Web in American National Election Studies Technical Report, April.

Kit Juniewicz, Ed.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Education

(2004). The Real World: Lets Connect. Journal of Maine Education, 28.

(2003). Student Portfolios with a Purpose. The Clearing House, 73- 77.

Dan Rothermel, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Education

(2004). It’s Conversation That Drives the Bus in the Writing Workshop. New England Reading Association Journal 40(1), 31-34.

(2004). Democratizing the Classroom: Literature Circles with Primary Documents. Pennsylvania Reads: The Journal of the Keystone State Reading Association 5(1), 32-43.

(2004). Sakofs, M. and Rothermel, D. A Skeptic Speaks: Transcending the Rule to Achieve Efficacy. Wisconsin State Reading Association Journal 45(1), 24-26.

David Smith, Ph.D., Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy and Religion

(2004). The Architecture of Self-Deception: Why Freud is Still Worth Taking Seriously. Entelechy: Mind and Culture, spring/summer.

(2004). A Walk on the Dark Side: Self-Deception in Psychotherapy. Psychotherapy in Australia 10(4), 12-15.

Ariel Yablon, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of History

(2004). An Argentine in Morocco. In Tingis, A Moroccan-American Magazine of Ideas and Culture (Fall).

Gregory Zogg, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Sciences

(2004). Burton, A.J., K.S. Pregitizer, J.N. Crawford, G.P. Zogg and D.R. Zak. Simulated Chronic NO3-Deposition Reduces Soil Respiration in Northern Hardwood Forests. Global Change Biology 10,1080-1091.

(2004). Zak, D.R., K.S. Pregitzer, A.J. Burton, and G.P. Zogg. Anthropogenic N Deposition and the Fate of 15NO3- in a Northern Hardwood Ecosystem. Biogeochemistry 69,143-157.

Book Chapters

Kit Juniewicz, Ed.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Education

(2003). Parents and Teachers Learning Together; Project RE-SEED; and “Real World” Connections. In Dodd, A.W. and J. Konzal, eds., How Communities Build Stronger Schools. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

John Lemons, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Environmental Studies

(2004). Lemons, J. (with coauthors), The Precautionary Principle in Environmental Science. In M. Martuzzi and J. Tickner, eds., The Precautionary Principle: Protecting Public Health, the Environment and the Future of Our Children (pp. 145-66), Copenhagen: World Health Organization.

David Smith, Ph.D., Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy and Religion

(2004). Freud and Searle on the Ontology of the Unconscious. In Psychoanalysis, Science and Epistemology, Albany, NY: SUNY Press.

Jennifer Tuttle, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of English

(2004). The Symptoms of Conquest: Race, Class, and the Nervous Body in The Squatter and The Don. In Montes, Amelia Maria de la Luz and Anne Elizabeth Goldman, eds., María Amparo Ruiz de Burton: Critical and Pedagogical Perspectives (pp. 56-72), Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.

(2004). Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s Domestic Western: “Woman’s Manifest Destiny” in The Crux. In Davis, Cynthia J. and Denise D. Knight, eds., Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Her Contemporaries (pp. 127-138), Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press.

PRESENTATIONS

Professional Presentations at Conferences

Elizabeth A. DeWolfe, Ph. D., Associate Professor/American Studies, Department of History

(2004). Shaker for Sale: Communities and Commodities. Invited presentation. Annual Shaker Seminar, sponsored by Hancock Shaker Village. Portland, ME. July 26.

(2004). A Guide to American Utopian Literature: The Shakers. Co-presented with Scott F. De Wolfe. International Communal Studies Association Triennial Conference. Amana, IA. June 29.

Paul Burlin, Ph.D., Professor and Chair, Department of History

(2004). Elias Bond in Hawai'i: 1841-1896. The Pacific Coast Branch of the American Historical Association Annual Conference. San Jose, CA, August 6.

Scott Greenleaf, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Mathematical Sciences

(2004). Polygonal Double Wulff Clusters Revisited. Mathematical Association of America’s Mathfest. Providence, RI. August 14.

Tim Gutmann, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Mathematical Sciences

(2004). The Burden of Mathematics. XXIV Annual Conference of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education. Toronto, ON. October.

(2004). Organizer, with Teri Murphy (Oklahoma State University) and Natasha Speer (Michigan State University) of PME-NA working group on TA Professional Development. XXIV Annual Conference of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education. Toronto, ON. October.

Kit Juniewicz, Ed.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Education

(2003). Science Education and The Real World: Let’s Connect. New England Educational Research Organization Conference. April.

Susan McHugh, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of English

(2004). Flora, Not Fauna: GM Culture and Agriculture. Genomics, the Arts, and Popular Culture Conference, Duke University. Durham, NC. November 6.

(2004). Frankenstein’s Dogs or, Fictions of Lab Science. Society for Literature, Science, and the Arts Conference, Duke University. Durham, NC. October 14.

Richard Peterson, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Studies

(2004). Seeing (and Doing) Conservation Through Cultural Lenses. Center for Tropical Ecology and Conservation Fall Conference entitled “Conservation Without Borders: The Impact of Conservation on Human Communities.” Antioch New England Graduate School, Keene, NH. October 9.

(2004). Moderated panel on Cultural Lens Approaches to Conservation. Center for Tropical Ecology and Conservation Fall Conference. Antioch New England Graduate School, Keene, NH. October 9.

(2004). Presented on panel for final session, “The Way Forward.” Center for Tropical Ecology and Conservation Fall Conference. Antioch New England Graduate School, Keene, NH. October 9.

Ariel Yablon, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of History

(2004). Revolutionary Mobilization and Nation-State Building in Buenos Aries, Argentina, 1880. Congress of the Canadian Association of Latin American and Caribbean Studies. Guelph, ON. October.

Gregory Zogg, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Sciences

(2004). Differential Response of Low and High Marsh Soil Respiration to Nutrient Additions. The New England Estuarine Research Society Annual Fall Meeting. Block Island, RI. October.

Invited Public Talks

Ali Ahmida, Ph.D., Professor and Chair, Department of Political Science

(2004). Assessing Conflict Resolution in Africa: The Horn and North Africa. UN-SC. New York, NY. June 7.

(2004). Libya and the Prospects for Democracy. Watson Institute for International Branches, Brown University, May 5.

(2004). “The Origins of Libyan Civil Society. Libyan Studies Center. Tripoli, Libya. August 8.

(2004). The United Nations Security Council and Conflict Resolution in Africa: A UNE Professor’s Experience. University of New England. Biddeford, ME. October 6.

Elizabeth A. DeWolfe, Ph. D., Associate Professor/American Studies, Department of History

(2004). History, Mystery, and the Allure of the Future. The Last Great Lecture Series, University of New England. Biddeford, ME. November 2.

(2004). Fighting Pious Frauds and Base Deceptions: Anti-Shakerism in New England. Annual Hall Memorial Lecture, Bethel Historical Society/Regional History Center. August 13.

Brian Duff, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science

(2004). Meaning from Children, Authoritarianism, and other Complications. Center for Political Studies, University of Michigan. Ann Arbor, MI. November 12.

Susan McHugh, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of English

(2004). Animal Advocacy and the Case of the Fake Maine Woman Writer. Maine Women Writers Collection Spring Lecture Series, University of New England. April 15.

David Smith, Ph.D., Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy and Religion

(2004). ‘Why We Lie’ Skeptics. Distinguished Science Lecture Series, California Institute of Technology. October 24.

EDITORIAL

Editorial Manuscript Review Board of Professional Journal

Susan Gray, Ed.D., Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Mathematical Sciences

(2004). External reviewer of mathematics-related articles submitted to the journal Research and Teaching in Developmental Education.

Manuscript Review for Book Publisher

Kit Juniewicz, Ed.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Education

(2004). Review of “The Nature and Nurture of Learners” for Houghton Mifflin, September.

(2003) For Allyn & Bacon, reviews of “Better Teaching Through Better Assessment,” January; “Managing to Teach,” May; and “Educational Psychology: A Problem-Based Approach,” June.

MASS MEDIA

Editorials

Paul Burlin, Ph.D., Professor and Chair, Department of History

(2004). Standing Small By Comparison. Insight feature article, Maine Sunday Telegram, October 24.

Interviews by Mass Media

Ali Ahmida, Ph.D., Professor and Chair, Department of Political Science

(2004). Indigo Film/History Channel interview for the film “The Battle of Tripoli.” Aired Sunday, September 19.

Susan McHugh, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of English

Interviewed by the Portland Press Herald on “Canine Culture.” October 21.

David Smith, Ph.D., Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy and Religion

(2004). “Radio Health Journal,” October.

(2004). WCSH TV, “207.” October.

(2004). Across the Board magazine. September.

(2004). Maine Sunday Telegram. August 29.

(2004). WILL Illinois, “Afternoon Magazine.” August 20.

(2004). Wisconsin Public Radio, “Ideas Network.” August 10.

(2004). Maine Public Radio, “Maine Things Considered.” July 30.

(2004). WMPG Maine, “Fore River Gazette.” July 29.

(2004). Radio America, World Net Daily. July 7.

(2004). WOR 710 AM, Dr. Ronald Hoffman, “Health Talk.” July 6.

(2004). Fox News Live. July 5.

GRANTS AWARDED

Internal

Frank Daly, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Sciences

(2004). CAS Dean’s Faculty Mini-Grant for the project entitled “Melanopsin in the Eye of the Nassau Grouper, Part 3.”

Amy M. Deveau, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry and Physics

(2004). CAS Research Mini-Grant for the project entitled “Tryptophan-Based Homodimers as DNA Intercalators.”

(2003). CAS Faculty Development Grant for the purchase of reference materials for research.

(2003). CAS Faculty Development Grant for “Speaker Initiative in Medicinal Chemistry.”

Elizabeth A. DeWolfe, Ph. D., Associate Professor/American Studies, Department of History

(2004). UNE Mini-Grant for continuing research on the murder of Mary Bean, Saco Biddeford mill girl

RESEARCH PROJECTS WITH STUDENTS

Research Projects

Frank Daly, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Sciences

(2004). With student Heather Bradford, Biology Honors Program. Melanopsin in the Eye of the Nassau Grouper. Continuation of a study to explore the retina of this Caribbean fish to establish anatomical evidence of a second light pathway regulating reproductive behavior.

Amy M. Deveau, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry and Physics

(2004-5). With Biochemistry majors Ed Haberli (’05) and Tara Verville (’06), and in collaboration with Ed Bilsky, Ph.D. (COM, Pharmacology). The Design and Synthesis of Naltrexone Derivatives for the Treatment of Narcotic Withdrawal.

(2004-5). With student Justin Poissant (Medical Biology, ’05). Synthesis of Phenylaziridine Derivatives by Reductive Aziridination: Selection and Scope of the Reducing Agent.

(2004-5). With students Diana Blake and Ed Doherty (Medical Biology, ’05). Progress Towards the Synthesis of Tryptophan-Based Homodimers as DNA Intercalators.

COLLABORATIONS

With Colleagues and Institutions External to UNE

Elizabeth A. DeWolfe, Ph. D., Associate Professor/American Studies, Department of History

(2004). With the curator of Hancock Shaker Village, the Special Collections archivist from the Center for Communal Studies (University of Southern Indiana) and Shaker book specialist Scott De Wolfe, organized and directed the annual meeting of the Communal Studies Association, held at Hancock Shaker Village in September. The three-day meeting brought 150 scholars of intentional communities together for scholarly papers, presentations, and other events.

(2004). With the staff of the Amana Colonies museum, and scholars at the University of Kansas and Yad Tabenkin (Israel), arranged the program for the International Communal Studies Association triennial meeting, held at the Amana Colonies, Iowa, June. The conference brought together 75 scholars and communitarians from North America, Australia, New Zealand, Israel and Europe.

Susan Gray, Ed.D., Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Mathematical Sciences

(2004). Ongoing collaboration with mathematics faculty at Merrimack and Regis Colleges in Massachusetts on a long-term research project investigating college students’ interpretations of the concept of mathematical variable.

Kit Juniewicz, Ed.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Education

(2004). Collaborated with Westbrook and Windham School Systems in writing a 21^st Century Community Learning Center grant proposal. This has been funded and implementation has begun.

(2004). As a member of the Board of Directors for the American Educational Research Association, served on program committee and is developing a student chapter.

(2004). As a member of the Board of Directors of Pride’s Corner Nursery School, presents ongoing workshops for teachers.

(2003). Reviewer for American Educational Research Association Conference.

John Lemons, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Environmental Studies

(2004). Participant with Conference of the Parties (COP-10) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Buenos Aires, Argentina, including Pennsylvania Consortium for Interdisciplinary Environmental Policy, Center for Applied Ethics at Cardiff University, IUCN Commission on Environmental Law, and Tyndall Center for Climate Research.

Richard Peterson, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Studies

(2004). As Adjunct Professor, Department of Environmental Studies, Antioch New England Graduate School, taught workshop on Qualitative Research Methods for ES 776 Dissertation Seminar, November 6-7.

(2004). Antioch New England Graduate School, member of Ph.D. committee for dissertation entitled “Biodiversity Conservation in National Parks: Beyond the Debate,” and is informally advising several other ANE Master’s and Doctoral students in Environmental Studies.

Jennifer Tuttle, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of English

(2003-4). Selected and provided scholarly introductions for material from the Maine Women Writers Collection, recorded for radio by the Rocky Coast Radio Theater. Three 1-hour episodes, “Choosing a Husband” (a play), “Short Stories,” and “Nature and the Environment,” will be aired on Maine Public Radio in early 2005.

ITEMS OF INTEREST

Elizabeth A. DeWolfe, Ph. D., Associate Professor/American Studies, Department of History

(2004). Awarded the Fairfield Award for Saco History in recognition of ongoing work on the murder of Mary Bean, July.

(2004). Received an “Honorary Alumni” award from the Westbrook College Alumni Association, June.

(2004). Honored to receive the Kenneally Cup, May.