News & Events

Eight faculty members from four schools at Merrimack attended the Association for Interdisciplinary Studies conference in Amsterdam last semester. They include associate professors Luis Saenz de Viguera Erkiago and Cinzia DiGiulio of the World Languages and Cultural Studies Department, Civil Engineering Department assistant professor Cynthia Carlson, visiting associate professor Ellen Fitzpatrick, Women and Gender Studies Department professor Simona Sharoni, Graduate Education Department associate professor Susan Marine, Accounting and Finance Department associate professor Ana Silva, and Education Department assistant professor Laura Hsu.

Dr. George Heffernan, professor and chair of philosophy, recently published a chapter titled “Stein’s Critique of Heidegger on Temporality, Eternity, and Transcendence—with Special Attention to Conrad-Martius’s Contribution”. This volume is dedicated to the lives and legacies of Edith Stein (1891–1942) and Hedwig Conrad-Martius (1888–1966), two key figures in the early phenomenological movement.

Associate professor of communication and media Lisa Perks was cited as a source for an article in The Wall Street Journalon March 20, 2020 about what people are watching on TV while in self-isolation during thecoronavirus pandemic. Perks, who researches binge-watching and media-engagement, said media-marathoning can be a therapeutic coping mechanism.

Nancy Wynn, associate professor of visual and performing arts, chaired a panel, “Using ‘The Flip’: Why Your Students Want to Hear From You Rather Than YouTube,” April 6, 2017, at the eighth annual Foundations in Art: Theory and Education conference in Kansas City, Missouri. The panel presented papers on ways to integrate technology to allow students to learn, engage and get feedback quickly outside of class.

Mish Zimdars, associate professor of communication and media, has recently published a chapter in The Social Media Debate: Unpacking the Social, Psychological, and Cultural Effects of Social Media that focuses on how political disinformation masquerades as local news online and across social media.

Professor Dan Herda published an article in The Dubois Review, titled “Racist Torture and the Code of Silence.”

Assistant professor of communication and media, Melissa “Mish” Zimdars, was featured on Newsy television to discuss how more news sites are sharing partisan messages while “masquerading” as local news sites.

The Business of Emotions in Modern History is a peer-reviewed book that features a range of essays that explore the intersection of business and emotions throughout history, which includes an original work authored by Dr. Debra Michals, assistant professor and director of women’s and gender studies.

Simona Sharoni, professor of women’s and gender studies and director of theInterdisciplinary Instituterecently received theEminent Scholar Awardfrom the feminist theory and gender studies section of the International Studies Association (ISA). Sharoni has been an active member of ISA, one of the largest international academic associations, since 1991.

Philosophy professor William Wians has published a second volume of essays titled “Logoi and Muthoi,” exploring interdisciplinary connections between ancient Greek philosophy and literature. The chapters examine philosophical problems of knowledge and ethics in ancient writers, including Homer, Hesiod, Sophocles, Euripides, the pre-Socratics, the Sophists, Plato, Aristotle, and Lucretius. It is available on Amazon.com