Following are Gustavus Adolphus College faculty members who are available to speak within their areas of expertise, with journalists to provide additional depth and understanding for future stories.
Politics
Chris Gilbert, Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Political Science for Gustavus is an expert on religious institutions and minor parties in the U.S. and the impact of churches on political behavior. Gilbert has published books on religious institutions and minor parties in the U.S. and the impact of churches on political behavior. He has also published articles on third party candidates, Christian conservatives in Minnesota and partisan behavior. He published two books in 2002, one on clergy and politics and another on Jesse Ventura. Gilbert also serves as a political analyst for Minnesota Public Radio.
Religion in American Culture
Darrell Jodock, Professor of Religion for Gustavus, can comment on Lutheran studies, history of Christian thought, history of Jewish-Christian religion, religion in American culture, Holocaust, and Jewish-Christian relations. Jodock's honors include the Wallenberg Tribute for his role in founding the Institute for Jewish-Christian Understanding. He has written papers examining the Lutheran tradition and liberal arts college, the influence of John Updike's Lutheran roots, the authority of the Bible and Roman Catholic Modernism (1890-1914).
Contemporary Culture and Global Terrorism
Karen Larson, Professor of Anthropology and Interdisciplinary Studies for Gustavus, can comment on mental health in America, terrorism, indigenous issues, depression, sociolinguistics, symbolic anthropology, Scandinavian ethnography, women and crime, women and the criminal justice system. Larson is a cultural anthropologist with research background and investigative experience in dealing with terrorists attacks in the United States. She has studied, written about, or commented on the Unabomber case, the Oklahoma City bombing, abortion clinic bombings, the Columbine High School incident, and events since September of 2001. She taught a seminar on global terrorism in 2002. Her current work addresses terrorism as an ongoing pattern, collective mental health, shifting symbols and values in contemporary culture and their implications for behavior in a well-adapted post 9/11 culture.
Reality Television
Leila Brammer, Assistant Professor of Communication Studies at Gustavus, is an expert in gender and communication, rhetorical criticism, feminist rhetoric and portrayals of women in the media. Brammer has taught a January Term course called "Images of Women in the Media" and presented workshops on women in the media, with an emphasis on body image. She has written articles about reality television and its impact on contemporary culture. Brammer has also written a book on early feminists.
Speech Analysis
Terrence Morrow, Associate Professor and Chair for the Department of Communication Studies for Gustavus, can analyze presidential speeches and comment on legal ethics with an emphasis on legal advocacy and free speech/media. Morrow worked as a lawyer in California and Minnesota before becoming a college professor. Morrow has published articles on the Constitution ratification debate, George Washington and on the history and practice of legal argumentation. He has also given presentations on legal and forensic oratory and interpretations of past speeches.
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