Laurels / Inside CSULB

John Bellah, University Police, saw his article titled “Vehicle Disposal 101” published in the January-February issue of Police Fleet Manager. In it, Bellah examines how to maximize the resale price of fleet vehicles to make their replacement less costly and painful.

James R. Curtis, Geography, has published a chapter, "A typology of Brazilian urban squares: Its application in the city of Manaus," in a 2005 anthology, Cities and Urbanism in Latin America, edited by Vicent Ortells Chabrera, Robert B. Kent and Javier Soriano Martí and published by Universitat Jaume I Press in Spain.

Paul Laris, Geography, gave an invited presentation at the UCLA Tod Spieker Geography Colloquium in February 2005. His talk was titled "Exploring the Scale Issue in Nature-Society Geography through a Study of Mosaic Fire Regimes in West Africa."

Joanne Tortorici Luna, Educational Psychology, Advising and Counseling, presented the juried paper "School Shootings in El Cajon: Lessons Learned" to the Eighth World Congress on Stress, Trauma, and Coping in Baltimore, Feb. 19. The paper was co-authored by Dr. Kendall Johnson.

Frederick Wegener, English, presented a paper, "Healing 'Heathen' Sisters: Discourses of North American Medical Missionary Women, 1870-1920," at the annual meeting of the American Studies Association in November in Atlanta. He also presented a paper, "'Master' Makers: The Early Jamesians and the Genealogy of Literary Reputation," and chaired a panel on "Edith Wharton and Secrets," at the Modern Language Association convention in December in Philadelphia.

Book Review

Measurement Theory in Action: Case Studies and Exercises

Daniel Webster and
the Oratory of Civil Religion

Craig Smith
Film and Electronic Arts
Center for First Amendment Studies

The University of Missouri Press published this examination of New England statesman Daniel Webster. His career is studied from the perspective of his speeches and how they created a civil religion that moved citizens beyond loyalty and civic virtue to romantic patriotism. Smith demonstrates that Webster understood how rhetorical genres function to meet the expectations of the moment and how they could be braided to produce long-lasting and literate discourse. Smith reviews Webster's excellence in ceremonial, forensic and deliberative oratory. “Men died in the Civil War speaking Webster's words,” Smith explained. “The eulogy for Jefferson and Adams in 1826 reinforced the importance of carrying on their legacy.” In his forensic speeches before the U.S. Supreme Court, he influenced decisions such as McCulloch vs. Maryland, that are still fundamental precedents to constitutional law. His deliberative or legislative oratory cemented the Union in its resolve to be inseparable. Smith also examines Webster's opposition to the war with Mexico, a set of speeches long ignored by scholars. “In all three areas of public address, Webster was outstanding,” Smith claimed. This is Smith's 17th book and the fourth in the last four years.