The English Department proudly introduces Ben Gatling as its newest full-time faculty member. Please join us in welcoming him to Mason.
What was the subject/title of your dissertation, or, what is your research/area of interest?
My current research explores how Muslims in Central Asia use expressive culture to carve out political agency and construct what it means to be Muslim in the post-Soviet context.
Why are you interested in what you do?
Folklore is central to formations of identity, presentations of self, and strategies of control and resistance. In short, folklore often functions as a space for communities to reflect on the worlds in which they live.
What were you doing before you came to Mason?
I was a postdoctoral lecturing fellow in the Thompson Writing Program at Duke University.
What is your life like outside the classroom? Tell us a little bit about who you are.
I have three young children. So, most of my time outside of the classroom involves things like playing at parks, building blocks, and watching preschool tv.
What courses you are teaching this coming Spring?
I’m teaching Introduction to Folklore and Folklife (ENGH 315) and The Ethnography of Communication (ENGH 591).
November 18, 2014