College of Humanities​ and Social Sciences Faculty Publications​

Dr. DeFreitas Latest Publication
African American Psychology: A Positive Perspective

This innovative text is the first to examine the contemporary psychological experience of African Americans through the lens of a positive, strengths-based model. It combats the deficit perspective that has permeated the psychological literature about African Americans by focusing on the strengths that have facilitated their growth and resilience—while also considering existing challenges and struggles.

The author examines in depth the major areas of psychological research across family, peer, and romantic relationships, education, work, ethnic-racial socialization and identity, prosocial behavior and civic engagement, and the mental and physical health of African Americans today. African American Psychology: A Positive Perspective

Dr. Adam Ellwanger Latest Publication

Adam Ellwanger, Director of the Masters in Rhetoric and Composition Program and Professor of English, has published a new monograph, Metanoia: Rhetoric, Authenticity, and the Transformation of the Self with Penn State University Press. Charting the history of metanoia from its original use in the classical tradition to its adoption by early Christians as a term for religious conversion, Ellwanger shows that metanoia involves a change within a person that results in a truer version of him- or herself—a change in character or ethos. He then applies this theory to our contemporary moment, finding that metanoia provides unique insight into modern forms of self-transformation.

Timely and original, Ellwanger’s study formulates a transhistorical theory of personal transformation that will be of interest to scholars working in social theory, philosophy, rhetoric, and the history of Christianity.

Dr. Li's Latest Publication
Animal Welfare in China

In the last three decades, animal cruelty in China has attracted much international attention. Several factors may have contributed to this growing attention on the well-being of nonhuman individuals in China. First, it is China's openness to the outside world. China is one of the most frequently visited countries in the world. This openness has allowed people from outside the country to have a close look at people's lives, the country's stunning natural beauty, and how nonhuman animals are treated. "I wrote this book to debunk some of the outstanding misperceptions about Chinese culture and the so-called Chinese propensity for violence toward nonhuman animals. I argue in the book that China's past is not responsible for the problems of contemporary China." Animal Welfare in China