USU Faculty Authors Publish 35 Books In 2020 Despite Pandemic

Though 2020 was full of unprecedented events, more books were published by Utah State University faculty authors than the year before. 33 faculty members published 35 books in 2020, producing two more titles than 2019.

This accomplishment was celebrated as part of the Office of Research and USU Libraries’ Research Week event.

In lieu of the Faculty Author Exhibition that normally takes place during Research Week, a pamphlet detailing the 35 books was sent to members of the USU community and is viewable on Digital Commons. A small display can also be found in the New Books Lounge in the Merrill-Cazier Library.

“We wanted to do something to celebrate this impressive achievement,” USU Dean of Libraries Bradford Cole said. “Publishing a well-researched book is hard enough without a pandemic, but it didn’t seem to slow these faculty members down.”

The books range from strictly academic, such as Advanced Quantitative Research Methods for Urban Planners by Assistant Professor Keuhyun Park, to narrative memoirs, such as The Cowgirl and the Racehorse: A Recovery by creative writing lecturer Ashley Wells.

Other titles include timely topics like the polarization of society described in Social Unrest: Resolving the Dichotomies of Me/You and Us/Them – The I-System of Human Behavior by Professor Derrik Tollefson. Social Unrest argues that at its core, social unrest is a conflicting me/you mentality mixed with one’s desire for us/them interconnectedness.

Like Social Unrest, His Dark Materials and Philosophy: Paradox Lost by Assistant Professor Rachel Robison-Greene delves into human psychology by analyzing the new hit TV series His Dark Materials. The book provokes questions about the way one thinks of humans as having bodies, minds and souls.

Many of the books will be used in classrooms at USU, as well as at other universities.

“The research conducted by faculty members is invaluable to USU,” Cole said. “It’s always amazing to see what they have worked on throughout the year.”

To view the works of USU’s 2020 faculty authors, visit https://issuu.com/usudigitalcommons/docs/2021_faculty_author_circular.