Sex and masculinity; new terrorism that is not all that new; a drug bust on Chicago’s South Side; a marketing formula to win elections; an insider’s look at Islamic immigrants in America. The list reads like a line-up of topics for any television talk show or a teaser of stories for the evening news. However, these titillating subjects are covered by timely books published recently by DePaul University faculty.

The new tomes offer fresh insight on a litany of hot issues currently in the news and the experts behind the scintillating scholarship are available for talk show appearances and news interviews. The following is a list of book synopses, contact information and statements of expertise for each of the authors (books listed in alphabetical order by author’s name):

“Sex and the Eighteenth-Century Man: Massachusetts and the History of Sexuality in America,” Beacon Press (2006)
Thomas A. Foster, assistant professor of history
Phone: 773/325-7470; email: tfoster4@depaul.edu

Foster’s provocative investigation of male sexuality, from the end of the Puritan age through the American revolution, debunks many historical beliefs about sex and identity during this period in American history. Through research that involved the use of court records, newspapers, sermons and private papers from Massachusetts, Foster shows how behaviors, desires and identities associated with eroticism were key components for colonial understanding of what defined masculinity.

The widely reviewed book examines how men, as heads of households, held ultimate responsibility for sex—not just within their own marriages but also for the sexual behavior of dependents and members of their households. Some of Foster’s findings challenge current views about the development of sexuality in the United States. Stereotypes believed to have originated a century later, such as that of the black rapist and the unmanly sodomite, are unearthed by Foster in his examination of 18th century society and the cultural norms of white male sexuality.

Foster’s areas of expertise include the history of sexuality, U.S. women’s history, gay and lesbian history, early American history, the American Revolution, gender, men/masculinity and the American founding fathers.

“Transnational Muslims in American Society,” University Press of Florida (2006)
Aminah Beverly McCloud, director of the Islamic World Studies program
Phone: 773/325-1290, office; mobile: 773/418-0295; email: amccloud@depaul.edu

McCloud’s book serves as a guide to understanding Islamic immigrants from the Middle East, South and Southeast Asia and Africa and challenges the predominant perception that Islam is monolithic and exclusively Arab. McCloud, a Muslim herself who has traveled extensively throughout the Muslim world, argues that there is no one immigrant Islamic community, but a multi-faceted and multi-cultural Islamic world. She offers an insider’s look at the ideals and practices that Muslims bring to the United States, how they view themselves as Americans and how they get along with each other and with indigenous American Muslims.

The book explores various Islamic communities through the stories of the people who comprise these communities and through the history of American-Islamic relations. The author addresses a plethora of sub-topics, including women’s equality, discrimination, rivalries among divisions of faith and problems related to immigration. Although much of the book was written prior to 9/11, her findings point to the events of the day and their subsequent impact on a community experiencing transition, chaos and fear.

McCloud is a world-renowned scholar whose areas of expertise are Islam in America, Muslim women, Islamic studies and Islamic archives, and the history, geography, politics, religion and philosophy of Islam. Her previous books are “African-American Islam” (1995) and “Questions of Faith” (1999).

“The ‘New’ Terrorism: Myths and Reality,” Paeger Security International (2006)
Thomas R. Mockaitis, professor of history
Phone: 773/325-7471; 847/525-8003, mobile; email: tmockait@depaul.edu

Mockaitis, who since 9/11 has distinguished himself as a television news analyst and expert on terrorism, believes that what is being labeled as a new brand of terrorism bears striking resemblance to past extremist movements and represents a “culmination of trends evolving over decades.”

“The ‘New’ Terrorism” examines the nature of the contemporary threat to the United States within an historical context designed to discern continuities and changes in terrorist behavior. Mockaitis’ ideas challenge the notion of a global war on terrorism and suggest that the U.S., or any threatened country, would be better served by developing a policy aimed at reducing the risk of terrorist attacks to an acceptable level at a reasonable cost.

Mockaitis’ expertise extends to domestic and international terrorism and counter-terrorism, especially in Northern Ireland, and including Al Qaeda, the Middle East and South Asia. He is the co-editor of a collection of essays titled “Grand Strategy in the War Against Terrorism” (2003) and a monograph titled “The Iraq War: Learning from the Past, Adapting to the Present and Planning for the Future” (2007).

“Winning Elections with Political Marketing,” Haworth Press (2006)
Bruce I. Newman, professor of marketing, co-editor of the book
Phone: 847/987-6932; email: Bnewman@depaul.edu
Philip John Davies, director, Eccles Centre for American Studies at the British Library; co-editor of the book

Newman and his co-editor set out to answer the question: What does it take for candidates to get elected on both sides of the Atlantic? At the same time, they provide rare insights into modern political communication in America and Britain. The book presents a cross-section of the latest research and addresses key issues that define the interplay between political marketing and the electorate. It examines the underpinnings of policy development, the characteristics of successful political candidates, political marketing from the perspective of the voters, campaign finance regulations and the effects of technological changes on political communication.

“Winning Elections with Political Marketing” outlines the successful marketing strategies used by political leaders from the U.S. and the U.K. during the last 25 years. In particular, and of most interest to readers in the United States, the book outlines how President George W. Bush relied on corporate crisis management and marketing techniques, as well as micro-targeting, segmentation and consumer research, to win both the 2000 and 2004 elections.

Newman is the editor of the Journal of Political Marketing and the author of several books on political marketing. His areas of expertise include voter behavior, candidate image, marketing of presidential candidates and the president, Internet marketing of candidates, campaign finance reform and international political marketing.

“Free Burning” (Fiction), Three Rivers/Crown (2006)
Bayo Ojikutu, instructor of English
Phone: 773/325-4730; 312/343-6076, mobile; email: bojikutu@depaul.edu

Tommie Simms, the success story of Chicago’s Four Corners—a neighborhood where drug sales and urban decay rein supreme—makes a series of bad choices after losing his white-collar insurance job. Facing defaulted credit cards, unpaid child care bills, eviction and marital strain, Simms is seduced into peddling dope and soon learns that college and corporate experience are not adequate preparation for hustling.

Hailed by critics as a cross between James Baldwin’s soulful song and the nightmare poetry of Louis-Ferdinand Celine, the book is dazzling in its use of language, while delivering a tough, gritty intensity.

Ojikutu earned a master’s degree in English from DePaul in 1999. Before entering DePaul’s writing program, he was awarded the Washington Prize for Fiction and the Great American Book Contest for his debut novel, “47th Street Black.” The honors earned him status as an incendiary new voice in contemporary American fiction.

“Instant Identity: Adolescent Girls and the World of Instant Messaging,” Peter Lang Publishing Group (2007)
Shayla Thiel Stern, assistant professor of communication
Phone: 773/325-7659, office; 773/396-3052, mobile; email: sstern2@depaul.edu

“Instant Identity” is heralded as the first book of its kind to explore the millennial generation’s prevalent use of instant messaging and its implications for the future. The book explains how girls use instant messaging—a primary mode of new media communication for their generation—in order to flirt, bond, fight and generally relate to peers in ways that both transcend and play into their culture’s dominant gender norms.

Stern’s method of research involved convincing teenage girls to give her copies of their instant messaging conversations and is considered groundbreaking for the study of digital media among teens. Her analyses of these conversations in light of feminist theory and cultural studies provides a unique vantage point from which to consider how profanity, gossip, sexuality, friendship, parental relationships and the negotiation of marketing messages continue to play important roles in the construction of teenage lives today.

Stern, the former editor of the Journal of Communication Inquiry, has published numerous articles focusing on teenage girls and the Internet and feminist media studies. Her areas of expertise are youth and new media, gender and new media, adolescent girls and media representation and online journalism.

“The Professional Communications Toolkit,” Sage Books (2006)
D. Joel Whalen, professor of marketing
Phone: 312/342-1043, mobile; email: jwhalen@depaul.edu

If the prospect of making a business presentation sends you into a cold sweat, Dr. Whalen has the cure. He has penned a how-to book designed to help professionals become more effective communicators—a critical skill for business success.

“The Professional Communications Toolkit,” presents a science-based debunking of common but foolish business communication practices in the 21st century and then provides proven techniques that will help both the novice speaker and the stage-savvy pro alike. The author covers skills for succeeding in a range of communications venues, from one-on-one business conversations, to small staff presentations and keynote addresses before large audiences. New technology also is covered, with advice for producing clear, high-impact PowerPoint presentations, and sending response-generating e-mails and voice mail messages.

An internationally recognized business communications authority, Whalen has expertise in sales, advertising, promotion, trade show and sports marketing, psychology of persuasion, business and social communication, negotiation, human resource communication, consumer perception, brand, patent and trademark disputes, entrepreneurial management and international business communication.