Gregory MasonEmeriti

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I have long standing interests in literature, film, languages, and the pursuit of social justice. This has drawn me to interdisciplinary projects both in my teaching and in my research, and I have enjoyed the freedom given to professors at Gustavus to develop new courses, and to follow their unfolding interests. I am an English expat, and also a student of languages (German, French, Spanish, and a little Japanese). I have mostly taught courses in world literature, film history, peace studies, fiction and drama. I initiated the Peace Studies Program as a field of academic study at Gustavus and directed the program from 1985–2002. I have also led study abroad courses to England, Hawaii, and Mexico, and I have taught as a visiting professor at universities in England, Japan, and Austria. A recent successful January Term course I initiated focuses on appreciating the arts in the Twin Cities.

My creative and research interests have included filmmaking and film criticism, peace studies, especially focusing on the role of the arts and the humanities in fostering peace, and more conventional scholarship in fiction, drama and poetry. My edited volume Arrows of Longing (Ohio U Press, 1998) contains a twenty five year correspondence between Austrian poet Felix Pollak, and Anais Nin. My other writings have appeared in Contemporary Literature, Modern Drama, Peace and Change, Peace Review, Literature/Film Quarterly, East West Film Journal, and elsewhere.

Courses Taught