HSS Pub Fest 2026

The College of Humanities and Social Sciences will host its third annual HSS Pub Fest event on November 19 in the quad in front of the Humanities-Social Sciences Building.

The event celebrates the incredible publications of HSS faculty. Author interviews with HSS faculty members and Jessica Stern, dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, will begin at 9 a.m. under the big tent, followed by Author Talks at 1 p.m.

Explore campus resources that support research and publishing. Many of them will be tabling throughout the day from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Free pizza will be available for attendees who visit at least six tables, and free tote bags with any book purchase, while supplies last.

 

Order of Events:

9 AM - 11 AM - Author Interviews with Dean Jessica Stern

• 9:00 – 9:20 am
  • Professor David Adams, Department of Politics, Administration, and Justice
  • Navigating Water Quality Outcomes in American Watersheds 
• 9:30 – 9:50 am
  • Professor Stephen Neufeld, Department of History
  • Perilous Beasts: Mexican Necropolitics, Animal Deaths, and Blood Sports, 1870–1920
• 10:00 – 10:20 am
  • Professor Zia Salim, Department of Geography and the Environment, and Professor Nicole Seymour, Department of English, Comparative Literature, and Linguistics
  • “Wildfires, Landslides, and Earthquakes at the End of the World: Ecology, Environment, and Natural Disaster in the Los Angeles Imagination”

30-minute Break

11:30 AM - 12:30 PM - Author Interviews with Dean Jessica Stern

• 11:00 – 11:20 am
  • Professor Emily Kuffner, Department of Modern Languages and Literatures
  • Virginity in Early Modern Spanish Texts on Prostitution: Beyond the Virgin/Whore Binary
• 11:30 – 11:50 am
  • Professor Mario Obando, Department of Chicaca/o Studies
  • Coming of Age Soul Collection
• 12:00 – 12:20 pm
  • Professor Asya Harrison, Department of Psychology
  • “Reimagining assessment in the age of AI: A scenario-based debate approach to authentic learning”

30-minute break

1:00 PM - 2:00 PM - Research in Focus - Author Talks — introduced by Dean Stern

• 1:00 – 1:10 pm
  • Professor David Sandner, Department of English, Comparative Literature, and Linguistics
  • “Tomorrowland’s and New Frontiers: Los Angeles in Science Fiction”
  • “The Frankenstein Meme Experiment”
• 1:10 – 1:20 pm
  • Professor Patrick Covert-Ortiz, Department of American Studies
  • “The Necessity of Bob: Teaching Physique Pictorial in 2026”
• 1:20 – 1:30 pm
  • Professor Sarah Chavez, Department of Psychology
  • “Expanding perspectives on reducing harms from drinking in college: A qualitative study”

30-minute break

2:00 PM - 2:40 PM - Author Talks — introduced by Dean Stern

• 2:00 – 2:10 pm
  • Professor Ozgur Koca, Department of Religious Studies
  • Sadr al-Din Qunawi’s The Key to the Unseen: A Guide Book to Sufi Metaphysics 
• 2:10 – 2:20 pm
  • Professor Elaine Lewinnek, Department of American Studies
  • “Dying Young: Residential Desegregation and Racial Weathering, 1940–1970,”
• 2:20 – 2:30 pm
  • Professor Nancy Segal, Department of Psychology
  • “Monozygotic twins of different religions: Causes and consequences”
• 2:30 – 2:40 pm
  • Professor Igor Acacio, Department of Politics, Administration, and Justice
  • “The correlates of Brazil’s military expenditures, 1822–1945; Latin America, in Handbook of Security Sector Reform”

20-minute break

3:00 PM - 3:50 PM - Author Interviews with Dean Jessica Stern

• 3:00 – 3:20 pm
  • Professor Eddy Alvarez, Department of Chicaca/o Studies
  • "Water, Body, Memory: Expanding Jotería Pedagogies from the Classroom to the Swimming Pool."
• 3:30 – 3:50 pm
  • Professor Lana Dalley, Department of English, Comparative Literature, and Linguistics
  • “Structural Scarcity: Women’s Economic Writing and Epistemic Gaslighting”

 

For more information on CSUF, HSS resources, and local vendors, check out the links below!

Placentia Library

Patrons of the Library (Buy Used Books)

Titan Shops

Pollak Library

University Archives and Special Collections

Undergraduate Research Opportunity Center (UROC)

Social Sciences Research Center (SSRC)

Department of English, Comparative Literatures, and Linguistics

Department of American Studies

Department of African American Studies

Department of Sociology