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Background:
Born and raised in Minnesota.
B.A. in Mathematics, Bethel College, Minnesota, 1983.
M.A. in Sociology, University of Chicago, 1989.
PhD in Jurisprudence and Social Policy, UC-Berkeley, 1996.
Postdoc, Program on US-Japan Relations, Harvard University, 1996-97.
Recipient of two Fulbright grants, three book awards, a UH Regents Award for excellence in teaching, and the affection of some fine dogs.
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Advising:
Read good books. One good book is "Conscientious Objections" (1988) by Neil Postman. Postman says that teachers should "abandon our vague, seemingly arrogant, and ultimately futile attempts to make [students] intelligent" and concentrate instead on "helping them avoid being stupid." According to Postman, three things can be said about stupidity: everyone practices it (including teachers); it is reducible; and it is chiefly embodied in talk. If Postman is right--and I believe he is--then teachers should try to relieve students (and themselves) from the pains of practicing stupid talk and being victimized by it.
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Research:
The Japanese Way Of Justice: Prosecuting Crime in Japan (Oxford University Press, 2002). Received best book awards from the American Society of Criminology and the American Sociological Association.
The Next Frontier: National Development, Political Change, and the Death Penalty in Asia (Oxford University Press, 2009, with Franklin Zimring). Received Distinguished Book Award Honorable Mention, American Society of Criminology Division of International Criminology.
Koritsu Suru Nihon no Shikei [Japan's Isolated Death Penalty] (Gendai Jinbunsha, 2012).
I mainly do research about law and society in Japan, focusing on criminal justice and capital punishment.
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