A Marianas Mosaic - by Ajani Burrell & Kimberly Bunts-Anderson (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A Marianas Mosaic: Signs and Shifts in Contemporary Island Life features authors in and of the Mariana Islands writing in voices that range from scholarly to poetic about the social, political, and cultural dynamics unfolding across the archipelago. This mosaic of perspectives touches on topics pertinent to contemporary island life including traditional healing, family trauma, sovereignty movements, local clothing brands, multimedia advocacy, spirituality, and more. This collection illuminates the complexity and beauty of the region and provides a deeper understanding of Marianas history and experiences.

Review Quotes

"As we embarked on this project, we had two primary goals. One was to meaningfully contribute to the intellectual and cultural mosaic of the Marianas. The other was to do so in a comprehensive fashion. To accomplish the former, we reviewed the existing literature on the region to establish what gaps we might help to fill. While substantial literature on the Marianas exists, and seems to increase in volume every year, much of this literature does not utilize an academic or scholarly approach. Consequently, while this collection is not exclusively a scholarly endeavor, a significant number of the contributions are scholarly in form and approach. Moreover, existing literature that does examine aspects of contemporary life in the Marianas often suffers from a lack of accessibility, whether sequestered behind publisher paywalls or accessible only in physical archives. In compiling these works, we sought to make a broad collection of writings on the Marianas available--in one accessible place-- to the people of the Marianas and beyond."--Ajani Burrell, A Marinas Mosaic Editor

About the Author

Kimberly Bunts-Anderson (Editor)
Kimberly Bunts-Anderson, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in the Social Sciences and Fine Arts department at the Northern Marianas College in Saipan where she has worked as a full-time faculty instructor for over a decade. She holds a Ph.D. in Linguistics and Psychology from Macquarie University, an M.Ed. in TESOL/TEFOL from the University of Sydney, and a B.A. in Mass Communications and Journalism from New Mexico State University. Her research interests include sociolinguistics, language cognition, and investigating how technology integration impacts higher education learning and teaching. Kimberly has published in several international academic journals and monographs. She first traveled to the Marianas in 1994 and fell in love with the islands and people. She returned with her family in 2006.

Ajani Burrell (Editor)
Ajani Burrell is an assistant professor at the Northern Marianas College, where he also chairs the Languages and Humanities Department and the Academic Council. He has published prose in several literary magazines and journals. When not working or writing, he enjoys traveling, spending time with his family, and all manner of outdoor activities.