Archive - November 30, 2015

Several weeks ago I was reading The New York Review of Books and spotted a full page advertisement for new books published by the University of Minnesota Press. Glancing at the page one title jumped out at me. Contacting the press for a review copy of the book, I also sought out (and found) Molly Geidel in England where she is teaching American studies at the University of Manchester. Her official title is Lecturer in Twentieth Century American Cultural History in the Division of English, American Studies and Creative Writing. I am pleased to say, Molly agreed to be interviewed for our site and over the course of a few weeks, while I read her cultural history of the agency, I emailed  Molly a series of questions about her book and her study of the Peace Corps in the 1960s. I should start by saying that Dr. Geidel in her . . .

Whistleblower: Peace Corps Ignored and Then Blamed Sexual Assault Victims Peace Corps volunteers dedicate two years to serving others, but if they are sexually assaulted, one inside advocate says, they are blamed, shamed, and face removal from the program. And we have the emails to prove it. Internal Peace Corps documents and emails obtained by The Daily Beast from Congress indicate an appalling culture within the agency: where sexual assault victims stationed abroad on behalf of America are blamed; assailants are allegedly permitted to walk free without consequence; and the organization fails to fully support the Americans it posts abroad. Following the sexual assault of a Peace Corps volunteer in 2014, Peace Corps clinical psychologist Dr. Kris Morris issued behind-the-scenes “guidelines.” The message: Volunteers who continue to need help following a sexual assault are not Peace Corps material. “Demonstration of a need for ongoing therapy is an indication that she . . .