On today's episode I speak with Dr. Tamara Bhalla, Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of American Studies at UMBC. Dr. Bhalla is also an affiliate faculty in the UMBC Asian Studies program. We also hear from Jean Kim, our very own podcast production assistant, about her role as a research assistant on Dr. Bhalla's forthcoming book on the cultural context of reading. Check out the following links for more information on UMBC, CS3, and our host: The UMBC Center for the Social Sciences Scholarship The University of Maryland, Baltimore County Ian G. Anson, Ph.D. Retrieving the Social Sciences is a production of the UMBC Center for Social Science Scholarship.  Our podcast host is Dr. Ian Anson, our director is Dr. Christine Mallinson, our associate director is Dr. Felipe Filomeno and our production intern is Jean Kim. Our theme music was composed and recorded by D’Juan Moreland.  Special thanks to Amy Barnes and Myriam Ralston for production assistance.  Make sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, where you can find full video recordings of recent UMBC events.