The University of Arizona The University of Arizona Press

Skip to content
  • Books
  • News
  • Events
  • About
  • Open Arizona
Shoppoing Cart Cart

Open Arizona: Essays Offer Critique of Spicer and Kessell

July 9, 2021

We are pleased to announce the publication of two important new essays on our open access platform, Open Arizona. The essays bring together leading contemporary scholars to add perspective to formerly out-of-print works that have been republished on the site.

A key component of the Open Arizona project, which was funded by the Andrew W. Mellon foundation to make out-of-print books available as open access, is to add contemporary context to these works, some decades old. The newest essays are by Natasha Varner and Ignacio Martínez. These scholars offer perspectives framed by their expertise in history, Indigenous studies, and border studies. In thoughtful, individual essays, they address the works of Edward Spicer and John Kessell.

Varner’s essay “Social Science as a Tool for Surveillance in World War II Japanese American Concentration Camps,” addresses Spicer’s work Impounded People: Japanese-Americans in the Relocation Centers. The essay examines Spicer’s role during WWII in the community analyst program and his influence on applied anthropology, as well as some of the conundrums that emerged through this work.

Martínez’s essay “The Mission Frontier: A Universal Story of Human Engagement” addresses Kessell’s work Friar’s, Soldiers, and Reformers: Hispanic Arizona and the Sonora MIssion Frontier, 1767-1856. In the essay, Martínez explains why Kessell’s grand narrative of the Sonoran frontier requires updating.

Both essays are puplished open access and freely available.

More News

For Authors

The University of Arizona Press publishes the work of leading scholars from around the globe. Learn more about submitting a proposal, preparing your final manuscript, and publication.

Inquire

Requests

The University of Arizona Press is proud to share our books with readers, booksellers, media, librarians, scholars, and instructors. Join our email Newsletter. Request reprint licenses, information on subsidiary rights and translations, accessibility files, review copies, and desk and exam copies.

Request

Support the Press

Support a premier publisher of academic, regional, and literary works. We are committed to sharing past, present, and future works that reflect the special strengths of the University of Arizona and support its land-grant mission.

Give
The University of Arizona Press
University of Arizona Libraries

The University of Arizona Press
1510 E. University Blvd.
P.O. Box 210055
Tucson, AZ 85721-0055

Our offices are located on the fifth floor of the Main Library building, to your right as you exit the elevators.

Office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mountain Standard Time, Monday through Friday. (Arizona does not observe daylight saving time.)

Orders: (800) 621-2736 (phone)
Office: (520) 621-1441

  • About
  • Books
  • Contact
  • Events
  • News
  • Catalogs
  • Open Arizona
  • Authors
  • Booksellers
  • Educators
  • Librarians
  • Media
Privacy | University Privacy Statement
Follow Us FacebookIcon TwitterIcon
© 2025 The Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of The University of Arizona
  • About
  • Books
  • Contact
  • Events
  • News
  • Catalogs
  • Open Arizona
  • Authors
  • Booksellers
  • Educators
  • Librarians
  • Media