Mary Ann Lamanna is Professor Emerita of Sociology at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. She received her bachelor's degree Phi Beta Kappa from Washington University (St. Louis) in political science, her master's degree in sociology (minor in psychology) from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and her doctorate in sociology from the University of Notre Dame. She is the author of EMILE DURKHEIM ON THE FAMILY (Sage, 2002) and co-author of a book on Vietnamese refugees. She has published numerous articles in law, sociology, and medical humanities journals. Research and teaching interests include family, reproduction, and gender and law. Other research has concerned the sociology of literature, specifically "novels of terrorism," and a sociological analysis of Marcel Proust's novel IN SEARCH OF LOST TIME.