Susan F. Hirsch is a cultural anthropologist in the School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University who has written widely on law and conflict. She is the author of "In the Moment of Greatest Calamity: Terrorism, Grief, and a Victim's Quest for Justice;" "Pronouncing and Persevering: Gender and the Discourses of Disputing in an African Islamic Court;" and the coeditor of "Contested States: Law, Hegemony and Resistance, " as well as many articles and book chapters.