John Freie, a Le Moyne College political science professor (Ph.D., University of Missouri) discusses the exploitation of our longings for connectedness in Counterfeit Community (Rowman & Littlefield, 1998), a probing sociological work with both popular appeal and critical acclaim. In the wors of book reviewer Glenn Tinder (American Political Science Review, 1999) "the concept of counterfeit community is of genuine value": "...A counterfeit community, as the name suggests, is some sort of gathering place or group, perhaps a shopping mall or a housing project, which is ostensibly a community but in fact is not. For example, instead of cooperation, there may be mere uniformity, and rather than common participation, efficient management. We are all susceptible to the appeal of counterfeit communities because of our 'longings for connectedness.'" The concept of the counterfeit community, and the book of the same title, has made its way on to the required reading lists for many college courses, including "Sociology of the Community" (Petrzelka, Grinnell College, Spring 2001) and "Community Economy" (Graham, University of Massachusetts, Spring 2000).

Freie has enjoyed a prolific academic career, citing among his research interests a "civic education and democracy" and reports that he is "especially interested in finding new approaches to building democratic community." Ehrenfels recounts his experience with the book: "I first became aware of Counterfeit Community in 1999. As an e-display processing manager for a now-defunct Internet publishing company, it was my job to make books fully browsable online to help publishers sell more copies from their own web sites. We were engaged in a 100-book trial with publisher Rowman & Littlefield, and I could not help but thumb through Counterfeit Community from the moment it grazed my eyes. The title alone commanded attention, as I thought it descriptive of Psychology's academic and professional communities. So I reached out to Dr. Freie, who yesterday wrote to inform me that he 'liked what (I) was doing' and that he'd be 'honored' if I'd add him to my site."

Freie's list of publications include "A Dramaturgical Approach to Teaching" (Political Science and Politics, 30: 728-732), "Democratizing the Classroom: The Individual Learning Contract" (in Education for Citizenship, edited by Grant Reeher and Joseph Cammarano), "The Effects of Campaign Participation on Political Attitudes" (Political Behavior, 19: 133-156), "Methodological Belief in the University Classroom" (ESR Forum, 35: 89-91), "The Relationship Between Psychological Identification with Instructors and Student Ratings of College Courses" (Instructional Science, 11: 139-154), and "Minor Parties in Realigning Eras" (American Politics Quarterly, 10: 47-63). He is currently working on a book-length manuscript that explains how civic education can most effectively be taught at the college level.