Kimberly Moffitt analyzes the Freddie Gray case and upcoming local elections on The Marc Steiner Show

Dec 3, 2015 / 2 minutes of reading

Kimberly Moffitt, an associate professor of American studies, was a guest on WEAA’s The Marc Steiner Show on November 30 to discuss several local and national topics in the news. Moffitt, who is a frequent guest host on the program, participated in roundtable discussions on topics ranging from local elections to media coverage surrounding the shooting at a Colorado Planned Parenthood clinic last week. In the local news roundtable portion of the program, Moffitt joined Luke Broadwater, a Baltimore Sun reporter, A. Rod Womack, author of Redwood and former owner of the Redwood Grill in Baltimore, and Richard Vatz, professor of rhetoric and communication at Towson University’s Department of… Continue Reading Kimberly Moffitt analyzes the Freddie Gray case and upcoming local elections on The Marc Steiner Show

Starting at Sparrows Point, humanities research amplifies voices and histories of Baltimore communities

Dec 1, 2015 / 4 minutes of reading

For 125 years, Baltimore’s Sparrows Point Steel Mill employed tens of thousands of steel workers and was a center of community life in the region. At one point the mill was the world’s largest steel producer, but after peaking in the 1960s it began a gradual decline, permanently closing its doors in 2012. Since then, UMBC students and faculty have worked to safeguard the heritage of the mill community and to amplify the voices and stories of Sparrows Point. This work has served as the springboard for a larger, ongoing project to preserve Baltimore history in neighborhoods across the city.… Continue Reading Starting at Sparrows Point, humanities research amplifies voices and histories of Baltimore communities

Jason Loviglio comments on boosting diversity in podcasting in National Journal

Nov 25, 2015 / 1 minute of reading

A National Journal article published November 23 examines why, even with the recent boom in podcasts, people of color are underrepresented among podcasters. Radio expert Jason Loviglio, associate professor and chair of media and communication studies, attended the 2015 Podcast Movement in Texas earlier this year and commented on a lack of diversity among podcasters at the conference. “It felt very mainstream white,” said Loviglio in the National Journal article. “What I saw at the conference did seem like the obstacles, or requirements, or trends, or culture of podcasting at that moment had the potential to marginalize minorities and people who lack capital for some of these things.” Because… Continue Reading Jason Loviglio comments on boosting diversity in podcasting in National Journal

A man with a beard and mustache wearing dark rimmed glasses and a blue suit and striped tie smiles at the camera, there are green trees in the backgound

Constantine Vaporis presents research at University of Pennsylvania Center for Integrated Study of Japan inauguration

Nov 25, 2015 / 2 minutes of reading

In conjunction with the inauguration of University of Pennsylvania’s new Center for the Integrated Study of Japan, Constantine Vaporis presented an invited talk that focused on his research about travel in Early Modern Japan and what it revealed about healing, discovery, and political obligation and coercion, among other elements of life during that time period. Vaporis, professor of history and director of the Asian studies program, teaches Japanese and East Asian history and has received numerous fellowships for research in Japanese history including a Fulbright Scholar’s Award and an NEH Fellowship for College Teachers. He is author of Breaking Barriers: Travel and the… Continue Reading Constantine Vaporis presents research at University of Pennsylvania Center for Integrated Study of Japan inauguration

Marjoleine Kars reveals the untold story of the Atlantic Slave Rebellion in the Dutch Caribbean

Nov 23, 2015 / 2 minutes of reading

Note: This story was updated on March 22, 2016. From 1763-1764, nearly 5,000 enslaved people in the Dutch colony of Berbice in South America rebelled. In studying the history of the rebellion on the surface, one might think it fits the pattern of many New World slave revolts. But as Marjoleine Kars discovered, an examination of the judicial records provides a much closer look into the internal dynamics of the rebellion. Kars, associate professor and chair of history, is currently finishing a book about the slave rebellion in Berbice. She recently published a paper based on her research in the February… Continue Reading Marjoleine Kars reveals the untold story of the Atlantic Slave Rebellion in the Dutch Caribbean

Jessica Berman presents research at prominent international symposium in Sweden

Nov 13, 2015 / 1 minute of reading

At a recent symposium held at Uppsala University, Sweden featuring prominent international modernist research, Jessica Berman, director of the Dresher Center for the Humanities and professor of English, presented an invited lecture about her research on transnational movements of people in the development of twentieth century media, with a focus on global radio. Berman’s talk “Radio Relations and Transnational Listening” examined listening in the early days of radio in India. She argued that the diverse nature of the radio environment that used several languages, particularly in programs sent out over the All India Radio airwaves, helped to create a community among the… Continue Reading Jessica Berman presents research at prominent international symposium in Sweden

UMBC education department, CADVC partner with Arbutus Middle School on environmental art outreach

Nov 12, 2015 / 2 minutes of reading

As part of an ongoing partnership with professional development schools, UMBC’s education department and Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture (CADVC) hosted Arbutus Middle School students and teachers on campus October 26 and Nov 2 to learn about environmental art and artists. During the program, students participated in an instructional session about artists Andy Goldsworthy and Scott Wade, learned about the elements of art, and defined terms such as ephemeral art and reverse graffiti, among other topic areas in environmental art. Students then learned about the process of creating nature journals, walked over to the Joseph Beuys Sculpture Park,… Continue Reading UMBC education department, CADVC partner with Arbutus Middle School on environmental art outreach

UMBC Theatre performs Voracious by Susan McCully

Nov 5, 2015 / 1 minute of reading

The Department of Theatre presents Voracious by Susan McCully, directed by Nyalls Hartman, running from November 19 through 22 in the Proscenium Theatre in the Performing Arts and Humanities Building. Obsessed with getting a 4-star review for his restaurant, Chez Rachel, Chef Jean-Jacques spies Suzanne Falmagne, the impossible-to-please restaurant critic, ordering in the dining room and snaps the staff into action. Mistakenly, the woman is actually Joanie, an amateur critic pretending to be the infamous Suzanne. Meanwhile, at the bar sits Ceely a “vegetarian” with a troubling, voracious appetite for Jean- Jacques and his blood sausage. As Joanie’s long-suffering boyfriend, Lawrence, begs for… Continue Reading UMBC Theatre performs Voracious by Susan McCully

Kuhn Library Gallery presents “They Fight with Cameras”

Nov 5, 2015 / 1 minute of reading

In conjunction with the exhibition They Fight With Cameras: Walter Rosenblum in WWII from D-Day to Dachau, the Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery presents public programs on Wednesday, November 11. A 12 pm film screening of Walter Rosenblum: In Search of Pitt Street will be followed at 6 pm by a talk given by Nina Rosenblum, film producer for Deadalus Productions, Inc. Admission is free. Complete information is available on the Arts and Culture Calendar here.

W.E.B. Du Bois Lecture: Linked fates and great expectations

Oct 28, 2015 / 2 minutes of reading

W.E.B. Du Bois Lecture Dinaw Mengestu, MacArthur Fellow, acclaimed novelist, and professor of English, Brooklyn College Wednesday, November 11 | 7 pm Performing Arts and Humanities Building, Earl and Darielle Linehan Concert Hall An Ethiopian-American novelist who has garnered widespread critical acclaim for his intimate depictions of the immigrant experience in America, Dinaw Mengestu was named a “20 under 40” writer by The New Yorker and received the National Book Award Foundation’s “5 under 35” Award for his debut novel, The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears. This novel tells the story of Sepha Stephanos, who fled the Ethiopian Revolution and immigrated… Continue Reading W.E.B. Du Bois Lecture: Linked fates and great expectations

Bryce Peake examines aural dimensions of debate over Confederate flag

Oct 2, 2015 / 2 minutes of reading

Bryce Peake, a new assistant professor of media and communication studies, recently published an ethnographic study he conducted with a colleague at Central Washington University on the September pro-Confederate flag rally in Washington, D.C. The article “Viral Landscapes in the Public Square: the Confederate Flag visits the U.S. Capitol,” was published on the Centre for Imaginative Ethnography’s website. As part of the study, Peake and his colleague Mark Auslander spent time interviewing participants on both sides of the protests and edited the audio interviews down to a five minute sequence of overlapping voices: “Reviewing the audio, we noted that it… Continue Reading Bryce Peake examines aural dimensions of debate over Confederate flag

Imagining America receives Phi Beta Kappa Key of Excellence

Oct 2, 2015 / 1 minute of reading

On Thursday, October 1 during the Imagining America National Conference, the Phi Beta Kappa Society presented the capstone Key of Excellence Award and its $10,000 prize during a reception at the Baltimore Museum of Art. The ceremony featured remarks from Johnnetta Betsch Cole, director of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art. In a press release announcing the award, Imagining America stated that “The Phi Beta Kappa Society created the Key of Excellence Awards to energize support for the arts and sciences because of their value to the nation. ‘The Key of Excellence showcases innovative programs that demonstrate the excellence, range, and… Continue Reading Imagining America receives Phi Beta Kappa Key of Excellence