UMBC hosts Imagining America 2015 with local partners

Oct 1, 2015 / 3 minutes of reading

Educators, cultural leaders, and activists from across the country will convene in Baltimore this week for the Imagining America National Conference, hosted by UMBC. This groundbreaking four-day gathering asks how, in the wake of the Baltimore Uprising, the arts, humanities, and design can help our city heal and grow. At its core, Imagining America emphasizes the power of many voices coming together to envision our nation’s future, engaging with topics like race, inequality, and community-based approaches to spur collective action. UMBC was selected as host thanks to a track record of powerful civic work and commitment to fostering innovative, engaged… Continue Reading UMBC hosts Imagining America 2015 with local partners

Maurice Berger, CADVC, latest “Race Story” column in The New York Times

Sep 22, 2015 / 1 minute of reading

In the latest essay for his Race Stories column in The New York Times, published September 17, Maurice Berger, research professor at the Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture, examines the work of photographer Marion Palfi and her relatively unknown photo book, There Is No More Time: An American Tragedy. “Juxtaposing portraits,” says Berger, “Ms. Palfi’s written observations and interview excerpts, There Is No More Time chronicles the many faces and viewpoints of white supremacy in Irwinton: the obedience to God and family; the religious and pseudoscientific justifications for believing that black people were inherently inferior; the resentment of outside intervention… Continue Reading Maurice Berger, CADVC, latest “Race Story” column in The New York Times

Susan McCully, Theatre, Discusses her new play, Kerrmoor, with Baltimore Sun

Sep 22, 2015 / 1 minute of reading

Susan McCully, Theatre, was highlighted in a September 19 article, “Women’s Voices Theater Festival aims to level the playing field,” by Tim Smith of The Baltimore Sun. Her play Kerrmoor will be premiered at the multi-city festival, running from October 29 through November 15, and will be directed by Eve Muson (Theatre) and acted by Katie Hileman (’12, Theatre). “I just decided to be brave and write about Appalachia, where I come from,” McCully explained to Smith. “It’s a place full of amazing, noble people who are all about sacrifice, and at the same time are insular and xenophobic. It’s a dangerous mix. [Kerrmoor]… Continue Reading Susan McCully, Theatre, Discusses her new play, Kerrmoor, with Baltimore Sun

Eric Dyer, Visual Arts, at the Baltimore Museum of Art

Sep 16, 2015 / 1 minute of reading

Eric Dyer, associate professor of Visual Arts, will be among six artists featured in an exhibition at the Baltimore Museum of Art that celebrates the winners of the 2014 and 2015 Baker Artist Awards. The exhibition opens Wednesday, September 16 and closes Sunday, November 15, with an opening reception on Thursday, September 17. Professor Dyer was the recipient of the 2015 Mary Sawyer Baker Prize, which included a $25,000 cash award. Read more about the exhibition here and the Baker Awards here. Dyer’s creations explore a variety of cyclic ideas and themes through zoetrope-like sculptures, several of which can be viewed on… Continue Reading Eric Dyer, Visual Arts, at the Baltimore Museum of Art

First Annual David W. Smith Gala

Sep 16, 2015 / 2 minutes of reading

The campus community is invited to the inaugural gala fundraising event for the David W. Smith Scholarship for Vocal Arts. This fund seeks to honor the memory of David W. Smith, an extraordinary singer and a brilliant and dedicated UMBC professor, through its support of young singers pursuing degrees at UMBC. The event will be a concert featuring the amazing bass-baritone, Simon Estes, as well as David’s beloved Camerata and UMBC alumni. A small reception will follow the concert. The first half of the program will feature a collaboration of alumni, faculty and staff who worked with David Smith and will include art… Continue Reading First Annual David W. Smith Gala

CADVC’s “Where Do We Migrate To?” exhibition travels to Sweden

Sep 16, 2015 / 2 minutes of reading

The exhibition Where Do We Migrate To?, organized by the Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture and curated by Niels Van Tomme, is traveling to Sweden, where it will open on Saturday, September 19, at the Värmlands Museum in Karlstad, remaing on display through February 22, 2016. The exhibition explores contemporary issues of migration as well as experiences of displacement and exile. Situating the contemporary individual in a world of advanced globalization, the artworks address how a multiplicity of migratory encounters demand an increasingly complex understanding of the human condition. As such, the exhibition allows multiple perspectives about its subject… Continue Reading CADVC’s “Where Do We Migrate To?” exhibition travels to Sweden

Jason Loviglio, Media and Communication Studies, Analyzes Podcast Movement 2015 in Antenna

Sep 4, 2015 / 2 minutes of reading

Last month, more than 1,000 podcasters gathered in Texas for the second annual “Podcast Movement” to discuss the latest in the industry. Jason Loviglio, associate professor and chair of media and communication studies, published a first-hand account of his experience at the conference in Antenna, a popular media and cultural studies blog. Loviglio, who is an expert in media history and radio studies, wrote in great detail about the various conference sessions which ranged from an awards session presented by the “Academy of Podcasting” to the keynote address by Sarah Koenig of the overwhelmingly popular podcast Serial. “Koenig’s talk was exquisitely… Continue Reading Jason Loviglio, Media and Communication Studies, Analyzes Podcast Movement 2015 in Antenna

Fall 2015 Big Prize Poetry Slam (10/9)

Sep 4, 2015 / 1 minute of reading

Fall 2015 Big Prize Poetry Slam Friday, October 9, 2015 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM Performing Arts & Humanities Building : Atrium Slam BIG and win BIG at the fourth annual Poetry Slam hosted by the English Department this year on October 9 from 6:00 to 8:00 PM in the Performing Arts & Humanities Building Atrium. You will not want to miss this momentous event. A first prize of two hundred dollars will go to the winner of this dazzling, high-energy slam. There are second and third place prizes too for students and alumni sharing their original work, scored by… Continue Reading Fall 2015 Big Prize Poetry Slam (10/9)

Humanities Forum: Dear White People: Film Screening and Conversation (9/24)

Sep 4, 2015 / 1 minute of reading

Humanities Forum Kimberly Moffitt, Dresher Center fellow and associate professor of American studies, UMBC Damon Turner, adjunct professor in Africana studies, UMBC and PhD Candidate in African American history, Morgan State University Thursday, September 24 | 7 pm Performing Arts & Humanities Building : Rm. 132 The film Dear White People follows the lives of four black students at an Ivy League college. Director and writer Justin Simien says, “My film is about identity. It’s about the difference between how the mass culture responds to a person because of their race and who that person understands themselves to truly be.… Continue Reading Humanities Forum: Dear White People: Film Screening and Conversation (9/24)

Fall 2015 Medieval and Early Modern Studies Lecture (9/24)

Sep 4, 2015 / 2 minutes of reading

Digital Humanities and Imagining Medieval Women’s Lives: Putting Marriage and Sex on the Internet Shannon McSheffrey, Professor, Department of History, Concordia University, Montreal Thursday, September 24 | 4:00 pm University Center Room 312 Dr. Shannon McSheffrey (Ph. D, Toronto), Professor, Department of History, Concordia University, Montreal, will speak on her research on women in late medieval London, including her work in digital humanities. She manages a database relating to the late medieval London Consistory court which can be accessed here. Professor McSheffrey’s research interests center around gender roles, law, civic culture, marriage, literacy, heresy, and popular religion in late medieval… Continue Reading Fall 2015 Medieval and Early Modern Studies Lecture (9/24)

Steph Ceraso, English, Receives the 2015 Richard Ohmann Outstanding Article in College English Award

Aug 24, 2015 / 2 minutes of reading

Steph Ceraso, an assistant professor of English, has been selected for the 2015 Richard Ohmann Outstanding Article in College English Award. The annual award is presented by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). Ceraso received the recognition for her article “(Re)Educating the Senses: Multimodal Listening, Bodily Learning, and the Composition of Sonic Experiences.” The award is recognition of an outstanding refereed article in the past volume year of the journal College English that makes a significant contribution to the field of English studies. It is given in the name of Richard Ohmann, landmark editor of College English from 1966 to… Continue Reading Steph Ceraso, English, Receives the 2015 Richard Ohmann Outstanding Article in College English Award

Orianne Smith, English, Wins Inaugural British Association of Romantic Studies First Book Prize

Aug 11, 2015 / 2 minutes of reading

Orianne Smith, associate professor and chair of English, has won the prestigious biennial First Book Prize from the British Association of Romantic Studies (BARS). Smith’s book Romantic Women Writers, Revolution, and Prophecy: Rebellious Daughters, 1786–1826 (Cambridge University Press, 2013) was selected from a strong shortlist of finalists for the inaugural prize. Professor Smith traveled to Cardiff, Wales to accept the award. In an announcement posted on the BARS blog, the judges stated during the award ceremony that her book “corrects the gender imbalance of previous work on literary enthusiasm by shedding light on the previously obscured role of women writers in apocalyptic discourse…a… Continue Reading Orianne Smith, English, Wins Inaugural British Association of Romantic Studies First Book Prize