Arts & Culture

UMBC Students Collaborate to Produce Audio Documentary About Station North’s Hour Haus on WYPR

/ 2 minutes of reading

On July 30, a longtime music and arts space in Station North closed its doors permanently. The Hour Haus served as a music practice facility and performance venue for 25 years. American studies student Adam Droneburg produced an hour-long audio documentary which recently aired on WYPR’s The Signal. Dan Goodrich, an interdisciplinary studies major, collaborated with Droneburg on the project and provided photography. The two students took an American studies course in the spring, “Community in America,” which focused on oral history/audio/mapping work in Station North. The class was funded by a Hrabowski Innovation Grant. Droneburg and Goodrich continued working in Station… Continue Reading UMBC Students Collaborate to Produce Audio Documentary About Station North’s Hour Haus on WYPR

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

/ 1 minute of reading

In the latest essay for his Race Stories column in The New York Times, Maurice Berger, research professor at the Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture, examines the research of photographers Martin Parr and Ruben Lundgren, whose exploration of Chinese photobooks has resulted in The Chinese Photobook, published by Aperture. Largely unknown in the West, the photobooks, dating from the early 20th century to current times, document a nation undergoing profound cultural change. “The sheer quantity of important Chinese photobooks that remain unexamined by scholars within and outside of the country suggests that considerable work remains to done,” says Berger. “In… Continue Reading Maurice Berger, CADVC, Latest “Race Story” in The New York Times

James Smalls, Visual Arts, Writes on Race, Gender, and Sexuality in The Conversation

/ 1 minute of reading

On July 23, James Smalls, professor of Visual Arts and affiliate professor of Gender and Women’s Studies, published an article in The Conversation that discussed the rationale behind his upcoming course, Roaming the Star Trek Universe: Race, Gender, and Alien Sexualities. Sensing that students often seem very “connected” but are simultaneously distanced from the overwhelming complexities of the world around them, Smalls set out to find ways in which to explore the difficult topics of race, gender and sexuality. “I found part of the answer,” he said, “by traveling back to the 1960s, when difficult social change movements around race (civil rights,… Continue Reading James Smalls, Visual Arts, Writes on Race, Gender, and Sexuality in The Conversation

Michele Osherow, English, and Manil Suri, Mathematics, Explore “The Mathematics of Being Human” on WYPR

/ 2 minutes of reading

On Thursday, July 16, Michele Osherow, associate professor of English, and Manil Suri, professor of mathematics, were guests on WYPR’s Humanities Connection to discuss their play “The Mathematics of Being Human,” which debuted at UMBC last fall. The play explores how mathematics and the humanities offer valuable perspectives on what it means to be human, perspectives that at first glance are highly distinct, but that create entry points for conversation and shared understanding over time. “The idea of pairing mathematics with humanities subjects like literature may seem odd. But, we found that there are many exciting opportunities for joint exploration. The humanities can… Continue Reading Michele Osherow, English, and Manil Suri, Mathematics, Explore “The Mathematics of Being Human” on WYPR

Clifford Murphy, American Studies, Selected for National Arts Director Position

/ 2 minutes of reading

Clifford Murphy, an adjunct lecturer of American studies, has been selected by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to be its new director of folk and traditional arts. Murphy, an adjunct lecturer of American studies, will manage NEA grantmaking in folk and traditional arts, oversee the NEA National Heritage Fellowship program, and represent the agency in the field as part of the new role. Murphy is currently director of Maryland Traditions, the folklife program of the Maryland State Arts Council (MSAC) and last year helped bring MSAC’s 40 years of folklife archives into UMBC’s library system, making the collection available to the… Continue Reading Clifford Murphy, American Studies, Selected for National Arts Director Position

UMBC Awarded Maryland Humanities Council Grant for “Mapping Dialogues” Project

/ 1 minute of reading

As part of its latest major grant cycle, the Maryland Humanities Council awarded UMBC a $10,000 grant for “Mapping Dialogues,” a project that focuses on the history and culture of the Baybrook and Sparrows Point communities. Working with industrial neighborhoods in Baltimore, the project uses maps as starting points for discussions on the past, present, and future of industrial space. The project centers on two historically interrelated yet geographically separate areas: Baybrook in the southern tip of Baltimore and the Sparrows Point Steel Mill communities situated just across the southwestern city border in Baltimore County. Dialogues will be held with… Continue Reading UMBC Awarded Maryland Humanities Council Grant for “Mapping Dialogues” Project

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

/ 1 minute of reading

In the latest essay for his Race Stories column in The New York Times, Maurice Berger, research professor at the Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture, examines the shifting attitudes toward the Confederate battle flag. “The image was at once mundane and historic. In Alabama last Wednesday, on the order of Gov. Robert Bentley, workers took down the Confederate battle flag on the grounds of the state Capitol and were photographed as they did. The camera, whose role it was to record a reality — and thus to make visible its compelling details of the world — now documented a symbol’s imminent… Continue Reading Maurice Berger, CADVC, Latest “Race Story” in The New York Times

Flying Fruit Fantasy Turns 35 (7/2)

/ 1 minute of reading

The Choice Program’s Flying Fruit Fantasy Fruit Shake stand is turn 35 on July 2. To celebrate, they will be giving away prizes like Orioles tickets, gift cards, and a year of free fruit shakes. Enjoy a fruit shake or smoothie on July 2 from 12-2 p.m. to be automatically eligible to win. Flying Fruit Fantasy is located in the Inner Harbor, next to the Maryland Science Center in the Inner Harbor Promenade. The stand is the on-the-job training site for The Choice Program’s Ready By 21 and Jobs initiatives.

Joan Shin, Education, Writes about the International Children’s Song Approach in The Conversation

/ 1 minute of reading

Joan Shin, education professor of practice, recently published an article in The Conversation that examined the power of using children’s songs to introduce children to different cultures and the world around them. “Without realizing it, children learn language and content simultaneously. Songs build skills that help children distinguish the sounds of a language, and connect sound to script and assist with vocabulary building,” Shin wrote. Shin discussed the teaching approach she developed that combines her song research and search for cultural materials to teach English as a global language. Shin’s “international children’s song approach” uses songs from around the world as a method… Continue Reading Joan Shin, Education, Writes about the International Children’s Song Approach in The Conversation

Linda Dusman, Music, and Eric Smallwood, Visual Arts, Discuss Their Octava App with The Baltimore Sun

/ 1 minute of reading

Linda Dusman, Music, and Eric Smallwood, Visual Arts, were interviewed by The Baltimore Sun’s Tim Smith about their app Octava, which is designed to enhance the audience experience at symphony orchestra performances. Read the full article on the Sun’s website here. “The app, called Octava, is aimed at enhancing the musical experience for listeners by delivering information via Wifi, synced with the music being played in the concert hall,” says Smith. In development for several years and formerly known as Symphony Interactive, the project received a $150,000 Maryland Innovation Initiative (MII) grant in 2014 (read more here).

Maurice Berger, CADVC, Discusses “Revolution of the Eye” on WYPR

/ 1 minute of reading

Maurice Berger, research professor and chief curator at the Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture, was interviewed by WYPR’s Culture Editor for Maryland Morning, Tom Hall, about Revolution of the Eye: Modern Art and the Birth of American Television, an exhibition now on display at the Jewish Museum in New York. Berger curated the exhibition, which has been co-organized by the CADVC and the Jewish Museum, and authored the companion book by the same name, published by Yale University Press. Revolution of the Eye is the first exhibition to explore how avant-garde art influenced and shaped the look and content of… Continue Reading Maurice Berger, CADVC, Discusses “Revolution of the Eye” on WYPR

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

/ 1 minute of reading

In the latest essay for his Race Stories column in The New York Times, Maurice Berger, research professor at the Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture, examines the work of Charles “Teenie” Harris, an African American staff photographer for the Pittsburgh Courier from the 1930s through the 1970s. Now held in the archives of the Carnegie Museum of Art, a selection of 80,000 images by Harris are now on display in “Teenie Harris Photographs: Cars,” second in a series of exhibitions that began with “Teenie Harris Photographs: Civil Rights Perspectives.” The museum “asked writers — including poets, playwrights and historians — to… Continue Reading Maurice Berger, CADVC, Latest “Race Story” in The New York Times

Want more UMBC news?

Get top stories delivered to your inbox.

Sign up for our weekly UMBC Top Stories email:

Join our List

Contact Us

Share a story idea and learn more about the news team.

More about UMBC News

© UMBC: A University System of Maryland
Member Institution
Scroll to Top