Surdna Foundation Awards Grant to Imaging Research Center for Liz Lerman Residency

Nov 17, 2014 / 3 minutes of reading

The Surdna Foundation, which is dedicated to fostering sustainable communities in the United States, has awarded $95,882 to the Imaging Research Center, in partnership with the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, to establish a Spring 2015 residency by renowned choreographer Liz Lerman. The purpose of this residency is to develop an approach to building and sustaining an online interface for Liz Lerman’s “toolbox” of artistic practices in community-engaged projects, and to do so in a way that incorporates the needs and perspectives of a diverse community of users. Lerman will join researchers at the IRC at UMBC as a Research Professor,… Continue Reading Surdna Foundation Awards Grant to Imaging Research Center for Liz Lerman Residency

Ellen Handler Spitz, Honors College, Publishes New E-book

Oct 27, 2014 / 1 minute of reading

A new e-book published by Honors College Professor Ellen Handler Spitz analyzes the artwork of Belgian Surrealist artist René Magritte and takes on questions that are rarely asked when studying Magritte’s work. The book, entitled “Magritte’s Labyrinth,” introduces a psychological perspective and examines the emotional impact of Magritte’s paintings. Below is an excerpt from a book review posted on Amazon.com: Trained in art history, philosophy, and nonclinical psychoanalysis, Ellen Handler Spitz, the author of “Magritte’s Labyrinth,” was introduced to Magritte’s art by a New York psychologist who studied bereavement in childhood. Spitz found the images impossible to expunge. She reflects on them… Continue Reading Ellen Handler Spitz, Honors College, Publishes New E-book

Two Students From the English Department Named HASTAC Scholars for 2014-2015

Oct 16, 2014 / 1 minute of reading

Two students in UMBC’s English Department have been named HASTAC Scholars for 2014-2015. HASTAC (Humanities, Arts, Science, and Technology Alliance and Collaboratory) is an alliance of social scientists, artists, humanists, and other individuals and institutions committed to exploring new possibilities technology offers in shaping how people learn, teach, and communicate. Corey Kirk ’15, English, and Dorothy Stachowiak, a Master’s student in the English Department’s Texts, Technology, and Literature Program, will share their research with a lively international community of scholars throughout the year. Kirk’s primary research interests include digital humanities, technology and gaming. Stachowiak’s interests include 21st century literacies and digital humanities. The students will receive… Continue Reading Two Students From the English Department Named HASTAC Scholars for 2014-2015

Preminda Jacob, Visual Arts, Examines Visual Culture and Indian Politics in Scroll

Oct 14, 2014 / 1 minute of reading

When J Jayalalithaa, a film star turned prominent politician, was convicted of charges involving financial assets, her supporters in the state of Tamil Nadu responded to the verdict by creating billboards and posters representing their feelings of anger and loss. Preminda Jacob, visual arts, spoke to Scroll about the historic connections between cinema and state politics in Tamil Nadu. Jacob focused on how Jayalalithaa used images to promote her political career and connect with supporters. “Over the space of half century the population has been very adept on how to read these images,” she said. Jacob is the author of Celluloid Deities: The… Continue Reading Preminda Jacob, Visual Arts, Examines Visual Culture and Indian Politics in Scroll

Theo Gonzalves, American Studies, in Ian Ruskin Documentary on Barbara Dane

Oct 9, 2014 / 1 minute of reading

Actor, writer, and social activist Ian Ruskin has released a new two-hour documentary on the life of Barbara Dane. Titled, “A Wild Woman Sings the Blues: the Life and Music of Barbara Dane,” the documentary includes interviews with several musicians and others who know Dane well. Theo Gonzalves, Associate Professor and Chair of American Studies, was interviewed for the project and appears in the documentary. Gonzalves is a Senior Postdoctoral Fellow at the Smithsonian Institution, working with the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. His project, “Singing Truth to Power: The Story of Paredon Records,” traces the cultural history of a record… Continue Reading Theo Gonzalves, American Studies, in Ian Ruskin Documentary on Barbara Dane

Humanities Forum: The Honor Code (10/20)

Oct 8, 2014 / 2 minutes of reading

On Monday, October 20 at 5 p.m., Kwame Anthony Appiah, a renowned philosopher, cultural theorist and novelist, will present the Humanities Forum, “The Honor Code.” The event is the Daphne Harrison Lecture and will take place in the Performing Arts and Humanities Building Theatre. Philosophers spend a lot of time thinking about what is right and wrong, and some time thinking about how to get people to see what is right and wrong—but almost no time thinking about how to get them to do what they know is right. Anthony Appiah has spent the last decade thinking about what it takes to turn moral understanding into moral behavior.… Continue Reading Humanities Forum: The Honor Code (10/20)

Revolution of the Eye in Broadway World

Oct 6, 2014 / 1 minute of reading

Revolution of Eye, an exhibition organized by the Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture and the Jewish Museum in New York, and curated by Maurice Berger, research professor and chief curator at the CADVC, received coverage in Broadway World on October 1. (Click here to read the article). The exhibition will open in May 2015 and will be the first to explore how avant-garde art influenced and shaped the look and content of network television in its formative years, from the late 1940s to the mid-1970s. A microsite that provides a preview to the exhibition is now available here.

Ana Maria Schwartz Caballero, MLLI, Receives NFL Hispanic Heritage Leadership Award

Oct 3, 2014 / 1 minute of reading

Baltimore Ravens fans were treated to a special event during the September 28 game: Ana Maria Schwartz Caballero, modern languages, linguistics and intercultural communication, received the 2014 NFL Hispanic Heritage Leadership Award. Schwartz Caballero received the honor for her work with the Latino community, which includes serving as chair of Mayor Rawlings-Blake’s Hispanic Commission, member of the Legislative Task Force on the Preservation of Heritage Language Skills, president of UMBC’s Latino/Hispanic Faculty Association, faculty advisor for UMBC’s Hispanic/Latino Student Union, advocate with CASA de Maryland, and much more. “I share this award with the members of our Latino community who… Continue Reading Ana Maria Schwartz Caballero, MLLI, Receives NFL Hispanic Heritage Leadership Award

Robert Deluty, Graduate School, Publishes his 46th Book

Sep 29, 2014 / 1 minute of reading

Robert Deluty, associate dean of the Graduate School, has published a new volume of poetry, “Human Recordings.” In his review, Ronald Pies writes: “The title of Robert Deluty’s wonderful new collection was inspired by the late rock band musician, Layne Staley, who struggled with depression and drug addiction throughout his adult life. But, like Staley’s music, Deluty’s moving poems are highly-condensed recordings of ‘being human,’ in all its tragic and comic tonalities. From the ‘taxidermist’s son/ wooing the depressed daughter/ of the mortician’ to the ‘Arby’s manager/ fuming that his sons opened/ a vegan bistro,’ Deluty regales us with the… Continue Reading Robert Deluty, Graduate School, Publishes his 46th Book

UMBC Homecoming Big Prize Poetry Slam (10/10)

Sep 22, 2014 / 1 minute of reading

The time has arrived once again for one of UMBC’s premiere arts events this year. The annual UMBC Homecoming Big Prize Poetry Slam will be held on Friday, October 10, 2014, from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM in the Peforming Arts & Humanities Building (PAHB) first-floor atrium. Come enjoy a night of fun and poetry while cheering on the fantastic student and alumni poets as they compete for big prizes, enjoy wonderful free food, and even win door prizes. We look forward to seeing you there! The event is presented by the English department, Bartleby, and the UMBC Homecoming Committee.

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

Sep 22, 2014 / 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, shares his views on Father Figure: Exploring Alternate Notions of Black Fatherhood, a new book by a Toronto-based photographer and physician, Zun Lee. While the book’s images of African-American fathers may at first seem ordinary — for example, a man feeding his baby as his other children play nearby — Berger notes that the photographs “are in one sense unusual: Their subjects are black and counter mainstream media that typically depict African-American fatherhood as a wasteland of dysfunction… Continue Reading Maurice Berger, CADVC, Latest “Race Story” in The New York Times

Manil Suri, Mathematics, To Present at Kriti Festival as Author Guest of Honor

Sep 12, 2014 / 1 minute of reading

The Kriti Festival is one of the largest South Asian literature festivals in North America and will be held from September 25-28 at the University of Illinois, Chicago. Mathematics Professor Manil Suri has been named the festival’s author guest of honor and will be addressing the gathering on Saturday, September 27 in Chicago. The following is an excerpt from the festival’s website outlining Suri’s accomplishments: “[Suri’s] first novel, The Death of Vishnu (2001), won the Barnes and Noble Discover Prize, was a finalist for the Pen-Faulkner, Kiriyama and Pen-Hemingway awards, and on the long list for the Booker Prize. His second… Continue Reading Manil Suri, Mathematics, To Present at Kriti Festival as Author Guest of Honor