Policy & Society

Jeremy Johnson ’12, Sociology, on “The World” and in the Baltimore Sun

September 20, 2011 marked the official end of the the U.S. military’s controversial Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) policy, which mandated openly gay and bisexual military service members be discharged from the Armed Forces. Jeremy Johnson ’12, sociology, was one of over 14,000 service members discharged under DADT, and one of many who now plans to return to service. In an interview on PRI’s “The World,” Johnson describes the impact the policy has had on his life and career, and his current plan to return to the Navy. Until he finishes his degree, Johnson plans to return as a reservist,… Continue Reading Jeremy Johnson ’12, Sociology, on “The World” and in the Baltimore Sun

Maurice Berger, CADVC, in Smithsonian Magazine

Smithsonian Magazine devoted two pages in its October issue to Research Professor Maurice Berger, curator of the Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture exhibition “For All the World to See.” The exhibition continues on display at the Smithsonian through late November and will visit UMBC in 2012.

Faculty and Students Collaborate With Community on Historical Photos, Digital Stories

(Above, Bill Shewbridge and Lynn Casabon receive a proclamation from Sam Moxley, representing the county executive. Photo by Vin Grabill.) In celebration of the new Arbutus Branch of the Baltimore County Public Library, UMBC faculty and students worked with members of the surrounding community to display historic railroad photographs and create a series of digital stories about the area through residents’ eyes. Lynn Cazabon, associate chair and associate professor of art, worked with students to create a series of mural-sized prints from historical photographs of the railroad in the Arbutus area, which are on permanent display in the new Arbutus… Continue Reading Faculty and Students Collaborate With Community on Historical Photos, Digital Stories

Christopher Corbett, English, to Speak at National Postal Museum

Professor of the Practice of English Christopher Corbett will speak at the Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum on Saturday, October 8, at 1 p.m. Corbett’s talk will commemorate the 150th anniversary of the end of the Pony Express. Corbett is the author of “Orphans Preferred: The Twisted Truth & Lasting Legend of the Pony Express.” A book signing and opportunity to tour the “Pony Express: Romance vs. Reality” exhibit will follow. This program is free. For more information, contact the National Postal Museum at 202-633-5533 or NPMprograms@si.edu.

Ellen Handler Spitz, Honors College, in the New York Times

Ellen Handler Spitz, honors college professor of visual arts, was mentioned in a September 18 New York Times Sunday Book Review essay entitled “The Children’s Authors Who Broke the Rules.” Among the authors mentioned in the essay is Shel Silverstein, who wrote “The Giving Tree.” “[‘The Giving Tree’] was embraced by Christians as a parable of selflessness and has been denounced by feminists as a patriarchal fantasy in morality-tale clothing,” writes essayist Pamela Paul. “Ellen Handler Spitz, the author of the classic study ‘Inside Picture Books,’ wrote that the story ‘perpetuates the myth of the selfless, all-giving mother who exists… Continue Reading Ellen Handler Spitz, Honors College, in the New York Times

Christine Mallinson, Language, Literacy, and Culture, on Patch.com

Sports fans were urged to think carefully about the language they use to describe their teams’ victory in a story that appeared on the Savage-Guilford Patch.com site. Christine Mallinson, assistant professor of language, literacy, and culture, commented on a number of tweets following the Ravens-Steelers matchup that used the term “rape” to describe the Ravens’ victory. The Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault brought attention to these tweets through their own Twitter page. “The use of the word ‘rape’ in a sports metaphor may be seen as particularly disturbing because it draws a parallel between a rape, a horrifying event, and… Continue Reading Christine Mallinson, Language, Literacy, and Culture, on Patch.com

Rebecca Boehling, history, and Suzanne Ostrand-Rosenberg, biology, on Patch.com

If you missed the Humanities Forum lecture with history professor Rebecca Boehling, you can read about it on Catonsville’s Patch.com site. “UMBC Professor Brings Holocaust Story to Life,” which appeared on the site on September 15, recaps the event and the coincidence that brought Boehling and Suzanne Ostrand-Rosenberg, professor of biology, together. Ostrand-Rosenberg had recently discovered boxes of holocaust-era letters in her aging mother’s closet. “One day I went into the department office, and I was in the Xerox room chatting with a colleague, and she said, ‘You should talk with Rebecca Boehling,” Ostrand-Rosenberg said. Boehling and her co-author, Uta… Continue Reading Rebecca Boehling, history, and Suzanne Ostrand-Rosenberg, biology, on Patch.com

Rebecca Adelman, Media and Communication Studies, on Patch

Catonsville personalities remembered what they were doing on and after September 11, 2001, in a Patch.com story entitled “Recalling the Days After September 11, 2001.” Among those that remembered their reaction to the day was Rebecca Adelman, assistant professor of media and communication studies. She remembers how she was struck by how everyone was processing what they were seeing, and that interest eventually led her to study the imagery of the War on Terror.

Humanities Forum: Ilan Stavans Explores “Spanglish” (10/5)

As part of Hispanic Heritage Month, the Humanities Forum presents a lecture by Ilan Stavans, the Lewis-Sebring Professor in Latin American and Latino Culture (Spanish) at Amherst College, who will speak on “Spanglish: The Making of a New American Language,” Wednesday, October 5, 4 p.m., on the seventh floor of the Albin O. Kuhn Library. Stavans will explore the cultural and linguistic significance of this distinctly American language, comparing it to other languages of minority groups in America such as Yiddish and Black English. He will explain who speaks Spanglish, why it has so many varieties and what its existence… Continue Reading Humanities Forum: Ilan Stavans Explores “Spanglish” (10/5)

Rebecca Boehling, History, on WIP-AM

Rebecca Boehling, professor of history and director of the Dresher Center for the Humanities, appeared on Philadelphia’s WIP-AM on Sunday, September 11. She discussed her new book, “Life and Loss in the Shadow of the Holocaust” on the program “Conversations with Peter Solomon.”

Robert Provine, Psychology, in the New York Times

In a story entitled “Scientists Hint at Why Laughter Feels So Good,” the New York Times reports on a study that attempts to pin down exactly why laughing until it hurts feels so good. The study suggests that the pleasure lies in the physical act of laughing. The simple muscular exertions involved in producing the familiar “ha, ha, ha,” he said, trigger an increase in endorphins, the brain chemicals known for their feel-good effect. Robert Provine, professor of psychology and a noted expert on laughter, said he thought the study was “a significant contribution” to a field of study that… Continue Reading Robert Provine, Psychology, in the New York Times

Tyson King-Meadows, Political Science, Elected President of National Conference of Black Political Scientists

Tyson King-Meadows, associate professor of political science, was elected president of the National Conference of Black Political Scientists (NCOBPS), effective March 17, 2011. King-Meadows joined UMBC in 2003 as an assistant professor of political science and recently earned promotion to the rank of associate professor with tenure. He is a Faculty Fellow of UMBC’s Honors College and is an affiliate of the UMBC’s Department of Public Policy and the Maryland Institute for Policy Analysis and Research (MIPAR). His service to UMBC includes membership on the Shriver Center Faculty Advisory Board, on the Honors College Advisory Board, on the committee for… Continue Reading Tyson King-Meadows, Political Science, Elected President of National Conference of Black Political Scientists

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