Alyse Altenburg, Sociology, Named 2014 Presidential Management Fellow

Apr 25, 2014 / 1 minute of reading

Alyse Altenburg, a master’s student in Applied Sociology and a Shriver Center Peaceworker Fellow, has been selected as a Presidential Management Fellow (PMF) for the Class of 2014. Altenburg is the only finalist from UMBC. PMF is a prestigious two-year paid government fellowship sponsored by the Office of Personnel Management for recent graduate students who seek a two-year fellowship in a United States government agency. Following the conclusion of the two year fellowship, PMFs have the opportunity to convert their fellowship into a full-time permanent position. Alyse was one of 600 finalists out of 7,000 applicants. She is originally from… Continue Reading Alyse Altenburg, Sociology, Named 2014 Presidential Management Fellow

Michelle Stefano, American Studies, in City Paper

Apr 25, 2014 / 1 minute of reading

In the latest in a series of articles for the “City Folk” section of City Paper, American Studies Folklorist in Residence Michelle Stefano writes about a former steelworker who recently was awarded a prestigious poetry prize. Stefano’s profile of Afaa Michael Weaver titled, “Working-Class Hero,” was published April 23. In the column, Stefano traces Weaver’s journey from working at Sparrows Point Steel Mill to becoming a full professor in the English department at Simmons College, where just last month he was awarded the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award, a $100,000 prize given by Claremont Graduate University each year for an outstanding published collection.… Continue Reading Michelle Stefano, American Studies, in City Paper

Constantine Vaporis, Asian Studies, Op-Ed in Al Jazeera America

Apr 23, 2014 / 1 minute of reading

As President Obama begins a week-long visit to Asia, Asian Studies Program Director Constantine Vaporis writes in an Al Jazeera America op-ed that the trip is aimed at reassuring allies in the region that they remain top priorities on his agenda. Vaporis writes adding South Korea and Japan to the itinerary has made the trip even more important as tension between the two countries lingers over the history wars. “The U.S. administration has made clear that it will not act as mediator between the two sides. Nevertheless, Obama has acted assertively to try to prevent a further erosion of relations between them,”… Continue Reading Constantine Vaporis, Asian Studies, Op-Ed in Al Jazeera America

Justin Vélez-Hagan, Public Policy, Op-Ed in Fox News Latino

Apr 23, 2014 / 1 minute of reading

In his latest column published in Fox News Latino, Public Policy Ph.D. student Justin Vélez-Hagan writes historians may view this as Puerto Rico’s “lost decade” if no changes are made to its economic policies. Vélez-Hagan is executive director of the National Puerto Rican Chamber of Commerce. He writes Puerto Rico’s economic woes may be rooted in production. “Many believe that Puerto Rico’s weak economy is partly attributable to a lack of investment in the production of exports, often considered one of the major factors behind the original ‘lost decade,’” Vélez-Hagan writes. In the article, Vélez-Hagan also contends that even with its economic struggles, it… Continue Reading Justin Vélez-Hagan, Public Policy, Op-Ed in Fox News Latino

Constantine Vaporis, Asian Studies, Named Smithsonian Journeys Expert

Apr 18, 2014 / 1 minute of reading

Asian Studies Program Director Constantine Vaporis has been selected as a Smithsonian expert for tours of Japan. As a director, the Smithsonian Journeys program will periodically ask Vaporis to lead tours in Japan, with the first one set for 2015. Vaporis’s research focuses on the Edo period and he is interested in the entire range of Japanese history. He is author of Breaking Barriers: Travel and the State in Early Modern Japan; Tour of Duty: Samurai, Military Service in Edo and the Culture of Early Modern Japan; Nihonjin to sankin kôtai [The Japanese and Alternate Attendance]; and Voices of Early Modern Japan: Contemporary Accounts of… Continue Reading Constantine Vaporis, Asian Studies, Named Smithsonian Journeys Expert

Laura Hussey, Political Science, on MarylandReporter.com

Apr 18, 2014 / 1 minute of reading

A Maryland Democratic gubernatorial candidate forum held at Towson University April 17 drew attention to college student participation in the upcoming election. Laura Hussey, an assistant professor of political science, was interviewed for an article posted on MarylandReporter.com, and she noted interest groups and political parties tend to notice when candidates devote their time to appealing to younger voters – the generation that will serve as the future workforce behind their causes. “The Obama campaign benefited from appealing to college students greatly,” Hussey said. “There are benefits beyond the actual votes.” To read the full article on MarylandReporter.com, click here.

Thomas Schaller, Political Science, Op-Ed in The Baltimore Sun

Apr 18, 2014 / 1 minute of reading

In an op-ed published in The Baltimore Sun on April 15, Political Science Professor Thomas Schaller writes about how the increased use of credit cards will likely lead to more consequences than fraud. In addition to loss of consumer privacy, Schaller writes relying exclusively on credit cards leads to another big cost: the burden of servicing credit debt. “When big banks get over-leveraged, they turn to the government for bailouts. And guess what? So do individuals: Americans’ average credit card balance dropped after the financial crisis — which sounds like good news until you learn that the decrease resulted from millions of people… Continue Reading Thomas Schaller, Political Science, Op-Ed in The Baltimore Sun

Piotr Gwiazda, English, Publishes a Review in The Times Literary Supplement

Apr 16, 2014 / 1 minute of reading

Piotr Gwiazda, Associate Professor of English, has published a review of Beautiful Twentysomethings by Polish writer Marek Hłasko (1934-1969) in the April 4, 2014 issue of The Times Literary Supplement. Professor Gwiazda describes Beautiful Twentysomethings as “primarily a literary memoir. Hłasko adeptly recreates the world of his fellow writers, poets, critics, actors, film directors — the ‘beautiful twentysomethings’ of his title who, despite the repressive political climate of the 1950s, ‘kept faith that the moment would come when it would be possible to say: ‘No.’” He also notes that the book “shines a spotlight on emigration as a major theme… Continue Reading Piotr Gwiazda, English, Publishes a Review in The Times Literary Supplement

Kate Brown, History, Wins the 2014 Ellis W. Hawley Prize from the Organization of American Historians

Apr 15, 2014 / 1 minute of reading

On Saturday, April 12 in Atlanta, History Associate Professor Kate Brown was awarded the 2014 Ellis W. Hawley Prize from the Organization of American Historians (OAH) for the best book-length historical study of the political economy, politics, or institutions of the United States, in its domestic or international affairs, from the Civil War to the present. Brown received the award for her book, Plutopia: Nuclear Families, Atomic Cities, and the Great Soviet and American Plutonium Disasters (Oxford University Press, 2013), in which she tells the stories of Hanford, Washington and Ozersk, Russia. The Soviet and American governments created these communities to produce the… Continue Reading Kate Brown, History, Wins the 2014 Ellis W. Hawley Prize from the Organization of American Historians

George Derek Musgrove, History, Op-Ed in The Washington Post

Apr 15, 2014 / 2 minutes of reading

Washington, D.C. hasn’t directly funded its shadow delegation to Congress, the city’s official statehood lobby, since the first elections for the positions were held in 1990. However, just last week, Mayor Vincent Gray released a budget for fiscal 2015 that includes $100,000 for the delegation. George Derek Musgrove ’97, history, assistant professor of history, wrote an op-ed in The Washington Post titled, “D.C.’s shadow delegation: It’s not the money, it’s the strategy,” in which he argued the money could help the delegation, but only if it changes its approach. “Since its creation, the shadow delegation has focused its energy on lobbying members of… Continue Reading George Derek Musgrove, History, Op-Ed in The Washington Post

Jessica Berman, English, Appointed to the Modern Language Association’s Publications Committee

Apr 15, 2014 / 1 minute of reading

Jessica Berman, Director of the Dresher Center for the Humanities and Professor of English, has been appointed to a three-year term to serve on the Modern Language Association’s (MLA) Publications Committee. The committee oversees all of MLA’s book publication programs, including its “Approaches to Teaching World Literature” and “Teaching Languages Literatures and Cultures” series. It assesses prospectuses and approves final manuscripts and it’s also charged with consulting on priorities and policies for the scholarly communication program and assisting with new initiatives in scholarly communication. Congratulations, Dr. Berman!

Robert Provine, Psychology, in The New Yorker

Apr 15, 2014 / 1 minute of reading

An article published April 15 in The New Yorker explores the surprising science behind yawning and what makes it so unique. Psychology Professor Robert Provine, author of Curious Behavior: Yawning, Laughing, Hiccupping, and Beyond, was interviewed for the article and commented on his research studying the concept. “Yawning may have the dubious distinction of being the least understood, common human behavior,” Provine observed. The article discusses Provine’s studies that explored contagious yawning, one of which found eighty-eight per cent of people who were instructed to think of yawns yawned themselves within thirty minutes. It also examines how the contagious nature of yawning may be… Continue Reading Robert Provine, Psychology, in The New Yorker

CAHSS

Search UMBC.edu