CAHSS

News and Updates about UMBC’s College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences

John Winder ’12, on NPR’s “This I Believe” Website

John Winder ’12, computer science, has an essay posted on NPR’s “This I Believe” website. Winder’s essay details how an embarassing experience led him to the belief that “we can either take command of our mistakes, or let them command us.” “I realized I had already screwed up as bad as anyone could, undermining an easy victory, looking like a fool to the world. If I tried again, how could I do any worse? Knowing that, I relinquished my fears,” he writes. His full essay can be read here.

Anne Rubin, History, and Tom Beck, Library Gallery, to Discuss Civil War Photographs (4/17)

On April 17, Anne Rubin, associate professor of history, and Tom Beck, chief curator of the Albin O. Kuhn Library & Gallery and affiliate associate professor, visual arts, will discuss the gallery’s current exhibition, “The Photographer’s Eye: Civil War Photographs Selected from the UMBC Photography Collections.” Rubin will discuss “Myth, Memory, and the American Civil War,” while Beck will speak about “Civil War Photography as Art and Historical Evidence.”  Their talk will take place at 4 p.m. in the Library Gallery. The American Civil War coincided with the early years of photography, and the images captured by the early practitioners… Continue Reading Anne Rubin, History, and Tom Beck, Library Gallery, to Discuss Civil War Photographs (4/17)

John Olszewski, Jr., Public Policy, Honored as Up-and-Coming Leader

Maryland State Delegate John Olszewski, a Ph.D. student in public policy at UMBC, has been named to the Daily Record’s “20 in Their Twenties” list, which honors up-and-coming leaders in Maryland “chosen on the basis of professional accomplishment, civic involvement and impact of achievement.” Olszewski, 29, a second-term Baltimore County Democrat, was a social studies and special education teacher prior to enrolling at UMBC. As a delegate, he regularly comments on state governance in the media, including in the Baltimore Sun‘s most recent coverage of Maryland budget developments.

Craig Saper, LLC, to Discuss “Digital Legacies”

Craig Saper, associate professor of language, literacy and culture, will participate in “Digital Legacies of the Avant-Garde,” a two-day international conference that examines the continuing influence of avant-garde concepts and practices on contemporary digital culture. The conference will be held in the New School in New York on April 20. Saper will participate in a panel entitled “The Legacy of the AvantGarde between Generative Art and Networked Art.”

Sara Patenaude ’11 Wins Arnold Prize

Sara Patenaude ’11 M.A., historical studies, has won the Arnold Prize for Outstanding Writing on Baltimore’s History. The Arnold Prize is named for Joseph L. Arnold, a professor of history at UMBC who died in 2004.  He was a vital and important member of the faculty for three and a half decades, as well as a leading historian of urban and planning history. He also played an active and often leading role with a variety of private and public historical institutions in the Baltimore area, and at his death was hailed as the “dean of Baltimore historians.” The Arnold Prize… Continue Reading Sara Patenaude ’11 Wins Arnold Prize

Roy T. Meyers, Political Science, on PolitiFact

UMBC professor Roy T. Meyers, political science, offered his budget expertise in this week’s PolitiFact analysis of a claim by Rep. Paul Ryan that “the president has doubled the size of government since he took office.” The article concludes that data do not support Ryan’s statement. Meyers argues that even if the doubling claim were true, President Obama would not be the cause.“Were all the increased outlays because of Obama’s actions? Of course not,” Meyers says. “Many of them were the result of ‘mandatory’ policies in place before he took office, and those policies responded to unfavorable economic conditions —… Continue Reading Roy T. Meyers, Political Science, on PolitiFact

Burroughs and Murray ’14, on CNN’s “Schools of Thought”

CNN’s “Schools of Thought” blog has featured UMBC students David H. Murray ’14, economics, and Edward Burroughs, who made headlines last week after strong wins in the Prince George’s County Board of Education primary election (districts 1 and 8). “At the end of the day, it’s about student success,” Burroughs told CNN. “My number one priority is going to be hiring and retaining highly-qualified teachers…and the ones that are struggling we need to provide them professional development. If they’re not able to be successful after that, they have to exit our system.” Reflecting on criticism that the candidates are too… Continue Reading Burroughs and Murray ’14, on CNN’s “Schools of Thought”

Seth Sawyers ’99 in The Millions

Seth Sawyers ’99, history, and adjunct faculty in English, has a new essay in the online literary magazine The Millions. This essay, which is a chapter is from his recently completed memoir about growing up in the hills of western Maryland, is entitled “Baseball, Finally.”  It appeared on the website on April 4.  “….I can still feel the rhythm of the infield drill. I did thousands of them, the movements deep inside me like the steps of a dance, like the bass lines to certain Beatles’ songs.I loved turning double plays, taking the throw from third or from short, quickly… Continue Reading Seth Sawyers ’99 in The Millions

Robert Rubinstein, Sociology and Anthropology, in U.S. News

In today’s U.S. News article “Why Our Homes Make Us Happy,” UMBC professor Robert Rubinstein (Dept. of Sociology and Anthropology) argues that having a connection to home is important for our well-being throughout the life course and particularly in later life. “We live in a society that is concerned with freedom,” Rubinstein says. He argues “being able to make a space for yourself, and having a central place from which to look out at the world” is central to personal development in American culture, which highly values independence, autonomy and control. Rubinstein offered particular insight for the meaning of home… Continue Reading Robert Rubinstein, Sociology and Anthropology, in U.S. News

Disha Patel ’15 on NPR’s “This I Believe” Website

Disha Patel ’15, English, has an essay posted on NPR’s “This I Believe” website. “I believe that being a family is about more than sharing blood,” begins Patel, who is currently enrolled in an ENGL 291 course taught by Michael Fallon. “Family is a word that to most would evoke images of faces that are similar to their own. People who share the same DNA, the same blood type, eye color, hair color, skin color. I on the other hand, see the faces of people, who if it weren’t for a change of geography, I would never had the pleasure… Continue Reading Disha Patel ’15 on NPR’s “This I Believe” Website

Two UMBC Students Win Primary Elections for Local School Board

David H. Murray, a 20-year-old UMBC economics major and Sondheim Scholar, has advanced to the general election for a Prince George’s County Board of Education seat (District 1) after receiving roughly 1,500 more votes than candidate Zabrina Epps in the April 3rd primary. ‘I’m extremely pleased, very happy,” said Murray, in news coverage of the election. “I didn’t take it for granted. I worked for every single vote.” Murray earned 56% of the vote, while Epps, an academic advisor at CCBC, earned 31%. UMBC sophomore Edward Burroughs, who was running for school board in District 8, was also successful in… Continue Reading Two UMBC Students Win Primary Elections for Local School Board

Thomas Schaller, Political Science, in the Baltimore Sun

“Mitt Romney has been treated rather roughly, even unfairly, by the national media,” suggests UMBC political science professor Thomas Schaller in his latest Baltimore Sun column. The article, “Worry about Romney’s positions, not his gaffes,” argues that it’s time for the national media and voters to focus on Romney’s policy platforms, rather than his relatability.“What Mr. Romney would actually do in the White House matters more than how personally awkward he may be,” writes Schaller, “And on this count, his long list of social issue flip-flops and his troubling economic proposals are sufficient cause for concern.”

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