News and Updates about UMBC’s College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
Nkiru Nnawulezi, associate professor of psychology, is co-leading a community-based project focused on domestic violence survivors’ access to housing in collaboration with the DC Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Continue Reading UMBC’s Nkiru Nnawulezi and D.C. community partners make the case for survivor-centered housing services
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi hasn’t confirmed when – or even if – she is to visit Taiwan. Yet such is the sensitivity over the island’s status that reports of her possible trip have resulted in a warning by China of “serious consequences” and a suggestion by President Joe Biden that the visit was “not a good idea,” writes Meredith Oyen. Continue Reading Why the big fuss over Nancy Pelosi’s possible visit to Taiwan?
A massive painting dwarfed Rob Kempton ’12, English, as he stood in a Baltimore Museum of Art gallery. In his security guard uniform, Kempton gestured to the swoop of orange oil paint on the blood-red background, painted by Grace Hartigan in 1957 and titled “Interior – The Creeks.” “I love the opaque strong colors. There’s such a push and pull, rhythm and movement, it really dances,” he said. “And here,” he said, pointing to a section that Hartigan slathered with paint, then scraped away with a palette knife. “See where she scrapes it away, it’s like revising a poem, so… Continue Reading Lost in the Art: English major guards and curates paintings at Baltimore Museum of Art
“Education abroad is known to have a positive impact on students’ future academic and career outcomes, but the costs of international travel can result in barriers to participation,” says David Di Maria, associate vice provost for international education. “The Class of 1970’s generous gift helps address these barriers. It ensures more Retrievers are able to enjoy the transformative benefits of making the world their classroom.” Continue Reading UMBC students explore South Korea, Japan through new Education Abroad Access Fund
For Christopher Tong, discovering clues hidden in texts documenting history’s most devastating floods isn’t just about the promise of making social, cultural, and political change. It’s also a personal journey inspired by generations of his own family. In July of 2021, the city of Zhengzhou, China, had more than seven inches of rain in one hour, flooding subway train cars filled with commuters and forcing hundreds of thousands to evacuate. Around this time Christopher K. Tong, an assistant professor of modern languages, linguistics, and intercultural communication, was surrounded by materials he had collected during his trip to the People’s Republic… Continue Reading Turning the Tides
UMBC’s Grand Challenge Scholars Program prepares students to collaborate across disciplines and address real-world issues. Continue Reading See the Challenge, Be the Change
“Their work further reifies UMBC’s commitment to community-engaged scholarship, in particular in often overlooked or ignored communities,” says Dean Kimberly R. Moffitt. Continue Reading UMBC’s María Célleri and Yolanda Valencia receive Mellon Fellowships for research on an immigrant community in Washington and postcolonial transformation of Quito, Ecuador
This year, an estimated 1 million people will perform the hajj, which is considered one of the five pillars in Islam. Chaos ensued in early June 2022 when Saudi Arabia announced a hajj “lottery” for Western pilgrims that made it mandatory for people from Europe, the Americas and Australia to apply for visas through a random draw through the Saudi government-backed website. Under the lottery, only 50,000 permits were allowed from these 50 countries, compared with 25,000 for U.K. Muslims alone in previous years. Continue Reading From caravans to markets, the hajj pilgrimage has always included a commercial component
The anti-abortion movement is often criticized as caring little about these matters. UMBC’s Laura Antkowiak, political science, who has studied the intersections of abortion and social welfare issues, I became intrigued by a large but little-known subset of anti-abortion activists who claimed to support women during pregnancy and after childbirth. Continue Reading Anti-abortion pregnancy centers will likely outlast the age of Roe – here’s how they’re funded and the services they provide
“As a political scientist who studies voting and public opinion, I have my doubts about the true power of Trump’s endorsements,” says Ian Anson, assistant professor of political science at UMBC. “Instead, it is more likely that most of the candidates Trump has chosen to endorse were already on track to win their respective races.” Continue Reading Trump-endorsed candidates would generally win even without his support – and that’s usually the case with all political endorsements
The success of taco trucks and Soul Food pop-ups in post-Katrina New Orleans has raised complex questions about food truck regulation, worker rights, immigration issues, and local vs. tourist experiences that often pit these communities against each other. UMBC’s Sarah Fouts and local organizers Toya Ex Lewis and Fernando López are implementing Project Neutral Grounds to share these vendors’ experiences and histories. Continue Reading Rethinking collaborative public humanities research in New Orleans and Baltimore
Nine recent UMBC graduates and alumni will soon travel to the UK, El Salvador, Kuwait, France, Colombia, Taiwan, South Korea, and Germany as 2022 Fulbright U.S. Student scholars. They include emerging leaders in education, astrophysics, cybersecurity, human rights, and more, and they are excited to explore difficult questions through fresh perspectives. Continue Reading UMBC’s 2022 Fulbright student scholars will travel the world to explore difficult questions
