Christine A. Mair, associate professor of sociology and gerontology and director of UMBC’s Center for Health, Equity, and Aging, examines the presence or absence of family and non-family ties in the Academic Minute. Continue Reading The Academic Minute: Caring for kinless older adults
In The Academic Minute, Mejdulene Bernard Shomali, a queer Palestinian poet and associate professor in the department of gender, women’s, and sexuality studies discusses her first boo. “My research looks at how Arab people experience and narrate their queerness in unexpected ways. For example, Arabs may be in same-sex relationships but might not claim gay or lesbian identities.” Continue Reading The Academic Minute: Challenging misconceptions about queer sexualities in Arab cultures
Ramon Goings, associate professor of language, literacy, and culture, discusses his research on barriers to completing a dissertation and strategies to overcome them. Continue Reading The Academic Minute: There’s No Dissertation Like a Done Dissertation
UMBC’s Elizabeth Patton, associate professor of media and communication studies and author of Easy Living: The Rise of the Home Office (Rutgers University Press, 2020), speaks about the history and cultural impact of the home office for the Academic Minute. Continue Reading Academic Minute: The promise of work-life balance
UMBC’s Erin K. Hogan, associate professor of Spanish, explains with Maria Garcia-Puente, California State University, San Bernardino, how humor has allowed Spain, and inspired others, to confront discriminatory practices within and beyond the soccer field amid the expressions of outrage and disgust over a nonconsensual kiss between Luis Rubiales, the male former head of Spanish soccer and a Women’s World Cup-winning player, and a Women’s World Cup-winning player. Continue Reading Soccer kiss scandal exposes how structural sexism in Spain can be a laughing matter
Patricia Young, professor of education, discusses the merits and downfalls of AI in the classroom along with other scholars. Continue Reading Should AI be permitted in college classrooms? 4 scholars weigh in
“This book is my love letter to my unnamed queer Palestinian ancestors. It is the knowing glance, playful wink, and double entendre between us,” Mejdulene Bernard Shomali, assistant professor of gender, women’s, and sexuality studies, says about her new book Between Banat: Queer Arab Critique and Transnational Arab Archives. “It is the ways we call one another, not only for recognition and community but to action and movement toward a joyful and pleasurable queer Arab future.” Continue Reading Creating Queer Arab Joy
Family stories, told honestly, reach people in ways that reams of advice and pages in history books cannot. When personal narratives reach the classroom, students respond by opening up, say two professors who have published memoirs of their family tragedies as a way to process their grief and share their stories. “I believe that writing personal narratives and sharing my own family’s stories helps build trust and rapport in the classroom,” said Aharona (Roni) Rosenthal, director of Judaic Studies at UMBC. “Writing personal narratives can serve as a model for students and encourage them to listen to their grandparents’ stories,… Continue Reading Writing your way through your own history—and sharing the narrative
Meredith Oyen, associate professor of history and Asian studies, an expert on China-U.S. relations, helps explain the context of the recent encounters on the Taiwan Strait and how they fit within growing tensions between the two countries on the South China Seas. Continue Reading US, Chinese warships’ near miss in Taiwan Strait hints at ongoing troubled diplomatic waters, despite chatter about talks
Ellie Bare completed multiple projects with Kevin Omland’s research group, gaining valuable leadership and research skills that will support her future success. “Dr. Omland encourages that in his undergrads, which is really special,” Bare says. “He’s really supportive of undergrads getting the full research experience.” Continue Reading Mentors help students grow their research skills, from fieldwork in Puerto Rico to labs at UMBC
“I firmly believe that the humanities offer us crucial tools for addressing pressing issues of civic life,” said Jessica Berman, director of UMBC’s Dresher Center, at the Center’s Inclusion Imperative six-year capstone event. “Now more than ever, we need the tools of the humanities to advance local and national conversations about our history, our identities, and our common future.” Continue Reading Inclusion Imperative spotlights six years of innovation in community-engaged humanities research and teaching
“Our research team sought to understand how stress from structural violence affects the body, specifically the immune system,” explain Loren Henderson, associate professor of public policy, and Ruby Mendell, associate professor in sociology, African American studies, urban and regional planning, and Social Work, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. “We talked to 68 low-income single Black mothers living on the South Side of Chicago about how they deal with gun violence in their communities and how it affects their health.” Continue Reading Black mothers trapped in unsafe neighborhoods signal the stressful health toll of gun violence in the U.S.
