Humanities News, Features, and Other Updates

Category: Humanities

Presentation Focuses on User Experience Collaborations In the Applied Chemical and Morphological Analysis Laboratory

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Timothy Keirnan, Assistant Teaching Professor of Humanities
Timothy Keirnan, assistant teaching professor of humanities
Liz Miller, Director of The Applied Chemical and Morphological Analysis Laboratory (ACMAL)
Liz Miller,
ACMAL director

Presented by the RTC Brown Bag Program
November 8th, 2024, noon–1:00 p.m.
Petersen Library, Walker 318

Timothy Keirnan, assistant teaching professor in the Humanities Department, and Applied Chemical and Morphological Analysis Laboratory (ACMAL) Director Liz Miller will present a case study of collaboration between Humanities and Material Science at the next Brown Bag Program presentation. ACMAL is a facility serving both Michigan Tech and external researchers that houses an extensive array of electron microanalytical and X-ray instruments. Services are available for user training, sample preparation, and sample analysis. The collaboration with ACMAL focuses on the piloting of a new software application, Facility Online Manager (FOM), to help facilities across Michigan Tech manage their equipment and lab spaces to better serve students, faculty, and staff.

In cooperation with Assistant Teaching Professor Jenni Nance and her HU3121 students, Keirnan wrote FOM user guides for both students and lab supervisors. Nance and her students will be on hand for the presentation to lend their perspectives on the combination of service work and student projects for Michigan Tech’s Scientific and Technical Communication program. Keirnan and Miller are currently collaborating on the navigation and UX (user experience design) writing of the new FOM website, which will be rolled out to the university in the near future. They’ll also discuss future collaborations to measure and enhance the ACMAL customer experience.

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Groundbreaking Documentary ENO at 41 North Film Festival

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Eno and director Gary Hustwit at the 41 North Film Festival

The 41 North Film Festival celebrates its 10th anniversary, November 7-10, at the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts. Headlining this year on Saturday, November 9th, is the groundbreaking generative documentary Eno about visionary musician and artist Brian Eno, directed by Gary Hustwit (Helvetica, Rams, Objectified) who will be in attendance at the festival.

A pioneer at the intersection of technology and art and a self-proclaimed “sonic landscaper,” Brian Eno has been an innovative and highly influential figure, shaping the sounds of artists such as David Bowie, U2, Talking Heads, and Coldplay. Drawing inspiration from its subject, the film Eno also blends art and technology through its use of a bespoke generative software developed by Hustwit and creative technologist Brendan Dawes. The software uniquely sequences scenes from Hustwit’s interviews and footage, along with Eno’s own archive of hundreds of hours of never-before-seen footage and unreleased music. No two screenings are alike, each one offering different scenes, order, transitions, and music.

Hustwit has been presenting the film live around the country and the world since its premiere at the 2024 Sundance film festival and will present two unique iterations of the film at 3:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. The 3:30 p.m. screening will include a Q&A with Hustwit and Brendan Dawes (via Zoom) following the film. This event is co-sponsored by the College of Computing and the Institute of Computing and Cybersystems. Look for announcements about other featured events and the full festival program in the coming days. 

The 41 North Film Festival is sponsored by the Department of Humanities, the Department of Visual and Performing Arts, and the College of Sciences and Arts.

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Richard Canevez Awarded 2024 REF Seed Grant

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Richard Canevez and Kette Thomas, Humanities, participate in a panel at the 2023 41 North Film Festival.
Richard Canevez, assistant professor of communication, culture, and media, has been awarded a 2024 REF Seed Grant.

Richard Canevez, assistant professor of communication, culture, and media in humanities, has been awarded a 2023 seed grant from the Vice President for Research Office Research Excellence Fund.

In its evaluation of the proposal the committee wrote: “The project will use narrative inquiry to gather and analyze information on the experiences of Ukrainian refugees, and thus is both timely and supportive of strategic goals of Michigan Tech related to global issues and those of the Humanities department.”

From the VPR web page, “REF-RS grants are designed to provide research faculty (including research scientists, engineers, and research assistant professors) and untenured, tenure-track academic faculty who have been in their current position with Michigan Tech for less than six years with additional resources to develop an externally supported research program.”

Canevez joined the humanities roster in spring 2023. His research focuses on social informatics, peace and conflict, social justice, and social movements and resistance, with a current focus on the war in Ukraine. He also teaches in communication, culture, and media, and will be teaching a course specifically in Power, Activism, & Technology next fall.

Congratulations, Dr. Canevez!

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Lindsay Hiltunen Appointed to Ottawa National Forest Resource Advisory Committee

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RTC PhD student and archivist in the University Archives, Lindsay Hiltunen, has been appointed to the advisory committee for the Ottawa National Forest.


University Archivist Lindsay Hiltunen (VPOL) has been appointed by Secretary of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack to the new Ottawa National Forest Resource Advisory Committee (RAC). Members of the RAC are vetted and designated by the secretary of agriculture and meet under Federal Advisory Committee Act regulations. All meetings are open to the public.

A Secure Rural Schools RAC provides recommendations to the U.S. Forest Service on the development and implementation of special projects on federal lands as authorized under the Secure Rural Schools Act and Community Self-Determination Act in Public Law 110-343. This act was most recently reauthorized for two years by section 41202 of Public Law 117-58 (Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act) and signed into law by President Joe Biden on Nov. 15, 2021.

Vilsack appointed Hiltunen, along with 14 others, to serve four-year terms on the Ottawa National Forest RAC. The inaugural meeting will be called in summer 2024.

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Hernandez-Ramos Inducted into STC Student Honorary Society

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Scientific and Technical Communication major Aracely Hernandez-Ramos was inducted into the Society for Technical Communication’s student honorary society Sigma Tau Chi.

Aracely Hernandez-Ramos was inducted into the Society for Technical Communication’s student honorary society Sigma Tau Chi in a ceremony at the society’s annual conference on May 18th. Membership into the society is an honor awarded to students enrolled in a technical communication program who “[…] have a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or above, are exemplary in participation in STC, and demonstrate a potential for significant contribution to the profession. In 2024, only two STC student members were awarded this distinction.”

Hernandez-Ramos is an undergraduate in humanities’ scientific and technical communication program, as well as the president of MTU’s student chapter of the Society for Technical Communication. She is also a coach at the Michigan Tech writing center, and can commonly be seen around the department.

Our heartfelt congratulations to Aracely!

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Brown Bag Talk: Bridging Knowledges and Expertise in Community-Engaged Research Partnerships

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What:

Abstract:

Community-engaged research requires creating and navigating the pathway to equitable, inclusive partnerships. With the realization that a diversity of stakeholders, rights holders, and research sponsors require more than can be accomplished by the solo investigator, how might one engage in this work in a good way? This talk illustrates ‘bridging’ as an adaptable/adoptable concept and practice between Western and Indigenous knowledges and expertise systems. Gagnon will share the “Seasons of Research” framework, created in partnership with the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community Lake Superior Band of Ojibwa, and concludes by proposing future directions and good relations for strengthening research partnerships as a shared priority commitment.

Who:

Presented by Affiliated Assistant Professor in the Humanities, Valoree Gagnon.

All are welcome to attend!

When:

Friday, February 2 2024

Where:

Petersen Library, Walker Arts & Humanities Center

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Brown Bag Talk: The “High-Risk” Migrant: Re-Evaluating (Algorithmic) Automated Decision-Making in the Public Sector

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What:

Abstract:

For almost a decade, the Netherlands secretly used the variables of gender, nationality, and age, to profile migrants as “high-risk,” subjecting them to extensive investigations and eventual visa denial in many cases. Drawing from frameworks of algorithmic episteme, and algorithmic inclusion and exclusion, this presentation examines algorithmic deployment in the public sector.

Who:

Presented by PhD Student Genius Amaraizu

All are welcome to attend!

When:

Friday, January 19 2024

Where:

Petersen Library, Walker Arts & Humanities Center

Play The “High-Risk” Migrant: Re-Evaluating (Algorithmic) Automated Decision-Making in the Public-Sector video
Preview image for The “High-Risk” Migrant: Re-Evaluating (Algorithmic) Automated Decision-Making in the Public-Sector video

The “High-Risk” Migrant: Re-Evaluating (Algorithmic) Automated Decision-Making in the Public-Sector

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Brown Bag Talk: Redesigning an Automotive Feature from Gasoline to Electric, A User Experience Case Study

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What:

Abstract:

Join us for a case study of engineering and user experience design from the automotive industry. Tim and Vyas will describe how they designed the human-machine interface (HMI) for Ford’s award-winning Pro Power Onboard feature that provides home- sized levels of power in electrical outlets on Ford trucks and vans.

Who:

Presented by Assistant Teaching Professor Timothy Keirnan and Core Feature Owner at Ford Product Development, Vyas Shenoy

All are welcome to attend!

When:

Friday, January 12 2024

Where:

Petersen Library, Walker Arts & Humanities Center

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Congratulations to Humanities 2024 Graduates!

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Humanities undergraduates posed with department head Scott Maratto at spring commencement on Saturday. Back row: Scott Maratto, Michael Bunker (CCM), Daniel Ryan (STC), Austin McFarlane (STC), Elsie Burton (STC). Front Row: Charlotte Haanela (English), Karissa Sanders (English), Kara Laramore (English), Cameron Gorelick (English), Aspen Stampfler (English), Maddie Nass (STC), Grace Parsekian (STC), Mindy Pierre (STC).

A total of 21 graduate and undergraduate students crossed the stage on Friday and Saturday at Michigan Tech’s annual spring commencement ceremonies.

18 Undergraduates, one masters, and two PhD students were honored over the weekend for having completed, or nearly completed, their degrees across four humanities programs.

Our 2024 graduates will go on to a wide variety of pursuits, from careers in communications, media, and academia; to graduate study in fields like law & policy, and archival studies; to traveling and studying abroad. We are so proud to see our students representing the diversity a humanities degree has to offer!

The department would like to offer our heartfelt congratulations to the following students:

Communication, Culture, and Media: Melissa Dowler, Lyndsay Lagreid, Elijah Poirier, Cole Risko, Ashton Verduin.

English: Cameron Gorelick, Charlotte Haanela, Kara Laramore, Karissa Sanders, Aspen Stampfler.

Scientific and Technical Communication: Michael Bunker, Elsie Burton, Joshua Jongema, Austin McFarlane, Maddie Nass, Grace Parsekian, Mindy Pierre, Daniel Ryan.

Rhetoric, Theory & Culture: Genevieve Delali Antonio (MS), Samantha Quade (PhD), Tori Reeder (PhD).

2024 Commencement Photos

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Brown Bag Talk: Deconstructing Writing Pedagogy with LEGO: Exploring Methods of Engaging STEM Students Further in Writing Pedagogy Spaces with Tucker Nielsen

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What:

Abstract:

Writing centers and writing classrooms have tendencies to focus on a pure linguitic approach to teaching composition. This presentation will explore alternative methods for engaging with students of different disciplines outside of the humanities, including the use of Lego bricks to practice critical thinking, creative writing, and composing rhetoric effectively. Pulling from the concepts of metonymy and deconstruction, using Lego bricks enables students to translate familiar objects to subjects otherwise foreign or barely practiced. We will briefly examine a few exercises instructors or writing coaches can do with their students to see these principles in effect.

Who:

Presented by RTC Masters Student Tucker Nielsen

All are welcome to attend!

When:

Friday, October 6, 2023

Where:

Petersen Library, Walker Arts & Humanities Center

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