Humanities News, Features, and Other Updates

Category: RTC

Lindsay Hiltunen Appointed to Ottawa National Forest Resource Advisory Committee

Published
By
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.

Continue Reading →

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

Published
By

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

Continue Reading →

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

Published
By

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

Continue Reading →

Academic Job Market Roundtable Discussion, Humanities Brown Bag Series

Published
By
Richard Canevez, Jennifer Nish, Jason Archer, James Hammond, and Holly Hassell participated in a panel discussion on the academic job market.

What:

A panel discussion featuring new tenure-track faculty hired in 2022/2023 to discuss the academic job market within the humanities, and their individual experiences with the academic job search that led them to Michigan Tech. Featuring Jason Archer, Richard Canevez, James Hammond, Holly Hassell, and Jennifer Nish.

Who:

Recent tenure-track faculty Jason Archer, Richard Canevez, James Hammond, Holly Hassell, and Jennifer Nish.

All are welcome to attend!

When:

Friday, September 22, 2023

Where:

Petersen Library, Walker Arts & Humanities Center

Continue Reading →

Brilynn Janckila Awarded Finishing Fellowship

Published
By

A hearty congratulations to RTC PhD candidate Brilynn Janckila, who has been awarded a finishing fellowship for the summer of 2024!

Finishing fellowships are awarded by the graduate school to outstanding PhD students in their final semester. During that time, the student’s work is fully funded as they finish and defend their dissertation.

Brilynn’s research topics include girlhood studies, Barbie and Barbie media, feminist research methods, fan culture, writing studies, and writing program/writing center administration, usability and social justice in technical communication.

Great work, Brilynn!

Continue Reading →

Rhetoric, Theory, & Culture Students Recognized for Academic Achievements

Published
By

Several of our graduate students in the Rhetoric, Theory, and Culture program have been recognized this spring for achievements in both teaching and research!

Basanti Timalsina was awarded a Spring 2024 Finishing Fellowship by the graduate school, which is funding her research for the spring semester as she finishes her doctoral dissertation and prepares for her thesis defense. Click Here too learn more about Basanti’s research and the topic of her dissertation. Congratulations and good luck, Basanti!

Reid Devoge has been recognized with the Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Award, which is granted to graduate student instructors who have displayed excellence in teaching within their department. Reid is a PhD student in the Rhetoric, Theory, and Culture program, as well as the Deputy Director of Michigan Tech Public Safety and Police Services. Congratulations, Reid!

Brilynn Janckila has been awarded the Dean’s Award for Outstanding Scholarship, which recognizes excellence among graduate students in the year of their graduation. Students may be nominated for the award who display outstanding qualities in areas such as research, teaching, leadership, dissertation quality, and departmental involvement, to name a few. Brilynn is scheduled to complete her PhD in Rhetoric, Theory, and Culture this year. Congratulations and good luck, Brilynn!

Leave a Comment Continue Reading →

Laura Vidal-Chiesa Inducted into AAC&U Future Leaders Society

Published
By
portrait of Laura
As a finalist for the K. Patricia Cross Award, Laura was recently inducted into the AAC&U Future Leaders Society.

Humanities PhD candidate Laura Vidal-Chiesa has been inducted into the American Association of Colleges and Universities Future Leaders Society, presented at the AAC&U Annual Meeting in San Francisco Jan 18-20 2023.

“First of all, I would like to thank Dr. Andy Fiss and Dr. Maria Bergstrom for the nomination to the K. Patricia Cross Award. While I wasn’t a winner, I was selected as one of the finalists, which means I have been inducted into the AAC&U Future Leaders Society. I’m very excited about all of the resources that come with it, and looking forward to bringing as many of those back into our department and sharing them with our instructors and faculty,” said Vidal-Chiesa.

According to AAC&U’s web site, “The Inductees into the AAC&U Future Leaders Society share a profound commitment to high-quality teaching and learning, equity, and community engagement.” Membership includes access to “unique, cross-disciplinary opportunities for professional development, networking, and mentorship” as well as training and development resources for future educators.

“The American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) is a global membership organization dedicated to advancing the democratic purposes of higher education by promoting equity, innovation, and excellence in liberal education. ”

Laura is a fourth-year PhD candidate in the Rhetoric, Theory, and Culture (RTC) Program, as well as the Assistant Director for the Composition Program. In addition to writing and composition, her research includes topics like emotional labor, organizational communication, feminism, and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI.) She hopes to graduate this upcoming summer, 2023.

Congratulations, Laura!

Leave a Comment Continue Reading →

“Bad Info” Project Funded by Michigan Humanities Grant

Published
By

Dr. Stefka Hristova and Dr. Sue Collins (HU) have been awarded a grant by Michigan Humanities, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, for their project “Bad Info: Fake News, Manipulated Photographs, and Social Influencers.”

This project explores issues of media literacy in relation to the spread of mis- and dis-information. It aims to educate college students as well as our local community more broadly on how to identify fabricated news, manipulated photographs, and social influencers and their infomercials, in digital media and social media contexts.

This initiative is a collaborative effort involving the Department of Humanities, J. Robert Van Pelt and John and Ruanne Opie Library, and Copper Country Community Art Center. Bad Info features three exhibits, four workshops, film screenings, panel discussions, and keynote experts in information literacy.

The series of events will run from October 2021 through the spring semester 2022.

Continue Reading →

Reid DeVoge Graduates from FBI Academy

Published
By

by Administration

The Department of Public Safety and Police Services announced that Detective Lieutenant Reid DeVoge recently graduated from the Federal Bureau of Investigation National Academy (FBINA) in Quantico, Virginia.

The graduating class consisted of men and women from 49 states and the District of Columbia. The class included members of law enforcement agencies from 32 countries, five military organizations and eight federal civilian organizations. Of the 250 graduates, seven are from institutions of higher education.

The FBI National Academy is a professional course of study for U.S. and International law enforcement leaders that serves to improve the administration of justice in police departments and agencies at home and abroad and to raise law enforcement standards, knowledge, and cooperation worldwide.

Internationally known for its academic excellence, the National Academy offers 10 weeks of undergraduate and/or graduate college courses in the following areas: law, behavioral science, forensic science, understanding terrorist mindsets, leadership development, communication and health/fitness.

DeVoge has served with the Department of Public Safety and Police Services since November 2009. He is also a student in the Rhetoric, Theory, and Culture

Continue Reading →