Humanities News, Features, and Other Updates

Category: students

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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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: 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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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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Brilynn Janckila Awarded Finishing Fellowship

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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!

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Humanities Names 2024 Departmental and Program Scholars

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A hearty congratulations to our humanities departmental and program scholars! These awards recognize outstanding performance of one undergraduate student in each of our three programs, as well as the department as a whole.

Congratulations to Griffin Six, our English program scholar, Alli Churchwell, our communication, culture, and media program scholar, and Aracely Hernandez-Ramos, our scientific and technical communication program scholar! Each program scholar receives $100 from the department in recognition of their achievements.

Griffin Six has also been named our humanities departmental scholar! Griffin will receive an additional $200 from the department, as well as eligibility for the Provost’s Award for Scholarship, which awards an additional $800 to recipients.

Congratulations and excellent work to all of our amazing humanities scholars!

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Rhetoric, Theory, & Culture Students Recognized for Academic Achievements

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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!

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Victor Wiesen Awarded SURF Scholarship for Summer 2024

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Congratulations to Victor Wiesen on a successful proposal for the SURF scholarship!

Victor is interested in examining the environmental impact of traditional practices of preparation and disposition of remains and comparing those impacts with “green” or “natural” burial practices. In this initial stage of research, Victor will utilize ethnographic research methodology to reveal attitudes and compare social and cultural practices and beliefs surrounding end-of-life disposition practices in Germany and the United States. When we understand the impediments to reducing the environmental impact of these cultural practices, we can more effectively map a pathway to preferable funereal practices. This research reflects a critical aspect of sustainability, especially when one considers that within one lifetime, 8 billion dispositions will take place. Through this type of research, we can potentially accomplish this with minimal impact on the planet.

Stephanie Rowe, Associate Teaching Professor in Humanities, is the faculty mentor for this research. Victor Wiesen is a first year ME student.

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Summer Undergraduate Research Fellows Study Amtrak

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STC Majors Lena Lukowski, Riley Powers, and Davi Prague.

Three Humanities undergraduates have been awarded Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SURF) for 2022. All three will be carrying out their research in conjunction with the study-away program, “Amtrak Tourism: Trains, Cities, & Sustainability” led by Mark Rhodes, Assistant Professor of Geography in Michigan Tech’s Social Sciences department. Students in the Amtrak Tourism program travel on Amtrak for a three week tour of the western United States and study topics related to human geography, sustainability, and the urban environment along the way.

Lena Lukowski’s project, “Locating Tourism Rhetoric: A Comparative Study” pays attention to the connection between location and tourism rhetoric in different cities across the United States. She is interested in seeing how the way in which tourism is discussed changes with the landscape and location. Lukowski is pursuing a double degree in Mechanical Engineering and Scientific and Technical Communication.

Riley Powers’s project, “Public Tourism Infrastructure and Accessibility: Comparison of Metropolitan, Micropolitan, and Rural Structures” will focus on public tourism infrastructure accessibility design, with a particular focus on the infrastructure encountered by students participating in the Amtrak Tourism study-away program. Powers’ work includes consulting with those who plan and design infrastructure as well as those who are impacted by disparities in accessibility. Results of the study will be shared with stakeholders locally in the Houghton/Keweenaw area, with the aim of highlighting ways to improve accessibility for public tourism in our own community. Powers is a Scientific and Technical Communication major.

Davi Sprague’s project, “Understanding the Relationship Between Rail Communities and Rail Infrastructure” seeks to answer the question, how did rail and train stations influence the urbanization, industrialization, and deindustrialization of rail communities and how are these communities planning for the future? Sprague, a Scientific and Technical Communication major, will combine archival research with filmmaking to produce a short video documentary that features historical and contemporary sources as well as highlights from the study-away program itself.

The SURF fellowship program is administered by Michigan Tech’s Pavlis Honors College. Fellowship recipients conduct a research project under the guidance of a Michigan Tech faculty mentor during the summer semester and, at the conclusion of their work, present their research at the Michigan Tech Undergraduate Research Symposium, or at a professional conference in their field. 

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