Humanities News, Features, and Other Updates

Category: News

Humanities Alumni Social in Germany

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Last summer’s study abroad students come together for a memorable reunion in Dresden.

Calling all alumni of Michigan Tech University! Are you ready to embark on a journey down memory lane in one of Germany’s most enchanting cities? We’re thrilled to announce an exclusive Alumni Student event hosted by our very own Stephanie Rowe, Associate Teaching Professor at MTU. Get ready for an unforgettable evening of reconnecting, reminiscing, and exploring the vibrant city of Dresden. It’s our first Humanities alumni social in Germany!

Savoring German Cuisine

Our exploration continues with a mouthwatering dinner at the historic Sophienkeller. As we indulge in traditional German cuisine and raise a glass to old memories and new experiences, laughter and camaraderie will fill the air. It’s the perfect opportunity to reminisce about our time at MTU and share stories of our adventures abroad.

A Scenic Evening Walk

After dinner, we’ll take a scenic walk past the famous Fürstenzug to Neumarkt, soaking in the beauty of Dresden’s historic landmarks along the way. As we wander through the cobblestone streets and admire the architecture that has stood the test of time, we’ll be reminded of the rich history and culture that make Dresden truly unique.

Concert in the Frauenkirche

Our evening concludes with a breathtaking concert in the awe-inspiring Frauenkirche. Surrounded by the timeless beauty of this iconic venue, we’ll let the music wash over us and create memories that will last a lifetime. It’s the perfect way to end our reunion on a high note, with hearts full of gratitude and spirits lifted by the magic of music.

Join Us for an Unforgettable Humanities Alumni Social in GermanExperience

Whether you’re a recent graduate or a seasoned alum, we invite you to join us for this special Alumni Student event in Dresden. It’s a chance to reconnect with your MTU family, rediscover the beauty of Germany, and create memories that will last a lifetime. RSVP today and get ready for an evening you won’t soon forget!

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Modern Languages Spring Celebration 2024 Scheduled for Wed. April 10

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Modern Languages & Cultures is happy to host a celebration of our Minor students, especially those graduating this Spring and Summer 2024 with a minor in French, German or Spanish. We will gather on Wednesday, April 10th, 6-7.30PM in Walker, 134.

Mingle with us, play games, sing karaoke songs in the four languages, meet people and have fun! Taste a snippet of our foods.

Celebrating language minors at the 2023 Modern Languages Spring Celebration.
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Alumni Student Social in Dresden Scheduled for May 10, 2024

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Stephanie Rowe, German professor in the Humanities Department, is hosting an Alumni Student event on Friday, May 10, 2024 during the faculty-led study abroad program Topics in Germany.  Event details and RSVP can be found on the alumni event page Dresden, Germany Alumni Student event, organized by Stephanie Rowe (’95), Associate Teaching Professor, MTU.

Alumni are invited to join the students for an evening on their study abroad, including a leisurely stroll through the Zwinger grounds, where students and alumni will have an opportunity to get to know each other, dinner at the Sophienkeller, and a walk past the porcelain Fürstenzug to Neumarkt, where we will cap of the evening  with a concert in the Frauenkirche.

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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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Modern Languages Film Series Returns for 2024

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The annual film series sponsored by Modern Languages returns this week for spring 2024! Each of the languages offered, French, Spanish, and German, will be represented by one of the films, which all screen at 7pm in Fisher Hall and are free and open to the public!

Here is the lineup for this year:

Thursday March 21

Québexit

Demers 2020, Canada
When a transnational pipeline leads to a successful Québec sovereignty referendum, a small border road becomes a lightning rod of conflict between the new Québec military, the Canadian Armed Forces and two indigenous women who traverse the border frequently.

Wednesday, March 27

Argentina, 1985

Mitre 2022, Argentina
A team of lawyers takes on the heads of Argentina’s bloody military dictatorship during the 1980s in a battle against odds and a race against time in order to bring justice to victims of the junta.

Thursday, March 28

The Silent Revolution

Kraume 2018, Germany
Based on the true story of a group of twelfth-grade students in East Germany who decide to show their solidarity with the victims of the 1956 Hungarian uprising by staging two minutes of silence during lessons.

For more information on Modern Language minors at Michigan Tech, visit https://www.mtu.edu/humanities/undergraduate/modern-languages/

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Fiss’s Fanciful Frolicking at the History of Science Society Virtual Festival

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Andrew Fiss
Andrew Fiss


Andrew Fiss presented a research paper titled “Singing Songs of HSS: Joking about the Standards of our Discipline” on Dec. 9 as part of the History of Science Society Virtual Festival.

Fiss’ paper analyzed a History of Science Society meeting and a related alumni reunion that occurred in Bloomington, Indiana, on Oct. 31, 1985. It argued that singing together in educational communities has led to heightened experiences of belonging.

He also chaired the virtual session “Sites of Science,” with contributed papers about tribal medicine of Santhal, India; Berzelius’ home laboratory in Sweden; agricultural stations of Hainan and Guangdong provinces, China; and environmental farming practices of Bihar, India.

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41 North Film Festival, Nov. 2-5

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Presenting another year of cinematic explorations and provocations, the 41 North Film Festival returns November 2-5 to the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts. With a lineup of over 20 films, the festival includes panels, special guests, music, and more. This four-day event is free and open to the public.

The opening night film, Time Bomb Y2K (Becker/McDonald, 2023), takes a sometimes hilarious look back at a significant moment of global technological anxiety. Assembling archival footage from 1997-2000 as the world prepared to face the “Y2K millenium bug,” the filmmakers offer both a time capsule and an opportunity to reflect on technological dependency and its implications. Continuing the discussion about technology on Sunday with a different set of questions is Another Body (Hamlyn/Compton, 2023), about a college student who takes us on an investigation into deepfake pornography after she finds herself a victim of it. Both films will offer panel discussions following the films. 

Elephant 6 Recording Co., Friday, 11/3, 7:30 p.m.

On Friday night, the spotlight turns to the Elephant 6 Recording Company (Stockfleth, 2022), an inspiring story about the music collective that gave rise to such bands as Neutral Milk Hotel and the Apples in Stereo, among many others. Core member of the collective, Robert Schneider, who is now part of the Michigan Tech faculty in mathematics, will be joined by Schneider and producer Daniel Efram for a Q&A. A reception will follow this film in the Rozsa Lobby with music by Liquid Mike, helmed by alum Mike Maple (CCM ’19).

Saturday afternoon offers films that expand our field of view on history, culture, and current events. In King Coal (Sheldon, 2023), Elaine McMillion Sheldon takes a poetic look at the people and places of central Appalachia where she grew up; Black Barbie: A Documentary (Davis, 2023) examines Black female representation through the history of Black dolls; and The Mission (McBaine/Moss, 2023), investigates the legacy of colonialism and the death of John Chau, whose missionary zeal led to a fatal encounter in 2018.

The Erie Situation, Saturday, 11/4, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday evening, the festival presents The Erie Situation (Ruck, 2022), which takes a hard look at the confluence of science and politics around a great lake’s toxic algae problem. Co-sponsored by the Great Lakes Research Center, the film will be followed by a panel discussion and Q&A with filmmaker David Ruck.

32 Sounds, Sunday, 11/5, 7:00 p.m.

More lyrical and contemplative offerings this year include the charming Hummingbirds (Castaños/Contreras, 2023), which follows two friends (one documented, the other not) on their adventures in Laredo, Texas, and the festival’s closing night film, 32 Sounds (Green, 2022), a meditation on the power of sound.

In partnership with the festival, MTU Film Board will be offering Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City in Fisher 135 over the course of the weekend.

Major sponsors of the festival include the department of humanities, the department of visual and performing arts, and the college of sciences and arts. For more information, contact Erin Smith, ersmith@mtu.edu.

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From STC to a Future Career in Environmental Law

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Krysten Hergert ’14 graduated with a degree in scientific and technical communication from Michigan Technological University. She was recently featured in the Muskegon County legal News, where she talked about her future in environmental law, as well as her start writing proposals for architectural and engineering firms. We wish Krysten good luck as she wraps up her final year of law school.

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Laura Fiss’ “The Idler’s Club” To Hit Shelves January 31

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Portrait of Laura Kasson Fiss holding "The Idler's Club"
Laura Kasson Fiss explores Victorian humor through the cast of literary figures that contributed to the Idler literary magazine in The Idler’s Club.

The Idler’s Club: Humour and Mass Readership from Jerome K. Jerome to P.G. Wodehouse, written by faculty member Laura Kasson Fiss, is set to be released on January 31, 2023, from Edinburgh University Press. A release party will take place Friday, February 3, from 12-1 PM at the Van Pelt and Opie Library to celebrate the publication.

The Idler’s Club explores the humor of the key contributors to the Idler literary magazine, “. . . finding connections between people that we don’t really think of today as being connected.” Fiss explains, “They were all in this social network.” By creating humor around the idea of the Victorian social club while simultaneously using “The Idler’s Club” column to create one of their own, authors from Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes stories) to J.M. Barrie (Peter Pan) to Israel Zangwill (whose book, Melting Pot, inspired the oft-used metaphor) created these social and literary connections.

“A lot of them were outsiders, trying to foster social mobility at one point or another.” Fiss observes that the club was “. . . a kind of double-edged sword” that could be both appealing and damaging, and “often both at the same time.” But humor offered these writers and contributors a way to convey multiple meanings simultaneously.

Fiss’ passion for Victorian literature and humor began as an undergraduate, when she studied both English and Music and wrote a thesis for each, both centered around the comedic theatrical partnership Gilbert and Sullivan. Her graduate studies continued to focus on the topic of humor, which would lay the groundwork for The Idler’s Club.

“I’m really proud of it! I’m really excited to have other people read it, and I’m really hoping to have more people take up the topic of Victorian humor.”

Readers can save 30% off Idler’s Club by pre-ordering the book before its official release date on Tuesday using the code NEW30 on the Edinburgh University Press web site.

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