Humanities News, Features, and Other Updates

Free WW1CC Film Screening Tomorrow

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Pierre Niney and Paula Beer in Frantz movieThe Modern Languages Program will host a screening of the François Ozon’s 2016 film Frantz at 7 p.m. tomorrow (Oct. 4) in Walker 134. The screening is free and open to the public.

Film synopsis: In 1919 Quedlinburg, Germany, a young woman named Anna is still mourning the death of her fiance, Frantz Hoffmeister, in the Great War while living with his devastated parents. One day, a mysterious Frenchman, Adrien Rivoire, comes to town both to pay his respects to Frantz’s grave and to contact that soldier’s parents. Adrian explains that he knew Frantz and gradually he wins Anna and the Hoffmeisters’ hearts as he tries to connect with them. But the truth of his motives unveils no easy answers to their complex personal conflicts with each other and the dead man linking them (from IMDB pro).

The screening is part of World War I in the Copper Country (WW1CC), an extensive program of events and exhibits commemorating the WWI Armistice. Partners include Michigan Technological University, the Carnegie Museum of the Keweenaw, and Finlandia University. WW1CC is made possible in part by a grant from the Michigan Humanities Council, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in the WW1CC program do not necessarily reflect those of the NEH or the MHC.

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Faculty and Graduate Student Present at Armistice Symposium

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World War One in the Copper Country logoThree faculty members and a graduate student presented on various topics related to the First World War at the Armistice & Aftermath: a World War One Symposium. The symposium is part of the commemoration of the Copper Country’s involvement in WWI. Ramon Fonkoue presented on “Art and activism in Abel Gance’s film Jaccuse: Revisiting anti-war sentiment in French art and society a century later”. Dany Jacob’s presentation was titled “’Pour la France! Pour ma famille!’: Legacies in Rouad’s Champs d’honneurs”. Laura Fiss also presented on “Recalling the trenches from Club Window: Contrasting perspectives in Dorothy Sayers and P.G. Wodehouse”. Graduate student Edzordzi Agbozo presented on “World War One & Africa: Contesting history, nation, and identity in ‘Western Togoland’”.

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Sarah Bell Returns from Kluge Center Fellowship

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Sarah BellSarah Bell, Assistant Professor of Digital Media, has returned this Fall from The John W. Kluge Center at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. where she was researching as Digital Studies Fellow. Her project was “Speak & Spell to Siri: A Media History of Voice Synthesis” as part of her book manuscript From Speak & Spell to Siri: A Media History of Voice Synthesis. Bell was also awarded previous fellowships from the Lemelson Center at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, the Strong Museum of Play, Michigan Technological University’s Research Excellence Fund, the Computer History section of the Association for Computing Machinery, and the Institute for Museum and Library Services.

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Armistice and Aftermath Symposium

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World War One in the Copper Country logoThe WWI Armistice and Aftermath Symposium is a two-day event, Friday and Saturday (Sept. 28 and 29) that includes presentations, a film and concert, most on the Michigan Tech campus.

Armistice Day 2018 marks the centenary end of World War I. This symposium explores the conditions and impacts of the Great War as experienced during and afterward.

All events are open to the public and admission is free. The full program is available online. A box supper on Friday and a buffet lunch on Saturday are available for $5 and must be reserved in advance by no later than noon Wednesday (Sept. 26).

Friday’s events:

  • 4-5 p.m.: Sue Collins “Local Theaters, Propaganda and WWI.” Orpheum Theater, Hancock
  • 6-7 p.m.: Superior Wind Symphony, “Europe, America, and the World: An Outdoor Concert.” On Walker lawn if weather permits; otherwise McArdle Theatre
  • 7:30-8:30 p.m.: John Morrow Jr. (University of Georgia), “African American Experience in WWI and Aftermath.” Rozsa Lobby

Saturday’s events:

  • 8:45 a.m.: Symposium Committee Welcome, MUB Ballroom
  • 9-11:15 a.m.: Symposium Panels (see full program online)
  • 12-1 p.m.: Lynn Dumenil (Occidental College), “Women and the Great War.” MUB Ballroom
  • 1:15-3:45 p.m.: Symposium Panels
  • 7:30-9 p.m.: “Copper Country at the Silver Screen in 1918,” Rozsa Theater. A silent film program featuring a 1918 Charlie Chaplin film, film shorts, newsreel, and Four Minute-Man performance; music performed by Jay Warren, Chicago’s foremost Photoplay organist.
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World War I and The Copper Country Trench Webcam

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American soldiers in trenches during World War OneAs part of World War I & The Copper Country, a full-scale reconstruction of a section of WWI firing trench on the front line can be viewed through our webcam! This webcam will be available until November 11.

Still Image | Streaming | Time Lapse

An immersive outdoor trench exhibit invites the public to imagine how soldiers experienced life in the trenches, including “going over the top.” This project is headed by Drs. Stanley Vitton and Kris Mattila (Civil and Environmental Engineering), and it involves student and faculty participants from across campus. The exhibit showcases an actual winding trench dug several feet into the ground and spanning several yards on the campus green. The exhibit is multifaceted featuring an acoustical installation simulating the sounds of battle designed by Christopher Plummer and Sound Design students (Visual & Performing Arts); looped recordings of memorial poetry and selections from soldier memoirs; and informative signage conveying historical facts about trench structure and trench warfare. Prospective plans include a commemorative ceremony to fill in the trench on November 11, 2018 with the participation of local VFW and American Legion groups, ROTC, and JROTC.

Image: Figure 20, Lubin 2015. American Soldiers in trenches, France (near Verdun). 1918 Library of Congress

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Richard Ward Publishes Creative Non-fiction Story

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Richard WardRhetoric, Theory, and Culture PhD student Richard Ward has published a creative non-fiction story in Pennsylvania’s Emerging Writers: An Anthology of Nonfiction, released by Z Publishing House, 2018. Ward’s story is titled “A Rumble in the Woods”. Previously, Ward’s “Cute from a Distance” won the The Bob Hoffman Award for Creative Non-fiction and was published in York Review 21, 2015.

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Patty Sotirin Awarded ADVANCE Grant as Co-PI

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Patty SotirinPatty Sotirin is a co-principle investigator on a project that has received a $1,000,000 research and development grant from the National Science Foundation. Adrienne Minerick (School of Technology) is the principal investigator. Sonia Goltz (School of Business and Economics), Audrey Mayer (School of Forest Resources and Environmental Sciences/Social Sciences) and Andrew Storer (School of Forest Resources and Environmental Sciences) are also Co/PIs on the project titled, “ADVANCE Adaptation AMP-UP Continuous Improvement Process to Transform Institutional Practices and Culture.” This is a three-year project.

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