Upcoming RTC Colloquium Announced

RTC Colloquium event posterThe Department of Humanities is pleased to announce a Rhetoric, Theory and Culture Colloquium to be held on Friday, November 10. RTC student Nancy Henaku will first present her talk “Instrumentalizing empowerment: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings’ ‘Feminist’ Rhetoric” followed by RTC students Edzordzi Agbozo & Tolu Odebunmi presenting “Rhetorical ecologies in contemporary West Africa: reconsidering the ‘triglossic structure’.” Patty Sotirin will be providing commentary to the presenters.

Please join us 5 p.m. Friday, November 10 in Walker 134.

Scott Marratto Presents at HuskyLEAD Workshop

Scott Marratto
Scott Marratto

Join Scott Marratto (HU) from 4-5 p.m. Wednesday (Nov. 1) in MUB Ballroom B1 for his presentation, “Morality and Technology: Rethinking Engineering Ethics.”

Marratto’s discussion will conclude the Fall 2017 HuskyLEAD workshops; however, individuals are still encouraged to check out the HuskyLEAD-Strengths Series opportunities still happening.

Traditional approaches to engineering ethics stress the application of professional codes of ethics to real-world problems. The mainstay of education in this approach is the case-study: the examination of real and hypothetical incidents (e.g., the space shuttle Challenger accident) with a view to drawing lessons about how ethical rules and procedures could, or should, have been applied. A number of ethicists and philosophers of technology have raised critical questions about this approach.

They have argued that ethics should be more integrated into the education of engineers and designers. In this talk and discussion, we will consider some of these challenges and proposals for new approaches to engineering ethics.

On the Road: HU Faculty and RTC doctoral students present at OSCLG

Victoria L. Bergvall
Victoria L. Bergvall
Diane L. Shoos
Diane L. Shoos
Patty Sotirin
Patty Sotirin

Vicky Bergvall (HU), Diane Shoos (HU) and Patty Sotirin (HU), along with RTC doctoral students Nancy Henaku and Tolulope Odebunmi and RTC alumna Lindsay Hingst, presented papers in the panel “Signs of Women’s Empowerment and Collective Action” at the 40th anniversary conference of the Organization for the Study of Communication, Language and Gender in Omaha, Nebraska, Oct 12-14.

On the Road: Syd Johnson at American Society for Bioethics & Humanities Conference

L. Syd M Johnson
L. Syd M Johnson

L. Syd M Johnson (HU) attended the American Society for Bioethics & Humanities annual meeting from Oct.19-22 in Kansas City, Missouri. She organized, presented at and moderated a workshop session on “Belmont for Animals? Considering a framework for protecting nonhuman primates in research”. She also organized, presented at and moderated a panel session on brain death, “Ethics in the Center: When medically ‘settled’ matters and social, cultural, or religious values diverge.” She organized and chaired the Animal Bioethics Affinity Group meeting and she was a guest panelist for a film screening of the documentary film “Unlocking the Cage.”

On the Road: Anna K. Swartz Presents Papers at Conferences

Anna K. Swarz
Anna K. Swarz

Anna K. Swartz, a graduate student in RTC (HU) presented a paper, “The Blame Frame: Representations of Mental Illness in Mainstream News Accounts of U.S. School Shootings,” at the Midwest Popular Culture Association and Midwest American Culture Association annual conference in St. Louis, Missouri on Oct. 19.

Swartz also presented a paper, “Incentivized Neglect: Privatized mental health care in prisons” at the American Society for Bioethics & Humanities Annual Meeting in Kansas City, Missouri, on Oct. 21.

41 North Film Festival Program Announced

Screen Shot 2017-10-17 at 10.50.38 AMThe program has been announced for the 41 North Film Festival and is now available online. The festival runs Nov. 2-5 in the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts and features four days of award-winning independent film from around the world, along with music, guests and special events.

The festival opens on Thursday, Nov. 2, with “Voices of Light: The Passion of Joan of Arc,” an evening of film and music in collaboration with the Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra and the ConScience Michigan Tech Chamber Singers.

Regarded as one of the most influential films in the history of cinema, the 1928 silent film by Danish director Carl Th. Dreyer will be presented with Richard Einhorn’s hauntingly beautiful composition for solo voices, chorus and orchestra performed live.

Film theorist and historian David Bordwell will present a public lecture on Dreyer and participate in a Q&A with Conductor Joel Neves and Choral Director Jared Anderson following the performance.

Tickets for this special events must be purchased separately here. Michigan Tech Students with the Experience Tech fee need only bring their ID to the performance. The rest of the festival is free and open to the public, although a ticket must be reserved.

Other featured events include:

  • Friday, Nov. 3: The festival will feature “AlphaGo at 7:30 p.m., the story of Google Deepmind’s A.I. challenge match with the world Go champion, Lee Sedol. The film will be followed by a panel discussion and after party.
  • Saturday, Nov. 4: The festival will honor Michigan Tech Professor Emeritus Joe Kirkish for his long-standing contribution to film appreciation and community in the Keweenaw. The Festival will pay tribute to Kirkish at 4 p.m. before the screening of film legend Agnès Varda’s new film “Faces Places and then gather for a reception following the film at 6 p.m. in the Rozsa lobby. At 7:30 p.m. the festival presents the critically-acclaimed “Sami Blood,” a drama about a 14-year-old Sámi girl who is subjected to racism and eugenic scrutiny in 1930s Sweden. The film will screen with the short film “Ogichidaa,” which features Jerry Jondreau of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community in a story about his grandfather’s struggle for tribal rights. A panel discussion will follow these films.
  • Sunday, Nov. 5. The festival’s closing night film, “Far Western,” tells the story of a dedicated group of Japanese country/bluegrass musicians and the unique bonds forged through music. Keweenaw Brewgrass will start off the final event with music at 7 p.m.

More a dozen additional new films will play during the festival. Visit the festival website for more information on films and events throughout the weekend. Festival patrons who would like to have dinner at the theater between films on Saturday, Nov. 4 will be able to reserve a picnic dinner box for $10 when they reserve their festival ticket.

Major sponsorship for the 41 North Film Festival is provided by the Department of Humanities, the Department of Visual and Performing Arts and the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts.

In Print: Andrew Fiss Publishes Research

Andrew FissNew York History and New York History: The Quarterly Journal of the Fenimore Art Museum published the research article “Studying Objects, Objectifying Students: Natural History at Women’s Colleges in Postbellum New York State” by Andrew Fiss (HU). Looking at historical lessons in natural history, it argues that certain ways of teaching science encouraged the treatment of students as experiments, specimens, and museum exhibits.

Kitty Donohoe Concert Made Possible with Mini-Grant

Kitty Donohoe
Kitty Donohoe

Through generous support from a Michigan Council for the Arts and Cultural Affairs (MCACA) mini-grant, the English Education Program, partnering with the Copper Country Reading Council (CCRC), invites the Michigan Tech community to a family-oriented concert in Houghton at at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 20 at Saints Peter and Paul Church (Madeline Street).

We are able to offer the community accomplished musician and children’s author, Kitty Donohoe. Donohoe will be in the Copper Country this fall as the CCRC’s visiting artist in the schools for the CCRC’s North Woods Kids Project. The concert is free, and family-oriented; however, donations to the CCRC at the door would be appreciated and are used to support classroom and community literacy projects in the Copper Country.

Ann Arbor based songwriter and Michigan Emmy recipient Donohoe is not an Irish or Celtic singer, but she clearly draws from that part of her heritage, as well as her American roots, as an artist.

Iconic WFMT-Chicago folk DJ Rich Warren calls Kitty “far above and beyond most singer songwriters.”

She writes music that has been called “earthy, luminous and compelling” (The Weekender), and she’s been praised in the press equally for her voice, her musicality and her songwriting.

Donohoe will visit schools during the week prior to her concert, performing and working closely on creative writing with students for the North Woods Kids project, now in its third year. Any young person between the ages of 5 and 19 (and not in college) is eligible to submit writing or art to Evelyn Johnson, Dept. of Humanities, MTU by Dec. 1.

The 2017-2018 prompt is, “In creative writing or visual art, show your appreciation of Lake Superior.”

For more information on how to submit work to NWK, or on the Donohoe concert, email evjohnso@mtu.edu.

Author Talk with Cyndi Perkins

Cyndi Perkins
Cyndi Perkins

Ever wondered what it’s like to live and travel on your boat for four years? Or how to write a book and find a publisher? Cyndi Perkins has done both. The award-winning journalist, a former Daily Mining Gazette managing editor, talks about her novel inspiration (and yours) at a chat and book-signing on Thursday, October 19 at 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm at the J. Robert Van Pelt and John and Ruanne Opie Library, East Reading Room. Refreshments will be served.