Humanities News, Features, and Other Updates

Philosopher John Russon to Speak Here November 7

Published October 16, 2014

The Humanities Department’s Rhetoric, Theory and Culture 2014 Colloquium series is pleased to welcome John Russon, Presidential Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at the University of Guelph (Canada). Professor Russon’s talk is entitled “The Limits of Money: Phenomenological Reflections on Selfhood and Value.” It’s being held Friday, November 7, at 5 pm, in the Great Lakes Research Centre, Room 201 (refreshments will be available). All are welcome!

Professor Russon is the author of two books on Hegel: The Self and Its Body in Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit (University of Toronto Press, 1997) and Reading Hegel’s Phenomenology (Indiana University Press, 2004). He is also the author of Human Experience: Philosophy, Neurosis and the Elements of Everyday Life (State University of New York Press, 2003), which was awarded the 2005 Broadview Press/Canadian Philosophical Association Book Prize. His most recent work is entitled Bearing Witness to Epiphany: Persons, Things and the Nature of Erotic Life (State University of New York Press, 2009).

Below is is the abstract for Professor Russon’s talk.

The Limits of Money: Phenomenological Reflections on Selfhood and Value

We are constitutively split between two different experiences. In the experience of “intimacy,” the differentiation that we typically presume of self from other and of fact from value is not operative; such intimacy is distinctive of the formative experience of children. This formative experience, however, precisely gives rise to the experience of “economy,” the experience, that is, of discrete subjects who work upon an alien world. Our challenge is to live in a way that acknowledges both forms of experience without resorting to the authoritative terms of either. Overall, I will argue that money, which is roughly the collectively recognized medium for recognizing the universality of exchange value, in principle misrepresents the lived nature of value. Hence, the more money defines our frame of reference (“economy”), the more the non-universalizable values that are essential to our existence (“intimacy”) are effaced.

Welcome to Our New Faculty, Fall 2014

Published September 17, 2014

By

Humanities

Leyre Alegre-Figuero, Lecturer in Spanish Language and Culture

Leyre holds a Master’s degree in Teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language from the Universidad Central de Barcelona. She has worked as a translator in French, English, Catalan and Russian as well as Spanish.

Carlos Amador, Assistant Professor of Spanish Language and Culture

Carlos earned his PhD in Comparative Literature from the University of Texas. His research focuses on Latin American literature, cultural theory and criticism.

Sara Amani, Lecturer in English as Second Language

Sara earned her PhD from the University of Auckland, New Zealand. Her research focuses on Metacognitive Strategy Instruction in Second Language Pedagogy.

Maria Bergstrom, Instructor of American Literature, Undergraduate Adviser

Maria earned her PhD in American Literature from the University of Michigan.

Andrew Fiss, Assistant Professor of Technical and Professional Communication

Andrew earned his PhD in the History and Philosophy of Science from Indiana University. His research focuses on the history of Mathematics Education in nineteenth-century America.

Laura Kasson Fiss, Instructor of English

Laura earned her PhD in English Literature from Indiana University, where she wrote her dissertation on the topic of Victorian humor.

Anne Stander, Instructor of English as Second Language

Ann holds a Master’s degree in English with a specialization in ESL from Purdue University. She has experience teaching in the United Arab Emirates and in Moldova, as well as in the US.

Dana Van Kooy, Assistant Professor of British Literature

Dana earned her PhD from the University of Colorado. Her research focuses on British and Global Romanticism. She has also published on Black Atlantic, Trans-Atlantic and Circum-Atlantic Studies.

Marcelino Viera-Ramos, Assistant Professor of Spanish Language and Culture

Marcelino earned his PhD from the University of Michigan. He specializes in 19th and 20th Century Latin American Literature and Culture.

Audrey Viguier, Lecturer in French Language and Culture

Audrey earned her PhD in French Literature from the University of Florida. Her research focuses on radical writings of the French revolution.

This Weekend: 41 North Film Festival

Published August 29, 2014

By College of Engineering

Humanities

The 41 North Film Festival (formerly Northern Lights Film Festival) celebrates its 10th anniversary with a name change and an outstanding slate of recent award-winning films and special guests. It will be held from October 23-26 in the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts on the Michigan Tech campus.

Kicking off the festival this year will be director Mark Levinson and his documentary Particle Fever. Particle Fever follows six scientists involved in the launch of the Large Hadron Collider — the biggest and most expensive experiment in the history of the planet. The film provides an unprecedented window into this major scientific breakthrough as it happened. Edited by Academy-Award winner Walter Murch, the film celebrates human discovery and raises important questions about the limits of human knowledge.

Mark Levinson, has worked closely with directors such as Anthony Minghella (The English Patient) and on films including Se7en, Cold Mountain, and The Pledge. He also has a PhD in Physics from UC-Berkeley. He will be on hand for a Q&A following the film. Thursday, 10/23, 7 p.m.

On Friday, 10/24, at 7:30 p.m., director/actor Ravi Patel and his father, Michigan Tech alum Vasant Patel (Mechanical Engineering, class of 70), will present the new documetary, Meet the Patels. When Ravi, the son of Indian immigrants, finds himself at a romantic crossroads in his late 20s, love becomes a family affair and an adventure in cross-cultural understanding. The film recently won the Founders Grand Prize for best film at the Traverse City Film Festival.

As an actor, Ravi is most recognized for his work on SCRUBS, IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA, TRANSFORMERS, POWDER BLUE, and THE NEW NORMAL. In 2013, he co-founded THIS BAR SAVES LIVES – with actors Ryan Devlin, Todd Grinnell, and Kristen Bell – which gives a meal to a starving child for every granola bar they sell. Ravi also co-manages an investment group which focuses primarily on health, wellness, and social enterprise startups. Prior to joining the entertainment industry, Ravi was an investment banker and later founded the popular poker magazine ALL IN. He graduated from The University of North Carolina with double majors in Economics and International Studies.

In addition to these featured events, the festival will offer a great selection of independent films including the critically acclaimed Boyhood (Linklater, 2014), The Overnighters (Moss, 2014), which won the 2014 Sundance Jury Prize for Intuitive Filmmaking, Born to Fly: Elizabeth Streb vs. Gravity (Gund, 2014), Alive Inside (Michael Rossato-Bennett), and the indie sci-fi film, Coherence (2014). There will also be shorts programs and other great events for festival goers.

The event is sponsored by the Humanities Department, the Visual and Performing Arts Department, the Office of Institutional Equity, the College of Sciences and Arts, CinOptic Enterprise Team, and the Visiting Women & Minority Lecturer/Scholar Series (VWMLS) which is funded by a grant to the Office of Institutional Equity from the State of Michigan’s King-Chavez-Parks Initiative. It is free and open to the community. For the full line-up, visit the festival website at http://41northfilmfest.org. Contact Erin Smith at 906-487-3263 or ersmith@mtu.edu for more information.

The Year of Roxane Gay

Published August 24, 2014

By

“Let this be the year of Roxane Gay,” wrote Time Magazine’s Nolan Feeny in a review last May.

Humanities alumna Roxane Gay (PhD in Rhetoric and Technical Communication, 2010) is gaining international acclaim as a novelist and cultural critic. This summer her collection of essays entitled Bad Feminist, has been named one of the the 11 “Best New Books” of the year by People Magazine (August 24, 2014), She is also the author of a novel, An Untamed State, and a collection of poems, stories and essays, Ayiti. In addition to these books and many essays in print and on-line, Roxane Gay is a co-editor of the literary/cultural journal PANK, published from Michigan Tech’s Humanities Department. Roxane is an associate professor of English at Purdue University.

Our 100th PhD Graduate

Published August 22, 2014

By College of Engineering

Humanities

Each year in the Department of Humanities we award PhD degrees to five or six graduates who go on to productive careers as scholars and teachers in universities in the United States and abroad. One typical case is that of Steve Markve (PhD in Rhetoric and Technical Communication, 2014), who successfully defended his doctoral dissertation this July and took a position as assistant professor at the University of Qatar. But there is one thing that sets Steve apart from the other graduating PhD students this summer—he happened to be the 100th PhD graduate since the program began in 1989. Congratulations to Steve, and to the RTC graduate program as well!

Creative Canvas Course Contest Winners Announced

Published August 14, 2014

By

Humanities

Last spring, the Center for Teaching and Learning’s second annual Creative Canvas Course Contest (C-4) saw students nominate Canvas courses from almost every department that they felt were intuitive and easy to navigate, provided convenient access to course information and materials, and offered resources and activities that helped them succeed.

Nine courses were selected:

HU3151, Assistant Professor Lauren M. Bowen (HU)
CH1160, Associate Professor Paul Charlesworth (Chem)
FA3650, Assistant Professor Kalen Larson (VPA)
MEEM3502, Professor of Practice James DeClerck (ME-EM)
CS5821, Assistant Professor Timothy Havens (ECE)
BUS1100, Lecturer Michele Loughead (SBE)
MEEM4700, Professor Gordon Parker (ME-EM)
UN5100, Professor Judith Perlinger (CEE)
FW4370, Assistant Professor Joseph Wagenbrenner (SFRES)

After the results came in, some of the winners graciously provided short video course tours so that others can learn from the design features of their courses. The CTL Tip of the Week is brought to you by the Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL). If you see anything in these course tours that you’d like to emulate, but don’t know how, eLearning walk-in hours are available at the center, and as always, for help with Canvas at Michigan Tech, visit Canvas One Stop.

Humanities in Michigan Tech News

Published August 1, 2014

By College of Engineering

Humanities

Ten Times Over
May 7, 2014
Humanities Professor Explores the Assumptions, Usefulness of Pregnancy Manuals
April 4, 2014
What do We do Now? Family Members and the Brain Dead
February 25, 2014
Bob Johnson Garners NCTE National Book Award
February 13, 2014
Michigan Tech Helping People Cross the Digital Divide
January 17, 2014
Faculty Take Students Abroad
October 24, 2013
Women at Tech Have Things to Say
September 16, 2013
The Last Class: Beth Flynn, Humanities
April 30, 2013
High-Tech Classrooms Usher in a New Era of Teaching
February 22, 2013

Jane Kirby, Intern for Kohler’s Kitchen and Bath Department; Further Thoughts

Published July 1, 2014

By Paige Short

Humanities

My co-op as a technical writer in Kohler’s Kitchen and Bath department is coming to a rapid end. I can’t believe how fast it’s gone, and how much I’ve learned in the last 6 months, from writing skills to professional skills and even plumbing installation skills. I’m constantly learning new things, meeting new people, and gaining valuable skills I know I’ll need for my career development.

As my experience comes to an end, many people are asking me what I think of Kohler, my job, and my overall experience here. In short, I’ve been telling them that Kohler is a remarkable company, my job here has had its ups and downs, and I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything.

The people I’ve met and worked with here have been nothing but supportive and welcoming. I was nervous going into this job, knowing that I could run into some people who hear “co-op” and automatically place me on the bottom of the totem pole, if even on the totem pole at all.

But I’ve hardly run into this. Every engineer, writer, and manager I’ve met has been truly interested in my time here, what I’m doing, how I’m liking it, and even my future plans. I couldn’t have asked for a better company to work for and better people to work with.

I’ve still got a month and a half to crank out, so it’s not over yet. Needless to say, I can’t begin to express how grateful I am for this cool opportunity.

Sarah Ingold, Intern for BB Marketing Group

Published July 1, 2014

By Paige Short

Humanities

This summer I have been given the opportunity to work for BB Marketing Group based out of Libertyville, IL. BB Marketing was started in 2008 and specializes in working with in the technology channel. I was given the chance to work for them last summer and am grateful to have to opportunity to do so again. My aunt who is the president of the company gave me the offer a few years ago and I finally took her up on the offer last summer and was their first intern. It has been quite the learning curve both for me and for them. I work remotely as a consultant, which adds a different view and dynamic than going into an office every day.

I work on a variety of projects with varying levels of creativity. Ranging from research and creating excel spreadsheets to designing layouts in Word. I am becoming well versed in Microsoft Office applications, and learning many things beyond the basics of the programs. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time working for BB Marketing and have been learning many valuable things. During this time I have truly learned the importance of time management and communication. It is very interesting and eye opening to only be in contact with ones coworkers through email or phone, but it brings a different perspective on working in the world outside of college. It has greatly helped my confidence in working independently. Working for a family member has also been a wonderful experience, as my supervisor my aunt and I now have gained a wonderful professional relationship outside the familial one we already have. I am excited about what the rest of my time with BB Marketing will bring.

Theresa Tran, Intern for KOHLER Kitchen and Bath Americas

Published July 1, 2014

By Paige Short

Humanities

Working as an intern in technical communications for KOHLER Kitchen & Bath has been a great learning experience for me even though I have only been here for a little over a month. I have met so many people as well as have been able to help many people. It is very rewarding to know that the work I do has the potential to help a wide range of people near and far.

My first day at Kohler mainly consisted of meeting everyone in the office but I was quickly given a numerous amount of shower door projects that required attention to detail as well as frequent communication with an engineer. At first, this was overwhelming for me but I quickly learned that the engineer I was working with would be an extremely resourceful and patient person to work with. Around the same time, I was also given the opportunity to assemble one of the shower doors that I was writing an installation guide for which gave me insight into how a customer would see the document but also how usable the document was. After putting myself in the shoes of a customer, this was a great way for me to understand how important my role as a technical communicator can be.

There are still so many things for me to learn and I have already had the chance to experience different Kohler products that can play music, be heated, and even adjust according to gender! I would be lying if I said that I did not check to see what kinds of toilets and faucets are in a bathroom whenever I go into one. Kohler has already made a significant impact in my life. My work experiences have already affected the way that I view the world and I am looking forward to what else Kohler has to offer me but also what I have to offer Kohler.