Humanities News, Features, and Other Updates

GSG Merit Awards – Winners Announced

Published March 4, 2020

This years awardees for the Graduate Student Government Merit Awards have been decided. A total of 88 nominations were received from departments all across campus. The decision process was not an easy one as there was a very strong pool of nominations this year. We are very grateful to all of our nominees for all of the work they put in to improve and enrich the life of our graduate students.

Without further ado, here are the award winners:

Exceptional Staff Member – Claire Wiitanen, Administrative Aide from the Physics Department
Exceptional Graduate Mentor – Victoria Bergvall, Associate Professor of Linguistics, Humanities
Exceptional Student Leader – Jacob Blazejewski, a PhD student from Mathematical Sciences
Exceptional Student Scholar – Nancy Henaku, a PhD student from Humanities

Congratulations to our winners and all you have done for our graduate students!

PhD Candidates Celebrated at Advancement to Candidacy Ceremony

Published February 28, 2020

By Heather Powers

RTC PhD candidates were celebrated at the first annual Advancement to Candidacy Ceremony conducted by the Graduate School for all ABD students. Attending the ceremony with their advisors were the following:

Gabriel Edzordzi Agbozo (advisor Dr. Vicky Bergvall)
Nada Mohammad A. Alfeir (advisor Dr. Patty Sotirin)
Joshua Chase (advisor Dr. Abraham Romney)
Marina Choy (advisor Dr. Patty Sotirin)
Geethu Madeckal Jose (advisor Dr. Patty Sotirin)
Sara T. Potter (advisor Dr. Patty Sotirin)
Hua Wang (advisor Dr. Marika Seigel)

La Peña — Spanish Conversation Hour

Published February 20, 2020

By Heather Powers

Modern Languages

Join us! Learn Spanish quicker through interaction with other Spanish speakers. Join us in a relaxed environment to practice and improve your conversation skills. Speak Spanish, play games, have a snack, and make new friends! Bring a friend!
To receive reminders, email Leyre Alegre at lalegref@mtu.edu

Tuesday, February 25 at 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Tuesday, March 3 at 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm

Walker Arts and Humanities Center, 120A (HDMZ)
1400 Townsend Drive, Houghton, MI 49931

Café Française Resumes

Published January 28, 2020

By Heather Powers

It is with great pleasure that Café Français resumes its activities this at the usual time and place, 5 to 6 p.m. Thursday (Jan. 30) in Walker 120C.

Join us for an hour in a laid-back francophone setting. As usual, snacks and light refreshments will be served. Open to all. Any level of French is welcome. For more information, email danyj@mtu.edu

Hope to see you there.

Dr. Fonkoué Publishes New Book

Published January 17, 2020

By Erin Smith

Dr. Ramon A. Fonkoué has published a new book titled Nation Without Narration: History, Memory and Identity in Postcolonial Cameroon (Cambria Press, 2019). According to the publishers, “This book traces the roots of the current turmoil and sheds light on overlooked factors impacting nation building in post-colonial Cameroon. It demonstrates the urgency of cross-disciplinary work on African societies and the continued relevance of postcolonial criticism as a theoretical framework. It extends the postcolonial critique inaugurated by Homi Bhabha’s Nation and Narration into twenty-first-century sub-Saharan Africa. It also reframes the question of modernity and development in this context, suggesting an approach with a bearing on people’s lived experience.”

¡La Peña! Spanish Conversation Hour

Published January 14, 2020

By Heather Powers

Humanities

Join us for Spanish Conversation Hour in Walker! Learn Spanish quicker through interaction with other Spanish speakers. Join us in a relaxed environment to practice and improve your conversation skills. Speak Spanish, play games, have a snack, and make new friends! Bring a friend!
To receive reminders, email Leyre Alegre at lalegref@mtu.edu. Dates are listed in the events calendar.

In Print

Published January 13, 2020

By Heather Powers

Stephanie Carpenter (HU), published “Braving the Elements,” a one-month teaching guide for Ecotone literary magazine’s new “Teach Ecotone” initiative.

Funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, the initiative helps educators adopt the magazine as a classroom text. Ecotone is an internationally-distributed magazine focused on writing and art that reimagines place.

On the Road and In Print

Published January 13, 2020

By Heather Powers

Andrew Fiss (HU) presented at and participated in the British Academy workshop titled “Universals’ Locales: The International and Global History and Sociology of Modern Theoretical and Mathematical Sciences” Jan. 8-9, in Edinburgh, Scotland at the University of Edinburgh.

His contributions introduced historical considerations for the study of cultural representations of mathematics and mathematicians, including broader questions about how mathematicians come to agree on terms and styles.

Peitho published “The Mathmagics of Media Princesses: Informal STEM Learning, STEM Rhetorics, and Animated Children’s Movies” by Andrew Fiss (HU).

Clients Needed for Grant Writing Course

Published January 7, 2020

By Heather Powers

Marika Seigel (HU) is accepting proposals for potential client projects for Grant Writing (HU3694), offered this spring semester. For their final projects for the course, students will research and write grant proposals (or portions of grant proposals) for campus and community clients, usually nonprofit organizations.

The best grant projects for this class are small, well-defined projects that can be funded through smaller grants (typically $50,000 or less) from foundations or state government grant programs.

If you are involved with an organization that would be interested in collaborating with students to work on a grant proposal, or if you know of a potential client, contact Seigel at maseigel@mtu.edu, by Friday, Jan.17.

Modern Languages Holiday Celebration

Published December 1, 2019

By Heather Powers

Modern Languages

Join Modern Languages faculty and students from 5 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, December 4th, in Walker 134 for a unique celebration of French, German, and Spanish holiday traditions. Appearing live will be the French Canadian group, Maple Sugar Folk, as well as Sue Ellen Kingsley and Friends.

Learn holiday songs in each language for the sing-along and listen to traditional holiday music. Play Christmas Bingo and enjoy a variety of holiday treats from different cultures. No prior language experience required. Families are welcome.

For more information, contact Karin Schlenker.