Please join us to hear Emma Norman present her newest project “The Power of Water: Renegotiating the Columbia River Treaty,” in the Department of Social Sciences Colloquia Series on Thursday, April 17, at 4 p.m., in AOB 201.
FinnForum X and Retrospection & Respect Remember the Copper Strike of 1913-14 this Weekend
Retrospection and Respect: the 1913-1914 Mining/Labor Strike Symposium is being held in conjunction with FinnForum X and commemorates the cessation of the 1913-1914 Western Federation of Miners labor strike against copper mining companies in the Copper Country of Upper Michigan.
An exhibit titled “Tumult and Tragedy: Michigan’s 1913–1914 Copper Strike” opens at 8 a.m. Thursday, April 10 on the first floor lobby of the J. Robert Van Pelt and John and Ruanne Opie Library on the Michigan Tech campus.
The Finnish American Heritage Center at Finlandia University recently installed three exhibits. They include a photographic exhibit titled “Rural Reflections: Finnish American Buildings and Landscapes in Michigan’s Copper Country”; a historic photography exhibit named “People, Place and Time: Michigan’s Copper Country Through the Lens of J.W. Nara”; and a pair of lithographs acquired by the National Park Service which were on either side of the Italian Hall stage the night of the infamous Christmas Eve tragedy 100 years ago.
Also on Thursday, Finlandia’s Nordic Film Festival will show To My Son in Spain: Finnish Canadians in the Spanish Civil War. The film’s writer, Saku Pinta, will be there to answer questions.
On Friday, April 11, there will be an open house at the Finnish American Heritage Center and a trolley tour of the Keweenaw.
Saturday, April 12 features a speaker series with both FinnForum X and Retrospection & Respect sessions in Michigan Tech’s Fisher Hall.
Co-sponsors of the event are Michigan Technological University’s Van Pelt and Opie Library, Michigan Technological University Archives, Copper Country Historical Collections, Friends of the Van Pelt and Opie Library, Departments of Humanities and Social Sciences, and the Alumni Association. From Finlandia University, the Finnish American Heritage Center and the Finnish American Historical Archives are co-sponsors along with community partners Cranking Graphics, Book Concern Printers, Keweenaw National Historical Park and Advisory Commission. International support has come from Turku, Finland’s Institute of Migration and the History Department at the University of Turku.
Read more at Michigan Tech News, by Monica Lester.
Reliving history
Conferences puts copper strike of 1913-14 in international context
Sunday marked the 100th anniversary of the end of the Western Federation of Miners Copper Country strike, and Thursday through Saturday academics from around the region and around the world gathered in Houghton and Hancock for a pair of concurrent conferences that helped mark the strike’s place in history and to consider Finnish and international influences on the American labor movement.
Portage Library Hosts Environmental Assessment Presentation about Torch Lake
The Portage Lake District Library will host a panel discussion about the “Impacts of Legacy Mining on Torch Lake” on Tuesday, April 22, at 7 p.m.
Michigan Tech faculty members Noel Urban (CEE), Carol MacLennan (SS) and Judith Perlinger (CEE) will give a three-part presentation on Torch Lake and will answer questions from the audience afterwards.
Dean Terry Sharik (SFRES) will present, “The Future of Natural Resource Science at Michigan Tech” at the Social Sciences Colloquia, Friday, April 4, at 4 p.m., AOB 201.
Social Sciences graduate student Emma Schwaiger (IAH) and Civil and Environmental Engineering graduate student Ankita Mandleia (EEP) will present “An Interdisciplinary Approach to Understand Pollution: PCBs in Torch Lake,” which describes some aspects of their work (with professor Carol MacLennan, et al.) on the Torch Lake project– that seeks to document the historic mine production of copper and PCB waste. The presentation will be held Friday, March 28, at 4 p.m., in AOB 201.
Emma Norman (SS) will present for the Social Sciences Colloquia Series, “The Power of Water Renegotiating the Columbia River Treaty,” Friday, March 21, 2014, from 4:00 – 5:30 pm in AOB 201.
From Tech Today.
Green Film Series to present “Gasland” — part of World Water Day observance at Michigan Tech
The Green Film Series at Michigan Tech will present the film Gasland as part of several events scheduled on campus to observe World Water Day.
This 100-minute documentary will be shown from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday, March 20, in the Atrium and G002, Hesterberg Hall, in the Michigan Tech Forestry building. It will be followed by a discussion facilitated by Richelle Winkler, Michigan Tech assistant professor of sociology and demography. Coffee and dessert will be served. (Please bring your own mug.)
The event is free and open to the public; a $3 donation is suggested.
World Water Day events are sponsored by Michigan Tech Center for Water and Society, Sustainable Futures Institute, Lake Superior Stewardship Initiative, Keweenaw Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, Keweenaw Land Trust, Great Lakes Research Center, Michigan Tech Dept. of Visual and Performing Arts, and Finlandia University. A grant/partial funding has been provided by the Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science, Inc. (CUAHSI)
Read more at Keweenaw Now.
A Peace Corps information session will be held Thursday, March 20, at 6 p.m., in MUB Alumni Lounge B. Peace Corps Volunteers are making a difference all over the world in the areas of education, health and the environment. Stop by this information session to learn more about the benefits of service and how you can live, work and learn overseas after graduation.
From Tech Today.
Graduate Student Government Travel Grant Award Winners for Spring 2014
Travel grants for spring 2014 have been awarded. Among the Presenting Travel Grants ($ 250) recipients are social sciences graduate students Mayra O. Sanchez Gonzalez and Ronesha Strozier.
The full list of graduate recipients can be accessed online.
Travel grants are awards that help subsidize cost of attending and presenting at conferences. These awards are sponsored by the Graduate Student Government (GSG) and the Graduate School. For more information on travel grants, please visit the webpage.
Should you have any questions, contact the GSG treasurer Jennifer Winikus (jawiniku@mtu.edu).
From Tech Today.
Almost a hundred elementary, middle and high school students will compete at the District 1 regional event for Michigan History Day on Saturday, March 1, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Michigan Tech in the MUB. Finalists in the youth, junior and senior divisions will move on to the state contest on April 26 at Saline Middle School.
Michigan History Day is an educational program of the Historical Society of Michigan and offers a fascinating opportunity to move social science beyond routine learning. Students perform research on an individually chosen topic. They then present their work through the disciplines of writing, art, literature, music, drama and/or visual communications.
“We are expecting a lot of great entries this year,” said Tamara Barnes, Michigan History Day state coordinator. “The students applied this year’s theme—Rights and Responsibilities in History—to create a variety of performances, exhibits, papers, websites and documentaries. We’re excited to see what topics in history come out of this year’s competition.”
Participants from District 1 include students from Houghton-Portage Township Schools, Hancock Public Schools, Lake Linden, Chassell, and Dollar Bay. The public is invited to attend the event. The District 1 competition is sponsored by Michigan Tech.
From Tech Today.
Sponsors
The MHD District 1 coordinators, John Robins and Steven Walton, would like to thank the generous sponsorship of the Dept. of Social Sciences (MTU), the University Archives and Historical Collections (MTU), and the Quincy Mine Hoist Association. IN addition, we would like to thank the two dozen volunteers who will be helping judge, staff tables, and make sure the A/V is operating properly.