Social Sciences Newsblog

Category: News

Proposals in Progress June 3, 2013

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Associate Professor Carol MacLennan (SS), “Oral History of Torch Lake Copper Reclamation, 1940-1970,” Keweenaw National Historical Park.

Associate Professor Timothy Scarlett (SS), Associate Professor Samuel Sweitz (SS) and Associate Professor Fred Quivik (SS), “2013 Public Archaeology at the Cliff Mine,” Keweenaw National Historical Park.

Associate Professor Audrey Mayer (SS), “Protecting the Great Lakes from Invasive Species: Science to Support Policy,” University of Michigan.

Associate Professor Hugh Gorman (SS/GLRC) and Assistant Professor Adam Wellstead (SS/GLRC), “Evaluating the Role of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative in Enhancing the Policy Capacity of Lakewide Management Plans (LaMPS),” University of Michigan Water Center.

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Winkler on Net Migration Patterns

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Net MigrationMigration Patterns Reveal Much about US Population, Research Finds

Richelle Winkler, assistant professor of social sciences, says Detroit attracted fewer young adults in the 1980s and 1990s than did revitalizing cities like Chicago. Then, with the economic recession between 2000 and 2010, more young people actually left Detroit than people of other ages.

“In this extreme situation, the young were more likely to move out,” she says, “because they are more mobile and not as tied to families and mortgages. This kind of shift in the signature [age-based pattern] is rare and indicative of real and profound socio-economic change.”

Winkler’s work is part of a new population-map website, Net Migration Patterns for US Counties housed at the Applied Population Laboratory at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Read more at Michigan Tech News, by Dennis Walikainen.

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Norman is Part of Water Systems Hiring Initiative

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Emma NormanTen New Faculty Members Hired in SFHI: Water Systems and Future Transportation Systems

Michigan Tech has hired ten new faculty members as part of the University’s most recent Strategic Faculty Hiring Initiatives (SFHI), which were conducted in parallel over the last two years. The research done by six of the new hires focuses on the cross-disciplinary theme of water systems. The other four new faculty members conduct research in future transportation systems.

Emma Norman filled an open line in the Department of Social Sciences. She earned her PhD in Geography at the University of British Columbia. Prior to joining Michigan Tech, she was a faculty member at Northwest Indian College (Washington). She works closely with the Great Lakes Research Center and the Program on Water Governance at the University of British Columbia. Her research specialties are transboundary water governance, water security, political and cultural geography, and environmental governance. An already well-published young scholar, she will bring a perspective on water politics and indigenous issues to collaborations with fishery biologists, ecologists and social scientists.

Read more at Tech Today, by the Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs.

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Tumult and Tragedy in Calumet

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Gary KaunonenTelling stories of the strike
Presentation describes process of building historical exhibit

Gary Kaunonen, project historian for “Tumult & Tragedy: Michigan’s 1913-14 Copper Strike,” spoke at the Keweenaw National Historical Park’s Fourth Thursday presentation at the park’s Calumet Visitor Center.

Kaunonen said besides himself, the creation of the exhibit included former Michigan Technological University archivist Erik Nordberg and graphic designer Mike Stockwell. There was also a nine-member “narrative committee.”

Read more at the Mining Gazette, by Kurt Hauglie.

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Norman’s Class and Seven Mile Point

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Seven Mile Point
Seven Mile Point

Students and faculty at Michigan Tech collaborated with the North Woods Conservancy on a project to help maintain a small piece of nature for future generations.

Senior Lecturer A. J. Hamlin joined this project because her Engineering Modeling and Design course bridges the needs of the NWC and the goals of Social Sciences Assistant Professor Emma Norman’s World Resources and Development course perfectly. “When Emma asked if my first-year students might be interested in building a compostable toilet, I thought it would make a great design project,” Hamlin said.

Read more at Michigan Tech News, by Kevin Hodur.

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Service Recognition for Reynolds and Martin

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Michigan Tech Employee Service Recognition Event

On May 15, faculty and staff members, along with their guests, gathered at the Memorial Union Ballroom for an awards dinner recognizing 25, 30, 35, and 40 years of service to Michigan Tech.

Professor Emeritus of History Terry Reynolds was recognized for 30 years of service.

Professor and Chair Patrick Martin was recognized for 35 years of service.

Read more at Tech Today.

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Winkler’s Class Focuses on Calumet Art Scene

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Calumet ArtStudy: Art Strengthens Community Ties in Calumet

Art has long fostered human connection. Now a Michigan Technological University social sciences professor and her class are examining how art is working as a social glue in Calumet.

Students in Richelle Winkler’s Topics in Rural Community Sustainability class focused on the art scene in Calumet to better understand how the village’s First Fridays art tours benefit the community. On the first Friday of each month, Calumet’s participating art galleries and cafes extend their business hours late into the evening, offering refreshments, artist receptions, demonstrations, menu specials and more, depending on the season.

Read more at Michigan Tech News, by Karina Jousma.

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