Katherine R. Lynes, assistant professor of English and Africana studies, presented a paper, “They Held the River’s ‘Tongue Like Words’: Reenvisioning African American Ecopoetics,” at the Modern Languages Association conference in Philadelphia in December.
Robert Hislope, associate professor of political science, recently accepted an invitation from President of Macedonia Gjorge Ivanov to join the Council of Foreign Relations, his highest advisory body. The council membership is composed of prominent politicians and scholars from Macedonia and around the world. There will be two conferences a year, at which members will draft policy recommendations for President Ivanov. Hislope will attend the first conference Feb. 24-March 1.
Teresa Meade book, “A Brief History of Brazil” (Facts on File, Inc., New York) January 2010
A second edition of “A Brief History of Brazil” (Facts on File, Inc., New York) by Teresa Meade, the Florence B. Sherwood Professor of History & Culture, and director, Latin American & Caribbean Studies, has just been published. This edition contains changes in more than a third of the original (2004) text as well as new photographs. The demand for the book outside traditional academic circles stems in large part from Brazil's increased prominence on the world economic and political stage. In 2001, Goldman Sachs economic analyst Jim O'Neill posited the “BRIC” thesis – Brazil, Russia, India and China – arguing that by the year 2050 these countries will dominate the world economy. In preparing the book’s second edition, Meade drew on the resources of two former students working in Washington, D.C. Zachary Levey’04 of the Inter-American Development Bank and Lilly Briger ’08, a research associate for the Council on Hemispheric Affairs (now living in Rio de Janeiro), contributed up-to-date economic analyses.
Meade also co-edited (with Lisa Brock and Conor McGrady) “Taking Sides: The Role of Visual Culture in Situations of War, Occupation and Resistance,” a special issue of Radical History Review (Duke University Press, 2010). It includes a review essay, "Unexpected Concatenations," by David Ogawa, chair of the Department of Visual Arts.
Through Jan. 31
Visual Arts Building
Burns Arts Atrium
John Willis: Selections from "Recycled Realities" and "A View from the Rez"
Willis is professor of photography at Marlboro College and co-founder of The In-Sight Photography Project, offering courses to southern Vermont area youth regardless of their ability to pay. He also co-founded the Exposures Cross Cultural Youth Photography Program, which brings youth together from a wide variety of backgrounds to share photography lessons and life stories. His work is included in numerous permanent collections including the High Museum of Art, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Whitney Museum of American Art, George Eastman House Museum, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Houston Museum of Fine Arts, Portland Museum of Art, the Library of Congress and the National Museum of Native Americans. He has exhibited nationally and internationally, and his images have been highlighted in various books and journals. Reception is set for Thursday, Jan. 14, 4:30 p.m.
Through Jan. 31 Nott Memorial Wikoff Student Gallery The Illuminated Pixel
No paint, charcoal or clay was used to make the art now on display in the gallery. Instead, each piece was generated on a computer by students in the Intro to Digital Art and 3D Computer Modeling classes. Features work by Lori Cassorla ’10, Phil Cohn ’13, Elizabeth Culp ’10, Rachel Feldman ’12, Vishnu Gollakota ’12, Rachel Guralnick ’11, Davis Knox ’11, Aaron Levine ’10, Liang Li ’11, Jiri Matousek ’10, Hallie Maybrey ’10, Ben McIntosh ’10, David Sayles ’10, Julia Vu ’10, Nancy Wilk ’10 and Stacy Yoo ’11.
One Second, Everything Changes,
forensic exhibit
Through Jan. 31
Nott Memorial First Floor One Second, Everything Changes:
A Forensic Exhibit of Alcohol-Related and Impaired-Driving Crashes in the Capital District
Through words and images, this exhibit portrays youth who were put at risk in New York’s Capital Region. It focuses on fateful events in a forensic style, telling the stories of brothers, sisters, sons, daughters and friends whose sense of immortality clashed with a culture of the extreme.
Through Feb. 28 Nott Memorial
Mandeville Gallery Interrupted Life: Incarcerated Mothers in the United States
Interrupted Life: Incarcerated Mothers” exhibit
This exhibition of folk and outsider art documents, in a variety of mediums, work created by incarcerated mothers, their children and professional artists. It explores issues of motherhood, incarceration, reproductive and welfare policy, and politics. The resulting dialogue presents the challenges and realities created by the dramatic rise of incarcerated women in the United States today. This is a traveling exhibition curated by Rickie Solinger, an independent historian and director of WAKEUP/Arts in New Paltz. Her exhibit has been traveling since 2006 and has visited more than 24 venues in the U.S.
A host of related events are scheduled, including: a film screening of “Prison Lullabies” (Thursday, Jan. 28, 7 p.m., Reamer Campus Center); a lecture, “Violent Interruptions” (Thursday, Feb. 4, 4 p.m., Reamer); a discussion, “Interrupted Lives in Schenectady: Stories from G and H Blocks” (Thursday, Feb. 11, 4 p.m., Nott Memorial”); and a discussion with Solinger, “Interrupted Life” (Thursday, Feb. 25, 4 p.m., Nott) followed by a reception (5-7 p.m.).
Through March 14 Schaffer Library Atrium Union Notables
Union Notables celebrates the great men and women who have studied and worked at the College from its founding in 1795 to the present day. Every six months, a new group of three notables is featured. Currently featured are assistant professor and janitor Charles Frederick Chandler (1836-1925); actor, playwright, journalist and producer John Howard Payne (1791-1852); and College Librarian Ruth Anne Evans (1924-2001).
John Willis,”Recycled Realities” works at the Arts Atrium, January 2010
Thursday, Jan. 14, 12:50-1:50 p.m. / Visual Arts Building, Room 215 / Artists talk and retrospective presentation by photographer John Willis, featuring selections from "Recycled Realities" and "A View from the Rez," on view at the Burns Arts Atrium Gallery through Jan. 31
Thursday, Jan. 14, 12:50-1:50 p.m. / Everest Lounge / Luncheon workshop, “Justice and Punishment in Literature and Philosophy,” with Leo Zaibert, chair, Department of Philosophy, and Anna Schur, associate professor, Department of English, Keene State College. RSVP to Amy Bloom, blooma@union.edu or ext. 8386
Thursday, Jan. 14, 4-5:30 p.m. / Humanities, Room 020 / The Michael S. Rapaport Ethics Across the Curriculum Initiative Open House celebrating the program’s new headquarters. RSVP: Amy Bloom, blooma@union.edu or ext. 8386
Thursday, Jan. 14, 4:30 p.m. / Visual Arts Building, Burns Arts Atrium / Reception for John Willis, whose selections from “Recycled Realties” and “A View from the Rez” are on display
Friday, Jan. 15,6 p.m. / Viniar Athletic Center / Women’s basketball vs. Hamilton
Friday, Jan. 15,8 p.m. / Viniar Athletic Center / Men’s basketball vs. Hamilton
Saturday, Jan. 16,2p.m. / Viniar Athletic Center / Women’s basketball vs. William Smith
Saturday, Jan. 16, 4 p.m. / Viniar Athletic Center / Men’s basketball vs. Hobart
Saturday, Jan. 16,7 p.m. / Messa Rink at Achilles Center / Men’s hockey vs. RPI
Sophie Shao,cello,Pei-Yao Wang piano and friends,November 19,2006
Sunday, Jan. 17, 3 p.m. / Memorial Chapel / Sophie Shao, cello, and Friends, part of Union College Concert Series; free with Union I.D.; $25 to the public; area students half-price
Monday, Jan. 18, 12:30 p.m.-2 p.m. / Reamer Campus Center Room 305 (Strauss Unity Center) / Building Community at Union, featuring desserts from around the world and conversations with students and faculty from the Civil Rights Public History mini-term. Part of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration of Community; sponsored by Campus Diversity, Multicultural Affairs and the History Department. Bring your own lunch. Contact: Karen Ferrer-Muñiz, ferrermk@union.edu
Tuesday, Jan. 19, noon-4 p.m. / Old Chapel / Building the Dream Through Service: 2010 Volunteer Opportunities Fair, service opportunities with campus and community organizations. Two tickets will be raffled for the March 2010 Billy Joel and Elton John Concert. Sponsored by Kenney Community Center and Wells House as part of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration of Community. Contact: Kenney Center Director Angela Tatem, tatema@union.edu
Wednesday, Jan. 20, 1 p.m. / Courtyard between Reamer Campus Center and F.W. Olin Building / "Topping-off" ceremony for the Peter Irving Wold Center for Science and Engineering (moves to Schaffer Library in case of inclement weather); marks the placement of the final steel beam
Thursday, Jan. 21,4:30-6:30 p.m. / Schaffer Library, Phi Beta Kappa Room / Philosophy Speaker Series presents: Paul Bloomfield, of the University of Connecticut, on “ Eudaimona and Practical Reason”
Actress Elaine Bromka, Jan 2009 appearnce
Thursday, Jan. 21, 7:30 p.m. / Nott Memorial / “Lady Bird, Pat & Betty: Tea for Three.” Actress Elaine Bromka performs one-woman show about First Ladies Lady Bird Johnson, Pat Nixon and Betty Ford. Amid dizzying change and political dissent in 1960s and ’70s America, three women of uncommon valor stood by their husbands, bringing wit and compassion to the country in what Pat Nixon called “the hardest unpaid job in the world.” Bromka played the mother in “Uncle Buck” opposite John Candy and Tchaikowska with Vanessa Redgrave in “Playing for Time.” She won an Emmy for her work in “Catch a Rainbow.” Free tickets available at the Yulman Box Office and at the door; seating limited. Event co-sponsored by the History Department. For more information: Ext. 6545, or www.teaforthree.com.
Friday, Jan. 22,6 p.m. / Viniar Athletic Center / Women’s basketball vs. St. Lawrence University
Friday, Jan. 22,7 p.m. / Messa Rink at Achilles Center / Men’s hockey vs. Harvard University
Friday, Jan. 22, 7 p.m. / Yulman Theater / “ Ma Rainey's Black Bottom,” a 1982 play from a 10-play cycle by Pulitzer Prize-winning American playwright August Wilson that chronicles 20th century African-American experience. Set in 1920s Chicago, it deals with issues of race, art, religion and the historic exploitation of black recording artists by white producers as it tells the story of a recording session with blues legend Ma Rainey, her band members and the white producer and agent who made themselves wealthy through Rainey’s recordings. Presented by Department of Theater and Dance; performed by a touring company of students from Hamilton College and directed by Mark Cryer, Department of Theater chair. Part of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration of Community. Free tickets available at Yulman Box Office. Presented by Department of Theater and Dance. Contact: Professor Charles Steckler, at stecklec@union.edu
Friday, Jan. 22,8 p.m. / Viniar Athletic Center / Men’s basketball vs. St. Lawrence University
Saturday, Jan. 23,6 p.m. / Viniar Athletic Center / Women’s basketball vs. Clarkson University
Saturday, Jan. 23,4 p.m. / Viniar Athletic Center / Men’s basketball vs. Clarkson University
Saturday, Jan. 23,7 p.m. / Messa Rink at Achilles Center / Men’s hockey vs. Dartmouth College
Sunday, Jan. 24, 6:30 p.m. / Blue House / A Celebration of Community: Cook, Chew, Chat. Black Student Union, administrators and professors celebrate and discuss the importance of community over a home-cooked meal as part of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. activities. Space limited. To attend and assist with cooking, sign up in Student Activities Office, Reamer Campus Center Room 404. All invited. Contact: Arkeisha Pace ’11, pacea@union.edu
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will speak at Union Thursday, Jan. 14 at 7 p.m. in Memorial Chapel. The lecture is sponsored by the student-run Speakers Forum.
Due to limited seating, the lecture is open only to the campus community. Those with a Union ID card are permitted to bring one guest. Campus Safety personnel will be checking IDs at the entrance to the chapel.
Ehud Olmert, second photo. former prime minister of Israel
Olmert served as prime minister from 2006 until early 2009, when he resigned after being indicted on corruption charges dating to when he was Jerusalem mayor and Cabinet minister. He pleaded not guilty last month to charges of illegally accepting funds from an American supporter and double-billing Jewish groups for trips abroad.
As prime minister, Olmert, 64, came under fire for his handling of the 2006 war against Lebanon’s Shiite Hezbollah militia and the three-week war launched in 2008 to remove the Palestinian Hamas group from the Gaza Strip after its violent takeover of the coastal territory occupied by Jewish settlers and soldiers.
Olmert’s upcoming appearance has sparked passionate debate on campus, with some faculty and students opposed to the former leader's visit. In response, a number of discussions are planned. On Wednesday, Campus Action sponsored a “Day of Dialogue” on Israeli policy under Olmert. Stephen Berk, the Henry and Sally Schaffer Professor of Holocaust and Jewish Studies, Andrew Feffer, an associate professor of history, and Mazin Tadros, visiting assistant professor of history, lead a panel discussion presenting the Israeli and Palestinian perspectives of the conflict as well as a critical analysis of Olmert's role as a head of state. The event, from 7 to 9 p.m. in Old Chapel, was free and open to the campus community.
Will Friedman ’10, president of the Speakers Forum, said his group is mindful of those who are opposed to Olmert’s views and policies. He said Olmert’s talk is intended to spark lively debate about issues in the Middle East.
“We thought that the opportunity to have a former prime minister at Union was too amazing to pass up,” Friedman said. “If the Speakers Forum did not bring controversial speakers to campus, then I would not be doing my job.”
At colleges and universities where Olmert has spoken, there have been efforts to disrupt his talk. Union Campus Safety Director Chris Hayen has implemented special procedures and protocols to minimize disruptions. Audience members will have the chance to participate in a question-and-answer session with Olmert following his lecture by submitting questions to a student panel via note cards. He will not see the questions ahead of time.
Metal detectors will be posted at the entrance, and attendees will not be allowed to bring backpacks or bags of any kind into the event.
Union kicks off its annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Series Monday, Jan. 18. The week’s activities range from a community service fair and home-cooked dinner to a drama by a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson.
“The importance of serving others was one of Dr. King’s biggest doctrines as a social justice leader,” said Director of Multicultural Affairs Karen Ferrer-Muñiz, whose office is heading this effort. “One of the most important ways to bring about social justice is to serve others – by getting together to improve each others’ lives, and working to improve social equality by volunteering your skills and time.”
The Volunteer Opportunities Fair will bring in organizations from throughout the Capital Region to show students how to get involved. Several community-building events are designed to bring together Union students, faculty and staff. The schedule:
Building the Dream through Service: 2010 Volunteer Opportunities Fair; explore service opportunities with more than 20 different campus and community organizations
Sponsors: Kenney Community Center, Wells House. Contact: Angela Tatem, tatema@union.edu
Friday, Jan. 22, 7 p.m. / Yulman Theater
'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom', Yulman Theater production, Jan. 2010
“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” a 1982 August Wilson play that tells the story of a recording session with blues legend Ma Rainey and the white producer and agent who profited from her recordings. Set in 1920s Chicago, it deals with issues of race, art, religion and exploitation. Performed by a touring company of Hamilton College students and directed by Hamilton Theater Department Chair Mark Cryer.
Sponsor: Department of Theater and Dance. Contact: Charles Steckler, stecklec@union.edu
Sunday, Jan. 24, 6:30 p.m. / Blue House
A Celebration of Community: Cook, Chew, Chat. Join the Black Student Union, faculty and administrators for a home-cooked meal and a discussion about community.
Signup: Student Activities Office. Contact: Arkeisha Pace ’11, pacea@union.edu
