Christine Henseler,
assistant professor of Spanish, has had two articles accepted for publication.
The first, “Videoclip Aesthetics: Gender and Popular
Culture in Amor, curiosidad, prozac y dudas by Lucía Etxebarria” is
appear in of Letras Femeninas (Issue
XXX.2). The second, “Pop, Punk and Rock and Roll Stars: José Angel Mañas, Ray Loriga and Lucia Etxebarria Redefine the Literary Canon,” is to appear in
the December issue of Hispania.
Steinmetz Symposium is May 7 and 8
The schedule of presentations for the Steinmetz Symposium on
May 7 and 8 has been posted on the Web.
The 14th annual showcase of student scholarly and
creative achievement will feature the work of nearly 250 students.
The complete schedule and a listing of participants and
their topics is available at the Web site: http://www.union.edu/Steinmetz/.
Former Chilean political prisoner Pedro Matta to talk May 4
Pedro Matta, a former torture
victim and political prisoner of Chile's
Pinochet dictatorship (1973-1990), will speak on Tuesday, May 4, at 7 p.m. in the Reamer Campus Center Auditorium.
His presentation will be, “Chile
after Pinochet: Human Rights, Justice, and the Struggle against Impunity.”
Matta was a law student in 1975
when he was arrested for organizing against the Pinochet military dictatorship.
Once a target for the Pinochet regime's political violence, he was imprisoned
and tortured by the secret police at the infamous Villa Grimaldi then sent into
exile.
Matta was a private investigator while
living in exile in the U.S.
Since returning to Chile,
he uses those skills to hunt down torturers still running free. He compiles
files that one day may serve the cause of justice in trials.
He lives in Santiago,
Chile, where he directs Trinity
College's “Trinity in Santiago,”
a program largely based on human rights education.
Matta travels extensively and
addresses the issues of political violence, torture, reconciliation and
impunity. He has said, “To rebuild a really democratic society, you have to
rebuild according to your history. You cannot erase your history.”
Dead Cat Bounce to present workshop, concert
The jazz group known as Dead Cat Bounce will be in residence at Union on Monday, May 3,
performing a public concert at 8 p.m. in Old Chapel.
Admission is free with a Union ID, $5 for the
public.
The band will also present a jazz workshop from 2:50-4:40 p.m. in Arts 313. Admission to the workshop is free.
These events are sponsored by the Department of Performing Arts and the College
Social Enrichment Grants program.
The group was voted as Boston's Outstanding Jazz Act
by readers' polls in Improper Bostonian and Phoenix. A recipient of
commissions from Meet the Composer and Chamber Music America, Dead Cat Bounce is one of the few
recent jazz bands to have arrived on the scene with its own distinctive voice.
Featuring four saxophones of all ranges plus
upright bass and drums, Dead Cat
Bounce is the unique artistic vision of founder and leader Matt Steckler, the son of Charles Steckler, Union professor of
theater.
The group formed late in 1997 as a recording project. Word of DCB's high
caliber as a performance ensemble quickly spread, and now the group plays
festivals, concert series and notable clubs throughout North America.
Dead Cat Bounce invokes Charles Mingus and the
World Saxophone Quartet with their “tightly arranged, swirling
contrapuntal reeds and multi-part, blues n' roots-infused tricky
compositions” (Boston Phoenix). Their eclectic approach to rhythm
is informed by traditions from the Caribbean, Deep South, Brazil, West Africa, Eastern Europe and Detroit. In Dead Cat Bounce,
solo and collective improvisations energetically complement the poise of its
ever-expanding compositional repertoire. According to Dave Liebman, Dead Cat
Bounce “does it all with exquisite writing, the subtle use of a bass-drum
rhythm section and above all a definite sense of communication between the
members that I am sure will be apparent to even the casual listener. These
young, Boston-based musicians are not just playing the music on the page, but
listening and communing together.”
The members of Dead Cat Bounce are
reed-players Drew Sayers, Jared Sims, Charlie Kohlhase, Matt Steckler; bassist
Arie Werbrouck; and drummer Bill Carbone. The group's last appearance at Union,
as part of the Jazz@Union festival in January 2002, was a critically acclaimed
evening of intense solos, wild arrangements, and high-energy ensemble playing.
The May 3 concert promises to bring more of the same.
Read More
State Department official to discuss U.S. foreign policy
Philip T. Reeker, deputy spokesman
of the U.S. Department of State, will speak on “US Foreign Policy: Public Diplomacy and the Role of the Spokesman” in a conversation with students on Monday, May 3, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.
in Social Sciences 104.
The event is part of the
Department of Political Science's “Pizza and Politics” series.
Reeker served as spokesman for
both Secretary of State Colin Powell and Secretary Madeleine Albright. Since
September 2003, Reeker has been “Spokesman at Large” for the Department,
speaking extensively on U.S.
foreign policy and public diplomacy.
As Deputy Assistant Secretary
under Ambassador Richard Boucher in the Bureau of Public Affairs, Reeker
oversaw the Press Office, Media Outreach, and the Foreign
Press centers.
Previously, he was Director of Press Relations within the Bureau of Public
Affairs. In July 2004, he is to take up duty as Deputy Chief of Mission
at the American Embassy in Budapest, Hungary.
Reeker joined the Foreign Service
in March of 1992. His first overseas assignment was as Assistant Information
Officer in Budapest from 1993 to
1996. He moved on to be Public Affairs Officer at the American Embassy in Skopje,
Macedonia, from 1997
through June 1999, and was spokesman for Ambassador Christopher Hill in his
dual role as Ambassador to Macedonia
and U.S. Special Envoy for Kosovo.
Born in Pennsylvania,
Reeker grew up in several U.S.
cities and spent his high school years in Brisbane,
Australia. He received a
B.A. in history from Yale University
and a Master of International Management from the American Graduate School of
International Management known as “Thunderbird” in Arizona.
In 2003, Reeker received the
Edward R. Murrow Award for Excellence in Public Diplomacy.