CAS Department Updates November 2015
Center for Research on Vermont
The Center has released two new short videos that feature CAS faculty as part of a collaboration between the Humanities Center and the Center for Research on Vermont. Both were produced and edited by CAS students.
Classics Professor Mark Usher
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xj7yyqAPiUo
Associate Professor of Dance Paul Besaw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsZsNT0ygEQ
English
Daniel Lusk has published The Vermeer Suite, poems inspired by the beloved masterworks of seventeenth-century Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer. (Wind Ridge Books, 2015).
Deb Ellis writes: “Over the past few months, my documentary-in-progress End of Love, about young men charged with child pornography possession and what it says about who we are, has been awarded several grants, including funding from Green Valley Media, the Lucius and Eva Eastman Fund, the Vermont Community Foundation, and the Vermont Arts Council (under the name of my co-director). We have also raised over $9,000 from individual donors. Combined, we came within $500 of our summer goal. We are now in the process of following two of our main subjects, cutting a new trailer, and continuing our efforts to raise production funding for the film. End of Love received its initial pre-production funding through a generous UVM Reach Grant Award that kickstarted our efforts. Information about the film can be found at www.endoflovefilm.com
“Also, I have been watching several former Film and Television Studies students and their emerging careers in film and photography, including Gretchen Powers ’13, who is establishing herself as an accomplished photographer through her own business in Portland, ME: http://gpowersfilm.com/. I’ve also been following Peter Donaghy ’11, who is making a name for himself as a photographer and filmmaker based in LA: http://donslens.com/. It’s a pleasure to watch their creativity flourish when they leave UVM!”
Stephen Cramer will publish his fourth book of poetry this fall: A Little Thyme & A Pinch of Rhyme, a cookbook in which the ingredient lists are in haiku and the directions are in sonnets; later this winter, his fifth, Bone Music (which won the Louise Bogan Award in poetry), will come out with Trio House Press.
Isaac Cates published a selection of his literary comics in the journal Okey-Panky in October:
http://okeypanky.com/post/130547990309/comic-draw-two-panels-by-isaac-cates
Tom Simone writes: “President Sullivan has just approved my proposal to renew the music series that I conducted under the old Buckham [endowment]. He has allotted $10,000 this year for the series with no strings attached about public attendance. The series is to be called The President's Concert Series and will offer occasional concerts that link courses with thematically designed concerts. There will be advertising and admission for members of the community up to the capacity of the Recital Hall. The first concert will be in early February, with Michael Arnowitt performing the last three Beethoven piano sonatas. He will also give a lecture/demonstration for students the afternoon before the concert. I am the director of the series and will have a committee of humanities faculty, including members of the Music Department.”
The Best American Short Stories series has selected Nancy Welch's story “Pretty” (published in Ploughshares and shortlisted for Best American Short Stories 2015) for an e-reader edition for New York Public Library patrons. The story will join “eight to ten notable stories” that shine a light on “The Age in which We Live.” The edition will be available to library patrons free of charge.
Nancy also reports: “With the support of the Graduate College and the UVM Writing Center, I will coordinate the launch this January of a UVM Graduate Writing Center. The Graduate Writing Center’s peer tutors, hailing from graduate programs across the disciplines, will provide free consultations for UVM’s graduate students at any stage of a writing project. We hope also to offer special programs and supports for graduate students such as writing retreat weekends and dissertation or thesis ‘boot camps.’”
Geography
On October 10th, Assistant Professor of Geography and Environmental Studies Ingrid L. Nelson joined geography major Jack Braunstein and global studies major Caroline DeCunzo in Bridgewater, MA for the annual New England - Saint Lawrence Valley Geographical Society (NESTVAL) Conference. Jack presented a paper titled Building Certain Futures: The Politics of Transforming a University Campus Landscape in Vermont. Caroline presented a paper titled #UVM Trees: The Politics of Making a “Tree Campus” in Vermont. These papers resulted from Jack and Caroline's ongoing work with the Campus Green and Gold Research Group at the University of Vermont led by Prof. Nelson.
Geography major and geospatial technologies minor Emma Tait has been selected as this year's recipient of the Bogorad Award. The award is given by UVM's chapter of Phi Beta Kappa and recognizes the student with the superlative academic record in the liberal arts at the end of the sophomore year. Emma will receive her award at the December Phi Beta Kappa ceremony.
Political Science
Associate Professor Michele E. Commercio had a recent publication in Post-Soviet Affairs 31 (2015): “The Politics and Economics of ‘Retraditionalization’ in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan,” pages 529-556.
Romance Languages and Linguistics
This fall the department learned of the passing of former lecturer Priscilla Byerly, who taught Spanish in the department until her retirement in 2005. Her obituary can be found here: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/burlingtonfreepress/obituary.aspx?pid=175522566
Lecturer of Spanish Maria Alessandra Woolson just published the journal article "Sustainability as a Pedagogical Principle in Liberal Arts Education: Explorations from the Foreign Language Classroom" in the International Journal of Sustainability Education (September 8, 2015). http://ijsed.cgpublisher.com/product/pub.275/prod.74
Professor of French Joseph Acquisto just published Poets as Readers in Nineteenth-Century France: Critical Reflections, a volume of essays co-edited with Adrianna M. Paliyenko (Colby College) and Catherine Witt (Reed College), with the Institute of Modern Languages Research.
Professor of Spanish Tina Escaja:
Theatre
Last spring a new minor in Musical Theatre was approved by the UVM Board of Trustees. Housed in the Department of Theatre, the interdisciplinary minor will combine courses in Theatre, Music, and Dance, and will also include voice work, a non-performance theatre credit, and the Performing Musical Theatre course. The genre of musical theatre has emerged as one of the most popular types of production experiences for both students and audiences at UVM. In recent years the Department of Theatre has produced Cabaret, Godspell, Urinetown, and A Grand Night for Singing. These musicals proved to be high-impact experiences for students and the greater-Burlington community. Although students can currently minor in Dance, Music, or Theatre, there is no minor that incorporates all three areas in a comprehensive way to help students develop their skills as musical theatre performers. The area of musical theatre training is a viable and important element in preparing those students who are interested in professional opportunities after graduating.