News - College of Arts & Letters

Text on a light green background reading 'Stanley + Selma Hollander lecture series' on the left, separated by a vertical line from the words 'Artist Designer + Scholar' on the right.

Hollander Lecture Series Brings Artists, Designers, and Scholars from Around the World to MSU

September 28, 2026

Michigan State University’s Department of Art, Art History, and Design will welcome 10 artists, designers, and scholars to campus during the 2026-27 academic year as part of its annual Stanley and Selma Hollander Visiting Artist, Designer, and Scholar Lecture Series.This year’s series, which will kickoff Tuesday, Sept. 29, with American Artist, brings internationally recognized leaders in art, design, and scholarship…

Students gather around a large black-and-white drawing displayed on an outdoor easel during the MSU Drawing Marathon.

Drawing Marathon Brings Eight Hours of Non-Stop Creativity to Campus

September 22, 2026

The Summer Circle Theatre Courtyard will become a hub of creativity as people from across campus and the community come together to draw and create during the annual Drawing Marathon on Wednesday, Sept. 30, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Hosted by MSU’s Department of Art, Art History, and Design, this free event will include hands-on art activities, live models, music, and drawing opportunities for participants of all experience levels.

Illustrated poster for the “Sacred Nine Project: The Billings Pendulum 250,” featuring a colonial-era figure swinging a mallet, with text promoting a performance about revolutionary America.

Faculty / Faculty / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / News / Religious Studies / Research

MSU Professor Brings America’s First Composer to Life in October Musical Performance

September 21, 2026

As the United States continues to celebrate the 250th anniversary of its founding, David Stowe, Professor of Religious Studies and Adjunct Professor of History at Michigan State University, is helping audiences rediscover a figure often overlooked in the story of the American Revolution: composer, teacher, writer, and patriot William Billings. On Sunday, Oct. 4, the public is invited to experience “The…

Graphic for the MSU Department of English’s “Circulations: Transnational Contact & Global Circulation in Literary and Film Studies,” featuring black-and-white portraits of four people within overlapping purple, orange, and green circles.

English / Event / News

English Department Launches New ‘Circulations’ Speaker Series

September 18, 2026

The Department of English at Michigan State University is launching a new speaker series, titled “Circulations,” which features scholars working in literary and film studies whose work centers transnational contact and global circulation. The 2026-27 series, programmed by Professor Kristin Mahoney, is funded through the generosity of the Russel B. Nye endowment.

Students from the Ceramic Arts in Greece education abroad program sit together in front of the stone seating of an ancient Greek theater.

Exhibition / Faculty / Faculty / News / Student / Student / Study Abroad / Study Abroad

Education Abroad in Greece Inspires Students’ ‘Lasting Impressions’ Exhibition

September 17, 2026

Inspired by the history, culture, and ceramic traditions of Greece, Michigan State University students who participated in the Ceramic Arts in Greece Education Abroad in Spring 2026 transformed their experiences into works of art that are now on display in the “Lasting Impressions” exhibition at the MSU Union Art Gallery. The exhibition is on view through Saturday, Oct. 3, with a public reception scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 19, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Promotional image for “Discovery: A New American Musical” featuring a space shuttle lifting off against a blue, cloud-filled sky.

Theatre

MSU’s New Musical Laboratory Explores NASA’s Return to Space with ‘Discovery’

September 16, 2026

When the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds after launch in 1986, seven astronauts died, and NASA questioned whether the space shuttle program should fly again. That question is at the heart of the new musical “Discovery,” coming to Michigan State University Sept. 24-27, 2026, as part of the MSU Department of Theatre New Musical Laboratory, which brings together…

A close-up of two people holding hands across a wooden table.

Partnership

College of Arts and Letters Helps Lead New Henry Ford + MSU Workplace Well-Being Series

September 15, 2026

Michigan State University’s College of Arts and Letters is helping bring arts and humanities perspectives to workplace well-being through a new six-month virtual series developed as part of the Henry Ford Health + Michigan State University Health Sciences partnership. Inspired by a shared commitment to well-being and human connection, the Compassion for Everyone Lunch-and-Grow Series, which launched in August 2026,…

Portrait of Dawn Burns in a colorful shirt, taken outside in golden light.

Faculty / Faculty / News / Student / Student / WRAC

Faculty Voice: Building Generous and Generative Community Through First-Year Writing Program

September 14, 2026

In this Faculty Voice, Dawn Burns, Assistant Professor in the Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and Cultures, shares how MSU’s First-Year Writing Program creates opportunities for students to develop as writers and learners while building connections with one another. Through writing, reflection, and peer review, students learn to value their own experiences and voices while gaining a deeper understanding of those around them.

Childhood photo of Salman Hamdani standing near the waterfront with the New York City skyline and Twin Towers in the background.

Faculty / News

MSU Professor’s Documentary on 9/11 Hero to Air on WKAR-HD

September 11, 2026

When the World Trade Center was attacked on Sept. 11, 2001, Salman Hamdani rushed toward the Twin Towers to help. The 23-year-old New York City Police Department cadet and emergency medical technician lost his life that day, but his story of heroism — and his family’s struggle to ensure he was recognized as a hero — lives on in a documentary film co-created by Mohammad Khalil, Professor in the Department of Religious Studies and Director of the Muslim Studies Program at Michigan State University.

An angled view of the “Faces and Traces: A Cross-Border Portrait Project” exhibition shows dozens of student-created portraits in a range of artistic styles and media displayed together on a wall.

Student / Student

Cross-Border Art Project by MSU and Canadian Students Reaches New Audience at ArtPrize 2026

September 10, 2026

A unique cross-border art project that brought Michigan State University students together with students from Ontario College of Art and Design University (OCAD U) to explore identity, connection, and the boundaries that separate us is now part of ArtPrize 2026, an international art competition and cultural festival that welcomes more than 900,000 visitors to Grand Rapids, Michigan, each year to…