News - Page 103 - College of Arts & Letters

MSU Takes Academic Lead in Emerging Field of Intimacy Direction

June 3, 2020

In 2018, the Huffington Post described intimacy directing as “an emerging field in which a small group of professionals are pushing to develop standards and procedures for scenes involving physical intimacy in the wake of a public reckoning with sexual misconduct throughout the entertainment industry.” That same year, Michigan State University's Department of Theatre hired Alexis Black as Assistant Professor of Acting and Movement, in part,…

four images of a zoom call of students singing

COVID-19 / News / Programs / Student

Musical Theatre Class Embodies Resilience for Final Project

June 1, 2020

At the beginning of the Spring 2020 semester, Musical Theatre students in MSU’s Department of Theatre expected to finish the academic year with some intense scene work that would bring together every element of what they had learned. When the university switched to remote learning for the remainder of the semester, the direction of the course began an organic shift, born out…

Faculty / Faculty Stories / News / Programs

New Department of Theatre Chairperson Appointed

May 29, 2020

Stephen Di Benedetto has been selected as the next Chairperson of the Department of Theatre at Michigan State University, effective July 15, 2020. “I am thrilled to join the Department of Theatre alongside such a wide array of talented artists working at the forefront of our field,” he said. “It is exhilarating to be a part of such a cohesive team charting…

Alumni / Award / Featured Alumni / News

Alumna Receives Teacher of the Year Award From National Association

May 29, 2020

Alumna Julia Domínguez, who earned her M.A. in Hispanic Studies from MSU in 2000, received this year’s Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award College/University Level from the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP). An exemplary scholar-teacher, Domínguez is an Associate Professor of Spanish at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. “I have dedicated my life to educating…

Man with glasses and grey hair in a grey suit

Faculty / Faculty Stories / News / Publication

Groundbreaking Book Alters Perception of Introversion in Theatre

May 27, 2020

The field of theatre has long been one that favors the extrovert with a perception that actors must be outgoing, gregarious, and boisterous to find success. A new book seeks to alter that perception. Co-written by Rob Roznowski, Head of Acting and Directing for the MSU Department of Theatre, The Introverted Actor: Practical Approaches offers first-hand accounts, methods, and tested techniques that will…

Alumni / Featured Alumni / News

Alumna’s Journey to Building Successful Career and Award-Winning Agency

May 27, 2020

Kate Snyder, who as a junior at MSU told her academic advisor that she wanted to plan parties at The Met, is now the Owner and Principal Strategist of her own award-winning public relations agency, Piper & Gold. So just how did she transition from a desire to be a party-planner in New York City to owning her own successful mid-Michigan-based…

Award / News / Student

CAL Virtual Career Readiness Roadmap Competition Winners Announced

May 27, 2020

The three winners of the CAL Virtual Career Readiness Roadmap Competition recently were announced and received prizes, ranging from $500 to $1,200. Facilitated by the Excel Network as part of the MSUFCU Dean’s Choice Grant, the competition was open to MSU students with a major in the College of Arts & Letters and required them to complete various career readiness-related tasks according to…

photo of an orange brick building with a clock tower in front of a cloudy sky and green trees as well as a light blue lantern lamppost to the left

Health / News

A Message of Reassurance

May 26, 2020

As the 2020 Spring semester has come to a close, we want to thank you for the hard work required to shift to remote teaching, and also to acknowledge the myriad of other disruptions to your personal and professional lives during this unprecedented pandemic. We write today with a message of reassurance.

Faculty / Faculty Stories / News / Research

Understanding the Language of Change Through Linguistics

May 26, 2020

Suzanne Evans Wagner isn’t telling people how to talk. She’s here to say that people have options and reasons for talking the way they do. An Associate Professor of Linguistics in MSU’s Department of Linguistics and Germanic, Slavic, Asian, and African Languages, Wagner researches the social motivations for language variation and language change. It’s a subject she speaks freely about, providing examples,…

Alumni / Faculty / Featured Alumni / News / Programs

MSU Sows the Seeds for Successful Academic Career

May 21, 2020

As an undergraduate student at Michigan State University, Josh Guilford majored in English and completed a certificate in the Film Studies Program. Now an Assistant Professor of English in Film and Media Studies at Amherst College, Guilford teaches courses that are cross-listed between the English Department and the Film and Media Studies Program. The courses Guilford teaches cover a broad…