Alumnus Named Michigan Educator of the Year

A College of Arts & Letters alumnus is Michigan’s 2016 Educator of the Year.  Dan Carr, who has a B.A. in Spanish ’96 and an M.A. in Education ‘02, both from MSU, was one of more than 500 educators from across the state nominated during the 2015-2016 school year for the Michigan Lottery’s Excellence in Education Educator of the Week awards. Among…

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Producing Work Abroad Through Fulbright Fellowship

With the Ionian Sea and snow-capped mountains of southern Greece as a backdrop, a Department of Theatre professor used an entire university campus as his stage for a unique project he conceived involving a large cast of students. Associate Professor Rob Roznowski, on a Fulbright Teaching Fellowship at the University of Patras in Greece, planned to take Arthur Miller’s American…

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AL491: Muslims and the Cultures of U.S. Politics

FALL SEMESTER 2016 Providing students with an opportuinity to discuss current events related to muslims and U.S. politics, this course focuses on the ways Muslims and Islam have become a central topic in political debates among liberals and conservatives. It will offer a general introduction to (1) the Islam religion and core beliefs and practices that define Muslim communities; (2)…

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College Welcomes New Faculty

This fall, the College of Arts & Letters welcomes many new faculty members, including 11 who are either tenured or in the tenure system. Those faculty members include: Cara Cilano Cilano is the Chair of the Department of English and comes to Michigan State University from the University of North Carolina Wilmington where she served on the English faculty and was Director of General Education.…

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Fostering African American Language

African American Language (AAL) may be one of the most misunderstood languages and often is dismissed as slang, improper, or incorrect. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dr1kbwELDPU&feature=emb_title In order to bring a better understanding to this language, Writing, Rhetoric, and American Cultures Ph.D. Candidate Shenika Hankerson is working to dispel some of the misconceptions associated with AAL. Focusing on the sociocultural, historical, and political dimensions…

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Screenings for #DirectedbyWomen Films

Women directed only 9 percent of the top 250 domestic grossing films in 2015. However, as an ongoing count managed by #DirectedbyWomen catalyst Barbara Ann O’Leary proves, close to 10,000 women have directed films since the inception of the moving image. The agnès films video team, comprising MSU alumnae Savannah Smith, Sarah Shaw, Lindsey Spitzley, Jenna Ange, and Writing, Rhetoric, and American Cultures (WRAC)…

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Women in Entrepreneurship

Six out of ten college students are clinically lonely, which can lead to increased anxiety and depression—but what if a smartphone app could help? In January 2015, an app quietly appeared to do just that. Through the support of Michigan State’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, professional writing senior Zoe Zappitell co-created, launched and marketed Conecter. The app links students to one another through interest-based…

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Investing in Online Scholarly Presence

In today’s fast-paced world where the Internet is the go-to research tool and information on any topic is just a click or tap away, one’s own digital presence is more important than ever. The College of Arts & Letters recognizes this, and starting this month, will offer all its graduate students and faculty a new kind of web hosting support.…

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