News – Page 28 – College of Arts & Letters

Two side-by-side photos of an individual wearing a welding helmet and safety gloves while welding handle scales.

Studio Art Student Uses CREATE! Micro-Grant Funds to Produce Sculpture of Balisong Knife

December 13, 2022

As a 2022 CREATE! Micro-Grant recipient, Ryan Freund, a junior majoring in Studio Art, produced a sculpture featuring a single, manipulated Balisong knife. Titled Intersection, Freund utilized the knife's four handle scales to complete the piece. "I find flipping Balisong knives to be very beautiful and have been doing it since I was 13 years old," Freund said. "Their handles are used…

African American and African Studies / News / Student / Student

Living Her ‘Freedom Dream’ With New Major

December 12, 2022

Evamelo (Eva) Oleita came to Michigan State University wanting to pursue a degree in Human Biology, but after re-evaluating her priorities and thinking about the communities she wanted to serve, she is now among the inaugural class of students majoring in African American and African Studies (AAAS) at MSU. Oleita, who is in her second year of her undergraduate education,…

Faculty / Faculty / Grant / News

International Collaboration to Explore Intersectionality and Inclusion in Research and Curriculum Design

December 9, 2022

A collaborative project focusing on “Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality in Africa: the History and Current Status of LGBTQ+ in Kenya,” led by College of Arts & Letters faculty Jonathan Choti and Danny Mendez, will bring two guest speakers from Kenya to Michigan State University this spring to share their knowledge, experiences, approaches, and ideas in implementing intersectionality and inclusion in curriculum design and pedagogical practices. The two…

Person using an electric saw in a garage.

COVID-19 / News / Student / Visual Arts, Arts Administration, and Performing Arts

CREATE! Micro-Grant Used to Produce Sculpture Representing Lives Lost to COVID-19

December 8, 2022

Apparel and Textile Design major Gwen Pinger used a $500 CREATE! Micro-Grant to build a sculpture consisting of thousands of glass beads that hang from elastic strings, each representing a life lost from COVID-19 in Michigan. “The sculpture functions as a sort of wind chime with many long strands of string and glass beads that twinkle in the sun. The beads — in red, white, and silver — form the shape of IV needles,” said Pinger,…

Alumni / Award / Faculty / News

New Scholarship Encourages Entrepreneurship Among Creative Career Paths

December 7, 2022

It’s not often humanities professors transform an idea into a successful business venture, but that’s exactly what Bill Hart-Davidson and Jeff Grabill did 10 years ago thanks to the vision and support of Greg Bradbury, an MSU graduate with a B.A. and MBA from the Broad College of Business. A scholarship has now been created in Bradbury’s name that will…

Portrait of person smiling leaning against a column

African American and African Studies / Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / News / Student

Pursuing a Love of Black Feminisms Through New AAAS Major

December 6, 2022

With a passion for Black feminisms, Bailey Griffin, an MSU sophomore, said it’s an honor to be among the first group of students at Michigan State University to declare African American and African Studies (AAAS) as their major. The newly established Bachelor of Arts degree in African American and African Studies is being offered for the first time this year through the Department of African American and African Studies in…

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / Faculty / Michigan Impact / News

MSU Translation Center Launches with Services Covering More Than 20 Languages

December 5, 2022

Michigan State University launched the new Translation Center to meet the growing needs for high-quality translation and interpreting services that can increase access to information on campus and beyond. The MSU Translation Center offers services in more than 20 languages including Ancient Greek, Arabic, Bengali, Catalan, English, French, German, Hindi, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latin, Mandarin, Mongolian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swahili, Thai,…

African American and African Studies / Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / News / Performance / Student / Student

Learning to ‘Live Life Alongside One Another’ with Black Feminisms Course

December 2, 2022

The “Black Feminisms: Past, Present, and Futures” course taught by Chamara Jewel Kwakye, Academic Specialist in MSU’s Department of African American and African Studies (AAAS), emphasizes creativity and the practice of feminism in everyday life –– Black feminism as doing –– while learning “to live life alongside one another.” A core introductory course in MSU’s newly established B.A. in African…

Faculty / News

Faculty Promotions for 2022

December 1, 2022

The College of Arts & Letters is pleased to recognize the faculty members who recently were promoted to full professor, associate professor, or associate professor-fixed term.

Faculty / News

Faculty Voice: Art Elevates Iranian Women, Life, and Freedom Protests

December 1, 2022

In this Faculty Voice, Parisa Ghaderi, Assistant Professor of Graphic Design in the Department of Art, Art History, and Design, shares her experience as an Iranian scholar and artist in the United States and how the current protests in Iran have made an impact on her teaching and art.