Professor Glendinning Receives William J. Beal Outstanding Faculty Award

In recognition of his comprehensive and sustained record of scholarly excellence, instruction, and outreach, Peter Glendinning, Professor in the Department of Art, Art History, and Design, has received the William J. Beal Outstanding Faculty Award.  Supported by MSU’s Office of University Development, the William J. Beal Outstanding Faculty Awards are made each year to faculty members for their outstanding total service to the…

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Liberal Arts Graduates Define Pathways to Future in Auto Industry

The road to a career in the automotive industry sometimes takes twists and turns. But looking in the rearview mirror, several alumnae of MSU’s College of Arts & Letters say their journeys were well worth the ride as they work to advance the world of mobility. While many STEM graduates chart paths to the automotive industry, students of the liberal…

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Theatre Students Develop Anthology of Audio Plays to Evoke Conversations Around Social Justice Issues

A group of Michigan State University Department of Theatre students created a series of new audio plays, each connected to themes of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). All five “Audio Anthology” plays, along with a student-produced documentary short, are now available online at theatre.msu.edu/dei_audio.

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Theatre Student’s Drag Queen Web Series Uses Costume Design to Examine Current Events

When the Michigan State University Department of Theatre’s productions for the Fall 2020 semester were canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, a call went out to all faculty and students for ideas focused on themes of diversity, equity, and inclusion. First-year MFA Design Candidate Zech Saenz, who specializes in costume design, pitched a project addressing the pandemic through the lens of drag queens and comedy. The result is a three-episode web series, called Grads in Drag, which is now available for streaming on-demand.

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A Visionary New Build: The Department of African American and African Studies

Initially started as a PhD granting program in 2002, with an undergraduate minor created in 2014, the Department of African American and African Studies (AAAS) was officially founded in 2019. Leading the program is Inaugural Department Chair Dr. Ruth Nicole Brown and Foundational Associate Professor Dr. Tamura Lomax. Though the formation of this new department during a global pandemic has presented unique challenges, Dr. Brown and Dr. Lomax have both a vision and mission that is committed to making concrete connections between scholarship, pedagogy, and social justice.

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Ann Hamilton to Present Signature Lecture on April 16

The College of Arts & Letters is pleased to host National Medal of the Arts recipient, MacArthur Genius, and internationally acclaimed artist Ann Hamilton as part of the College’s Signature Lecture Series. The event, to be held virtually Friday, April 16, at 5 p.m., is free and open to the public, but registration is required. To register, please complete the registration form.  Ann Hamilton…

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Building and Mobilizing Women’s Political Power

From the growing gender voting gap to record numbers of women elected to public office to white women’s contribution to white supremacist political movements, women’s place in US politics has never been so hotly debated and contested since the Suffrage Movement of the early 1900s. In this presentation I will highlight some of the key issues in women’s political power in the US in the last four decades, emphasizing recent developments in the 2018 and 2020 elections. I will explore gender voting patterns, the effects that women have on politics when they run for public office, and the directions we might see women’s political power move towards in the next several years.

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