New MSU Musical For Audiences Who Are Neurodiverse to be Performed Virtually

Michigan State University’s Department of Theatre has produced a new sensory-friendly musical for children who are neurodiverse and will begin offering free virtual performances this month.  Written by students and faculty at Michigan State University, Soda Pop Shop! is an interactive musical that ​invites audience members to relate to the experiences of the characters in the show and help them cope with their feelings as…

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Citizen Scholars Graduates Another Student from the Program

Spanish and Religious Studies double major Andrew Keller is this semester’s only graduate of the College of Arts & Letters’ Citizen Scholars program. And while he was unable to study abroad as he originally planned due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he was able to help an organization that has helped him by donating his Citizen Scholars funding to them.

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CREATE! Micro-Grant Winner Creates Sculpture Representing the Emotions of COVID-19

Marissa Rubaiai, a junior double major in Studio Art and Media and Information with a minor in Comics and Graphic Novels, received CREATE! Micro-Grant funding to support her Rope of Emotion project, which is influenced by the multitude of emotions experienced by so many as a result of the death, loss, isolation, and grief caused by COVID-19.  Rope of Emotion took two months…

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MSU Researchers Study Conversation Platforms for Second Language Students

Shawn Loewen knows what it’s like to learn a second language through “blood, sweat, and tears.” He started taking private Spanish lessons when he was 13 and studied Spanish and French all through high school. Passionate about language learning, he majored in Language and Linguistics in college and decided to become a teacher and research scholar.  Today, Loewen is a…

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CREATE! Micro-Grant Virtual Exhibit Launches Displaying Winning Projects

The CREATE! Micro-Grant Program supported the launch of 12 student projects that analyze and respond to racial injustice and the struggles brought on by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. These projects, ranging from interpretive dance and musical performances to traditional Anishinaabe quill work, videos, podcasts, personal essays, and poetry, can now be viewed online through the CREATE! Micro-Grant Virtual Exhibit.

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Digitizing Discoveries: Classical Studies Professor to Lead Legacy Dig in Ancient Greece

Jon Frey first encountered archaeology at the site of Isthmia in Greece in 1993 as a study abroad student. He has since returned almost every year to the same ancient excavation. Now a classical archaeologist and Associate Professor of Classical Studies in the Department of Art, Art History, and Design at MSU, Frey will oversee the dig near Corinth, Greece,…

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Spanish Alumna Working on the COVID-19 Frontline

College of Arts & Letters alumna Grace Vivanco is helping lead the fight against COVID-19 at Ascension St. John Hospital in Detroit as one of the nurses working in the hospital’s COVID unit.  For Vivanco, who graduated from MSU in 2017 with a BA in Spanish and then earned her BSN from Oakland University’s accelerated nursing program, there is no…

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On Ethical Candor

There is a line from Seinfeld that cuts to the heart of the distinction between sincerity and ethical candor. In a desperate attempt to beat a polygraph machine, Jerry turns to George, a practiced liar, for advice. As Jerry gets up to leave, George offers this...

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Critical Race Studies Artist-in-Residence to Reimagine MSU’s Sparty Statue

As the 2020-2021 College of Arts & Letters’ Artist-in-Residence of Critical Race Studies, Young Joon Kwak is using multidisciplinary artistry to examine MSU’s Sparty statue in order to understand its deepest details and what lies beyond its symbolic skin.

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