News – Page 72 – College of Arts & Letters

Award-Winning Author, Filmmaker, and Scholar Joins AAAS Department

October 18, 2021

A scholar, cultural critic, and award-winning author and documentary filmmaker, Trimiko Melancon joined MSU’s Department of African American and African Studies (AAAS) on September 13, 2021, as a Full Professor with tenure. She brings with her an expertise in critical race, gender, Black feminist and sexualities studies; African American and American literary and cultural studies; African American and Black German studies; and race, media,…

COVID-19 / Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / Grant / News / Student

Finding Solace in Creating With Support From a CREATE! Micro-Grant

October 15, 2021

Iliana Cosme-Brooks, a senior double majoring in Arts and Humanities and Public and Professional Writing, has found solace in creating during the COVID-19 pandemic and has picked up embroidery, sewing, crochet, and knitting. She was selected to receive a $500 CREATE! Micro-Grant to respond critically and creatively to the events of the pandemic. Her CREATE! Micro-Grant project, titled “Synonyms for, Symptoms of, Suffocation, Solitude,” is of a mask and an exaggerated and oversized sweater that she made to illustrate how she has felt during the pandemic.

COVID-19 / Grant / News / Programs / Student / Student

CREATE! Micro-Grant Winner Writes a Collection of Poetry

October 15, 2021

Julia Rudlaff, a junior double majoring in English and Civil Engineering, received a CREATE! Micro-Grant to create a chapbook-length collection of poetry that addresses the pandemic’s effect on body image and gender identity. The CREATE! Micro-Grant program selected 12 student projects, including Rudlaff’s, to each receive $500 to respond critically and imaginatively to events occurring during the pandemic. For her…

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / Grant / News / Programs / Student

CREATE! Micro-Grant Winners Explore the Pandemic Through a Zine

October 12, 2021

Annie Dubois, a senior Professional and Public Writing major, and Nyle Rosenbaum, a junior Marketing major, received a CREATE! Micro-Grant to publish a zine that explores the pandemic’s effect on relationships, education, work, and identity.

Event / News / Performance / Production / Student

MSU Department of Theatre Returns to Full-Scale Productions

October 7, 2021

Michigan State University's Department of Theatre returns to full-scale performances this October with its first mainstage production, A Contemporary American's Guide to a Successful Marriage © 1959 by Robert Bastron. Performances run October 15-24 at the Pasant Theatre in the Wharton Center for Performing Arts. Attendees must be masked for the health and safety of our students.

Alumni / News / Programs / Study Abroad

A Love of the Spanish Language and Its Impact on Recent Alum

October 7, 2021

Enrolled as a child in a Spanish immersion program, Allie Virginski’s childhood interest in the language blossomed into an integral part of her life, education, and career. “Spanish is such a strong part of who I am. I absolutely love it,” she said. “I used to take culture classes when I was younger, and I knew I wanted to continue…

Faculty / Grant / News / Research

MI Diaries Receives NSF Grant to Support Its Expansion

October 6, 2021

The MI Diaries project, run by MSU’s Sociolinguistics Lab and led by College of Arts & Letters’ Assistant Professor of Linguistics Betsy Sneller and Associate Professor of Linguistics Suzanne Wagner, was awarded a $265,830 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to support the expansion of the project over the next three years. Since MI Diaries first began in April…

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / Faculty / News

Gordon Henry Appointed to New Endowed Chair Position

October 5, 2021

An enrolled citizen/member of the White Earth Anishinaabe Nation, Gordon Henry has dedicated his writing, scholarship, and life to Indigenous tribal communities. In recognition of this work, he has been appointed the inaugural Audrey and John Leslie Endowed Chair in North American Indian and Indigenous Literary Studies at Michigan State University. “Most everything associated with the Audrey and John Leslie…

Faculty / Grant / News / Research

Humanities Commons Receives $971,000 Mellon Grant to Support Its Expansion

October 5, 2021

Humanities Commons, which is hosted and sustained by Michigan State University and led by Kathleen Fitzpatrick, Director of Digital Humanities for MSU’s College of Arts & Letters, was awarded a $971,000, 5-year grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to support a multi-year restructuring of its business model. An online open-source platform, Humanities Commons facilitates communication and collaboration among scholars…

Alumni / News / Research

MSU Saved My Life

October 5, 2021

The National Cancer Institute was established by the National Cancer Act of 1971, signed into law by President Richard Nixon. It represented the U.S. commitment to what President Nixon described as the “war on cancer,” which had become the nation’s second-leading cause of death by 1970. Judith Pearson, a 1975 graduate of the College of Arts & Letters with a…