News – Page 98 – College of Arts & Letters

Examining the Power of Pop Culture to Shape Perception, Issues, and Trends

July 2, 2020

Kinitra Brooks grew up connecting ideas, asking questions, and demanding the freedom to do so. Today, the Associate Professor in MSU’s Department of English continues to push boundaries through her study of Black women, genre fiction, popular culture, and the work of conjure women as intellectual history. “Basically, I teach and research Black women creating weird stuff,” Brooks said. “That includes Black women…

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

Micro-Grants Awarded to 12 Art Projects Addressing COVID-19

June 30, 2020

The CREATE! Micro-Grant Program has selected 12 student projects to each receive $500 to respond critically and imaginatively to events occurring during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of the winning projects also will reflect on the fight for social justice in the Black Lives Matter movement, producing art that responds to struggles brought on by the pandemic and acts of police…

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Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / Faculty / Faculty Stories / News / Research

Philosophy Professor Recognized for Anti-Violence Research

June 25, 2020

Elena Ruíz’s anti-violence research has attracted the interest and support of advocacy organizations and philanthropic groups world-wide, including the Me Too Movement Organization for which she was named principal researcher for gender-based violence in January 2020. An Assistant Professor in MSU’s Department of Philosophy, Ruíz identifies strategic interventions for sexual violence and social structuresthat harm and keep people from meeting their basic needs. Through cross-disciplinary…

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Faculty / Faculty Stories / News / Programs

New Director of Citizen Scholars Program Named

June 24, 2020

Stacia Rigney, Assistant Professor and Affiliated Graduate Faculty in the Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and American Cultures, has been appointed Director of the College of Arts & Letters Citizen Scholars program, effective August 16, 2020. “I'm excited to work in the Citizen Scholars Program. One of the university's main responsibilities is to prepare students to be informed, equitable, inclusive, and active citizens.…

Award / News / Student

Varg-Sullivan Endowed Graduate Award Winners Announced

June 23, 2020

Each year, the College of Arts & Letters presents two Varg-Sullivan Endowed Graduate Awards to graduate students for their outstanding achievement in the arts or letters. This year’s winners are Jessica Stokes, Outstanding Achievement in the Arts recipient, and Bronson Hui, Outstanding Achievement in the Letters recipient. Paul Varg and Richard Sullivan are former Deans of the College of Arts…

News / Programs / Student

DEI Resources and Programs Available to the Spartan Community

June 22, 2020

It is easy to deploy diversity rhetoric; by contrast, helping create an inclusive and just society is a monumental task, even more so, during tumultuous times. This is why, however well-intentioned, so many institutions and companies choose rhetoric. As we commemorate the anniversary of the end of slavery in the United States, we must commit to the hard, latter choice:…

a man with rubber gloves holding a bottle of liquid

Award / Exhibition / Faculty / Faculty Stories / News

Professor Wins Grand Prize at Japan Media Arts Festival

June 22, 2020

Adam Brown, Associate Professor in the Department of Art, Art History, and Design, won the Grand Prize in the Arts Division at the Japan Media Arts Festival for his work, [ir]reverent: Miracles on Demand, which will now be part of a major exhibition at the National Museum in Tokyo later this year. His project was one of 3,566 overall entries from 107 countries in…

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Alumni / Featured Alumni / News

MSU Alumnus Connects with Others Through Art

June 15, 2020

Alumnus Joel Guzman is providing a source of creativity for his community as the Director of Artist Engagement at Sing for Hope in New York City, which is a nonprofit organization that serves under-resourced schools, healthcare facilities, refugee camps, transit hubs, and public spaces by connecting them with creative outlets. As Director of Artist Engagement, Guzman is responsible for connecting with…

seven people sitting at a table eating food

Exhibition / News / Student

Fiction Filmmaking Class Overcomes Many Obstacles to Complete Film

June 12, 2020

Resilient – that is the word to describe the students of the 2019-2020 Fiction Filmmaking Capstone class, who faced countless obstacles this past academic year, but each time they were knocked down, they stood up and figured out a way to move forward. Students in this capstone course spend the fall and spring semesters producing an original film in order…

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Faculty / Faculty Stories / News / Research / Student

Professor Evaluates Graduate Curriculum and Pedagogy as Lilly Fellow

June 10, 2020

Lynn Wolff’s decision to study German in middle school was purely pragmatic. Most kids her age took Spanish. She wanted to be different. Plus, it simply made sense to learn German when she lived in Wisconsin — a state where nearly 45 percent of the population claim German ancestry. Ultimately, learning German opened her eyes to the world beyond the borders…