Prof. Gaurav Bansal to introduce Green Bay Film Society screening

The Green Bay Film Society kicks off its 2020 season with a screening of the 2016 Indian film “Hotel Salvation” at the Neville Public Museum on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2020 at 7 p.m. Prof. Gaurav Bansal (UW-Green Bay, Business) will introduce the film. The film follows Rajiv, an overworked businessman, who agrees to honor the final wish of his father, Daya, by accompanying him to the holy city of Varanasi. There, they check in to the Hotel Salvation, where residents are given just two weeks to live out their final days or return home. Daya revels in the simple pleasures of this timeless place, but Rajiv is burdened by the obligations he left behind. Eventually, both learn to appreciate each other and the world around them.

The event is co-sponsored by the Humanities Department, the Brown County Library and the Neville Public Museum.

Fall 2019 issue of Levintova’s and Boswell’s ‘The Syllabus Journal’ has been published

University of Wisconsin-Green Bay associate professors Caroline Boswell (Humanities and European History) and Katia Levintova (Political Science and Global Studies) are happy to announce that the Fall 2019 issue (8:2) of The Syllabus Journal, housed at UW-Green Bay, has just been published. It is available here. Co-editors Boswell and Levintova invite campus colleagues to visit web site and review articles and items of interest. The newest issue has entries that will be of interest to colleagues teaching political science, communication, film studies, English composition, research-intensive and graduate courses for international students. There are full length articles, syllabi submissions and toolbox suggestions. The Journal is always looking for reviewers, as well.

Faculty note: Associate Prof. Jessica Van Slooten publishes co-authored article

Associate Prof. Jessica Lyn Van Slooten (HUS, English, Women’s and Gender’s Studies, Composition, and Writing and Applied Arts) recently published a co-authored article, “Better Living through Policy: Feminist Shared Governance and Equitable Evaluation,” in Academic Labor Beyond the College Classroom: Working for Our Values, a collection of articles on institutional and professional service and administrative work published by Routledge in December 2019.

Here is the abstract for Slooten and her co-authors’ work: “The authors advocate for the value of transparent, well-researched, and faculty-driven policy work to enhance the effectiveness of shared governance. Drawing from work in their institutional governance body, the authors provide a road map for collaborative and engaged service work in the interest of transforming faculty and teaching evaluations processes. The authors draw from feminist theory work and the lens of ‘feminist praxis’ in order to demonstrate how attention to asymmetrical power and material contexts of governance work can enhance the overall functioning and institution-building capacity of faculty service efforts.”

Faculty note: Assistant Prof. Jennie Young writes about fear of spiders for Huffpost

Assistant Prof. Jennie Young (Humanities) recently wrote an article about her debilitating fear of spiders for the Huffpost. In this article, Young describes how she has progressed in fighting her fear of spiders, writing “five months ago, I could not bring myself to tap on the spider emoji on my iPhone. One month ago, I began carrying a tarantula around with me.” More via My Fear Of Spiders Was So Debilitating, I’m In Exposure Therapy. Here’s What It’s Like | Huffpost.

New Canonball podcast mini-episode available for listening

In this Canonball mini-episode, Dean Chuck Ryback (College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences) and Prof. Ryan Martin (Psychology) talk about their last episode on Pandora, discuss some modern great works and share some unpopular opinions in a new segment called “Unpopular.” Plus, Martin talks with Assistant Prof. Nolan Bennett about his new book.

Canonball is a podcast out of Phoenix Studios at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay that covers the great works from a variety of disciplines. From movies to film to literature to video games, hosts Chuck Rybak and Ryan Martin discusses all things canonical.

 

Rebecca Meacham recieves check from Green Bay Packers Founcation for UntiledTown

UntitledTown receives grant from Green Bay Packers

On Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2019, the Green Bay Packers Foundation awarded a record $1 million to 192 civic and charitable groups across Wisconsin as part of its annual distribution of grants. UntitledTown, an annual book and author festival in Green Bay, was awarded one of the grants, which was accepted by UW-Green Bay Prof. and co-president of UntitledTown Rebecca Meacham (English and Humanities). Prof. Cristina Ortiz (Humanities) and Diversity Director, Mai J Lo Lee, also serve on the board.

Although not officially a University event, UW-Green Bay faculty, students and alumni devote a tremendous amount of time, effort and energy to the annual Book and Author Festival.

Will the help of the Packers’ grant, the Festival will seek to expand community in April 2020 with two undervoiced populations of Northeast Wisconsin. First, to address the stories of victims of domestic violence and to showcase the stories of Latinx people of the Great Lakes.

The festival, now in its fourth year, has realized the power of community storytelling through the 4,000 to 6,000 attended each year who participate in the 100-plus free readings and writing workshops by both legendary talents and local writers. The “dream outcome,” according to Meacham, is a “whole slew of new and meaningful stories being published and hitting the libraries of our areas so others could be inspired, find hope and connect with communities.” For the announcement of headliners and a full line-up of events, see 2020.untitledtown.org.

Ten of its 2020 Festival headliners will be revealed on Dec. 18, 2019 at Lion’s Mouth Bookstore, 401 N. Washington St., Ste 107, Green Bay.

The announcement is expected to include bestselling novelists, award-winning slam poets, a beloved children’s series author, an NPR science podcaster—and the Festival’s youngest-ever headliner, a middle-schooler who has achieved viral and international fame.

The next UntitledTown event is taking place from April 23-26, 2020 in Green Bay.

UW-Green Bay Professor Meacham nominated for Pushcart Prize

Rebecca MeachamUW-Green Bay Prof. Rebecca Meacham (English, Humanities and Women’s and Gender Studies) was nominated by the literary journal Gigantic Sequins for the Pushcart Prize for her short nonfiction piece “Feather Rousing.” Meacham was selected as one of five pieces by the journal to be nominated for this award. The piece was written in residence at Write On, Door County in Juddville, Wis. for the Midsummer Music Festival.

The Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Presses series, published every year since 1976, is one of the most honored literary project in America. Since 1976, hundreds of presses and thousands of writers of short stories, poetry and essays have been represented in its annual collections.

Meacham is the chair of English, director of the BFA in Writing and Applied Arts, director of The Teaching Press and advisor of Sheepshead Review.

 

Prof. Cristina Ortiz to be honored as a recipient of the 2019 Outstanding Women of Color in Education Award

Cristina Ortiz
Cristina Ortiz

Prof. Cristina Ortiz (Spanish and Humanities) will be honored as one of 13 recipients of the 2019 Outstanding Women of Color in Education Award on Nov. 7, 2019. The award ceremony takes place in Madison and will be done in conjunction with the Dr. P.B. Poorman Awards for Outstanding Achievement on Behalf of LGBTQ+ People ceremony. The award is an annual honor given to faculty, staff, students or community members to recognize their achievements in advancing equity and inclusion for people of color within the UW System, as well as communities across the state. More information can be found at the UW System Outstanding Women of Color in Education Awards.