Tag Archives: western

Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project earns $10,000 in Michigan Humanities Council support

Posted on May 24, 2012 by Deb| 1 Comment

Fig. 11 Reenactors depicting British soldiers

Reenactors depicting British soldiers during the 2011 Fort St. Joseph Open House event.

After reviewing an astounding 51 applications – 31 more than the previous grant cycle – the Michigan Humanities Council (MHC) will award $350,850 in major grant monies to 30 Michigan nonprofits—including $10,000 to the Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Program for its “A Colonial Militia Muster on the Eve of Revolution” series.

“We’re very grateful for the continued support of the Michigan Humanities Council, and honored they consider our project to be worthy of funding,” noted Dr. Michael Nassaney, principal investigator of the Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project and professor in the Department of Anthropology.

“We received an extraordinary number of very exciting, high-quality grant applications this spring and the Michigan Humanities Council has made the very bold decision to fund double the number of grants we usually fund this time of year as a result. This is more than double the amount of grant dollars we awarded in the fall cycle, but with such a large number of great projects on the table, we decided to get the funds out into the communities now when the need is so great,” said Council board chair Timothy Chester.

The grants provide organizations with the funds needed to host cultural programming in their communities through exhibits, lectures, writing programs, festivals and more.

Fort St. Joseph project homepage

Posted in Discovery Driven, Learner Centered

Tagged A Colonial Militia Muster on the Eve of Revolution, CAS, college, college of arts and sciences, department of anthropology, fort st. joseph, Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Program, humanities, Michigan Humanities Council, research, western, western michigan university, WMU College of Arts and Sciences

Public Safety chief meets Spanish service learning students

Posted on April 22, 2012 by Deb| Leave a comment

Spanish students Conor McShane, Erica Pérez, Kristen Hartman, Hector Silva, Chief Jeff Hadley, Abbey Karlinski, Karmina Bryant.

Chief of the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety, Jeff Hadley, came to WMU on Monday March 12 to meet the students of Dr. Michael Millar’s Spanish with Internship and Service Learning course (Spanish 4400).

Hadley talked with Spanish Service Learning students about current issues of community and public safety relations, racial profiling studies, the clear separation between local public safety and federal immigration enforcement, the need for more bilingual staff in public safety and possible career paths for bilingual graduates of WMU. Dr. Millar’s students spent more than an hour with Chief Hadley discussing course materials that relate to his experience in law enforcement and public safety to gain a clearer understanding of multiple perspectives on these contemporary issues.

Hadley is one of several speakers from the Kalamazoo Community who have agreed to meet with Dr. Millar’s Spanish students. Other participants include: Thomas Thornburg, Managing Attorney with Farmworker Legal Services; MonaLisa Watson, Manager of Diversity and Inclusion at Bronson Hospital; Lori Mercedes, Interim Director of the Hispanic American Council; Kelly Alvarez, Principal of El Sol Elementary School; and Manuel Brenes, Coordinator of Bilingual and ESL programs for Kalamazoo Public Schools. Each of these guest speakers have offered Spanish service learning students valuable and experienced insight on a variety of course themes as well as the opportunity to converse about professional opportunities and expectations for bilingual graduates of WMU.

Millar recently was recognized with the 2012 WMU Excellence in Service-Learning Award for faculty instruction.

Millar started the Spanish 4400 the fall of 2008. Since that time, participants in the course have earned credits toward their Spanish major, while gaining valuable hands on experience in a variety of educational, professional and community settings. Spanish majors have collaborated with professor Millar to win grant funding from a variety of sources to support their course projects and have established many lasting professional relationships.

Currently, students of Spanish with Internship or Service Learning are working with Kalamazoo Public Schools, KCIS, KRESA, the Hispanic American Council, Farmworker Legal Services, Bronson Hospital and the WMU Division of Multicultural Affairs. The Department of Spanish offers this course for advanced Spanish majors each Spring semester.

…a closer look:
WMU Department of Spanish
Graduate Program
Undergraduate Majors and Minors
Service Learning at WMU
SPAN 4400

Posted in Globally Engaged, Learner Centered, Study Abroad

Tagged Abbey Karlinski, CAS, Chief Jeff Hadley, college, college of arts and sciences, Conor McShane, Erica Pérez, Hector Silva, humanities, Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety, Karmina Bryant, Kristen Hartman, Michael Millar, Service Learning, spanish, western, wmu, WMU College of Arts and Sciences

Jaimy Gordon’s “Lord of Misrule” in the spotlight again

Posted on April 18, 2012 by Deb| Leave a comment

By Katy TerBerg

Prize-winning author and WMU Professor of English Jaimy Gordon.

WMU has been fortunate enough to have great authors in its faculty and students, and Professor of English, Jaimy Gordon, is setting the bar a little higher. Gordon published her third novel, “Lord of Misrule,” in 2010 to critical acclaim. Gordon’s novel won the National Book Award for Fiction in 2010 and was voted one of Amazon’s Best Books of the Month in November of 2010.

Most recently, Gordon has been selected as one of the longlist finalists for The Orange Prize for Fiction, the UK’s only annual book award for fiction written by a woman. According to the official website for the award, The Orange Prize, which is celebrating its 17th year, celebrates “excellence, originality, and accessibility in women’s writing throughout the world.”

The announcement coincides with International Women’s Day. The Orange Prize for Fiction shortlist will be announced on April 17, with readings occuring on May 29 and an awards ceremony on May 30.

“Lord of Misrule” is about “trying to figure out what the shape of your luck on Earth is and, one way or another, come to terms with that. It’s very much about courting that message from the gods that you were destined for something special, and most of the characters of the book have to settle for what they get,” said Gordon in an interview.

It is difficult to determine whether Gordon was destined for the award or if her hard work and dedication led her to the achievement, but it is clear that Gordon’s efforts have not gone unnoticed. As Gordon herself said, “You certainly expect your family, the future generations, to remember you or have some impression of you.”

We believe Gordon will continue to leave a lasting impression.

Links:

Department of English
About Jaimy Gordon
The Orange Prize for Fiction

Posted in Faculty News, Learner Centered

Tagged college of arts and sciences, creative writing, department of english, english, faculty, jaimy gordon, lord of misrule, orange prize for fiction, western, western michigan university, wmu, writing

Japanese professor represents WMU at Japan earthquake memorial

Posted on April 13, 2012 by Deb| Leave a comment

Dr. Jeffrey Angles

On March 11, 2011, a devastating earthquake struck northeastern Japan triggering a massive tsunami and the now infamous meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant. One year later, on March 27, 2012, the Consulate General of Japan in Detroit held a memorial service at the Michigan State Capital’s Rotunda to commemorate the lives that had been lost and to showcase recovery efforts in the devastated region of Japan.

Dr. Jeffrey Angles, the director of Western Michigan University’s Soga Japan Center and an associate professor of Japanese, appeared alongside the Consul General of Japan Kuninori Matsuda, the mayor of Lansing Virg Bernero, and Michigan Governor Rick Snyder at the memorial service.

The Consul General Kuninori Matsuda extended a special invitation to Angles, who was in Japan during the earthquake and lived through all the anxiety that followed, because over the last year Angles has translated and published numerous poems written by various poets about their experiences during and after the March 11 disasters. For his contribution to the memorial service, he read English translations of three poems.

The first, “Do Not Tremble,” was written by the feminist poet Toshiko Hirata during a time when the aftershocks were still rolling through northeastern Japan. The second, “Thoughts Before a Blackout,” which Angles originally composed in Japanese, was written during the rolling blackouts and frightening uncertainty that followed the aftermath of the disasters. The third, “Words,” was by Japan’s most popular poet, Shuntarō Tanikawa and optimistically describes the power of language and communication in helping to overcome the trauma of the disasters. The final poem appears in the newly published collection “March Was Made of Yarn: Reflections on the Japanese Earthquake, Tsunami, and Nuclear Meltdown.”

The memorial service was attended by about two hundred people. Afterward, numerous people approached Angles to tell him how moved they were by the poems he read.

“One person told me that he especially appreciated them since the other speakers had emphasized the infrastructural and economic devastation of the disasters,” Angles said. “That listener told me he felt it was the poems that really gave the most dramatic, human face to what had happened. It was also wonderful to hear that ordinary Michigan residents, including elementary school students, had donated $268,000 to the Japanese Consulate’s office for the recovery efforts.”

“The 3/11 disasters seem to have changed the way that many Japanese people think about their own lives,” Angles said. “Many people lost their lives. It will probably be well over a decade before northeastern Japan has fully recovered. Our thoughts are with the people of northeastern Japan as they rebuild.”

Posted in Faculty News, Globally Engaged

Tagged CAS, college, college of arts and sciences, humanities, japan, jeffrey angles, soga japan center, western, western michigan university, WMU College of Arts and Sciences

Fort St. Joseph Project Bring Virtual Lectures to Classrooms

Posted on March 22, 2012 by Deb| Leave a comment

A group of visitors learn about excavations at the Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project in Niles, Mich.

Don’t like to get your hands dirty? Dreading the thought of loading 30 screaming sixth graders onto a bus headed to Niles, Mich.? Just want to know what it’s like out in the archaeological wilds?

Now you can, without leaving the comfort of your chair! Western Michigan University’s Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project is offering free virtual lectures on the Project.

Virtual lectures (using a free software called Skype) will discuss the progress and history of excavation of an eighteenth-century French fort in Niles, Mich. Participants must download this free software and create an account and have access to a webcam, the internet, and a projection area where the lecture may be viewed. The virtual lecture will include PowerPoint presentations, images of authentic artifacts, and face-to-face discussion between participants and students, allowing the public to “enter” the lab where post-fieldwork analysis takes place on a weekly basis.

This virtual lecture program is offered free of charge and can take place in any classroom with a projector and webcam, so no permissions slips are needed (in most cases) for this virtual field trip.

This program is specifically designed to educate students, from grades 3 through 12, about what archaeology is, the history of the French fur trade in the Midwest, and the methods involved in recovering, identifying, and analyzing artifacts and other cultural materials. The program will also consider requests from adult groups interested in learning more about Fort St. Joseph and its importance in our collective heritage. The lectures will be offered on a first come, first served basis, with a variety of time slots and dates available for scheduling the virtual field trip. The program lasts approximately 30 minutes.

Fort St. Joseph is one of the oldest European settlements in the western Great Lakes Region and was occupied by the French, British, Spanish, and Native Americans for nearly a century (1691-1781). After a decade of excavation led by Dr. Michael Nassaney, the FSJAP is expanding its public outreach efforts to future archaeologists through new technologies and software. The FSJAP is a collaborative partnership between Western Michigan University, the City of Niles, the Fort St. Joseph Museum, Support the Fort, and numerous individuals and community groups. It began in 1998 when Dr. Michael Nassaney conducted a preliminary survey, eventually locating the site of the fort, beginning over a decade of excavation and research. FSJ is located in Niles, Michigan, known as the City of Four Flags.

The FSJAP offers a variety of public education and outreach opportunities including our popular summer archaeology camp program for adults, students, and educators, where participants can excavate at the fort site under the supervision of archaeologists for a whole week. Each season the fieldwork culminates in our annual open house that has hosted over 10,000 visitors over the past 5 years in viewing ongoing investigations, informational panels, artifact exhibits, and living history re-enactors who make the eighteenth century come alive. Excavation continues in 2012 as we work to recover the past and reconstruct the history of the French fur trade and the lives of the people of New France.

Links:
Department of Anthropology
Dr. Michael Nassaney

Posted in Discovery Driven

Tagged anthropology, CAS, college, college of arts and sciences, fort st. joesph, humanities, nassaney, niles michigan, research, western, western michigan university, wmu

Registration Open for 47th International Congress on Medieval Studies, May 10-13 at WMU

Posted on March 14, 2012 by Deb| Leave a comment

Visitors socialize during the Medieval Congress at WMU. Photo by Neil Rankin.

Information for the 47th International Congress on Medieval Studies (May 10-13, 2012) , including session schedules and registration, is now available online. The Congress is sponsored by the WMU Medieval Institute, which is directed by Dr. James Murray.

The Congress is an annual gathering of more than 3,000 scholars interested in Medieval Studies. It features more than 550 sessions of papers, panel discussions, roundtables, workshops, and performances. There are also some 90 business meetings and receptions sponsored by learned societies, associations, and institutions. The exhibits hall boasts nearly 70 exhibitors, including publishers, used book dealers, and purveyors of medieval sundries. The Congress lasts three and a half days, extending from Thursday morning until Sunday at noon.

Topics and sessions range from Session 13: Conceptions of Love in Medieval Culture, Literature, and Religion, in which Holle Canatella presents “Christina of Markyate and Geoffrey of Saint Albans: A Twelfth-Century Spiritual Friendship,” to Session 461: Sixth-Century Italy I: Representing the Ostrogothic Kingdom. The title of Shane Bjornlie’s paper is “Princeps Illiteratus: The Political Polemic of the Gothic War and the Sources for Theoderic the Great,” and there are literally hundreds of other sessions to chose from.

A number of special events are scheduled during the Congress, including:

Plenary Lectures
Exhibition and Reception
Film Screening
Saturday Night Dance
Worship Services

Everyone attending the Congress—including participants, exhibitors, accompanying family members, and Kalamazoo residents—must register for the Congress. Online early registration is available. Attendees may also register by post or by fax using the printed Registration Form, but those registering by mail or fax pay a $25.00 handling fee.

Housing is provided by Goldsworth Valley I, II, and III complexes. The Congress exhibits hall is located in Valley III and contains nearly 70 exhibitors, including publishers, used book dealers, and medieval scholars. Exhibitors this year include Baker Publishing Group, Cambridge University Press, Kazoo Books, Penguin Group USA, and various state university presses.

More information about the Medieval Institute and the Congress can be found on the home page.

Links:
Director of the Medieval Institute James Murray’s homepage.

Posted in Globally Engaged, Learner Centered

Tagged 47th International Congress on Medieval Studies, alumni, and III, and Religion, Christina of Markyate and Geoffrey of Saint Albans: A Twelfth-Century Spiritual Friendship, Conceptions of Love in Medieval Culture, Goldsworth Valley I, humanities, james murray, Literature, medieval institute, western, western michigan university, wmu

PBS-National Geographic Special Highlights Anthro Prof’s Work in Nepal

Posted on February 6, 2012 by Deb| Leave a comment

Dr. Jacqueline Eng, assistant professor of anthropology at Western Michigan University, examined ancient human remains in Nepal.

Bioarchaeologist Jacqueline Eng was recently on PBS when her work was featured on a National Geographic special, “Cave People of the Himalaya.” The special premiered Wednesday, February 15.

The PBS special features research she has been doing in Nepal over the past two years. Beginning in 2010, Eng joined a team of archaeologists, historians, linguists, and other specialists in the anthropological exploration of the settlement history of the Upper Mustang region of Nepal. Some of the preliminary results include evidence of de-fleshing in an ancient burial practice. Photos of her research were posted online in National Geographic’s Daily News on March 1, 2011.

Eng’s research interests are in the health of ancient human populations as revealed by their skeletal and dental remains. Through this bioarchaeological perspective, she has conducted osteological research on hunter-gatherer populations in California, Viking Age and Conversion Age inhabitants of Iceland, post-medieval peasants from Transylvania, nomadic pastoralists of Mongolia, and numerous societies from China’s northern frontier that date from the Neolithic age to the Mongolian Dynasty.

Eng’s major regional focus is in health and disease found among these nomadic pastoralists and settled farmers during major shifts in health and disease and socioeconomic landscape as the ancient Chinese empire and pastoral cultures developed and interacted with each other.

Also, as a member of the Global History of Health Project, she has contributed to this NSF- and NIH-funded investigation of the history of human health over the past 10,000 years.

“Cave People of the Himalaya” aired on PBS, Wednesday February 15, at 10 p.m. EST. Check local listings for additional showings.

PBS Video link
Dr. Eng in the spotlight.

Posted in Globally Engaged

Tagged 2012, anthropology, bioarchaeological, bioarchaeologist, california, cave people, de-fleshing, eng, february 15, himalaya, humanities, mongolian dynasty, national geographic, osteological, pbs, viking age, western, western michigan university

WMU Spanish Students Around the World

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Deb| Leave a comment

by Helena Witzke

The WMU Department of Spanish has had an outstanding year with its study abroad programs; from Spain to Mexico, both old students and new are taking part in the ongoing international opportunities offered as a part of Western’s global focus.

Dr. Pablo Pastrana-Pérez, professor of Spanish, directed the 2011 study abroad program in Santander, Spain. In addition, Pastrana-Pérez also was one of the founding members of the Consortium on Pilgrimage Studies. The Consortium seeks to develop a curriculum centered on pilgrimages that will have two parts: an academic component (a capstone course on pilgrimage) and a practical one (an actual hike along the Way of St. James).

Professor Pastrana-Pérez with actor Martin Sheen at the national meeting of the Consortium on Pilgrimage Studies in Washington, D.C.

The Department of Spanish had a successful global experience in this hemisphere, too. The first Querétaro alumni reunion, which commemorated 16 years of academic exchange between Western Michigan University and the University of Querétaro, was held in Querétaro, Mexico, on July 8, 2011.

Host families, faculty from both universities and former students gathered together to reminisce about the longstanding relationship that has benefited students from both countries. Over 130 people celebrated these relationships that have grown from the heartfelt desire to provide our students with the study abroad experience—a fundamental piece of a complete university education.

Professor and Undergraduate Advisor Robert Felkel (second from right) with alumni from Western Michigan University and the University of Querétaro

President of WMU, Dr. John M. Dunn, in a letter honoring the occasion, congratulated those gathered on the success of the program, and emphasized the importance of a global education. He wrote, “What pulled you together as students was your love of language. What connects you all now as alumni is the realization that [this experience] enriched your college years in ways you never expected and continues today to shape who you are and how you see the world.”
Links:

WMU Department of Spanish
Dr. John M. Dunn
Department of Spanish newsletter, Somos y Estamos

Posted in Globally Engaged, Uncategorized

Tagged alumni, college, Consortium on Pilgrimage Studies, department of Spanish, Dr. John M. Dunn, Dr. Pablo Pastrana-Pérez, global focus, humanities, linguistic, Spain, University of Querétaro, Way of St. James, western, western michigan university, wmu

Professor pens book on health communication

Posted on December 14, 2011 by Deb| Leave a comment

by Helena Witzke

Associate professor of communication, Julie Apker.

Julie Apker, WMU associate professor of communication, has written a book that explores the communication processes, issues, and concepts that influence the lives of patients, health professionals, and others in health institutions. “Communication in Health Organizations,” published in October by Polity Press, integrates scholarship from health communication, medicine, nursing, public health, and allied health.

A comprehensive review of the research literature, the book explains the complexities and contingencies of communication in health settings using systems theory, an approach that enhances reader understanding of health organizing. The book familiarizes readers with how health organizations function communicatively and why health professionals interact as they do.

Apker joined the faculty in 2001. She teaches and conducts research in organizational and health communication.

LINKS:

Dr. Apker’s homepage

Book details

Posted in Discovery Driven, Learner Centered

Tagged communication, health care, health communication, healthcare, western, western michigan university, wmu

WMU researcher to discuss spatial statistics in India

Posted on December 14, 2011 by Deb| Leave a comment

Dr. Rajib Paul, WMU professor of statistics, recently was invited by The International Environmetrics Society to talk in a session titled “Applications of Spatial Statistics to Environmental Science.”

Dr. Rajib Paul, Department of Statistics

The meeting, which took place in Hyderabad, India from Jan. 3-6 2012, aimed to encourage the implementation of statistical methods in environmental engineering, monitoring and care.

Paul’s talk, which drew from research performed in collaboration with scientists from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) in Australia, reflects on his three months of research in Australia in summer 2009. Titled “Reduced Rank Spatial Model With Temporal Confounding Effects,” Paul says the talk discussed “novel statistical methods to model complex processes in ‘big’ science.” Such processes, like measuring ocean salinity and temperature, have a very large global impact indeed.

Paul’s project deals with the mathematical analysis of the nonstationarity of processes such as ocean salinity and temperature. Previous studies, he notes, have neglected key factors (such as spatial nonstationarity) in measuring these processes; they also have not properly accommodated the fact that data is collected from flowing water, which requires a great deal of attention.

In order to collect data on the biogeochemical properties of different ocean depths, Paul’s team used an ocean glider (a small, autonomous subterranean vehicle, which collects data on ocean biogeochemical properties), which was deployed off the coast of southern Tunisia. The glider gathered information from several different ocean layers—a very time-consuming and expensive process, though less so than more common ship-based techniques.

Once in possession of the valuable data, Paul’s attention was focused on using it to create a reliable and inclusive statistical model for future use in environmental and ocean sciences.