Honors-CLA List-Serv, 29 February 2008

 

                                  O Prosperpina,

For the flowers now that, frighted, thou letst fall

From Dis's Wagon!--daffodils,

That come before the swallow dares, and take

The winds of March with beauty . . .

 

           William Shakespeare, The Winter's Tale, 4.4, 116-120

 

In this edition:

 

Honors news

 * Experiential events this week

 * Honors Student Association event March 15: mark your calendars

 * IT Honors hosts film tonight

College news

 * Exploring interests and majors event is Wednesday

 * Gender, Women, & Sexuality Studies writing awards

University news

 * SMART writing workshop Tuesday

Scholarships

 * Info session Tuesday on Rhodes/Marshall/Mitchell

 * American Studies scholarship; application deadline March 14

Learning abroad

 * Three weeks in Tuscany this summer; apply now

Research

 * Research project with Ananya Dance Theatre

Graduate/Professional programs

 * Grad student panel on mental health program Wednesday

Internships/Jobs

 * Job Search Jump Start deadline extended to Monday

 * Playwrights' Center PlayLabs internship: apply by March 15

Student organizations

 * Xperimental Theatre call for proposals for 2008-9 season (deadline April 4)

Lively links

 * Encyclopedia of Life is online

 * NY Times essay contest

Events

 * Today: Visit Nepal at the Small World Coffee Hour

 * Tuesday: Local author Laura Flynn at U Bookstore

 * Tuesday: Writer Loung Ung at Coffman

 * Tuesday: Framing Suzan-Lori Parks, part two

 * Wednesday/Thursday: Physicist David Gross, lecture & colloquium

 * Wednesday: Kate Flint on "Pink Twilight"

 * Thursdays at Four: Journalist Eric Black

 * Thursday Headliners event: Professor Yangwei Zhang on "The China Connection" (free tix!)

 * Thursday: cartoonist/graphic artist Allison Bechdel

 * Next Friday: Students & hierarchies at the University lunch discussion (RSVP required)

 * Next Friday: First Fridays at Andersen Library--Women and Computers

 * Opening next Friday: honors alum Jenna Papke directs Tom Stoppard's Arcadia

 * Next Friday & Saturday: annual Law School musical

 

Honors news

UPCOMING EXPERIENTIAL EVENTS THIS WEEK

Thursday, noon, Weisman Art Museum: "Need to Know: Freedom of Information and Photography," a gallery talk with Christopher Ison and Jane Kirtley.

Thursday, 7 pm, Continuing Education and Conference Center, St. Paul Campus, Headliners with Professor Yangwei Zhang. Stop by the Honors office for a free ticket (regularly $10). With a population of more than 1.3 billion people, the oldest continuous civilization with records dating back 3,500 years, a geography covering 3.7 million square miles, and the world’s fastest growing economy, China is a geopolitical giant. And while its transition from an isolationist nation to international powerhouse has occurred in just a matter of decades, there’s no slowdown in sight. Given the nation’s booming economy and rapidly expanding energy consumption, what global consequences can we expect from China’s tumultuous transformation? On Thursday, join Dr. Yangwei Zhang, Director of the University of Minnesota’s China Center (one of only two university centers for Chinese-American relations in the U.S.), for a wide ranging discussion of this most fascinating ancient culture turned modern world leader.

Sunday, March 9, 2 pm, Bell Museum of Natural History: "South African Landscape and Wildlife," with field biologist Nicole Benjamin. Regular cost: $7. Interested Honors students should email Rebecca Dosch-Brown (dosch018@umn.edu) with your name, ID, and email address to be put on the guest list (which means you get in for free!). Fore more information on experiential events, visit www.cla.umn.edu/honors/aboutexp.htm.

 

HONORS STUDENT ASSOCIATION EVENT MARCH 15: MARK YOUR CALENDARS

As members of the Honors Student Association, we are celebrating March as Human Rights Month: please join us for International Women's Day. The 13th Annual International Women's Day Celebration is rapidly approaching, and we are looking for volunteers to help out on the day of the
event. Our keynote speaker will be Robin Morgan, and a plenary panel will speak to the intersection of women's and indigenous rights. The day will also include 12 workshops on women's human rights, film, arts and crafts vendors, and a wealth of resources from other organizations. Maria Isa will be closing the day with a performance. Events will be at Coffman from 8 am-4 pm, Saturday, March 15; volunteers can schedule their own two-hour time block. This event allows us to not only get involved and help out, but to also learn a lot and experience all of the workshops and activities that International Women’s Day has to offer. We will be volunteering for 2 hours during the day, and then we are free to explore all the event has to offer. Please contact HSA’s Philanthropy Coordinator, Lindsey Merritt ASAP, at merri204@umn.edu for more information and to sign up to participate.
Hope to see you all there.

 

IT HONORS HOSTS FILM TONIGHT

The IT Honors Group is hosting a movie night to celebrate the 29th of February, tonight at 7 pm in Anderson 210. We will most likely be watching either "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" or "Transformers"
(viewers choice). Everyone is welcome.


College news

WEDNESDAY: EXPLORING INTERESTS AND MAJORS EVENT

Wednesday, 10 am-2 pm (come anytime), Coffman Union, Great Hall. This is the biggest exploration event of the year. Come for info about what the U of M can offer to someone with your interests. You can talk to advisers about any major, take a career interests quiz, learn about ways to get involved at the U, or get off-campus study info. Find event details at www.cclc.umn.edu/EIM.

 

GENDER, WOMEN, & SEXUALITY STUDIES WRITING AWARDS

Cash prizes worth hundreds of dollars available! Helen Hawthorne Hartung Award For best feminist writing by undergraduate student and Valata Dakota Fletcher Award For best feminist writing by returning woman undergraduate student. Entrants in writing contests must have enrolled in at least one undergraduate GWSS course at the University of Minnesota in 2007 or 2008. For the Fletcher award, entrant must be a woman entering or returning to the University after being away from school 10 years or more. Awards to up to 6 outstanding examples of feminist writing. Submit your best creative or academic writing for an award. Creative fiction, essay, or poetry: 5-15 pages. Scholarly or research paper: up to 30 pages. Submit two typed, double-spaced copies of entry, one copy with name, address, and phone number typed at top of first page. No name or other identification should appear on the other copy, which will be used in judging. One submission per entrant. Deadline and notification: Entries due in the GWSS Main Office, 425 Ford Hall, by 4:30 pm, Friday, April 18. Winners will be notified no later than Friday, May 2. Prizes will be awarded at the end of Spring Semester, during the GWSS Recognition Event. For more information, please contact Rebecca Aylesworth, GWSS Undergraduate Advising at 612.624.6809 or gwssadv@umn.edu.

 

University news

SMART WRITING WORKSHOP TUESDAY

Tuesday, 2-3:30 pm, Magrath Library Room 2:"Getting organized." This workshop will provide effective strategies for reading and writing academic articles. Students will also have an opportunity to “workshop” an individual writing assignment from one of their courses. Students will be able critique, edit, and improve their work. (If you do not bring an assignment, or do not have one, you may complete an alternate activity, such as writing and editing a short practice essay.) The workshop is intended for non-native speakers, but all students are welcome. Refreshments will be provided.


Scholarships

INFO SESSION FOR UK/IRELAND GRAD STUDY SCHOLARSHIPS

Tuesday, 3:30-4:30 pm, Nolte Library (125 Nolte Center). Our panel of U faculty and staff experts will offer an inside view of the application process for these exceptional opportunities to study at Oxford, Cambridge, and universities throughout the UK and Ireland; the scholarships include the Rhodes, Marshall, Gates Cambridge, Churchill, and Mitchell. All require exceptional academic records (generally a GPA of 3.8 or higher is recommended). For full information about eligibility requirements, please see the descriptions of these scholarships at http://www.honors.umn.edu/scholarships/information/index.html. Several of the scholarships require institutional endorsement; instructions for submitting an application for the campus endorsement process will be available at the info session, and thereafter from Sally Lieberman, liebe001@umn.edu. The application process starts this spring for U of M-Twin Cities juniors, seniors, and recent grads interested in scholarships to begin graduate study in Fall 2009. Interested Freshman and Sophomores are also welcome to attend the info session. Campus application deadline: April 4, 2008.

 

AMERICAN STUDIES SCHOLARSHIP; DEADLINE MARCH 14

The American Studies Department is pleased to announce the opening of applications for the 2008 American Studies William C. Nelson Undergraduate Scholarship. The Department will award two $2,500 scholarships for the 2008-09 academic year. Deadline for submission is March 14, 2008.
This scholarship is open to any undergraduates that have declared an American Studies major by March 14, and who have at least two Amst designated courses on their current transcript. 
If you have any questions, please schedule an appointment during Professor Jennifer Pierce’s Spring 2008 office hours (Tuesday’s 3-4:30 pm or Wednesday, 3:30-4:30 pm) by contacting the American Studies front office, 104 Scott Hall, 612/624-4190 or amstdy@umn.edu. For a copy of the application, email Kit at gordo003@umn.edu.


Learning abroad

THREE WEEKS IN TUSCANY THIS SUMMER: APPLY NOW

CI 5050: Art and Culture in Tuscany, 3 credits, Florence, Italy, June 19-July 11, 2008. Registration deadline is March 11. $500 deposit will be billed. The program cost is $3100 plus airfare. Cost includes tuition, accommodations, airport transfers, ground transportation, entrance fees to the Uffizi, Bargello, and other sites, including and excursion to Siena and San Gimigiano and the Siena Palio. Weekends will be free and optional excursions will be available. There are a few more places available for this study tour to the heart of the Renaissance.  Stay in typical Florentine apartments, study Italian art and culture and visit the important sites and museums around the city with lectures and cultural explorations. For more information contact Dr. Faith Clover at clove002@umn.edu; for registration details, visit the Learning Abroad website at http://www.umabroad.umn.edu/programs/EUROPE/customItalyArt/index.shtml.

 

Research

RESEARCH PROJECT WITH ANANYA DANCE THEATRE

Ananya Dance Theatre is currently seeking undergraduate and graduate students to collaborate on research related to our current production, Daak: Call to Action. The research should focus on land rights violations in Tijuana and Cd. Juarez, Mexico; Nandigram and Singur, India; and Lower Sioux and Leech Lake Reservations, Minnesota. The research project begins this March with the opportunity to exhibit research results June 11-15, 2008 in the Southern Theater's lobby during the premiere of Daak. There are various possibilities as to how the research results can be presented, and may include display boards, video, two-dimensional artwork, audio recordings, etc. We would like to select three students (undergraduate or graduate) of the specified regions and one lobby exhibit coordinator. To learn more about Ananya Dance Theatre, visit us at: www.ananyadancetheatre.org.


Graduate/Professional programs

GRAD STUDENT PANEL ON MENTAL HEALTH PROGRAMS WEDNESDAY

Wednesday, 4-5:30 pm, N639 Elliott Hall. Come learn from the personal experiences of current grad students in mental health-related programs from across the Twin Cities. Panel members will be graduate students currently enrolled in PhD, PsyD, and Master’s programs in Clinical, Educational Psychology, School Counseling, and Social Work. Hear about each panel member’s process of deciding on and applying to graduate programs, their current experiences in the graduate programs and their future plans. This event gives you a glimpse into the reality of being a grad student, gives you a taste of how local mental health-related grad programs differ, and will get you thinking about things you can do now to prepare. Please RSVP at: www.psych.umn.edu/undergrad/upcomingevents.htm


Internships/Jobs

JOB SEARCH JUMP START DEADLINE EXTENDED TO MONDAY

This event for CLA juniors, seniors, and recent grads is Friday, March 7, 11:30 am-4:30 pm, Coffman Memorial Union. Whether you're looking for a job now or you will be in a year or two, you need to prepare. This event provides in-depth guidance including seminars, panel discussions, networking opportunities with employers, resume critiques, info packets, and a tasty lunch! See registration options at www.cclc.umn.edu/JSJS. Registration deadline extended to Monday!

 

PLAYWRIGHTS' CENTER PLAYLABS INTERNSHIP: APPLY BY MARCH 15

The PlayLabs Internship at The Playwrights’ Center in Minneapolis, MN, is offered to advanced undergraduates, new graduates and graduate-level students of playwriting, dramaturgy, directing, and other theatre programs. The deadline to apply is March 15. For full details, email Kit at gordo003@umn.edu.

 

Student organizations

XPERIMENTAL THEATRE CALL FOR PROPOSALS FOR 2008-9; DEADLINE APR*IL 4

The University's Xperimental Theatre is seeking proposals for four productions for its 2008-2009 season. Proposals are due by noon, Friday, April 4. For full details, email Kit at gordo003@umn.edu.

 

Lively links

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF LIFE IS ONLINE

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/26/science/26ency.html

 

NY TIMES ESSAY CONTEST

http://www.nytimes.com/ads/marketing/modernlove/

The NY Times invites college students nationwide to submit a personal essay of between 1,500 and 2,000 words that illustrates the current state of love and relationships. The winning author will receive $1,000 and his or her essay will be published in a special “Modern Love” column on May 4, 2008 and on nytimes.com.

 

Events

VISIT NEPAL AT TODAY'S SMALL WORLD COFFEE HOUR

Today, 4-6 pm, 110 Heller Hall: The Small World Coffee Hour (SWCH) and the Nepalese Graduate
Student Association (NGSA) invite you to immerse yourself in the Nepali culture, food, and tea. If you want to know more about Nepal, Nepalese students, and interact with students around the world, then join us this afternoon. Come, make lots of international friends and join us to enjoy the Nepali cuisine and culture.

 

LOCAL AUTHOR LAURA FLYNN AT U BOOKSTORE TUESDAY

Local author and U of M instructor Laura Flynn will discuss her new book Swallow the Ocean on Tuesday, March 4 at 4 pm at the University of Minnesota Bookstore, Coffman Memorial Union. 

 

TUESDAY: WRITER LOUNG UNG AT COFFMAN

Tuesday, 7 pm, Coffman Theater: writer Loung Ung, author of First They Killed my Father and Lucky Child. Ung, a prominent human rights activist, escaped Cambodia in the late 1970s, immigrated to the United States, and now serves as a national spokesperson for the Campaign for a Landmine Free World. Both of her books draw on her experiences as a survivor of the Cambodian genocide.


TUESDAY: FRAMING SUZAN-LORI PARKS, PART TWO

Tuesday, 7:30 pm, Rarig Proscenium: Framing Suzan-Lori Parks: Directing Challenges and Discoveries. A discussion panel enlivened by national and local directors and producers experienced with staging Parks’s work. Featuring Oskar Eustis, formerly with the Guthrie Theater and now artistic director of New York’s Joseph Papp Public Theater, which has presented four of Parks’s plays; Wendy Knox, who has directed three of Parks’s plays for Minneapolis’s Frank Theatre; actor, playwright, and director Laurie Carlos; and UM Theater professor Lisa Channer, who has directed the 365 Days/365 Plays series.

 

WEDNESDAY: LECTURE BY PHYSICIST DAVID GROSS

Wednesday, March 5, 4 pm, 150 Tate Lab of Physics: Professor David J. Gross, who holds the Frederick W. Gluck Chair in Theoretical Physics at the University of California-Santa Barbara, will deliver the thirty-third Abigail and John Van Vleck lecture, "The Coming Revolutions in Fundamental Physics." He will also participate in a Physics and Astronomy Colloquium on Thursday, 4 pm, 150 Tate: "The Future of Physics."

 

WEDNESDAY: KATE FLINT ON "PINK TWILIGHT"

Wednesday, 7:30 pm, Lind 305: Kate Flint, “The ‘hour of pink twilight’: the queer politics of
encounter on the /fin-de-siecle/ street.” First in the English Department series "IMPACTS: Feminist Theory and British Literary Studies." Flint is Professor of English at Rutgers University. Her fields of interest include Victorian and early twentieth-century cultural history, visual culture, nineteenth- and early twentieth-century transatlantic studies, Virginia Woolf, women's writing, and gender studies. Her books include
The Victorians and the Visual Imagination (2000) and The Woman Reader 1827-1914 (1993).


THURSDAY: THURSDAYS AT FOUR PRESENTS ERIC BLACK
Thursday, 4 pm, 125 Nolte Center. Thursdays at Four presentation by Eric Black:
"One ink-stained wretch's quest for the sweet spot--between the old journalism and the new--where civil, substantive discourse can occur, even across the ideological divide." Journalist Eric Black was a journalist for the Star Tribune for three decades and founder of its blog, the Big Question. He now blogs at Ericblackink.com.

 

THURSDAY: HEADLINERS EVENT--PROFESSOR YANGWEI ZHANG ON "THE CHINA CONNECTION" 

Thursday, 7 pm, Continuing Education and Conference Center, St. Paul Campus. Stop by the Honors office for a free ticket (regularly $10). With a population of more than 1.3 billion people, the oldest continuous civilization with records dating back 3,500 years, a geography covering 3.7 million square miles, and the world’s fastest growing economy, China is a geopolitical giant. And while its transition from an isolationist nation to international powerhouse has occurred in just a matter of decades, there’s no slowdown in sight. Given the nation’s booming economy and rapidly expanding energy consumption, what global consequences can we expect from China’s tumultuous transformation? On Thursday, join Dr. Yangwei Zhang, Director of the University of Minnesota’s China Center (one of only two university centers for Chinese-American relations in the U.S.), for a wide ranging discussion of this most fascinating ancient culture turned modern world leader.

 

THURSDAY: CARTOONIST/GRAPHIC ARTIST ALISON BECHDEL

Thursday, 7 pm, Cowles Auditorium: Alison Bechdel delivers the Toni McNaron Lecture in Arts & Culture. Bechdel, author of the critically acclaimed book Fun Home and of the syndicated comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For will speak on GLBT-Q arts and culture.


NEXT FRIDAY: STUDENTS & HIERARCHIES AT THE UNIVERSITY

Friday, March 7, noon-1:30 pm, 235 Nolte. The Institute for Advanced Study hosts the third in the series of lunchtime talks about identity. The topic for this date discussion will be "Students and Hierarchies at the University." Undergraduate students are particularly encouraged to participate. To facilitate discussion, attendance is limited to the first 15 respondents.. To reserve your spot, please contact ias@umn.edu or 612.626.5054.

 

NEXT FRIDAY: FIRST FRIDAYS AT ANDERSEN LIBRARY

Friday, March 7, noon, 120 Andersen Library: Computers Once Were Women—Why Did this Change? Through the 1940s, the term "computer" referred to people, often young women, who labored over lengthy hand computations. Throughout the early years of computing history, women played a prominent role, but in the recent years the field has become increasingly male-dominated. The Charles Babbage Institute sheds some light on these changes. Light refreshments served; feel free to bring your lunch.


OPENING NEXT FRIDAY: HONORS ALUM JENNA PAPKE DIRECTS TOM STOPPARD'S
ARCADIA

Arcadia, Tom Stoppard's masterpiece of human passions and human folly, directed by Honors alum Jenna Papke. Six performances only--March 7-16 At Patrick's Cabaret (3010 Minnehaha Av, just off Lake St and close to the Midtown lightrail stop) Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm, Sundays at 4 pm. Tickets: $15 ($12 Students/Seniors), cash only. Information and reservations at www.ambrosiatic.com.

 

NEXT FRIDAY AND SATURDAY: ANNUAL LAW SCHOOL MUSICAL

The University of Minnesota Law School's Theatre of the Relatively Talentless (T.O.R.T.) presents the Sixth Annual Law School Musical: Robin Hood, Esq., 7 pm March 7 & 8, Pantages Theatre, Downtown Minneapolis. Robin Hood, Esq. tells the story of the hero's triumphant return from studying abroad. With the help of his new LL.M. friend and other characters he meets in the Sherwood Rare Books Room, he attempts to save the law school and the fair Marian from the evil clutches of Interim Dean John. The Law School Musical is an original, full-length parody written, directed, and performed by University of Minnesota Law Students. Each year more than 70 Law School students shed their normally deadly serious demeanor to showcase hidden talents of wit, song, and dance. Tradition dictates that each production features cameo appearances by faculty and prominent members of the legal community. Past participants include Former Vice President Walter Mondale, Former Attorney General Mike Hatch, Federal District Chief Judge James Rosenbaum and Senator Amy Klobuchar. Robin Hood, Esq. is for lawyers and non-lawyers alike, but not generally suitable for small children, so parental guidance is advised. Tickets are $10/student, $15/general public. For more information or to purchase tickets, please see our website: http://www.tc.umn.edu/~tort..