RAE Brown Bag Series: Prof. Jeanmarie Rouhier-Willoughby (UK Russian Studies)
During this academic year, the Division of Russian and Eastern Studies (RAE) in the Dept of Modern and Classical Languages organizes a series of activities under the unified theme of "Discover Asia." Through film showings, faculty research presentations, and a public lecture, we intend not only to discover, explore, and analyze various parts and aspects of Asia, but we also will interrogate how Asia is discovered, by raising questions such as: What/where is Asia? Who—in terms of race, class, and gender—discovered it? In what ways? To what ends? In what historical contexts?
An integral part of our “Discover Asia” activities is a brown bag series of RAE faculty research presentations over the course of the year. The next presenter is Professor Jeanmarie Rouhier-Willoughby of Russian Studies and she will give an exciting presentation entitled “Gulag Victims as Orthodox Martyrs: The Development of the Holy Spring of Iskitim, Siberia.” Come and join us.
Synopses: Russian folk Orthodoxy is characterized by a belief in holy springs. Bathing in the springs or drinking their water is said to improve physical well-being of the healthy and cure the sick. Iskitim, a city in Eastern Siberia, is the home to a "new" holy spring that is attracting attention in the local community. Visitors come year-round to gather the water, to bathe in the spring, or to be baptized. The spring is located at a former quarry, which served as a Gulag until the 1950s. It is believed that a group of Gulag prisoners were executed at the spring, an event that has led to the spring's classification as holy. This paper will examine the intersection of folk religious belief in holy springs, Orthodox doctrine and the experience of the Soviet past. These intermingled conceptions leads to the conclusion that the Gulag victims were indeed Orthodox martyrs. Ironically, a majority of Siberians still vote for the communist party in elections. These oppositional cultural strands demonstrate the complexity of folk religion in the post-Soviet world.
Date:
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Location:
1045 POT
A&S English Professor Wins National Book Award
In case you missed it during the hectic holiday season, A&S English professor Nikky Finney was featured on “UK at the Half” with Carl Nathe during the UK vs. Loyola basketball game. Finney’s book, “Head Off & Split,” was the winner of the 2011 National Book Award in Poetry. The National Book Awards is one of the most anticipated events in the publishing world. Finney has taught at UK for decades and is a member of the Affrilachian Poets group that includes Frank X Walker and Kelly Norman Ellis.
To hear the "UK at the Half" interview, click here.
Rhetoric and Research: Jenny Rice
Jenny Rice studies rhetoric: the art and science of effective persuasion and communication. In this podcast, Rice discusses rhetoric's past, its place in an institution like the University of Kentucky, and its importance in an age of text messages, e-mails, and widespread access to digital devices.
This podcast was produced by Stephen Gordinier.
GIS Workshop: Matthew Wilson
Building bridges between campus and community, Matthew Wilson's GIS Workshop course will connect various Fayette and Lawrence county organizations with groups of students to develop partnerships, gather data for GIS analyses, and create unique maps. GIS, an acronym for 'geographic information sciences,' examines intersections of technology, cartography and culture.
This podcast was produced by Samuel Burchett.
2011 Podcast Redux
Upon doing a list of all the podcasts made in 2011, I was astonished to find that the A&S Podcast team made more than A HUNDRED PODCASTS!!! Holy moly!
And we covered SO many different topics -- from the geological reasons why Kentucky's groundwater is best for bourbon, to the process of translating a rare language guide into English from Chinese, to move-in day at A&S Wired and Ahmed Kathrada's gallery opening in April... 2011 was quite a year for A&S, and I feel really glad to have been here to document some of it.
Erika Peck Bucciantini
When my students ask me why I became a Latin teacher, I often tell them it was fate. This, obviously, is the short answer I give during class time when they have asked an off-topic question to avoid conjugating deponent verbs or learning about gerunds and gerundives. The truth of the matter is that I have grown to love the Latin language and couldn’t imagine my life without it.
Understanding the Misconceptions of Islam: Jihad and more
The UK Muslim Student Association will host "Understanding the Misconceptions of Islam: Jihad and more" on Thursday January 26, 2012 at 7p.m. in the Grand Ball Room of the UK Student Center. Abdel Rahman Murphy will be a guest speaker. Dinner will be provided.
For more information contact: Humza Qureshi at (859) 699-6370 | hsqu222@g.uky.edu or Aqsa Qureshi at (859) 699-6558 | arqure2@gmail.com
Download the poster here.
Date:
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Location:
UK Student Center Grand Ball Room
'UK at the Half' Features Creative Writing Professor Nikky Finney
Nikky Finney was recently awarded the National Book Award for poetry. Her most recent publication, a collection of poems, is entitled "Head Off & Split"
Kirill Shtengle - Non-Abelian Anyons
University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences Department of Physics and Astronomy Colloquium. A presentation on Non-Abelian Anyons by Kirill Shtengle.