Northeastern Humanities Center College of Social Sciences and Humanities Northeastern University
YEAR IN REVIEW
northeastern.edu/humanities
YEAR IN REVIEW Humanities Center Resident Fellowship program: Space and Place PA G E 2
Fall 2014 Events and Programs PA G E 4
Spring 2015 Events and Programs PA G E 6
Controversial Issues in Security Studies series PA G E 10
Writing Your Journal Article in 12 Weeks PA G E 11
Collaborative Research Clusters PA G E 12
Faculty Works-in-Progress Colloquium PA G E 15
Directors and Staff Advisory Board PA G E 16
NORTHEASTERN HUMANITIES CENTER YEAR IN REVIEW 2014-15
I like how the word “humanity” refers to the collectivity of the human species—all humanity—and also imbeds within it a positive take on this collectivity; that is, an appeal to one’s “humanity” references qualities of kindness and benevolence: being humane rather than inhumane. Make it plural, and the “humanities” point us towards the cultural output of human experience: literature, philosophy, religion, the ideas and artifacts of humankind, and the imperative to critically engage with them and with one another. Peaceful, purposeful, cross-cultural critical engagement is the hopeful work of humanity, expressive of a general will to live meaningfully, creatively, and thoughtfully. The Northeastern Humanities Center is a central address for collaboration. Here, very smart people—our faculty, students, and distinguished visitors—make connections and develop relationships around shared research interests. As these synergies advance knowledge, we build, and model, community. In these pages, you will find an extraordinary array of events, programs, and co-sponsorships that represent a great deal of activity, the kinds of lists—like course lists in great universities—that raise curiosity, excite the imagination, and make you want to learn … and do. You will be impressed by the energy, talent, vision, and efficacy of our colleagues and students, who have taken advantage of the Humanities Center to maximize the privilege of being at this great university—analyzing culture, exchanging ideas, training minds, enhancing sensibilities, expanding horizons … humanizing the world. These pages include the names of Humanities Center board members, who adjust our vision and determine our priorities, and whose voluntary service makes the Center as excellent as it is, and our expert staff, including administrative coordinator, Meghan Brisson, who ensure the professional quality of everything we produce. I want finally to thank Dean Uta Poiger, and her office and staff, for their commitment to the Humanities Center, their collaboration, and all manner of support that testifies to confidence in the high value of the work of the Northeastern Humanities Center. It is a particular pleasure to work alongside Tim Cresswell, Associate Director for Public Humanities. I am daily grateful for the privilege of serving in this role. Lori Hope Lefkovitz Director, Northeastern Humanities Center Ruderman Professor and the Director of Jewish Studies, Professor of English College of Social Sciences and Humanities
DIRECTOR OF THE NORTHEASTERN HUMANITIES CENTER
FROM PROFESSOR LORI LEFKOVITZ
SPACE AND PLACE
HUMANITIES CENTER RESIDENT FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM
The 2014-15 theme recognized wide-ranging and deeply resonant interdisciplinary conversations about “space and place,” from history to politics and from literature to architecture, including digital humanities’ embrace of Geographical Information Systems (GIS), mapping projects in biology and textual studies, and the recently coined “GeoHumanities” that highlights spatial thinking as an issue that transcends disciplines. Under the leadership of Professor Tim Cresswell, fellows worked on projects ranging from the micro-design of the spaces we inhabit to the urgent environmental concerns of the planet, from modes of embodiment and identity formation to economics, from urbanization to globalization.
The Northeastern Humanities Center presents:
between the
Disciplines AN INTERDISCIPLINARY C O N V E R S AT I O N
2 Thursday, April 9, 2015
SPACE AND PLACE PUBLIC EVENTS
SPACE AND PLACE FELLOWS
OCTOBER 30, 2014 Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Space and Place
Len Albright, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs, College of Social Sciences and Humanities
A roundtable discussion with Humanities Center Fellows on the potential of the GeoHumanities
DECEMBER 11, 2014 Home and Away: Mobility, Space, and Place
Making It Out Here: Home and Mobility in Suburban Low-Income Housing Emily Artiano, Ph.D. candidate, Department of English, College of Social Sciences and Humanities
Featuring Len Albright, Emily Artiano, and Serena Parekh
Vexed Tongues: A Translingual Approach to Eighteenth- and NineteenthCentury Atlantic Literature
FEBRUARY 26, 2015 Contested Spaces: Constructing the Postwar American Order
James Connolly, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs, College of Social Sciences and Humanities
Featuring Gretchen Heefner and Bert Spector
MARCH 17, 2015 Constructing the Urban: Past Places, Present Memories, Future Problems Featuring James Connolly, Meghan Doran, and Kathleen Kelly
APRIL 9, 2015 Space and Place between the Disciplines: An Interdisciplinary Conversation A morning keynote featured three guest experts:
Peter Bol, Vice Provost for Advances in Learning and Charles H. Carswell Professor of East Asian Languages and Civilizations; Director of the Center for Geographic Analysis, Harvard University Mona Domosh, Professor of Geography, Dartmouth College; President of the Association of American Geographers
Setha Low, Professor of Environmental Psychology, Geography, Anthropology, and Women’s Studies; Director of the Public Space Research Group, The Graduate Center, City University of New York The keynote was followed by a roundtable discussion featuring the Humanities Center Fellows and moderated by Tim Cresswell, associate director for public humanities. Fellows discussed the triumphs and challenges of the year’s interdisciplinary collaboration.
The Null Geography: How the Shift toward Megaregions Challenges our Capacity for Environmental Governance Meghan Doran, Ph.D. candidate, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, College of Social Sciences and Humanities
Narratives of the Past in Contemporary Urban Politics: The Case of the Boston School Desegregation Crisis Gretchen Heefner, Assistant Professor, Department of History, College of Social Sciences and Humanities
A Tract that Is Wholly Sand: Environmental Imaginaries and Air Bases in Libya Kathleen Coyne Kelly, Professor, Department of English, College of Social Sciences and Humanities
Not Privileged, Just Particular: Lost Ponds and Invented Vikings in a Cambridge Neighborhood Serena Parekh, Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy and Religion, College of Social Sciences and Humanities
Between Human and Citizen: Refugees, Stateless People, and Other Moral Problems Bert Spector, Associate Professor, International Business and Strategy, D’Amore-McKim School of Business
Contested Space: Corporations in Postwar America
NORTHEASTERN HUMANITIES CENTER YEAR IN REVIEW 2014-15
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EVENTS & PROGRAMS
Humanities Center events and programs bring together organizers and audiences from different disciplines, both within and beyond the Northeastern community, including wide public participation. These partnerships build important relationships and generate exciting and timely educational events.
Experiencing the Virtual Wall
CSSH Dean Uta Poiger with artists Tamiko Thiel and Teresa Reuter
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Peter Kuznick and Oliver Stone
FALL 2014 SEPTEMBER 9 The Humanities Center hosted a reading and book reception for the award-winning Miss Anne in Harlem: The White Women of the Black Renaissance, written by Carla Kaplan, Davis Distinguished Professor of American Literature, and founding director of the Northeastern Humanities Center (2008-2011). OCTOBER 20 A film screening of The Untold History of the United States was followed by a discussion with Oliver Stone (writer and director) and Peter Kuznick (Professor of History, American University), presented by the International Affairs Program, the Northeastern Humanities Center, and the Department of History.
(left) Brooke Gladstone
OCTOBER 20 Morton E. Ruderman Memorial Lecture Event
On the Jewish Media “What makes a news story Jewish?” This question, posed by Brooke Gladstone, host of NPR’s On the Media kicked off the 2014 Morton E. Ruderman Memorial Lecture titled “On the Jewish Media.” Gladstone moderated a discussion among Dina Kraft, the associate program coordinator of media innovation in Northeastern’s School of Journalism, Mark Oppenheimer, “Beliefs” columnist of The New York Times and contributing editor of Tablet, and Jane Eisner, editorin-chief of the Jewish Daily Forward. The annual Ruderman Memorial Lecture is presented by the Northeastern Humanities Center and Jewish Studies Program and is generously sponsored by the Ruderman Family Foundation in memory of alumnus Mort Ruderman, E’59.
NOVEMBER 12 – NOVEMBER 14
Virtuelle Mauer: ReConstructing the Wall Marking the 25th Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall A Multimedia Art Project by Tamiko Thiel and Teresa Reuter November 9, 2014 marked the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. “Virtuelle Mauer: ReConstructing the Berlin Wall” is a multimedia art project by Tamiko Thiel and Teresa Reuter. The interactive 3D installation digitally reconstructs a segment of the Berlin Wall. Users can explore the virtual space by using a simple joystick to see dramatic techniques of virtual reality, such as simulation, animation, interaction, and time travel. The three-day exhibit and associated events were sponsored by the department of political science, the Northeastern Humanities Center, and Northeastern University Libraries. The opening reception was provided courtesy of the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany and featured a keynote presentation from the artists. The following day, an interdisciplinary panel of Northeastern faculty was moderated by Natalie Bormann, associate academic specialist of political science. Panelists considered the social, cultural, and political aspects of life alongside the Wall, debating the significance of the Wall from its construction, collapse, and disappearance, to its later reconstruction as a memorial site.
NORTHEASTERN HUMANITIES CENTER YEAR IN REVIEW 2014-15
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SPRING 2015
Alexander Levering Kern (Executive Director, CSDS) and Celene Ibrahim-Lizzio
FEBRUARY 2
MARCH 19
Our Neighbors’ Faiths: Stories of Interreligious Encounter and Transformation
Confronting Guantánamo
This keynote lecture kicked off Northeastern’s annual observance of the United Nations’ World Interfaith Harmony Week and featured the Interfaith Leadership Fellows in the Center for Spirituality, Dialogue, and Service and co-directors of CIRCLE at the Andover Newton Theological School (Jennifer Howe Peace, Associate Professor of Interfaith Studies at Andover Newton Theological School); Rabbi Or Rose, Director of the Center for Global Judaism at Hebrew College; Celene Ibrahim-Lizzio, Islamic Studies Scholar-in-Residence at Andover Newton Theological School and Hebrew College). The annual interfaith keynote is sponsored by The Center for Spirituality, Dialogue, and Service; the Office for Student Affairs; the College of Social Sciences and Humanities; and the Northeastern Humanities Center.
MARCH 16 Comparing and Contrasting Haitian Adaptation in the United States Event featured Alex Stepick, Professor of Anthropology, Director of the Immigration and Ethnicity Institute, and Director of the Research Institute on Social and Economic Policy, Florida International University. Presented by the Northeastern Humanities Center and the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice.
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A staged reading of “In Our Name: A Play of the Torture Years”
A Contested Place. A Controversial Past. A Questionable Future. Led by faculty advisors, Victoria Cain and Marty Blatt, the Public History program brought the Guantánamo Public Memory Project to campus. The public exhibit was installed in International Village from March 19 – April 25 in conjunction with related GITMO events. On March 19, a staged reading of “In Our Name: A Play of the Torture Years,” written by Northeastern University School of Law professor Michael Meltsner, powerfully provoked conversation with the audience. A panel discussion on the ethics of torture in terrorism followed the play, featuring Alberto Mora (General Counsel of the Navy, 2001), Nicole Aljoe (Associate Professor of English), Deborah Popowski (Lecturer on Law, Harvard), and Stephen Nathanson (Emeritus Professor of Philosophy). The panel was moderated by Serena Parekh (Associate Professor of Philosophy). “In Our Name” was sponsored by the Northeastern Humanities Center, the Ethics Institute, the Honors Program, and the School of Law. confrontingguantanamo.com
NORTHEASTERN HUMANITIES CENTER YEAR IN REVIEW 2014-15
FRIDAY, MARCH 20 Pleasure and Danger: Sexual Freedom and Feminism Now
MARCH 28
The second WGSS Annual Symposium was hosted by Northeastern University’s program in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, The Forum on Feminist Thought, and the Humanities Center Collaborative Research Cluster on “Feminist Theory 2.0”.
World History via the Northeast Passage
MARCH 27 AND MARCH 28 Feeding Cities: Ethical and Policy Issues in Urban Food Systems A symposium hosted by the Feeding Boston collaborative research cluster, organized by Christopher Bosso (Professor, School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs) and Ronald Sandler (Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy and Religion), and sponsored by the Northeastern University Ethics Institute, School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs, and the Northeastern Humanities Center
New England Regional World History Association Spring Symposium
Patrick Manning, Keynote Speaker Andrew R. Mellon Professor of History at the University of Pittsburgh and President-elect of the American Historical Association
Presented as part of the Global History Seminar Series by the Department of History, the Northeastern Humanities Center, and the College of Social Sciences and Humanities Dean’s Office
Emerald Networks Exhibit in Gallery 360
APRIL 6 – 10
Green City Spaces: Design + History + Literature The Green City Spaces week-long Colloquium focused on urban parks, gardens, and other green spaces — their history, their design, and the ways in which they have been represented in the arts and literature. The colloquium featured a plenary event with guest experts, an interdisciplinary Northeastern faculty panel, and a presentation on the proposed “Arc” and green space development for Northeastern’s campus. The colloquium also included a walking tour of the Muddy River Restoration project at the Emerald Necklace Conservancy. From March 19 through April 26, the Emerald Networks: Reviving the Legacy of City Parks exhibit was on display in Gallery 360, curated by Sasaki park planning experts. The GCS Colloquium was co-organized by Kathleen Kelly, professor of English, and Jane Amidon, director of the Urban Landscape Program, School of Architecture, and sponsored by the Northeastern Humanities Center; the Department of English; the College of Social Sciences and Humanities (CSSH); the College of Arts, Media and Design (CAMD); the School of Architecture; and the Northeastern Center for the Arts. PLENARY PANEL:
FACULTY PANEL:
Scott Bishop, Principal at Stoss,
Daniel Adams, Assistant
Registered Landscape Architect, and Human Ecologist
Professor of Urban Landscape, CAMD
James Engell, Professor of English Literature and Professor of Comparative Literature, Harvard University
Tim Cresswell, Professor of
Paisley Rekdal, Professor of English, University of Utah; Creator and Editor of Community Web History Archive: Mapping Salt Lake City
History and International Affairs, CSSH
Theo Davis, Associate
DISCUSSION OF NORTHEASTERN “ARC”:
Edward Marshall, Principal, Stephen Stimson Associates Landscape Architects Kathy Spiegelman, Vice President and Chief of Campus Planning and Development
Professor of English, CSSH
Greg Tuzzolo, Associate
Wilfred Holton, Professor
Designer, Stephen Stimson Associates Landscape Architects
Emeritus of Sociology
Christopher Parsons, Assistant Professor of History, CSSH
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SPRING 2015 APRIL 15 After Genocide: Memory, Reconciliation, Recovery in Rwanda This interdisciplinary panel event was organized by the Northeastern Humanities Center’s Collaborative Research Cluster: “Life after Violence: Developing Northeastern University Students’ Global Citizenship through the Study of Genocide and Post Conflict Reconstruction in Rwanda,” co-sponsored by the Center for Spirituality, Dialogue, and Service, and the Brunick Center on Violence and Conflict.
MAY 29 – MAY 30 The Boston Rhetoric and Writing Network 2015 Summer Institute for College Writing Teachers Organized by Neal Lerner, Associate Professor, Department of English and Chris Gallagher, Associate Dean of Teaching, Learning, and Experiential Education and Professor of English
MAY 29 – MAY 30 Constructing Maritime China: Control, Evasion, and Interloping Organized by Philip Thai, Assistant Professor, Department of History, and Heather Streets-Salter, Chair and Associate Professor, Department of History. Located at Boston University and cosponsored by the Center for the Study of Asia, Boston University; East Asian Studies Program, Brandeis University; and the Northeastern Humanities Center
Earth Tones jazz trio
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Robert Pinsky and Stan Strickland
JUNE 23 In Memory of the Charleston Victims: An Evening of Poetry and Music This moving memorial featured former U.S poet laureate, Robert Pinsky, and Sonia Sanchez, poet, activist, and scholar, with additional poetry readings and musical performances by local artists. The Northeastern and greater Boston communities gathered to reflect and remember the nine people shot and killed in the historic Emanuel AME church in Charleston, South Carolina on June 17, 2015. Organized by Professor of Law, Margaret Burnham, and sponsored by the Center for Spirituality Dialogue, and Service; the Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project; the College of Social Sciences and Humanities; the Northeastern Humanities Center; the John D. O’Bryant AfricanAmerican Institute; and the Northeastern University School of Law.
Sonia Sanchez
NORTHEASTERN HUMANITIES CENTER YEAR IN REVIEW 2014-15
President Joseph Aoun
Lori Lefkovitz, Irene Selig, and Elijah Botkin
HOLOCAUST AWARENESS WEEK 2015
S
ince the 1970’s Northeastern University has hosted an annual week-long series of events dedicated to remembering the Holocaust. Seventy years after the liberation of Auschwitz, this year’s events focused on the Holocaust’s legacy in the 21st century through the theme of “The Impact of the Holocaust on the Next Generation.” These events were presented by the Northeastern Humanities Center and College of Social Sciences and Humanities in partnership with the Holocaust Awareness Committee, chaired by Professor Laurel Leff. Due to inclement weather, the events took place in January and April. Events opened on January 29 with Northeastern’s Holocaust Commemoration. The morning event featured a moving musical performance by Gideon Klein Scholar, Elijah Botkin, S’15, followed by a keynote address by Phil Brown, University Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Health Sciences, on “Jews in the Catskills during and after the Holocaust.” The film in the Bill Giessen Film Series, Four Seasons Lodge, further explored the importance of the Catskills to Holocaust survivors. The post-film discussion with film producer, Matt Lavine, was moderated by Phil Brown.
Helen Epstein and Laurel Leff
This year’s Philip N. Backstom, Jr. Survivor Lecture Series featured Elijah Botkin’s grandmother, Irene Selig, who survived the Krakow Ghetto, the Plaszow work camp, Auschwitz, and Bergen-Belsen. “Talking with Grandma” was moderated by Jewish Studies and Humanities Center director Lori Lefkovitz. Holocaust Awareness programming ended with the 23rd Annual Robert Salomon Morton Memorial Lecture during which Helen Epstein, author of Children of the Holocaust and Where She Came From: A Daughter’s Search for Her Mother’s History, discussed the inter-generational effects of genocide.
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Dov Waxman
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Launched in Fall 2013, the Controversial Issues in Security Studies series is presented by the Northeastern Center for International Affairs and World Cultures, the Department of Political Science, and the Northeastern Humanities Center. The College of Social Sciences and Humanities offers a MS in Security and Resilience Studies, which teaches both the policies and systems behind improving national security and societal resilience. SEPTEMBER 9, 2014
FEBRUARY 3, 2015
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The “Controversial Issues in Security Studies” series YEAR is supported by Northeastern NORTHEASTERN HUMANITIES CENTER IN REVIEW 2014-15 University’s Center for International Affairs and World Cultures, Department of Political Science, and the Northeastern Humanities Center.
“The multidisciplinary nature of the participants and thus of the work shared was one of the unexpected pleasures of the group, as group members came to know one another’s articles-inprogress over the course of the semester. Despite disciplinary differences, group members effectively shared questions and responses about the methodology, structure, audience, and content of articles as we worked through the workbook’s chapters. Every member of the workshop has brought an article near to completion, with most participants expecting to send articles to targeted journals in April or May.”
WRITING YOUR JOURNAL ARTICLE IN 12 WEEKS 2015
Convened by Professor Laura Green, the second annual WRITING YOUR JOURNAL ARTICLE IN 12 WEEKS workshop for assistant professors in the College of Social Sciences and Humanities, based on the program developed by Wendy Laura Belcher, met every Tuesday for seventy-five minutes for twelve weeks in the spring semester.
– LAURA GREEN, PROFESSOR AND CHAIR, DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH, COLLEGE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES
Laura Green
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COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH CLUSTERS
The Collaborative Research Clusters give faculty, staff, and students the opportunity for a range of interdisciplinary research collaborations. These Research Clusters bring together scholars and practitioners from different disciplines, both within and beyond the Northeastern University community, around a shared concern. This program is to facilitate productive discussions and collaborations among the participants, with a view toward the development of joint projects, conferences, publications, and/or major grant applications.
“Fall of the Wall� Cluster led by Natalie Bormann
Fall of the Wall – Marking the 25th Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall Led by Natalie Bormann, Associate Academic Specialist, Department of Political Science The “Fall of the Wall” research cluster discussed the political, social, historical, and economic manifestations of the Berlin Wall and its significance and continuous relevance for Europe and the world today. This group hosted the multimedia project and campus wide series of events, “Virtuelle Mauer: Reconstructing the Berlin Wall,” in November 2014.
Feeding Boston: Resilience, Sustainability, and Equity in Local, Regional, and Global Food Systems Led by Christopher Bosso, Professor, School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs The “Feeding Boston” research cluster used greater Boston as a lens through which to address issues of sustainability, resilience, health, and equity in local, regional, and global food systems. During its second consecutive year, the cluster sponsored talks by faculty and invited guests, inaugurated an undergraduate minor in Food Sustainability, Health, and Equity, went live with a website for the Consortium on Food Systems Sustainability, Health, and Equity, and sponsored a Spring 2015 workshop, “Feeding Cities: Ethical and Policy Issues in Urban Food Systems.” northeastern.edu/foodsystems
Narratives of the Body and the Limits of Science and Medicine Led by Elizabeth Bucar, Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy and Religion
Linda Blum, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology and Anthropology This research cluster met monthly to explore how dominant scientific and medical conceptualizations of the body often obscure variations of human experience. Such variations may be better reflected in the narratives of health, gender, and selfhood generated by the social sciences and humanities. Based on this topic, three members had major book monographs published and one member received a major grant.
Life After Violence: Developing Northeastern University Students’ Global Citizenship through the Study of Genocide and Post Conflict Reconstruction in Rwanda Led by Gordana Rabrenovic, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology and Anthropology; Director, Brudnick Center on Violence and Conflict
violence and the rebuilding of cooperation, trust, and respect among survivors. Participants explored theoretical questions on the balance of punishment and reconciliation and how community based and nonprofit organizations contribute to social and civic development in post-conflict societies. The final product of the year’s work was a panel and workshop titled: “After Genocide: Memory, Reconciliation, Recovery in Rwanda.”
Feminist Theory 2.0: Contemporary Debates in Gender and Sexuality Studies Led by Suzanna Danuta Walters, Professor, Department of Sociology and Anthropology; Director, Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program This cluster continued for a second year to engage more broadly with key new texts and debates within feminist, queer, and sexuality studies. The research cluster hosted the second annual WGSS symposium entitled “Pleasure and Danger: Sexual Freedom and Feminism Now.” The event focused on contemporary debates in feminist theory and was linked thematically to Northeastern’s first special issue of issue of Signs, Journal of Women in Culture and Society.
Critical Making Research Cluster Led by Sara Wylie, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Department of Health Sciences
Ryan Cordell, Assistant Professor, Department of English Critical making, a retooling of the term “critical thinking,” focuses on moving ideas from the immaterial or two-dimensional medium of print to building new material forms. Critical making promises a new way to articulate the relevance of humanities and social sciences as active participants in reshaping engineering and design as well as the practice of science, medicine, and law. This group hosted a fall workshop and worked to develop a shared literacy in critical making to bridge disciplines.
Creative Industries and Creative Workers Research Cluster Led by Neil Alper, Professor, Department of Economics
Gregory Wassall, Professor, Department of Economics This cluster created an environment for discussion and an exchange of ideas on the creative industries, those industries that are composed of a large portion of the creative workforce, widely defined as occupations requiring a bachelor’s degree for entry. This research may add to a new theory of economic growth replacing the classic model.
Alexander Levering Kern, Executive Director, Center for Spirituality, Dialogue, and Service The Rwanda Research Cluster met monthly to discuss how Rwanda’s recovery from widespread
NORTHEASTERN HUMANITIES CENTER YEAR IN REVIEW 2014-15
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FACULTY WORKSIN-PROGRESS
The Faculty Works-in-Progress Colloquium is sponsored by the College of Social Sciences and Humanities Dean’s Office and the Humanities Center. Faculty members share their current research with colleagues across the university and benefit from questions and discussion.
Susan Setta
Chief Justice Roderick L. Ireland Mai’a K. Davis Cross
Victoria Cain
SEPTEMBER 15, 2014
NOVEMBER 17, 2014
Christopher Bosso, Professor,
Victoria Cain, Assistant Professor,
School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs, College of Social Science and Humanities
Department of History, College of Social Sciences and Humanities
Framing the Farm Bill: Coalition Maintenance amidst Competing Narratives on Food Security
Industrial Emotion: The Debate Over Visual Propaganda in American Classrooms, 1920-1960
SEPTEMBER 22, 2014
JANUARY 15, 2015
Robin Chandler, Associate Professor,
Bilge Erten, Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, International Affairs Program, College of Social Sciences and Humanities
Department of African American Studies, College of Social Sciences and Humanities
Overcoming the Gender Jitters: What Is Working on the Ground Globally SEPTEMBER 29, 2014
Trade Reforms, and Racial and Gender Inequality: Evidence from South Africa
Laura Green, Professor, Department of English,
FEBRUARY 19, 2015
College of Social Science and Humanities
Chief Justice Roderick L. Ireland, Distinguished
Novelists and Their Readers in the Social Media Age
Professor, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, College of Social Sciences and Humanities
OCTOBER 9, 2014
Susan Setta, Associate Professor and Chair,
The Third Branch of Government: Is it Truly Equal and Independent?
Department of Philosophy and Religion, College of Social Sciences and Humanities
MARCH 23, 2015
Assessing Charismatic Leadership in New Religious Movements: A New Schematic with examples from the Shakers, Christian Science, the Lubavitcher Hassidism, and Crecienda en Gratia
Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, College of Social Science and Humanities
OCTOBER 16, 2014 Laura Senier, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, and Department of Health Sciences, College of Social Sciences and Humanities and Bouvé College of Health Sciences
Daniel Noemi Voionmaa, Associate Professor,
Velocities and Technologies of Contemporary Latin American Literature MARCH 30, 2015 Mindelyn Buford II, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, College of Social Sciences and Humanities
Integrating Genomics into State Public Health Programs
Accidental, Opportunistic, and Intentional Blackness: New African Immigrants’ Entry into the U.S. Black Middle Class
OCTOBER 27, 2014
APRIL 6, 2015
Mai’a K. Davis Cross, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, International Affairs Program, College of Social Sciences and Humanities
The Politics of Crisis in Europe NOVEMBER 6, 2014 Kevin M. Drakulich, Assistant Professor,
Benedict Jimenez, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, College of Social Sciences and Humanities
Separate, Unequal and Ignored?: Inter-jurisdictional Competition and the Budgetary Choices of Poor and Affluent Municipalities
School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, College of Social Sciences and Humanities
Racial Animus and the Framing of Crime as a Social Problem
NORTHEASTERN HUMANITIES CENTER YEAR IN REVIEW 2014-15
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2014-15 Advisory Board Theo Davis Associate Professor, Department of English College of Social Sciences and Humanities
Laura Green Professor and Chair, Department of English College of Social Sciences and Humanities Lori Lefkovitz and Tim Cresswell
Directors and Staff Lori Lefkovitz Director, Northeastern Humanities Center Ruderman Professor and Director of the Jewish Studies Program Professor of English College of Social Sciences and Humanities
Tim Cresswell Associate Director for Public Humanities Professor of History and International Affairs College of Social Sciences and Humanities
Erika Koss Assistant Dean for Research, Program Development, and Outreach College of Social Sciences and Humanities
Meghan Brisson Administrative Coordinator, Northeastern Humanities Center
Postdoctoral Research Fellows: “Living in the Mobility Transition” Research Project This project, led by Tim Cresswell, seeks to investigate diverse visions and actualities of how mobility is experienced and how it interacts with established and planned infrastructures across social groups, political contexts, and geographically diverse places.
Jane Yeonjae Lee Postdoctoral Fellow Ph.D., University of Auckland
Alisa Lincoln Associate Professor, Department of Health Sciences, Department of Sociology and Anthropology Bouvé College of Health Sciences College of Social Sciences and Humanities
Katherine Luongo Associate Professor, Department of History College of Social Sciences and Humanities
Richard L. O’Bryant Director of John D. O’Bryant African American Institute College of Social Sciences and Humanities
Ronald Sandler Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy and Religion College of Social Sciences and Humanities
David Sherman Professor, Department of Accounting D’Amore-McKim School of Business
Thomas J. Vicino Associate Professor, Department of Political Science Director, Master of Public Administration Program College of Social Sciences and Humanities
Suzanna Danuta Walters Professor, Department of Sociology and Anthropology Director, Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies College of Social Sciences and Humanities
Liza Weinstein Associate Professor, Department of Sociology and Anthropology College of Social Sciences and Humanities
Andre Novoa Postdoctoral Fellow Ph.D., Royal Holloway, University of London
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Special Thanks
Cristina Temenos
The Dean’s Office in the College of Social Sciences and Humanities
Postdoctoral Fellow Ph.D., Simon Fraser University
Victoria Sax Design Jarvis Chen, Skylar Shankman, and Matthew Modoono (photography)
NORTHEASTERN HUMANITIES CENTER YEAR IN REVIEW 2014-15
ABOUT THE NORTHEASTERN HUMANITIES CENTER
We believe that critical and reflective study of culture develops acumen and enhances sensibilities. Founded in 2008, the Northeastern Humanities Center supports faculty and student research in the humanities and social sciences; facilitates collaboration across disciplines; and presents humanistic and social scientific research to the wider university community and general public. Through our fellowship program, working groups, discussion forums, symposia, seminars, informal dialogues, conferences, and joint projects, the Humanities Center fosters a wide-ranging interdisciplinary exchange of ideas in an atmosphere of respect for diverse perspectives and expertise. An integral part of Northeastern University’s signature experiential liberal arts program, the Humanities Center offers various opportunities for engagement with art, literature, philosophy, history, and social political formations, thereby strengthening the foundation from which to respond meaningfully to one another and the needs of our world.
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Please consider a gift in support of the Northeastern Humanities Center. For more information, or to make your gift online, please visit our website, or, you may contact Carol Giusti-Cahalane, Director of Development at the College of Social Sciences and Humanities, c.giusticahalane@neu.edu, 617-373-4792.
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