Faculty and Staff Notes

Professor of Politics Stephen Crowley was the lead instructor for Ohio State University's Summer Global Teacher Seminar on "Global Protests and Social Justice Activism."

Professor of Hispanic Studies Sebastiaan Faber has coauthored a piece in The Nation magazine on the Spanish government's decision to pardon nine Catalan leaders who were sent to prison for their involvement in a referendum for independence. Faber, whose new book Exhuming Franco (Vanderbilt University Press) came out in April, is also featured in Noiser's new podcast series Real Dictators, narrated by Paul McGann.

Sonia Kruks, Robert S. Danforth Professor of Politics Emerita, recently presented a paper at the (virtual) international conference, “Simone de Beauvoir: New Perspectives for the 21st Century.” Her paper, titled “Old Age and Intersectionality: Beauvoir and Beyond,” drew on Beauvoir’s work to reflect on the troubling exclusion of old age from consideration in intersectional social and political theory.

The Cleveland Museum of Naturaly History has tapped Associate Professor of Integrated Media Julia Christensen to lead an event in its new Centennial Speaker Series, part of the museum's 100-year anniversary celebration. 

“The topics and themes that we’re addressing in the Centennial Speaker Series are fundamental,” notes Allison Grazia, the museum’s manager of public engagement. “It’s health, space, nature, human history, race—things that are part of our everyday lived experiences.”

In February 2022, Christensen will discuss her collaboration with scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to develop a technology that will send data about the natural world into space in the form of song, with the hope of eventually connecting with extraterrestrial life. The project, which sits at the intersection of science and art, is poised to take space exploration to another level.

Assistant Professor of Music Theory and Aural Skills Kara Yoo Leaman published an article titled "Musical Techniques in Balanchine's Jazzy Bach Ballet" in the Spring 2021 special issue (on dance and music) of the Journal of Music Theory.

Visiting Assistant Professor of German Olesya Ivantsova published a paper in the online journal Communications of the International Brecht Society discussing Bertolt Brecht’s reflections on the written word’s presence in the city space.

Visiting Assistant Professor of Russian Vladimir Ivantsov has organized and chaired the 2020-21 North American Dostoevsky Society Undergraduate Student Essay Contest. The Contest is designed to recognize outstanding undergraduate essays focused on the works of Fyodor Dostoevsky. More on this can be found on the official blog of the North American Dostoevsky Society.

TIMARA Technical Director and Lecturer Abby Aresty and Rachel Gibson '20 presented their course, "Crafting Sound: Simple Sonic Interfaces for Education and Creation," at the international virtual Interaction Design and Children ACM conference. Gibson, Aresty, and Ian Moo '21 also presented their works-in-progress paper, "Apples and Oranges: Comparing Crafty Sonic Circuits for Electronics Education," at IDC.

Assistant Professor of Dance Al Evangelista debuted "Dragon Fruit," a new performance work as part of The Spill by Excessive Realness. The evening of new works was hosted by Washington, D.C.-based Dance Place's Gaze Festival. 

Assistant Professor of Hispanic Studies Sergio Gutiérrez Negrón reviewed Poets, Philosophers, Lovers: On the Writings of Giannina Braschi, edited by Frederick Luis Aldama and Tess O'Dwyer for World Literature Today.