A new forum that celebrates the importance of faculty research will commence in fall 2015 on the Brighton Campus at Monroe Community College. Titled “Filling Station: A Faculty Research Presentation Series,” this forum will take place three times each semester during College Hour (12-12:50). Created by Tony Leuzzi (English/Philosophy), “Filling Station” enables faculty to share their current research with students, professional colleagues, and other members of the college community. Drawing its name from the title of an Elizabeth Bishop poem, each seeks to furnish attendees with intellectual food. In its inaugural season, “Filling Station” features presentations by Michael Boester (Chemistry and Geosciences), E. Jethro Gaede (Anthropology/History/Political Science/Sociology), and Angelique Stevens (English/Philosophy). Boester will articulate his research on the evolution of Mount Hope from America’s first municipal rural cemetery to today’s trends in natural burial and cremation; Gaede will explore the subject of cultural stereotypes as portrayed on individual postage stamps and postal covers; and Stevens will discuss her findings from South Sudan, where she helped conduct a survey of drinking-water wells. Each presentation will run approximately 30 minutes and be followed by a question-answer period.
In the past, similar efforts have relied upon the extra-curricular interest and support of the college community. However, in the interest of connecting faculty research directly to student learning, “Filling Station” will be tied to various course curriculums. Leuzzi’s College Hour section of HMN 101 will be attending all of the presentations, and students in that class will be expected to write critical responses for each. “This structure,” Leuzzi enthuses, “not only ensures a built-in audience of at least 25 students, it will mean that students’ critical thinking will be nourished by various subjects of intellectual inquiry pursued by our faculty. I’m excited to see possible connections building between teachers and students in this way. Who knows what possibilities might come out of this?” Leuzzi is also pleased to add that other instructors have also expressed interest in bringing their College-Hour sections to one or more of the events.
Connections made between faculty and students are not the only bridges “Filling Station” seeks to build. Assisting Leuzzi in the planning and promotion of each event are Professors Kathleen Farrell (VaPA) and Thomas Blake (English/Philosophy). Farrell will be designing the event posters, a tradition that dates back to her work with Leuzzi in the first four years of “Skunk Hour: A Creative Reading Series,” which was popular on the Brighton campus several years ago. Blake’s involvement with MCC’s URSICA (Undergraduate Research, Scholarly Inquiry, and Creative Activity) initiative signals one more way that “Filling Station” seeks to value a culture of faculty research.
Each presenter has offered a generous summary of his/her presentation as follows:
Angelique Stevens: Friday, September 25, 2015
In South Sudan, millions of women and children trek for up to eight hours a day to collect water from marshes or hand-dug wells where water is often contaminated with parasites and bacteria. The results are often sickness and even death. Water for South Sudan (WFSS) is making a difference by providing access to clean, safe water and facilitating hygiene education. This past February, the organization celebrated its tenth anniversary of drilling water wells in remote areas of South Sudan. Those ten years have resulted in 250 wells serving almost half a million people in the world’s newest country. The impact of those 250 wells is largely unknown, however. In January 2015, I travelled, as a board member of Water for South Sudan, to the country for two months to conduct a survey of the wells. This evaluation covered five areas of research;1) maintenance, 2) well use patterns, 3) water quality, 4) functionality, and 5) sanitation & hygiene. In my presentation, I will discuss the results of the survey and the WFSS connection to the socio-political impact of water in rural areas of South Sudan.
E. Jethro Gaede: Friday, October 23, 2015
Titled “A Stamp Lover’s Research Odyssey: Gleaning New Stories from Our Pictorial Panes,” my presentation will focus on the subject of cultural stereotypes as portrayed on individual postage stamps and postal covers. My primary intention is to examine how images of the indigenous cultural “other” have been used to document and depict historical events situated within a hegemonic, western-oriented visual framework.
Michael Boester: Friday, November 20, 2015
Human Geographers view cemeteries as evolving cultural landscapes because they reflect the beliefs, values, attitudes, behaviors, and styles of the place and time they were built. Indeed, burial grounds are tangible microcosms of the realities and perceptions of the cultures that built them. I have explored and studied countless burial sites over my career from urban graveyards in New England to memorial parks in California. However, my research interest focuses on the rural cemetery movement and my local “laboratory” for the last fourteen years has been Mount Hope Cemetery. My presentation will summarize my research on the evolution of Mount Hope from America’s first municipal rural cemetery to today’s trends in natural burial and cremation.
Naturally, all attendees are welcome. If any faculty is interested in bringing entire sections of a course to an event, please contact Leuzzi at: <mailto:aleuzzi@monroecc.edu>.
Nancy Soregi
Liberal Arts
05/01/2015 |