Dr. Jim Al-Shamma, assistant professor of theatre, has published an article in the spring 2013 edition of the peer-reviewed Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism. It is included in the special section, “Witnessing History, Performing Trauma” and addresses a play by contemporary Iraqi playwright Jawad Al Assadi ; the article is titled “Staging Baghdadi Bath on the Western Stage: Toward a Theatre of Trauma.”

Al-Shamma facilitated and participated in a panel on Arabic drama on Aug. 3 at the annual conference of the Association for Theatre in Higher Education. Panelists included Jordanian director Mohammad BaniHani, who spoke on censorship in his country. Al-Shamma’s paper explored the social function of the bathhouse in Arabic drama and was titled, “’You are my blissfulness and my hell’: The Bathhouse in Two Arabic Plays.”

The video of the production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream directed by  Al-Shamma at Texas A&M University-Commerce in February 2013 has been posted to MIT’s Global Shakespeares website, which is an educational archive of productions of Shakespeare from around the world.

Assistant Professor of Religion and the Arts Donovan McAbee will present a paper at Calvin College’s Kuyers Institute Conference in October. McAbee’s paper, “From Knowledge to Wisdom: Developing Virtues through Service Learning” outlines the steps that he is taking to develop a team-based, service learning “Introduction to the Old Testament” course that centers its learning outcomes on the Old Testament call to care for the weak and the oppressed, particularly for the “aliens” in our midst. By serving local refugee communities in Nashville, McAbee hopes that the prophetic heart of the Old Testament will come alive for students, and that by reflecting on the plight of refugees in our country, students will be able to better connect with and understand the wanderings of the ancient Israelites in the Old Testament.

The theme for this year’s national teaching conference is “Virtues, Vices, and Teaching.” Presentations will focus on exploring “the implications of a focus on virtues and vices for the way Christian teaching and learning are approached.”

Adjunct instructor Steve Taylor directed “Blue Like Jazz,” a 2012 movie based on Donald Miller’s best-selling memoir of the same name. In the film, an incoming college student discovers the student body’s conflict with his Christian faith and abandons it. The USA Today named it among the top  movies students should watch get through their freshman year.

Taylor teaches Producing Film for the Entertainment Industry at Belmont University.

“Beautifully directed by Steve Taylor, the film tackles the existential struggles and corresponding crisis of faith so many people deal with during college,” the article says.  Click here to read the article on “Blue Like Jazz” in USA Today.

The International Bluegrass Music Association will honor adjunct professor Michael McLain and his family with its Distinguished Achievement Awards for their pioneering contributions to bluegrass music. The IBMA’s Distinguished Achievement Awards will be presented at a Special Awards Luncheon on Sept. 26 during IBMA’s World of Bluegrass events.

McLain teaches guitar, mandolin and banjo at Belmont and led the University’s Bluegrass Ensemble for more than a decade.

The McLain Family Band began performing in 1972. One of the first bluegrass bands to perform with symphony orchestras, the group performed in more than 80 countries for the U.S. government as “America’s Ambassadors of Traditional Music.” The band hosted a festival in Berea, Ky. for 13 years, and the siblings recorded more than a dozen albums on their own Country Life Records label. Fans will remember Raymond W. McLain as a banjo player with Jim & Jesse and mandolin player with Reno and Harrell, and Michael McLain on guitar and banjo with the Claire Lynch Band.

Dr. Sybril Bennett, professor of journalism, presented two workshops at the Alabama Broadcasters’ Association in Birmingham, Ala. She used her Seven Elements of Innovation framework: problem, principle, purpose, perspective, pioneering, passion and play to analyze TV news reporting and producing and she also conducted a session on social media strategies for newsrooms.

Bennett also had an opinion editorial published on Essence.com addressing the aftermath of media magnate Russell Simmons’ decision to publish a sex tape parody of Harriet Tubman on YouTube.  Her piece is entitled, “In honor of Harriet Tubman, Pre-Internet Innovator.” The post includes an excerpt from her book, “Innovate: Lessons from the Underground Railroad” regarding Tubman’s leadership.

Dr. Sabrina Sullenberger has joined the Gordon E. Inman College of Health Sciences faculty as chairwoman of the Social Work Department.

“We’re so glad to welcome Dr. Sullenberger,” said Dr. Cathy Taylor, dean of the college. “Sabrina has a wealth of experience and qualifications for her new role, and a commitment to mentoring students in a Christian environment.  I look forward to working together in the days ahead.”

Sullenberger comes to Belmont from Indiana University where she was an associate professor and interim associate dean for the School of Social Work.  While at Indiana University, Sullenberger twice received the Trustee’s Teaching Award and was named as College Adviser of the Year by Best Buddies Indiana.

Sullenberger’s research interest and experience are in the areas of child welfare and poverty and the role of the faith community in addressing social issues. She is a contributor to several books, has had articles published in over a half dozen journals and has presented numerous times at professional meetings for social workers and educators.  Her professional service includes consultation to Bloomington Hospital and the Indiana University Police Department, training Court Appointed Special Advocates for the Family Service Association and serving on various community advising panels for housing, domestic violence, hunger and homelessness and legislative advocacy.

Sullenberger earned her Ph.D. in social work from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and holds a master’s in social work from the University of Tennessee and a bachelor’s in social work from the University of Memphis.  She has experience as a family counselor for Youth Villages and as a social worker for Mid-South Christian Nursing Home, both located in Memphis, Tenn.  She also served for two years as coordinator of the RISE Project at the University of Memphis which assists local schools in becoming an inclusive educational environment.

Honors Professor Joe Byrne’s “Health and Wellness in Daily Life during the Renaissance and Enlightenment” was published by Greenwood Press in July. It is the third volume to appear in a seven-volume set for which Byrne serves as the series editor. Each volume covers a wide range of topics, including medicine, drugs, childhood, war, occupational hazards, and Byrne’s work does this for Europe, the Islamic world, West Africa and the Caribbean diaspora, China and Mexico over the period 1500 to 1800. After publishing five books on medical history, Byrne is currently on sabbatical writing the two-volume “Encyclopedia of Daily Life during the Italian Renaissance” under contract with Greenwood Press.

Dr. Justin Makemson, assistant professor and art education program coordinator in the Department of Art,  completed his dissertation defense on Aug. 19. His dissertation research was titled “Seven Portraits of Artistic Self: A Qualitative Examination of Self in the Reflexive Narratives and Artwork Portfolios of Postsecondary Art Students,” and explored the implications of selective artistic self-identification for appropriate practices and art education pedagogy.

Makemson holds a B.A. in fine art from William Jewell College, an M.S. in art education from Indiana University and a Ph.D. in currirulum and instruction art education from Indiana University.