English Professors John Paine and Andrea Stover presented Tanizaki Junichiro’s In Praise of Shadows to a plenary session of the Japan Studies Association, and led a discussion of this canonical text of modern Japanese literature at the annual meeting of JSA in Honolulu in early January 2013.
Pam Parry, chair of the Communication Studies Department, had a book review published Jan. 22 in Teaching Journalism and Mass Communication, an online, peer-reviewed journal published by the Small Programs Interest Group of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. She reviewed a newly released war memoir from World War II, titled Ed Kennedy’s War: V-E Day, Censorship, & the Associated Press. Click here to read her review.
Motown Records has long been heralded as a business phenomenon that created some of the world’s biggest hit records and artists, including Smoky Robinson, Diana Ross and Michael Jackson. Curb College Professor Cheryl Slay has been awarded a research grant from the Music and Entertainment Industry Educators to examine the business practices behind the phenomenon, to analyze the relevance of Motown’s business model for today’s evolving music industry and to examine related issues on diversity in the music business.
Belmont University partners with STARS for Mid-South PeaceJam
In an extraordinary joint initiative, Iranian-born Nobel Peace Laureate Shirin Ebadi will speak at a free, public event Friday night, January 25, as part of Nashville’s first ever PeaceJam. PeaceJam is built around leading Nobel Peace Laureates who work personally with youth to pass on the spirit, skills and wisdom they embody. The goal of PeaceJam is to create young leaders committed to positive change in themselves, their communities and the world. To reserve free tickets for the Friday night event, visit http://tinyurl.com/ShirinEbadiAtBelmont.
Shirin Ebadi said, “PeaceJam is an amazing program that really changes the lives of young people, and I am looking forward to working side by side with Belmont students and hundreds of high school age youth from across Nashville and the state. I learn so much from working with these inspiring youth leaders—whether they are in my country of Iran or here in Nashville—who are doing projects to address real issues in their communities from bullying and violence to cleaning up the environment.”
Belmont University is partnering with locally-based nonprofit Students Taking a Right Stand (STARS) to be the PeaceJam Mid-South affiliate, which includes Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas and Kentucky. The Jan. 25 talk, to be held in the Curb Event Center, opens a weekend-long conference expected to draw more than 250 college, high school and middle school students to explore issues of peace, violence, social justice and oppression with a community service component.
Dr. Mimi Barnard, Belmont’s assistant provost for interdisciplinary studies & global education, has been heavily involved in bringing PeaceJam to Middle Tennessee. “We live in an increasingly complex geopolitical context, yet we are called to love our neighbor. We are confident that this collaboration with STARS in hosting the Mid-South PeaceJam will make a profound impact on hundreds of youth throughout the region while also inspiring future leaders of our community, our nation and our world.”
STARS CEO Rodger Dinwiddie added, “We’re excited to see hundreds of young people experience this life-changing event and be inspired to tackle tough issues ranging from breaking the cycle of violence and bullying to ending racism and hate. Having Shirin Ebadi as our Nobel Peace Laureate for the inaugural year is a tremendous honor and a timely appearance given the ongoing global issues impacting women and children’s rights.”
On Wed., Jan. 16, Jon Acuff, author of Quitter: Closing the Gap Between Your Day Job and Your Dream Job and Stuff Christians Like, concluded his four-part “Your Dream Job” series.
Following worship at the Massey Performing Arts Center, Acuff shared his own personal struggle on his journey to “do work that matters.” He once had the opportunity to speak at a Christian conference in Chicago while still working at his first desk job. He remembered how elated he was during the conference and how he cried on the flight back home. “I knew I was going to have to go back to my desk. I did the reverse Superman,” he said. “I put my clothes back on, and went back to work.” He explained that the road to truly fulfilling work is a long one and calls for much patience.
He likened the experience to the Jews release from slavery in Exodus. “God did not lead them directly to the promised land. He took them the long way, through a desert road,” he explained. “It was frustrating, but God can see things we can’t see. He has a reason.”
Acuff explained that often, the need for patience feels like a desert road and can be interpreted as punishment. However, Acuff believes the desert road is a gift. “God may have something he doesn’t want us to return to,” he posited.
He returned to the question “how do we do work that matters?” with the infamous “you complete me” scene from Jerry Maguire. The movie, like much of pop culture, implies that people can, and need to, be fixed, Acuff explained. This impedes the ability to do work that matters. “If we constantly try to fix, God can’t use us because we become obsessed with the fix.”
Dr. Francesca Muccini, assistant professor of foreign language, has been appointed by the Italian Foreign Ministry to the position of Consular Liaison for the Italian Consulate in Detroit. Muccini will notarize applications for Italian visas in Middle Tennessee and ensure efficient processing of visa applications.
Erin Pitts, a senior majoring in environmental science, was recently spotlighted in an article in the Friends of Warner Parks newsletter. Erin was a seasonal naturalist at the Warner Park Nature Center from June to August of 2012. During her tenure she taught interpretive programs and interacted with the Nature Center’s visitors. Throughout summer and fall in 2012, she could be found conducting bird research at the Richland Creek Greenway, Shelby Bottoms, or at the constructed wetland adjacent to the Nissan North America headquarters in Cool Springs. Erin presented the findings of two bird research projects at the Tennessee Academy of Science annual conference this past November. She will continue to share her enthusiasm for the outdoors by leading interpretive programs at Beaman Park and the Warner Parks this winter and spring.
Clancy Smith, adjunct professor in the Philosophy department, has been invited to present a paper titled “American Critique: Reflections on a Possible Peircean Critical Theory” at DePaul University’s Graduate Conference in Philosophy this February. In addition, he will also be presenting a paper titled “The Force of Falsity: Peirce and Eco on Counter-Factual Narratives and Historical Revisionism” at the Society for the Philosophy of History panel at the upcoming Central Division of the American Philosophical Association’s annual conference in New Orleans.
Dr. Qingjun (Joan) Li served as the hostess, both in Chinese and English, for Brentwood Baptist Church Chinese Congregation’s fourth annual Christmas Celebration on December 15. More than 200 Chinese and Americans gathered together for the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. The program featured a drama “The First Christmas Night,” children’s ballet dancing, and men’s and women’s chorus. Li has served as interpreter and hostess in many other events for her church, such as Thanksgiving celebration and testimony, and the pastor’s preaching at the Service.
Dr. Andrew Davis, assistant professor in the philosophy department, has an article titled “Schema and Bild: the Act bridging Potentiality and Actuality” published in the forthcoming issue of Idealistic Studies (Vol. 42, Issue 1). In it he compares Kant’s Schema and Fichte’s Bild and explores the importance of acts of imaging within German Idealist ontologies.
