August 2015

Celebrating Excellence

UA Anthropology's 100th Anniversary

You are invited to join our university, community, and elected dignitaries on Sept. 15 from 4-7 p.m. in the Student Union to commemorate the first day of classes held on Sept. 15, 1915, in what was at that time the newly established Department of Archaeology. At this event, the School will share the accomplishments of its faculty, students, and alumni. A reception will follow. Click here to RSVP.

SBS Features

Jazz Robots!

Kelland Thomas, associate director of the School of Information as well as a jazz musician, received a grant from the Department of Defense to develop the program MUSICA, or Music Improvising Collaborative Agent. Thomas' team will build up a database of music from jazz legends and use it to build an AI system that can improvise jazz alongside a human musician More

Has Nefertiti's Tomb Been Found?

The research hypothesis of archaeologist Nicholas Reeves, the recent University Indian Ruins Residential Scholar in the School of Anthropology, has been covered by news groups all over the world! By studying laser scans of King Tutankhamen's tomb, Reeves believes he may have discovered a secret doorway leading to the lost grave of Queen Nefertiti. More

Jane Zavisca

"We Are Losing Hearts and Minds in the Former Soviet Union"

Sociologist Jane Zavisca co-wrote an article in Newsweek that argues that the United States has a major public relations problem in former Soviet countries. Zavisca conducted 18 focus groups in Russia, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, and Ukraine and found that people see the U.S. as "an arrogant, hegemonic superpower that meddles in the affairs of other countries in a cynical pursuit of its own interests." More

Carolyn Lukensmeyer

Political Fever

Political researchers and analysts are ramping up for the frenetic activity leading up to the presidential election. Barbara Norrander, a professor in the School of Government and Public Policy, is quoted in this story on the rich history of the public's "summer flings" with new presidential candidates. Anna Ochoa O'Leary, the head of the Department of Mexican American Studies, wrote an op-ed titled "Trump's Immigrant-Bashing Omits That Business Owners Like Him Are to Blame." And Carolyn Lukensmeyer, the director of the National Institute for Civil Discourse, has been speaking and writing blogs about the importance of civility in this heated political environment. More and More

Ben Irvin

UA Historian Studies Revolutionary War Veterans

Historian Ben Irvin is currently working on a book that will explore the lives of Revolutionary War veterans with disabilities. The book will not only examine the social construction of disability in the founding era of the United States, it will delve into issues of masculinity, class, and government bureaucracy. More

History of Horses in the Southwest

In the video below, Tom Sheridan, a professor in the School of Anthropology and the Southwest Center, talks about how horses changed the history of the Southwest. Sheridan is the author of a number of works about the history of the region and is the feature speaker at the opening of the UA exhibit "Tucson: Growth, Change and Memories" on Aug. 18.

Students on the Border

Last fall, UA professors Celeste Gonz�lez de Bustamante and Linda Green taught two courses on the U.S.-Mexico border in Ambos Nogales. Students studied the border through the lens of journalism and anthropology. In this video, hear what students thought about the experience.

SBS News Briefs

Alex Ruff

* This summer, Marana High School teacher Alex Ruff worked with UA anthropologists to conduct isotopic analysis on livestock teeth to learn about the animals' food and water sources in the 18th and 19th centuries. Ruff will incorporate what he's learned into his classes to help his students get excited about science. More

* Ed Donnerstein, emeritus professor in the Department of Communication, spoke at the National Congress of Pediatrics meeting in Panama City this summer. The American Academy of Pediatrics invited three speakers from the United States to present plenary sessions to the Congress. Donnerstein spoke about the influence of the media on children and adolescents, covering topics such as media violence, obesity, cyberbullying, and sexuality.

Photo by Jacob Chinn

* Students can now earn a bachelor's degree in American Indian Studies (AIS) at the University of Arizona. The new degree program makes the UA the first and only university in Arizona to offer a B.A., an M.A., and a Ph.D. in the discipline! More

* The School of Government and Public Policy is launching a new Masters of Public Policy. The MPP is structured as an evening program with classes held at the UA's downtown location. More

Ahsley Tsosie-Mahieu. Photo by John de Dios

* Ashley Tsosie-Mahieu, a doctoral student in American Indian Studies, and Leishara Ward, a master's student in public administration, blogged for the UA about their summer internships. Ashley was a fellow with the Peabody Essex Museum, and Leishara worked in Tanzania with the United States Agency for International Development. Read their final posts here and here.

* Suzanne Dovi, associate professor in the School of Government and Public Policy, suggests that all high schoolers take a self-defense class as part of their physical education. More

Lisa Waite Bunker as Professor Pomona Sprout from the Harry Potter books

* The Arizona Daily Star featured Lisa Waite Bunker, who received an M.A.in information resources and library science from the UA. Lisa, a Harry Potter fan, is the Pima County Public Library social media librarian and believes the digital age can be a golden one for libraries. More

* Philosopher Shaun Nichols' research is featured in the New Republic article "Would You Rather Lose Your Morals or Your Memory?" More

Kate Bernheimer

* In "A Kind of Literary Seance: The New Phase of Literary Collaborations" (Hazlitt Magazine, a publication of Penguin Random House), English Professor Kate Bernheimer is interviewed about her latest novel Office at Night, a nominee for the Shirley Jackson Awards. More

*Stephanie Smith, who recently completed her Ph.D. in the Department of Communication, wrote an op-ed about the ways millennials look for jobs and how potential employers can appeal to them. More

Dept News

American Indian Studies

Anthropology

Ctr. for Middle Eastern Studies

Communication

Economics
English

Freedom Center

Gender and Women's Studies

Geography and Development

Government and Public Policy

History

Journalism

Judaic Studies

Late Medieval & Reformation

Latin American Studies

Linguistics

Mexican American Studies

Middle Eastern & N. African St

Upcoming Events

Protestantism and the Anglican Church in the Seventeenth Century

Presented by the Division for Late Medieval and Reformation Studies
Sundays, Aug. 23 & 30, 10:15 a.m.
Location: St. Philip's in the Hills Episcopal Church, 4440 N. Campbell Ave.
More

"Two Steps Forward, One Step Back? The Mexican Community of Tucson, 1940-2015"

Presented by UA Libraries
Aug. 18, 6 p.m.
Speaker: Thomas Sheridan, Professor in the Southwest Center & School of Anthropology
Location: Special Collections
More

"Occupying Our Space"

Presented by Confluencenter for Creative Inquiry
Sept. 2, 6 p.m.
Location: Playground Bar & Lounge, 278 E. Congress St.
Speaker: Cristina Deveraux Ram�rez, Asst. Professor of English
More

100th Anniversary Commemoration

Presented by the School of Anthropology
Sept. 15, 4-7 p.m.
Location: Student Union Ballroom
More

"The Raven and the Tomahawk: Poe, Poetry, and the Rise of Popular Criticism"

Presented by the Poetry Center
Sept. 24, 7 p.m.
Location: UA Poetry Center
Speaker: Paul Hurh, Assoc. Professor of English, who has a new book out titled

American Terror: The Feeling of Thinking in Edwards, Poe, and Melville.
More

Downtown Lecture Series on Immortality

Presented by the College of SBS
Wednesdays, Oct. 14-Nov. 11, 6:30 p.m.
Location: Fox Theatre
17 W. Congress St.

From decoding our depictions of heaven and vampires to unearthing our earliest burial practices, this series will explore humans' fascination with the age-old question: What happens after we die?

Stay Connected

Have feedback? If you have story suggestions or comments, let us know!

Need past issues? Check out the

archives for previous Snapshots.

Support

Give to SBS

Support your favorite SBS program or department today by clicking here.