Division of Arts and Humanities Bookshelf
Olive Vassell, Associate Professor of Digital Media, has been selected as a Fulbright Specialist and invited to the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST) in Windhoek to teach faculty about emerging technology in journalism and best practices for online media courses. She will also spearhead the establishment of a student-run wire service.
Additionally, Professor Vassell is currently editing and writing a chapter for a book titled Mapping Black Europe: Monuments, Memories, Markers which records and discusses sites of public memory, markers and monuments to Black Europeans. The pioneering work will feature Black European scholars from eight cities, and Professor Vassell’s contribution will focus on her London birthplace. The book will be published by the leading German Academic publishing house Transcript Verlag and distributed by Columbia University Press in the US and Pluto in the UK.
For more information: https://www.transcript-publishing.com/978-3-8376-5413-4/mapping-black-europe/
Dr. Leah Claiborne, coordinator of the Keyboard Area in the Music Program, was recently published in the fall 2020 issue of Piano Magazine, Clavier Companion. Her article, “Diversifying Your Piano Studio” gave insights on the pedagogical benefits of incorporating piano music by Black composers in piano studios.
During the summer of 2020, Dr. Claiborne created and developed an educational online course that will be featured on the Clavier Companion web platform. The course, “Unsung Heroes in Piano Pedagogy” deeply examines twenty piano pieces by Black composers through performance, articles, and teaching videos. The Clavier Companion is the largest online platform dedicated to piano teaching scholarship.
Five UDC Chorale members studying with Professor Johnny Butler, Visiting Assistant Professor of Music, represented the University during National HBCU Week in the premiere performance of the 105 HBCU Virtual Voices Choir. Seniors Ashlee Fields, mezzo-soprano; Victoria Williams, soprano; and Avery Washington, tenor; junior Rebeca Molero, mezzo-soprano; and freshman Malachi Johnson, tenor, were chosen from a national pool of applicants through a virtual audition submitted this summer. The debut performance, “United as One Global Voice,” was shared to the 105 Voices of History YouTube channel on Sept. 23, 2020.
Please view: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdNnVsJe3q6lRDUsxdODAjA
Dr. Craig Wynne, Associate Professor of English, has a new book published: How to Be a Happy Bachelor (Kendall Hunt 2020). For more information, please visit: https://he.kendallhunt.com/product/how-be-happy-bachelor
Dr. Alexander Howe, Professor of English and Chair of the Division of Arts and Humanities in the College of Arts and Sciences, recently published an article in the anthology Tattoos in Crime and Detective Narratives: Marking and Remarking (Manchester University Press, 2019). This collection has just been awarded the International Crime Fiction Association Book Prize. Dr. Howe’s article examines Louisa May Alcott’s feminist revision of female embodiment in her pseudonymous thrillers.
For more information, please visit: https://manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526128676/
Dr. Matthew Petti, Associate Professor of English, has published the following two articles: “Stephen Dixon: An Appreciation” (May/June 2020 American Book Review), and “The Writer’s Writer Writes” (November/December 2019 American Book Review).
In May of 2020 officially named Director of the Stephen Dixon Literary Estate. He is currently working on a biography and editing a Stephen Dixon Anthology.
Dr. Cherie Ann Turpin, Associate Professor of English, works in the areas of Afrofuturism, African Diaspora Studies, Gender and Sexuality Studies, World Literature, Multicultural American Literature, Popular Culture, Film Studies, and Digital Humanities/Diversity.
Access Dr. Turpin’s ongoing radio show at: https://www.blogtalkradio.com/at-the-edge-thinkculture
And her recent creative works are available here: http://afrofuturismscholar.com
Davide Prete, Assistant Professor of art, in collaboration with playground architect Justin Wilson won the competition DC Playable Art 2020 with the project “Soundwave Art Park”.
Playable Art DC is a creative play and placemaking project designed to create interactive works of art that are bold, exciting, and playful, inspire imagination, build social skills, and are enjoyed by youth and adults The concept for the project located in the triangle park at the corner of Minnesota Avenue and 34th and D Streets, SE started with the idea to create a visual filter to the traffic noise and create an interactive oasis for the community.
Ada Vilageliu-Díaz, Assistant Professor in the English Program, in October 2020 launched a community literacy service project titled Mi libro, mi espejo (My Book, My Mirror) featuring children’s books by Latinx authors in both English and Spanish. This virtual Storytime project is done in collaboration with the UDC Library and other community partners.