Lecture by Savithry Namboodiripad (University of Michigan) : Reframing curricula through reframing our fields
On October 2, 2020, Dr. Brian Joseph and the Department of Linguistics invited Dr. Savithry Namboodiripad (University of Michigan) to present “Reframing curricula through reframing our fields”. In her talk, Dr. Namdoordiripad provided historical motivation as departments seek to push back against the historical exclusion of minoritized languages/varieties, scholars, and approaches for in linguistics. She then presented examples of how to highlight racial/social justice issues in courses which do not traditionally include those topics, drawing on her experience as a racialized bilingual and bicultural student and scholar in (experimental) syntax, psycholinguistics, and language acquisition/evolution.
Audiences and Online Reception: Before and After COVID - A Conversation with Michael Idov
Michael Idov, the Latvian-American creator of Russian films and tv shows, joined the “Audiences and Online Reception: Before and After COVID” symposium series for a conversation about how Russian audiences have changed in the COVID-19 era, including his recent experiences filming in Russia. During this event, Idov also discussed his award-winning spy drama The Optimists.
Michael Idov is the screenwriter of the Palme d’Ornominated LETO (Cannes 2018), director of the acclaimed feature The Humorist, the creator of hit Russian TV series Londongrad and The Optimists, and the author of four books, including the recent Dressed Up for a Riot (Farrar, Straus 2018). A Latvian-born American raised in Riga, Michael moved to New York in 1998, winning three National Magazine Awards for his writing in New York Magazine before changing his focus to film and TV. He and his wife and frequent collaborator Lily are currently based in Los Angeles.
"Audiences and Online Reception: Before and After COVID” is a year-long series of online symposia that examines the impact of COVID-19 and quarantine experiences on artistic and cultural production. This series is made possible through a Global Arts + Humanities Discovery Theme Special Grant.
Slavic Forum Event: Discussion with Dr. Sunnie Rucker-Chang (University of Cincinnati)
SEELC welcomed alumna Dr. Sunnie Rucker-Chang (Assistant Professor of Slavic and East European Studies at the University of Cincinnati and Director of the University of Cincinnati’s interdisciplinary European Studies program) to share with the department her work in race studies and her experience as an African-American graduate student in our department and colleague in the profession.
Graduate student Katya Tikhonyuk highlighted Dr. Rucker-Chang’s discussion of difficulties on the path to publication as particularly enlightening, specifically how one can be excluded based on what kind of topics and regions they are working on.
Red Migrations Seminar Series
The Red Migrations seminar was initially planned as an in-person traditional conference in April 2020, but as was the case with so many events, had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Rather than put off the event indefinitely, Drs. Philip Gleissner (SEELC, Ohio State) and Bradley Gorski (Georgetown University), the event organizers, made the decision to virtually hold the event. The Red Migrations seminar series was held over the course of 7 meetings, one keynote address and six seminars via Zoom. The keynote was given by Dr. Galin Tihanov (Queen Mary University of London) with support from the Harriman Institute at Columbia University. The six seminars were held over the course of the autumn in a format that’s reminiscent of a traditional conference panel: three papers were circulated among the panelist along with a discussant and panel chair, with the discussant offering feedback after the presentations and chair moderating a question and answer session with those (virtually) in attendance. While the post-panel coffee breaks and dinners couldn’t be replicated online, the virtual format did allow for not only attendees across the globe to participate (panelists included scholars from Russia and Germany), but also those interested in the subject from all around the world to be part of the seminars.
The goal of the Red Migrations project is to produce an edited volume, which will be worked on beginning in early 2021. The publication of the volume will be assisted by a generous contribution from the Ohio State College of Arts and Sciences. For more information on the project, please visit the Red Migrations website.
