FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
INDIANAPOLIS — Professors from the IU School of Liberal Arts at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis will discuss their sabbatical research projects throughout the 2015 spring semester.
The series is free and open to the public. The lectures will take place from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. in Room 268 of the IUPUI Campus Center, 420 University Blvd.:
Tuesday, Feb. 3 — Anita Morgan, history, “Mrs. Skinner’s Hernia, or How Local Governments Aided Hoosier Soldiers’ Families During the American Civil War.” Whether it was repairing hernias or awarding monthly stipends, many Indiana counties went to great lengths to care for soldiers’ families during the Civil War. Morgan will discuss how county governments attempted to give consistent relief when aid supplied by private philanthropy was intermittent and unreliable.
Friday, Feb. 27 — Elizabeth Kryder-Reid, museum studies, “Crafting the Past: Heritage and California Mission Models.” The history of the charming, seemingly benign models of California missions that have been crafted and displayed over the past century reveal both the persistence of informal heritage practices and subtle power of landscape to shape perceptions of the past.
Tuesday, March 3 — Philip Goff, religious studies, “In the Year of Our Lord 1844: When Religion Became American.” In 1844, riots over Bible reading in public schools killed 17 people, Jesus’ failure to appear as predicted left thousands homeless, and a mob murdered Mormon prophet Joseph Smith. Millions of Americans sought an updated understanding of the nation’s purpose and a different way to discuss issues publicly.
Friday, March 6 — Aye-Nu Duerksen, English, “Educating, Enculturating and Empowering International Teaching Assistants.” As IUPUI internationalizes and expands its graduate programs, many schools provide international graduate students with assistantships in undergraduate programs. This talk explores trends of effective screening processes and training programs.
Tuesday, March 10 — Jane E. Schultz, English, “Lead, Blood and Ink: Surgeons, Life Writing and Medical Status in the American Civil War.” The unprecedented supply of wounded and sick bodies that confronted Civil War surgeons and the concomitant spectacle of death that gripped the public imagination ironically raised physicians’ professional status and brought medicine to the center of a cultural dialogue once reserved for the clergy.
Friday, March 27 — Cornelis de Waal, philosophy, “Math, Fiction and the World: On the Unreasonable Effectiveness of Mathematics.” Most view mathematics, with its wildly exotic creations, as a product of the human mind. If so, how does it do so well in describing and predicting natural phenomena? Relationships between art, mathematics, logic and physics may provide the answer.
Tuesday, March 31 — Owen Dwyer, geography, “Placemaking Along the Indianapolis Cultural Trail.” Hailed by urban designers and critics at its 2011 debut, the Indianapolis Cultural Trail connects many of the city’s attractions. What can we learn about the Trail—and the coalition that built it—from the vantage of placemaking?
Visitor parking is available for a fee in the Vermont Street Garage. For more information or to RSVP, email libarsvp@iupui.edu.