News and Announcements

COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Over 150 people filled the Gildenhorn Recital Hall at The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center on Wednesday night to hear award-winning slam poet and social justice advocate Theo Wilson, who appeared as part of the University of Maryland College of Arts and Humanities Dean’s Lecture Series.

Wilson skyrocketed to social media fame after posting beliefs about hate and bias. During his lecture, he discussed his experiences as a black man in an increasingly digital and racially charged world.

Wilson went undercover in white supremacist online communities to “get a gist of the gathering storm” because “nothing is more dangerous for black people than white supremacy.”

While undercover, he learned how social media creates digital echo chambers that steer users toward content that affirms their ideological beliefs. He also learned about the dangers of groupthink, a psychological phenomenon in which a group of people make irrational decisions based on the desire for harmony. Noticing how alt-right online communities gained momentum through these realities propelled his career as an activist.

Throughout the lecture, he detailed events that changed the way he thought about his own race. From the racially motivated bombings at Florida A&M University, a historically black college, in 1999, to the election of George W. Bush in 2001, Wilson described how race permeated his everyday life.

Wilson began his public speaking career in the NAACP at the age of 15, and has always had a passion for social justice. He helped found the Denver Slam Nuba team, which won the National Poetry Slam in 2011. Wilson also performed at this year’s TEDxMileHigh event.

He concluded his lecture by reciting a slam poem called “Impossible,” which expressed the possibility of the impossible and the barriers African Americans have overcome. The poem captivated the audience as Wilson proclaimed “My breath is like humanity/ Limitless/ Unbounded/ And impossibly free.”

During a question and answer session moderated by Linda Aldoory, associate dean for research and programming, Wilson responded to questions about slam poetry, his personal utopia and a world without racism.

Wilson ended his performance by reminding the audience that “there’s this new generation that has this attitude that’s unbreakable,” and encouraged the continuation of self-expression.

The College of Arts and Humanities at the University of Maryland announces the “2017-18 Dean’s Lecture Series: Courageous Conversations, ARHU Resists Hate And Bias.” Featuring Theo Wilson, Bobby Seale and Mara Liasson, this year’s speakers consider what it means to engage in courageous conversations that speak to the difficult issues of hate and bias across personal, political and historical frames. Each lecture is an opportunity for the campus and the UMD community to join together for provocative conversations about resisting these issues.

The Personal: Theo Wilson (@lucifury)

Wednesday, November 29, 2017, 5:30 p.m.

Gildenhorn Recital Hall, The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center

Award-winning slam poet and social justice advocate who skyrocketed to social media fame after posting beliefs about hate and bias will discuss his experience as a black man who went undercover in alt-right social media communities.

The Historical: Bobby Seale (@BobbySealecom)

Thursday, February 1, 2018, 5:30 p.m.

Orem Alumni Hall, Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center

Famed author and founding chairman and national organizer of the Black Panther Party will present “Resistance: From the Sixties to Trump,” which will be followed by a book signing and reception.

Co-sponsored by the Nathan and Jeanette Miller Center for Historical Studies and the Department of African American Studies at UMD. In partnership with The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

The Political: Mara Liasson (@MaraLiasson)

Wednesday, April 11, 2018, 5:30 p.m.

Gildenhorn Recital Hall, The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center

Award-winning journalist and NPR political correspondent with over 30 years of experience reporting on the White House and Congress will present “The Political Landscape: Dealing with Hate and Bias in Washington.”

In collaboration with the Philip Merrill College of Journalism.

For free tickets or more information call 301.405.ARTS.

The Arts & Humanities Dean's Lecture Series provides an opportunity for the college faculty, students and staff to join together with colleagues across campus for stimulating conversation about issues that cross our disciplines. Lectures and performances may address either enduring or emerging questions central to the arts and humanities, or questions arising from other disciplines to which the arts and humanities might speak. In addition to presenting a major public event, each lecturer interacts in smaller settings with faculty, graduate students and/or undergraduates. 

Images: 

1. Theo Wilson: Photo by Woody Roseland via Westword

2. Bobby Seale: Photo by Carlos Avila Gonzalez via The Chronicle

3. Mara Liasson, Photo by New Hampshire Public Radio via WBAA.org

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ARHU Graduate Student Travel Awards 2017-2018 

To support the professional development of its graduate students through the presentation of original research, the College of Arts and Humanities awards travel monies to significant national and international conferences. There will be three competitions per year with approximately nine awards given in each competition. 

Eligible expenses include transportation, lodging, registration fees and per diem for food. 

General Guidelines: 

Up to $500 for travel within North America and $700 for international travel. 

Priority will be given to students attending national or international conferences of major professional organizations. ARHU particularly seeks to help students toward the end of their graduate careers gain experience and make contacts important to their intellectual and professional development and to their job prospects. However, the Fellowship Committee will hold aside a certain amount of funding for students presenting original work at prestigious conferences early in their careers (e.g., before advancing to candidacy). 

Preference will be given to students who have not had an ARHU Travel Award in the past, unless it was an early career award. Awards will not be given for travel that has already taken place. 

These applications must be entered on time into the online system to be considered for the current cycle. The online application system will close at midnight on each of the three deadline dates below. 

College deadlines (for students and departments to submit materials online):

• Round 1: Monday, October 2, 2017 (for travel taking place between October 1, 2017 and December 3, 2017) 
• Round 2: Monday, December 4, 2017 (for travel taking place between December 4, 2017 to May 6, 2018) 
• Round 3: Monday, May 7, 2018 (for travel taking place between May 7, 2018 to September 30, 2018) 

Please check with the individual program graduate director about departmental deadlines. 

The application process for Travel Awards is entirely online. No paper applications will be accepted. 

The application process is easy: 

Students should go to http://apply.arhu.umd.edu and click on Travel Awards, provide all the supporting information, and submit the application. (Students can work on an application, save, and come back to the site as well, so they don’t have to do everything at once). 

The supporting information requested is as follows: 

• Short CV (including up-to-date contact information and address)

• Letter of application including:

• Stage of graduate career (e.g., defending dissertation in Fall 2016)
• Brief description (no more than two paragraphs) of the research to be presented, its significance in the field, and the format of the presentation (e.g. paper on a panel, poster presentation). Please keep in mind that the research should be contextualized for non-specialists.
• Brief description of the conference and its organizing body, including the url of the conference/organization website. Include a statement of the review process for the accepted research.
• Statement of the contribution the conference will make to your career.
• Statement of whether application has been made for this trip to other funding sources (e.g. Goldhaber Travel Awards from the Graduate School).  Students are encouraged to apply for outside funding.
• Budget of estimated costs
• Copy of the letter/email accepting/inviting the presentation

If you encounter any technical problems using the online system, please contact Megan Weng.  https://apply.arhu.umd.edu/contact

If you have questions about the Travel Awards themselves, or if your students have questions, please contact Trevor Parry-Giles, 301-641-0019 or tpg@umd.edu. 

To: Colleagues
From: Bonnie Thornton Dill, Dean
Date: July 20, 2017
Re: Associate Dean Appointments

Dear Colleagues:

I'm pleased to announce the appointments of Linda Aldoory and Ralph Bauer to Associate Dean in the College of Arts and Humanities.

Linda Aldoory, Professor of Communication, will serve as the Associate Dean for Research and Programming, effective July 1. She will work to support research and scholarly productivity of the college’s faculty and graduate students by enhancing opportunities for sponsored research, fellowships, partnerships and awards. She will lead the Arts and Humanities Center for Synergy and develop programming that promotes the distinctive mission of the college across the university, in the community and nationally. Working closely with students, faculty, staff, administrators, the Office of the Vice President for Research and external partners, Aldoory will develop a plan to illuminate the work of the arts and humanities, particularly scholarship of diverse, interdisciplinary and collaborative nature.

Aldoory joined the faculty at UMD in 1999 as Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication. In 2005 she was promoted to Associate Professor and later, from 2011-2015, was appointed Associate Professor in the Department of Behavioral and Community Health where she served as Endowed Chair and Director of UMD’s Herschel S. Horowitz Center for Health Literacy. She returned to the Department of Communication in 2015, most recently serving as Associate Chair and Co-Director of Graduate Studies. Aldoory’s promotion to Professor is effective August 2017. She has served on numerous committees and advisory boards, including departmental faculty and teaching committees, Collegiate Council and UMD’s Future of Information Alliance Advisory Board.

Her research explores the field of health communication, specifically public health campaigns and message design and their effects on underserved populations. She has published an edited book and has authored more than 40 articles, book chapters and encyclopedia entries. She has been awarded a commissioned paper by the National Academies of Science and has been the Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator on several extramural grants and contracts.

Aldoory holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from The George Washington University, a master’s degree in journalism from University of Texas at Austin and a doctoral degree in mass communication from Syracuse University.

Ralph Bauer, Associate Professor of English, will serve as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, effective August 15. He will oversee undergraduate and graduate curriculum, courses, programs and enrollments; graduate student recruitment, fellowships and advisory board; ARHU’s five living-learning programs and the Learning Outcomes Assessment (LOA) process. He will spearhead efforts to highlight the knowledge and skills acquired in arts and humanities based learning, and help develop pathways for majors who want to combine their learning with the sciences or other disciplines, in and outside of the college. Working closely with students, faculty, staff and administrators, particularly the Office of Undergraduate Studies and The Graduate School, Bauer will provide leadership and support that facilitates forward-looking, cutting-edge and diversity-infused education in the arts and humanities.  

Since his arrival at UMD in 1998, Bauer has served as Director of Graduate Studies and Director of Honors in the Department of English. He has also served on college and university committees, including the ARHU Committee on Programs, Courses and Curricula (PCC); the UMD Graduate Council Working Group for Teaching Assistant Training and Mentoring; and the 2017 Middle States Accreditation Review Committee.

Bauer’s research explores the literatures and cultures of the Colonial Americas from a hemispheric perspective, with special focus on the history of science and Native American Studies. He is editor of the Early Americas Digital Archive and author of "The Cultural Geography of Colonial American Literatures: Empire, Travel, Modernity" (Cambridge University Press, 2003 and 2008); "Creole Subjects in the Colonial Americas: Empires, Texts, Identities" (University of North Carolina Press, 2009); and “The Alchemy of Conquest: Science, Religion, and the Secrets of the New World” (forthcoming, University of Virginia Press); among others.

He was previously awarded Outstanding Director of Graduate Studies by UMD’s Graduate School and a Colorado Endowment for the Humanities Publication Prize for his translation of “An Inca Account of the Conquest of Peru.”

Bauer earned his bachelor’s degrees in English, German and Spanish from University of Erlangen (Nuremberg, Germany) and master’s and doctoral degrees in American Studies from Michigan State University.  

I welcome these new administrators to the Dean’s Office and invite you to offer them congratulations on their respective appointments. I also wish to thank the outgoing Associate Deans Sheri Parks and Alene Moyer for their excellent leadership and service over the past five years.

I give special thanks to members of the search committee, chaired by Juan Uriagereka, Professor of Linguistics.