CAL Currents : The Newsletter of the College of Arts and Letters

Volume 02 | Issue 02 | February 2019

Visit CAL Online

A Message from the Dean

Just a few days ago I had the opportunity to take members from the College of Arts and Letters Advisory Board on a tour of the newly remodeled and reimagined maker-spaces in the Bailey Art Studios. The new photography studios, graphic design classrooms and printmaking studios are nothing short of stunning, and everyone on the Board had a great time learning about the truly cutting edge technology students now have access to in the FabLab. Board chair and University of Tampa Trustee Mrs. Charlene Gordon even got a UT keepsake to take with her that was made on one of the new hi-tech laser cutters! There is more information on the space is this edition of CAL Currents, but what I was so incredibly proud to tell the CAL Advisory Board was that this physical transformation of space is more than just new classrooms and studios to learn and create. It is really a commitment to the arts and humanities that has benefits first and foremost for our students and faculty, but also for the greater Tampa Bay community as well. The College of Arts and Letters plays a central role in the Tampa cultural scene and these sleek new spaces signal our commitment to doing even more. In this issue of CAL Currents you'll read a little bit about how we connect with the community. In the coming weeks you'll hear even more about an exciting new partnerships with the Florida Museum of Photographic Arts and the Gasparilla Music Festival. We look forward to even more meaningful engagements that help us tell the story of the incredible talent and creativity that is the heartbeat of the College of Arts and Letters.

David Gudelunas, Ph.D. Dean and Professor

CAL Newsmakers

The College of Arts and Letters is a place where a lot is going on, and our friends in the local and and national media can't help but to notice too.

Dr. Erica Dawson, Associate Professor of English and Writing and Director of the University of Tampa Low Residence MFA Program was recently featured nationally on the PBS News Hour discussing her latest work, When Rap Spoke Straight to God. You can see more at PBS online here. Dawson's poetry was also recently reviewed by the New York Times and the LA Review of Books. Locally, Dawson was also featured in the Tampa Bay Times.

A very successful exhibit featuring the artwork of former UT faculty member Joe Testa-Secca was recently featured in Creative Loafing. The exhibit was curated Associate Professor of Art + Design Dr. Francesca Bacci.

Tampa Bay Times columnist Ernest Hooper said that you "haven't lived in Tampa Bay" unless you have " ...enjoyed a choral concert at the University of Tampa’s Sykes Chapel." We couldn't agree more and you still have several more chances to catch the award-winning UT choirs this semester under the direction of Dr. Ryan Hebert and Dr. Rodney Shores.

A hugely successful show at the Scrafone/Hartley Gallery featuring many never before seen pieces from famed Cuban artist Pedro Pablo Oliva received significant attention in the media and drew large crowds to the gallery under the direction of Jocelyn Boigenzahn. The Tampa Bay Times commented on the "buzz surrounding the exhibition" which was curated by Dr. Francesca Bacci.

The College of Arts and Letters Spring Musical, "Pirates of Penzance," directed by Prof. Paul Finocchario, was featured during several live cut-ins during "Good Day Tampa Bay." Students were filmed live inside the historic Falk Theatre. You can see the clip here.

The Florida Experimental Film Festival made its way from Gainesville to Tampa and the University of Tampa campus under the direction of CAL Media Production Coordinator Warren Cockerham. The Festival was featured in Creative Loafing and generated large audiences at screenings in the Reeves Theatre, the Black Box Theatre and around the city. Several Film, Animation and New Media students volunteered with the festival to help make it a success.

The new College of Arts and Letters Digital Fabrication Lab (or Fab Lab) made waves not just with students this semester, but local media as well. 83 Degrees Media and Creative Loafing both covered the evolution of Arts at UT. You can find out more ore about UT's cutting edge Fab Lab below!

Senior Elwood Bond, a Music Education major, was featured in Creative Loafing’s Music Issue: 30 Under 30. He also recently performed the first degree recital given by a Contemporary Percussion student at UT. Check out the article here.

Dr. Sarah Juliet Lauro, Assistant Professor of English, was recently featured on NPR's On Second Thought discussing her research on zombies.

New Cutting Edge Spaces for Learning and Creating

This semester faculty and students in the College of Arts and Letters moved into newly redesigned spaces that represent not only cutting edge learning environments, but also the University's commitment to the Arts and Humanities.

The Department of Art and Design moved into newly renovated spaces in the RK Bailey Art Studios on campus. The stunning complete remodel includes an upgraded printmaking studio, a professional-grade photography studio with darkroom and lighting area, two new hi-tech classrooms to serve graphic design majors and the growing digital arts courses and a Digital Fabrication Lab (FabLab) that is one of the few such facilities in the nation dedicated solely to undergraduate scholarship and crreativitive work. The Department of Languages and Linguistics settled into two new language labs in the newly renovated Riverside Center. The remodel allowed for the addition of a second language lab and both new labs were outfitted with sleek monitors and wireless work stations that allow students studying languages to engage with native speakers around the world and to practice their listening comprehension. The labs represent the latest technologies in effective language pedagogies.

CAL and the Tampa Bay Community

College of Arts and Letters students and their faculty mentors are out in the community everyday making connections that strengthen the cultural fabric of the region. These are just some examples of that engagement.

Students from the CAL Dance, Music and Musical Theatre programs have performed on the first Wednesday of every moth at the Tampa Museum of Art as part of the UT/TMA Performance Series. There are still three more more Wednesday performances at noon at the TMA.

Dr. Sarah Juliet Lauro and English major Sydney Carroll teach about Ernest Hemingway to local sixth grade class. The readings are part of a Hemingway study that is being carried out by by Dr. Lauro with Carroll who has volunteered to read and lead discussion several times a week to classes.

First year Musical Theatre majors volunteered their time and talent to entertain at the Allegro senior Living Community in Tampa.

CAL Faculty Achievements and Publications

CAL Faculty are productive scholars and creative leaders. These are just a small sampling of their recent achievements.

‌ Juror Steven Matijcio selected,  Chanel, Epiphany Blue , by Chris Valle, Professor and Chair of Art & Design , for the 1st Place Award in the 8th Annual National Juried Exhibition  at Marshall University’s Visual Arts Center, Charles W. and Norma C. Carroll Gallery.

Dr. Amanda Firestone, Assistant Professor of Communication will be the keynote speaker for the Hollins Graduate Program in Children’s Literature’s 2019 Francelia Butler Conference this summer in Roanoke, Virginia. The theme for this year’s student-led conference is “The Monster Within,” and Dr. Firestone will give a talk on current issues in the world of children’s literature.

Assistant Professor of English Dr. Sarah Juliet Lauro recently had her chapter “Get Out: From Atlantic Slavery to Black Lives Matter" published in the edited collection The Aesthetics of Necropolitics, edited by Natasha Lushetich.   Check it out here.

"The Decedent" a short story by Assistant Professor of English Prof. Yuly Restrepo was nominated for a Pushcart prize by PRISM International.

Dr. Carter Hardy, Assistant Professor of Philosophy had his peer-reviewed article, “Clinical Sympathy: The Important Role of Affectivity in Clinical Practice”, accepted by the journal Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy. The publication date is forthcoming. Prof. Hardy will also be coaching UT’s upcoming Bioethics Bowl Team in spring 2019.

The peer-reviewed article, ‘Nonideal Justice as Nonideal Fairness’, by Dr. Marcus Arvan, Associate Professor of Philosophy, has been accepted by and is forthcoming in Journal of the American Philosophical Association. His peer-reviewed article, ‘The Dark Side of Morality: Group Polarization and Moral Epistemology’, has also been accepted and is forthcoming in The Philosophical Forum. And, he recently signed a contract with Routledge Publishing for second book, Neurofunctional Morality and Prudence: A Philosophical Theory.

Prof. Bill Swartzbaugh, Part-Time Music Faculty played the String Bass in the Asolo Repertory Company's run of "The Music Man," directed by Jeff Calhoun.

Prof. Tara Swartzbaugh, Part-Time Music Faculty played with the Bay Area Cantorial Association, at such events as Fund Raising Concerts for Cantorial Schools, and the Holocaust Memorial Assembly in Ybor City.

Dr. Grigorios Zamparas, Associate Professor of Music is now officially recognized and included by Yamaha on their roster of Yamaha Artists.  Check out the details here. He was also invited to teach at the Interharmony International Music Festival this summer in Italy. Read more about it here.

Dr. Bradford Blackburn, Associate Professor of Music composed a new work for the Ben Rosenblum Trio. The group will perform the piece during their concert on February 11, at 7:30 pm, in Sykes Chapel. He also recently presented his composition “Say It!” (for bass-clarinet and circuit-bent electronics) at the Electroacoustic Barn Dance festival at Jacksonville University.

Dr. Andrew DeMil, Associate Professor of Spanish has been invited to speak on Undergrad Mentorship and Ethical Research Practice by the National Science Foundation at the Southeastern Conference on Linguistics to be held this summer in Boca Raton, Florida.

Dr. Alyssa Miller, Assistant Professor of Spanish has an article forthcoming in Foreign Language Annals that’s titled “Exploring Achievement Goal Theory, ACTFL’s 5Cs, and the L2 Classroom: What Goals Do Students Set?”

Dr. James Aubry, Associate Professor of French will be presenting a paper: “Strategies to Enhance Second Language Acquisition through Social Media” at the North Eastern Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Language annual conference in New York City in February 2019.

Student Engagement and Excellence

‌

Dr. Laura Kane, Assistant Professor of Philosophy and recent graduate Anne Merrill, a Philosophy major at UT, co-authored a paper, “Promoting a Duty to Adopt,” that has been accepted to the 2019 Florida Undergraduate Research Conference. Prof. Kane is also organizing a guest speaker Wednesday, May 1, 4:00pm in the Crescent Club: Professor Elizabeth Brake (Arizona State) will give a talk on her latest work in procreative ethics or disaster ethics. The event is being co-sponsored by PHRE (Philosophy Club) and the Honors program.

Abigail Nelson, a junior with a major in English, presented at the Florida Undergraduate Research Conference in Jacksonville on February 23, 2019. Her project, “The Uncovered Illness in Charlotte Temple: Sociopathy and Society,” is supported by the Office of Undergraduate Research and Inquiry.

In January 2019, Molly Hill was principal flute in the Intercollege Band for the Florida Music Educator Association Annual Conference. Molly is a senior with a major in Music Performance.

UT students demonstrated excellence at the Tampa Bay National Association of Teachers of Singing Competitions in February. They are pictured here with part-time music professor Tara Swartzbaugh . Classical Divisions First Year College Women Division:  Amanda Cohen ,   1 st  place (Vocal Performance Major),  Faith Kopecky ,3 rd  place (Vocal Performance Major) Second Year College Women Division:  Kelly Collins ,   2 nd  place (Music Education in Voice Major) Fourth-Fifth Year College Women Division:  Catherine Chapman , 1 st  place (Vocal Performance Major) Musical Theatre Divisions Lower College Women Division:  Carley Heskett , 1 st  place(Musical Theatre Major),  Isabelle Hall , 3 rd  place(Music in Voice Major) Upper College Women Division:  Bailee McQueen , 1 st  place(Musical Theatre Major),  Sarah Joyce , 2 nd  place (Musical Theatre Major) Lower College Men Division:  Jaryn McCann , 2 nd  place(Musical Theatre Major),  Michael Ramsey , 3 rd  place (Musical Theatre Major )

Spanish majors Rachel Kozikowski and Alysha Assaf are presenting at the Florida Undergraduate Research Conference in Jacksonville, Feb 2019; research projects on computer and mobile based language acquisition that they did with Dr. Andrew DeMil, Associate Professor of Spanish in his SLA course.

Several photography students studying with with Assistant Professor of Photography Jamie Aelavanthara were published in Lenscratch’s 2018 Dark Nights online exhibition . Art major Terri Bluebird, Film, Animation and New Mediamajor Aliyah Wright and Graphic Design major Danielle Ronzo were amount those students included in the exhibition. You can view the exhibition online here . Prof. Aelavabthara's work and the UT photography program was also recently profiled in the influential Lomography magazine .

Alumnus Markus Zakaria (BA in Music, 2014) recorded and produced sound design for the show 'Our Cartoon President' on Showtime in 2018.

Art + Design major Nneka Jones was selected to participate in the 49th Annual Raymond James Gasparilla Festival of the Arts as an Emerging Artist. The Festival takes place in Curtis Hixon Park in Downtown Tampa March 2-3. Admission is free.

‌

Six UT students got a national voice on future of the journalism field when they were quoted in a Columbia Journalism Review article by Dr. David Wheeler, Assistant Professor of Journalism, titled “Can student journalists teach the mainstream media a lesson about neutrality?” The article spent time on CJR’s home page as the main featured story on January 3, 2019. In the article, the students wrestle with the difficult question of whether—or how—mainstream political journalists should respond to taunts by the president. “When you’re being attacked by someone of such authority as the president, it’s hard to bite your tongue,” Mallory Culhane, a sophomore from northern Virginia, says in the article. “But being in this profession, it’s just something that you have to do.”  The article is currently being promoted by the Pew Research Center’s  Media Ethics page and the American Press Institute’s “ Need to Know” section. The students ( Malaysia Alford, Mallory Culhane, Matthew Polek, Travis Politakis, Tatiana Torres and Romelo Wilson) were all enrolled in Prof. Wheeler’s JOU 101-Introduction to Journalism class. Check out the article here.

CAL Scholarship and Creative Work Showcase

The second annual CAL Scholarship and Creative Work Showcase will be held on April 23, 2019 from 4:00-6:00pm in Fletcher Lounge. The CAL Showcase is an opportunity for each of CAL’s eight departments, as well as a number of affiliated programs and centers to highlight the scholarly achievements and creative efforts of their faculty. It is an opportunity to see the wealth of manuscripts, articles, and books, the documentation of exhibits, screenings and a variety of performance events that flourish within the College of Arts and Letters. It is also an opportunity to see the vast array of collaborative faculty/student research that has arisen from our college in just this past year.  We hope our UT colleagues will come and discover the truly creative and scholarly work being done by the College of Arts and Letters in its totality, and to discover the depth and breadth of research activity in our departments and disciplines. The event features refreshments and is open to the public.

Southern Circuit Film Series Brings Letterman Comedy Writer to Campus

The next Southern Circuit film, "Bathtubs Over Broadway," will screen at 6pm in Falk Theater. "Bathtubs Over Broadway" follows Steve Young, a writer for  Late Night with David Letterman  as he becomes increasingly interested in discovering the secrets of his growing collection of quirky LPs: Cast recordings of industrially produced broadway musicals about the mundane consumer products of the 1950s-1970s. We’re excited to announce that the subject of the film,Steve Young, will be joining us for the screening next week. Admission is free.