Arts & Humanities
Newsletter
Mellon Foundation Scholars Program
Summer-September
2010
Volume 3, Issue 1
William A. Pannapacker, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of English
Director of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Scholars Program in the Arts and Humanities
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Scholars Program is a new opportunity for talented students in the Humanities and Arts. The program has started at Hope College this fall with its first cohort of seventeen students. They are participating in a seminar that focuses on interdisciplinary, faculty‐student collaboration, taught by Professor Anne Heath and eleven assisting faculty members from the Arts and Humanities departments. Next year the students will participate in a junior tutorial that emphasizes developing a coherent set of intellectual goals, and, the following year, the Mellon Scholars will work with a faculty mentor to complete a substantial research project. (Fifty‐three faculty members have already agreed to serve as potential mentors, and more are welcome.) Throughout the program students are encouraged to find ways to adopt new and emerging technologies to collaborate with other scholars and to disseminate the results. Some preliminary examples of that kind of work, produced in the New Media Studio in Van Wylen Library, can be found on the Hope College YouTube Channel. Inside this issue:
Mellon Scholars Program 1
Art Department
2-3
History Department
3
Theatre Department
4
Religion Department
4
Philosophy Department
4
Music Department
5
English Department
The second cohort of seventeen students—“the Mellon Scholars”—will be chosen from among this year’s first‐year students through a competitive application process beginning in December when faculty members will be asked to recommend their most promising first‐year students. More information about the Mellon Scholars Program—including details about the curriculum, publicity materials, profiles of the students and participating faculty—can found on the program’s website: www.hope.edu/academic/mellon . Art Department
During summer 2010, Stephanie
Milanowski worked with CFL/ ASI student
Stephanie Skaff on rebranding CASA (new logo,
identity package) and is currently working on a
booklet of standards. She designed 3 different
logos for Fonda Green and the Board of Directors
to review. One final logo has been selected and
we are looking forward to its debut!
This fall, Milanowski was appointed to the
college's Howard R. and Margaret E. Sluyter
Endowed Professorship in the field of design.
One of Stephanie’s sculptural pieces
(image at right) was also selected for the Marshall
M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum’s 2010 Regional
Biennial Juried Sculpture Exhibition. "Heavy
Starch" is from the artist’s book Stephanie
created—one in a series.
1
Dance Department
Please visit the link below for a closer view:
http://www.svsu.edu/mfsm/eventsexhibits/biography6/regional-bienniel2010.html#c38482
Side Note: Design runs in the family. "Raft-aNoodle" (focus of GR Press article on August 17,
2010) was invented by Milanowski’s son Louis
when he was 10.
To read the complete story, please go to:
http://www.mlive.com/business/westmichigan/index.ssf/2010/08/hope_college_program
_helps_stu.html
5-6
2
Dance Department
It was All That Jazz in the Dance Department during May Term 2010. Three consecutive guest artists regaled
students in different Jazz forms from May 10-May28th, Tom Ralabate kicked off the May Term with a week of classic
jazz technique styles and jazz history, followed by Lynne Kurdziel, instructing in American Musical Theater styles. The
Jazz May Term ended with a hip-hop bang with Richard "Fusion" Ashworth. In addition to technical instruction, each
guest also offered a "special studies" section in which various activities, such as repertory study and historic jazz
studies, were explored and performed. Classes met from 5-8 p.m. to accommodate both student and community
participant schedules, and a daily fee (no credit) made it possible for community dancers to "drop-in." The guest
residencies were made possible with the support of the DeLong Endowment for Dance.
Bios below:
Tom Rolabate
Lynne Krudziel-Formato
Richard Ashworth
Tom Ralabate: Associate Professor of Dance, State University of NY at Buffalo, is a former US and North American
Latin Ballroom Champion who has choreographed for the National Dance Theatre of Bermuda and received the Jazz
Dance World Congress Angel Award and the SUNY Chancellor's Award. Lynne Krudziel-Formato is Associate
Professor of Performing Arts at Elon University with over 300 productions to her credit, including Nine, Cabaret, and
West Side Story (Tennie Award for Choreography) and is a 16 time nominee and 6 time recipient of the Art Voice
Artie Award. Acclaimed Hip-Hop/Funk dancer, teacher, historian Richard Ashworth is an 8 time winner of NY’s
Battle at Buffalo, formerly performed with Lehrer Dance and is currently with Chicago Tap Theatre. The Dance
Department is delighted to report that Richard now serves as a part-time faculty member, teaching tap and hip-hop,
and commuting from Chicago to do so.
Maxine DeBruyn is one of four new Board members to serve (daCi) Dance and the Child International organization. She attended her first Board Meeting July 26‐August 6, 2010, in Taipei, Taiwan. As a member of the daCi Board of Directors she was appointed to the Education and Planning Committee. Dance and the Child International, a member of the Counsel International de la Danse, UNESCO, Paris, is a non‐
profit organization that promotes the development of dance for children and youth on a global scale. The organization specializes in developing opportunities for young people to experience dance as creators, performers, and spectators throughout the world. Children and adults dance and work together sharing new ideas and exploring their artistic talents. Maxine’s work will climax with the next world conference, which will be held in July, 2012 in Taipei, Taiwan, at the National University of the Arts. The Planning Committee consists of six members from the daCi Board and nine special invited guests from the Pacific Rim countries. What did Linda Graham do this summer?
What’s a “flash mob?” Flash mob dances are what appear to be spontaneous
dance events that have been staged in public spaces. These dance events have
even greater impact than the event itself due to the viral videos of the dance and
the public crowd reactions that are posted on internet sites such as YouTube
(google ‘flash mob Belgium Train Station’ for an example).
The GLCA New Directions Grant supported Linda to study this new community art
form and to assist Global Site Performances Director Marylee Hardenbergh in the
organization, creation and production of a commissioned "Flash Mob" for the
Sacred Dance Guild Conference, Connecticut College, and New London, CT.
She researched “flash mob” dance,
thanks to a GLCA NDI Grant!
Linda began a study of ‘communitas’ – the community experience of seemingly
random choreographed public dances. For example, in her book, “Dancing in the
Streets: A History of Collective Joy, “Barbara Ehrenreich describes how there is
“an emotional theme experienced in both religious and recreational forms - when a
physically expressed kind of spontaneous collective choreography experience
occurs." Linda’s work will explore how participants and observers are affected by
‘flash mob’ events, and how community is created through flash mob dance.
3
Dance Department (Continued)
Who is [undefined]movers.?
[undefined] movers. is a dance company that
was developed by three students from the 20th
Century Dance History class. The trio, Chelsea
Harkelroad, Janae Stewart, and Kristin Benner,
will be graduating this coming May. The
company is in the second season of operation.
During the first season, the company performed
in Michigan and Indiana as well as instructed a
summer workshop in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The
company is currently in residence at the Holland
Area Arts Council. In collaboration with the
HAAC, they have applied for a grant for
additional time at the facility to work with area
schools. At the HAAC the company will be giving
master classes for various ages as a gift to the
community. The mission of the dance
organization is to combine various art forms in
order to create performances that enrich the
community and develop mature and innovative
minds. Their next Michigan concert will be
January 14, 2011, at the Knickerbocker Theatre
in Holland, MI. Hope is fortunate to have such
capable students who are willing to move
beyond the classroom and take on the
responsibilities of running a dance company.
Mark your calendars to attend the January 14th
concert!
Steven Iannacone was invited to perform as a Guest
Artist with Next Step Dance on Saturday June 19,
2010; at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in
Miami, Florida. He danced his solo "Unwritten Letter"
on the program titled "Celebrating the Male Dancer,"
which featured choreography and performance by
male dance artists, and marked the 5th anniversary
season of the company. This was his 3rd appearance
with the company, and perhaps final performance, as
he announced his semi-retirement from a 40 year
professional performance career before a familiar and
supportive audience in one of his favorite cities.
HISTORY DEPARTMENT
Herzog August Bibliothek of Wolfenbüttel, Germany has awarded Janis Gibbs a three-month research
fellowship. She will conduct research on Archbishop Hermann von Wied during her spring 2011
sabbatical. For further detail, please see the September 7, 2010 Public Relations article at the following
link: http://www.hope.edu/pr/pressreleases/content/view/full/28106
Jeanne Petit’s book The Men and Women We Want: Gender, Race and the Progressive Era Literacy Test
Debate will be released October 1, 2010 by the University of Rochester Press.
This book examines the twenty-year debate over whether to use a literacy test as a means to restrict
immigration. By the time a law was passed in 1917, the debate had transformed the way Americans
understood immigration and created the logic that shaped immigration restriction policies throughout the
twentieth century. The book argues that the literacy test debate was about much more than reading ability
or the virtues of education. It also tapped into broader concerns about the relationship between gender,
sexuality, race, and American national identity.
Theatre Department
4
The Theatre Department, in conjunction with the Music Department, was awarded a grant from The Kurt Weill Foundation
for Music in support of the production of Street Scene (November 17-70, 2010).
Tammi
Robins
Bahle
John Tammi directed I Do! I Do! by Tom Jones, Daina Robins directed The Last Night of Ballyhoo by Alfred Uhry, and
Jean Bahle played the Mother in Into the Woods for the Hope Summer Repertory Theatre’s 2010 season.
The Theatre Department also had sixteen students and five alumni participate in the program through acting, props, stage
management, publicity, costume construction and design, set construction, arts management, and the ticket office.
Also, the Grand Rapids Actors' Theatre production of Lines includes our very own Jean Bahle! To read further, please go
to: http://actorstheatregrandrapids.org/onstage/2010-11/lines-the-lived-experience-of-race
RELIGION DEPARTMENT
Steven Bouma-Prediger’s For the Beauty
of the Earth (second edition) was
published by Baker Academic, a division
of Baker Publishing Group, April 2010.
According to www.bakeracademic.com,
“There is an ever-increasing interest among
Christians in caring for the environment. In
the second edition of his highly acclaimed
book, Steven Bouma-Prediger provides the
most thorough evangelical treatment available
on a theology of creation care. Arguing that
authentic Christian faith requires ecological
obedience, he urges Christians to
acknowledge their responsibility and privilege
as stewards of the earth. This edition has
been substantially revised and updated with
the latest scientific and environmental
research.”
Bouma-Prediger
Philosophy Department
Dell’Olio
Jack Mulder has a book coming out
in October 2010: Kierkegaard and
the Catholic Tradition, Indiana
University Press.
Andrew Dell’Olio and
Carol Simon are coeditors of Introduction to
Ethics: A Reader,
Rowman and Littlefield
Publishers Inc., May
2010.
For full Public Relations
story, please go to:
http://www.hope.edu/pr/
pressreleases/content/vi
ew/full/27278
Simon
Mulder
5
MUSIC DEPARTMENT
PHOTOS: Dr. Jordan working with students from Holland Christian; DeWitt Public; a photo of the Hope students, alumni;
and faculty at the Saturday workshop; and one with him talking about breathing.
The Department of Music had the honor of hosting Dr. James Jordan of Westminster Choir College
of Rider University as Scholar in Residence, September 23-25. The visit was arranged by Music
faculty member Christina Hornbach. Dr. Jordan engaged with our Music Education students in
methods and conducting colloquia; addressed all music students with a philosophical discussion of
the The Musician's Soul; ran a workshop for three Michigan high school choirs in Dimnent chapel;
and offered a workshop for Michigan choral educators for professional development. Dr. Jordan is a
visionary in his field and our students and the local community enjoyed and grew from his visit.
This summer, Mihai Craioveanu performed
and taught at the Illinois Chamber Music
Festival, a three week annual national event
held at the Illinois Wesleyan University.
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
Hope Outstanding Professor
Educator (H.O.P.E.) award was
presented to English professor
Jesus Montaño by the graduating
class of 2010.
Kathleen Verduin’s essay "Imprinting Mortality:
Updike Reading Books" is now out in the September
2010 issue of the MLQ (Modern Language
Quarterly).
Kathleen states, “The cover is bright red, which I like.
All my thanks, once again, for the help of my
colleagues. I had a lot of trouble with this one, and
talking it over helped a lot."
In May 2010, Kathleen presented "Emerson, Dante,
and American Nationalism" at the International
Congress on Medieval Studies at Western Michigan
University.
In July, Kathleen presented "Studies in Medievalism
and the Legacy of Leslie J. Workman" at the TwentyFifth International Conference on Medievalism at the
University of Groningen, Netherlands--a retrospective
on the founding of the organization.
David Cho authored Song of Our
Songs, a chapbook of poetry
published by Finishing Line Press.
For complete story, please go to:
http://www.hope.edu/pr/pressrelea
ses/content/view/full/28059
6
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT (continued)
Curtis Gruenler’s major essay on
Piers Plowman, "Reading like a
Fool," appeared in the July, 2010
issue of Speculum. Department
Chair David Klooster remarks,
“Medievalists don't do colored
covers, but their titles are good, no?”
John Cox read a paper on
"Grace and Nature's
Miracle in Shakespeare"
at the Congress on
Medieval Studies in
Kalamazoo this summer.
Jackie Bartley, had the following poems published in journals during
summer 2010:
“April on the Hudson”: The Evansville Review
“A Gardener’s Polemic,” “Pincushion”: Sow’s Ear PoetryReview
“Summer Olympics”: Avocet, A Journal of Nature
“Rain Delay”: The Paterson Literary Revie
“Winter Counts”: Redivider
“Holy Orders,” “Paper Quilt”: Bloodroot Literary Magazine
“Surrvival Swimming, or The Teleology of Water”: Blood Orange
Revie
“The Politics of Sewing”: Eclipse
Rhoda Janzen’s Mennonite hit #1 for a time and has been on the NY Times Best Seller
list all summer; she has been named one of three finalists for the Thurber Prize in
American Humor. See http://www.thurberhouse.org/program/adlt_prize.html. Previous
winners include Ian Frazier, David Sedaris, Jon Stewart, and the editorial staff of The
Onion.
Bill Pannapacker spent part of the summer as a
visiting professor, learning to design Geographic
Information Systems for humanities applications, and
exploring opportunities for cross-institutional
collaboration, at the Center for Digital Research in the
Humanities at the University of Nebraska.
Dianne Portfleet serves as co-director with
Martie Bultman of Hope's chapter of Mortar
Board which was named best in the nation at the
summer national Mortar Board conference.