The Academic Minute from 12.23 – 12.27
Monday, December 23rd
Carin Robinson – Hood College
Encouraging Women to Run for Political Office
I became a news junkie in college. Growing up in a small town in Wisconsin, I never paid much attention to politics. But as a young adult, I started to enjoy watching and reading about what was happening in Washington, D.C. I monitored campaigns, policy debates, and international conflicts. After finishing my undergraduate degree, I worked at a community newspaper reporting on local city government. Within the year, I was applying to graduate programs in political science.
Tuesday, December 24th
Lisa Koops – Case Western Reserve University
Families and Music
Lisa Huisman Koops, Ph.D., professor of music education at Case Western Reserve University, specializes in early childhood music, elementary general music, and world music education. Her research focuses on the vital role of the family in optimizing early childhood music development and education; additional research interests include the interplay of enjoyment and agency in children’s music making; international models for children’s music education with a focus on The Gambia, West Africa; and inclusionary models of early childhood music education for children with disabilities. She holds a Bachelor of Music Education from Calvin College (Grand Rapids, Michigan) and Master of Music and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in Music Education from Michigan State University (East Lansing, Michigan). Koops has taught general music in Zeeland (Michigan) Public Schools as well as early childhood music at Michigan State University’s Community Music School; she currently teaches early childhood music classes at The Music Settlement in Cleveland.
Wednesday, December 25th
Lisa Bitel – University of Southern California Dornsife
The Real St. Nick
Lisa Bitel is a professor of history and religion whose studies focus on the social, cultural and religious histories of medieval Europe. Her publications have focused on gender and religion in medieval Europe and religious visions in contemporary California.
Currently, Bitel is researching a book on religious change and the supernatural in pre-modern Europe.
Thursday, December 26th
Joseph Ferrari – DePaul University – Most Popular Segment Award
Procrastination
Joseph Ferrari is a professor of psychology in DePaul University’s College of Science and Health. A procrastination researcher, Ferrari is the author of the 2010 book “Still Procrastinating: The No Regrets Guide to Getting It Done. He is the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Prevention & Intervention in the Community and on the editorial board for the Journal of Addiction Research. A charter fellow in the Midwestern Psychological Association and the Eastern Psychological Association, Ferrari holds a Bachelor of Arts from St. Francis College, a Master of Science from SUNY Cortland, a Master of Arts from Adelphi University and a doctorate from Adelphi.
Friday, December 27th
Lesley Shipley – Randolph College – Commissioner’s Choice Award
Contemporary Art Reactions
My research and teaching interests are in modern and contemporary art, with an emphasis on identity, feminism, activism, and abstraction in art since 1960. Currently, I am completing an article that examines the intersection of ethics and aesthetics in two installations by the contemporary Colombian artist Doris Salcedo. I’m also finalizing a paper on a series of reliefs by the American artist Lee Bontecou. I have presented my research at the Feminist Art History Conference, the Annual Conference of the College Art Association, the Asians in the Americas Conference, and the Association of Art Historians Annual Conference in Norwich, England.
