Why should you care?: Recent Episodes
Institute for the Humanities
Racism; poverty; food insecurity; political instability; isolation and loss of community--what can be done and why should you care? Listen to professors and grad students talk about how they’re working with the humanities to try and solve problems around the world and at home.
In this special season finale, Public Humanities intern Cole Simon sat down with three guests who have each contributed to the larger cumulation of projects referred to as "Multilingual Midwest". This week, we're joined by Dr. Yopie Prins, Graham Liddell and Emmanuel Orozco Castellanos. Each brings a unique perspective into the diversity that exists here within the Midwest, and the importance of quality translation. Through the interview, listeners learn about the heterogeneity that often goes unrepresented in the Midwest, the work that goes into making a quality and faithful translation, and what has been done in this area.
Public Humanities intern Cole Simon sat down with Dr. Arvind-Pal Mandair to learn about his work in broadening our perspectives to include non-Western thinking into how we see the world. Through his work, Dr. Mandair seeks to challenge fundamental ideas that permeate our collective consciousness, and bring to the forefront new philosophical ideas.
Public Humanities Intern Abdul Kizito sat down with Ijania Cortez, a self-taught Detroit based artist who created the mural that commands and transforms the hallway of the Institute for the Humanities. In this interview Ijania talks about her art process, some of her journey as an artist, and how art as a discipline can facilitate and communicate in a deeply rich and profound yet simple and approachable way.
Public Humanities Intern Cole Simon sat down with Dean Anne Curzan to see how her views on the humanities and academia have changed on her journey from an undergraduate student all the way to her position as Dean of the LS&A at the University of Michigan. In addition, they discuss how language is an integral part of culture, and what it means to be a word.
Public Humanities Intern Cole Simon sat down with Dr. Tony Bushner to learn how elements of game design and online culture can be used to rethink the structure of academia. Find out how a non-traditional approach to the classroom can help address the pressure to be perfect that stifles creativity and exploration throughout undergraduate programs.
A special thank you to Dr. Bushner's musician colleague Defense Mechanism for allowing us to use his track, "Same Song", in our intro! You can find more of his music available at https://defensemechanism.bandcamp.com
Public Humanities Intern Cole Simon sat down with Dr. Sascha Crasnow to learn and ask about her article “Beyond Binaries”. In her work, Dr. Crasnow researches trans studies and their methodologies, and explores how these methods can be used to explore the other binaries that we find ourselves living in.
Public Humanities Intern Abdul Kizito interviewed Dr. Charles Lwanga, who shares the important role that music plays in Ugandan life. Listen to Dr. Lwanga talk about Robert Kyagulanyi (Bobi Wine) and music in Uganda’s political history and advocacy. From politics to social struggles, music is the voice of the people, and we’re given a taste of that through the work of Dr. Lwanga.
Public Humanities Intern, Abdul Kizito sat down with Dr. Aliyah Khan to learn about the history of Islam in the Americas through enslaved black Muslims and indentured south Asian laborers in the Caribbeans. They discuss how this can be understood through old Islamic literary practice and a long Caribbean tradition of music.
Public Humanities Intern, Abdul Kizito sat down with Dr. Scott Stonington to talk about his journey into Medical anthropology and how his research on pain and end-of-life care in Thailand could help shape how we all deal with pain.
Welcome to "Why Should You Care?" hosted by Abdul Kizito and Cole Simon. In this episode, get to know your hosts and learn what the podcast will bring.