Humanities Engaged: Recent Episodes
Humanities Engaged
After a loss of funding and pandemic put the project on hold, we bring you a collection of incredible interviews with University of Minnesota Morris Professors. In each episode we explore the relevance of the humanities today, looking at at the inherent and practical value of the various fields we cover. With each Professor, we also dive deep into their teaching styles and scholarly research.
This episode was originally recorded in 2019 with former UMM Professor Steve McFarlane Ph.D. and with funding from the Mellon foundation (details below). In this final episode of the series we sit down with Charles Hassinger to get a student’s perspective on some of the topics we have discussed with the faculty, plus we look at his passion for his major of choice: Sociology.
About The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation is the nation’s largest supporter of the arts and humanities. Since 1969, the Foundation has been guided by its core belief that the humanities and arts are essential to human understanding. The Foundation believes that the arts and humanities are where we express our complex humanity, and that everyone deserves the beauty, transcendence, and freedom that can be found there. Through our grants, we seek to build just communities enriched by meaning and empowered by critical thinking, where ideas and imagination can thrive. Learn more at mellon.org.
This episode was originally recorded in 2019 with former UMM Professor Steve McFarlane Ph.D. and with funding from the Mellon foundation (details below). On today's episode, we sit down with KK, who is an Associate Professor of Computer Science at the University of Minnesota Morris. She has expertise in human-computer interaction, educational technology, learning sciences and technology, and online communities.
About The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation is the nation’s largest supporter of the arts and humanities. Since 1969, the Foundation has been guided by its core belief that the humanities and arts are essential to human understanding. The Foundation believes that the arts and humanities are where we express our complex humanity, and that everyone deserves the beauty, transcendence, and freedom that can be found there. Through our grants, we seek to build just communities enriched by meaning and empowered by critical thinking, where ideas and imagination can thrive. Learn more at mellon.org.
This episode was originally recorded in 2019 with former UMM Professor Steve McFarlane Ph.D. and with funding from the Mellon foundation (details below). On today's episode we speak with Pierranna Garavaso P.h.D. (now retired) to discuss how she came to study Philosophy. We also discuss the ins and outs of how she teaches the subject to students.
She has expertise in the following areas: Metaphysics, Philosophy of Language, Epistemology, Frege, and Analytic Feminism.
Resources to learn more:
For broad audience:
- The Problems of Philosophy by Bertrand Russell (book)
In depth reading:
- The Bloomsbury Companion to Analytic Feminism
About The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation is the nation’s largest supporter of the arts and humanities. Since 1969, the Foundation has been guided by its core belief that the humanities and arts are essential to human understanding. The Foundation believes that the arts and humanities are where we express our complex humanity, and that everyone deserves the beauty, transcendence, and freedom that can be found there. Through our grants, we seek to build just communities enriched by meaning and empowered by critical thinking, where ideas and imagination can thrive. Learn more at mellon.org.
This episode was originally recorded in 2019 with former UMM Professor Steve McFarlane Ph.D. and with funding from the Mellon foundation (details below). In this episode we sit down with Arne Kildegaard Ph.D. to discuss the field of economics, how he got involved in It, his own research, and how he goes about teaching the subject. Arne has expertise in the following areas: Environmental and Natural Resource Economics, Economics of Renewable Energy Systems, and Economic Development.
Resources to learn more:
- Paul Krugman
- Joseph Stiglitz
- James K. Galbraith
About The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation is the nation’s largest supporter of the arts and humanities. Since 1969, the Foundation has been guided by its core belief that the humanities and arts are essential to human understanding. The Foundation believes that the arts and humanities are where we express our complex humanity, and that everyone deserves the beauty, transcendence, and freedom that can be found there. Through our grants, we seek to build just communities enriched by meaning and empowered by critical thinking, where ideas and imagination can thrive. Learn more at mellon.org.
This episode was originally recorded in 2019 with former UMM Professor Steve McFarlane Ph.D. and with funding from the Mellon foundation (details below).
In today’s episode we sit down with Nancy Carpenter Ph.D. to discuss how she came to be interested in chemistry, how chemistry relates to the humanities, and her approach to teaching. Nancy has expertise In Synthetic Organometallic and Methodology.
Resources to learn more:
- Everyday Applications of Chemistry in life (for lay audience)
- The Periodic Table by Primo Levi
About The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation is the nation’s largest supporter of the arts and humanities. Since 1969, the Foundation has been guided by its core belief that the humanities and arts are essential to human understanding. The Foundation believes that the arts and humanities are where we express our complex humanity, and that everyone deserves the beauty, transcendence, and freedom that can be found there. Through our grants, we seek to build just communities enriched by meaning and empowered by critical thinking, where ideas and imagination can thrive. Learn more at mellon.org.
On today's episode, we speak with Stacey Aronson P.h.D. who has expertise in Spanish Language, Brazilian Portuguese Language, 16-17th Century Peninsular Spanish Literature (Particularly by Women Authors), Literary Representations of Sexual Violence, Muslim and Jewish Literature of Spain. We discuss some of her journey to becoming a professor, her research, class instruction, and the value of studying a foreign language.
Resources to learn more:
- University of Minnesota Morris students can check out the conversation table with Windy Roberts. It meets in the Turtle Mountain Café every Wednesday during the fall and spring semesters.
This episode was originally recorded in 2019 with former UMM Professor Steve McFarlane Ph.D. and with funding from the Mellon foundation (details below). In today’s episode we sit down with Julie Eckerle Ph.D. to discuss how she came to be interested in English, the value of studying English, her approach to teaching, and advice for students. Julie has expertise in Early Modern British Literature, Women’s Writing and Representations of Gender in Literature, Early Modern Life Writing, and Early Irish Literature.
Resources to learn more
- The Riverside Shakespeare (book)
- Watch Shakespeare on the Globe Theatre website
- Guthrie Theatre
- Study Abroad Information at Morris
About The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation is the nation’s largest supporter of the arts and humanities. Since 1969, the Foundation has been guided by its core belief that the humanities and arts are essential to human understanding. The Foundation believes that the arts and humanities are where we express our complex humanity, and that everyone deserves the beauty, transcendence, and freedom that can be found there. Through our grants, we seek to build just communities enriched by meaning and empowered by critical thinking, where ideas and imagination can thrive. Learn more at mellon.org.
This episode was originally recorded in 2019 with former UMM Professor Steve McFarlane Ph.D. and with funding from the Mellon foundation (details below). Guest Sara Lam Ph.D. joins the podcast to discuss the study of education and how she is training Morris students to be great teachers. She has expertise in the following areas: Curriculum & Instruction, Rural and community based education, International and Multicultural Education, and Education for Social Justice.
Resources to learn more:
- Rethinking schools
About The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation is the nation’s largest supporter of the arts and humanities. Since 1969, the Foundation has been guided by its core belief that the humanities and arts are essential to human understanding. The Foundation believes that the arts and humanities are where we express our complex humanity, and that everyone deserves the beauty, transcendence, and freedom that can be found there. Through our grants, we seek to build just communities enriched by meaning and empowered by critical thinking, where ideas and imagination can thrive. Learn more at mellon.org.
This episode was originally recorded in 2019 with former UMM Professor Steve McFarlane Ph.D. and with funding from the Mellon foundation (details below).
In this episode, we sit down with Sheri Breen Ph.D. to discuss how she came to study politcal science, her research into seed ownership, and her approaches to teaching. Sheri has expertise in political theories of nature, sustainable agriculture/stewardship, and ecological reformulation of property theory.
Resources to learn more:
- Reacting to the past teaching simulations
- PBS News Hour
- The Daily by The New York Times
About The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation is the nation’s largest supporter of the arts and humanities. Since 1969, the Foundation has been guided by its core belief that the humanities and arts are essential to human understanding. The Foundation believes that the arts and humanities are where we express our complex humanity, and that everyone deserves the beauty, transcendence, and freedom that can be found there. Through our grants, we seek to build just communities enriched by meaning and empowered by critical thinking, where ideas and imagination can thrive. Learn more at mellon.org.
This episode was originally recorded in 2019 with former UMM Professor Steve McFarlane Ph.D. and with funding from the Mellon foundation (details below).
We sit down with Clement Loo Ph.D. to discuss environmental studies, climate change, his research, and how he conducts his class.
He has expertise in the following areas: Environmental Philosophy, Food Justice, and Environmental Assessment.
Resources to learn more:
- Kyle Powys Whyte Website
About The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation is the nation’s largest supporter of the arts and humanities. Since 1969, the Foundation has been guided by its core belief that the humanities and arts are essential to human understanding. The Foundation believes that the arts and humanities are where we express our complex humanity, and that everyone deserves the beauty, transcendence, and freedom that can be found there. Through our grants, we seek to build just communities enriched by meaning and empowered by critical thinking, where ideas and imagination can thrive. Learn more at mellon.org.
This episode was originally recorded in 2019 with former UMM Professor Steve McFarlane Ph.D. and with funding from the Mellon foundation (details below).
In today's episode, we talk with Jennifer Kolpacoff Deane about her research into women’s communities in medieval Germany, the value of studying history, and how she structures her classes. She has expertise in Medieval History, Early Modern Europe, Religious and Cultural History, and Gender Studies.
Resources to learn more:
- Medievalists.net (different podcasts about different time periods)
- Timewatch by the BBC
- Professor Deane's book: A History of Medieval Heresy and Inquisition
About The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation is the nation’s largest supporter of the arts and humanities. Since 1969, the Foundation has been guided by its core belief that the humanities and arts are essential to human understanding. The Foundation believes that the arts and humanities are where we express our complex humanity, and that everyone deserves the beauty, transcendence, and freedom that can be found there. Through our grants, we seek to build just communities enriched by meaning and empowered by critical thinking, where ideas and imagination can thrive. Learn more at mellon.org.