FACULTY/STAFF
Oya Dursun-Ozkanca, associate professor of political science, was interviewed by Metro International about the upcoming constitutional referendum in Turkey.
David Kenley, professor of history, and Charla Lorenzen, associate professor of Spanish, together with Cuban colleagues Miriam Herrerra Jerez and Mario Castillo Santana, recently published the book, “Contested Community: Identities, Spaces, and Hierarchies of the Chinese in the Cuban Republic” (Brill 2017). In the early 19th century, Cuba’s overseas Chinese community was one of the largest in the world. In the text, the authors challenge the popular portrayals of the diasporic group as a closed, inassimilable ethnic enclave. Instead, they demonstrate the asymmetrical power relations that permeated Havana’s Barrio Chino and the larger Chinese community. The research for this project began with an E-town College FISS grant.
Kyle C. Kopko ’05, assistant dean for academic achievement and engagement, co-authored an article, titled “Bridge Over the River Qua: Using Simulations to Span the Divide Between Prelaw and Political Science Students,” in the Journal of Political Science Education. The article was co-authored with Matthew Woessner of Penn State Harrisburg and Kathleen Winters of the University of St. Thomas.
Michele Lee Kozimor-King ’93, associate professor of sociology, accompanied six students from the Sociology and Anthropology Department to the Eastern Sociological Society annual meeting in February 2017. She and the students received an Alpha Kappa Delta (AKD) Student Research Travel Grant and an AKD Chapter Representative Travel Grant, which funded the trip.
Kozimor-King also facilitated two workshops. One workshop, co-facilitated with alumna Barbara Prince ’12, was on networking opportunities through service for graduate students. The other was on publishing in the scholarship of teaching and learning with Miranda Sweetman ‘17, Stephen Sweet and Margaret Vitullo, director of academic and professional affairs at the American Sociological Association.
Peter Licona, assistant professor of PK-12 STEM education, presented “Translanguaging to Foster an Inclusive Learning Environment” at the Pennsylvania National Association of Multicultural Education conference at Dickinson College.
Licona and Alexandria K. Poole, assistant professor of philosophy, presented on Scientific and Ethical Literacy at the 2017 Lancaster Learns Conference.
Jeffery D. Long, professor of religion and Asian studies, recently completed a speaking tour in California. On Feb. 17, 2017, Long spoke at Claremont School of Theology as part of a conference called New Frontiers in Theology. He was on a panel on the topic of ‘trans-religious theology’: that is, theology which draws upon many religious traditions rather than only one. On the Feb. 22, he spoke at Berkeley, where he gave the prestigious Surjit Singh Lecture. This lecture series is dedicated to inter-religious understanding. He spoke on the relevance of Jain philosophy to greater inter-religious harmony. Finally, on Feb. 24, he spoke at a conference at Loyola Marymount University on Jainism and Sikhism. The theme of the conference was the idea of the ‘spiritual warrior,’ who is dedicated to peace, but also to standing firmly for spiritual values. Long’s talk connected Jain and Sikh themes to currents in American thought, mentioning early 20th-century figures such as William James and Theodore Roosevelt, as well as his fellow Missouri native, Mark Twain.
Long also recently published the two-volume “Buddhism and Jainism,” which he coedited with Dr. K.T.S. Sarao. These two volumes are part of the Springer Encyclopedia of Indian Religions, edited by Dr. Arvind Sharma.
Susan Mapp, professor of social work, presented three sessions at the Association of Baccalaureate Social Work Program Directors’ recent conference. One was with Andy Dunlap, associate professor of social work, on the class they developed to prepare students for an international senior social work internship – “Designing curriculum to prepare students for international field placements.” One was a pre-conference workshop for intermediate BSW program directors – “Program director 202: When the handbook meets reality.” The last was a presentation on developing rights-based short-term study abroad trips – “Applying a rights-based approach to short-term study abroad and service learning trips.”
Additionally, Mapp was presented with an award as the premier reviewer for the Journal of Baccalaureate Social Work for 2016.
Paula Nelson, adjunct instructor of flute, presented a flute choir reading session at the Flute Society of Greater Philadelphia’s Fifth Annual Flute Fair Day, held at West Chester University on March 18. She conducted a large ensemble of high school, college and adult flutists, performing recent compositions of Judy Nishimura and Kathleen Mayne.
Jean Pretz, associate professor of psychology, and Danielle Nelson ’15 published their work in a new book, “The Creative Self: Effect of Beliefs, Self-Efficacy, Mindset and Identity,” published by Elsevier. Their chapter describes work by Pretz on how self-perceived creativity differs by major field of study. In the chapter, Nelson reports on her senior thesis about creativity and self-efficacy. Her research received Honors in the Discipline at Elizabethtown and previously was presented at the national meeting of the American Psychological Association in 2015. Nelson is now completing her master’s degree in counseling psychology and art therapy at Drexel University in Philadelphia.
Jonathan Rudy, Peacemaker in Residence, Center for Global Understanding and Peacemaking, recently published “A Peace of Oneness: An Experiment in Community Connectedness Through Imagination,” a paper jointly written with his brother Paul Rudy, curators’ professor and coordinator of composition at University of Missouri at Kansas City Conservatory. The article appeared in the Spring 2017 (Vol 28, Issue 1) edition of Subtle Energies Magazine from the International Society for the Study of Subtle Energies and Energy Medicine (ISSSEEM). It chronicles the joint act of peacemaking through a project that uses a wind harp fitted with a solar powered WiFi transmitter which connects the natural sounds of a remote Kansas property to anyone, anywhere.
Nobuaki Takahashi, associate professor of Japanese and Asian Studies, presented “Using digital storytelling as an assessment tool for intercultural competence after study abroad” on March 16 at the 2017 American Association of Teachers of Japanese (AATJ) spring conference in Toronto, Canada.
STUDENTS
Oya Dursun-Ozkanca’s PS 332/INT 332 Model United Nations class took part at the 2017 National Model United Nations (NMUN) Conference held from March 19 to 23, 2017, in New York City, with participation of about 2,500 student delegations from around the world. NMUN is one of the oldest and the most prestigious national Model UN conferences in the United States. This year marked the 90th anniversary of the conference.
E-town’s delegation represented the Kingdom of Lesotho and, at the closing ceremony at the UN General Assembly Hall, it was recognized for outstanding participation via a certificate of Honorable Mention. Participation at the NMUN was made possible through the financial support of the Center for Global Understanding and Peacemaking.
In preparation for the conference, the students study the history and the organizational structure of the UN as well as the functions of all its principal organs. They delve into a detailed study of the history, government, economics and the foreign policy of the assigned country. This experiential learning opportunity provides all participants with a simulation of the negotiations that takes place in the leading committees and principal organs of the UN, and allows them to gain first-hand insight into UN’s decision-making procedures on a variety of topics ranging from minority rights to disarmament.
Members of the Elizabethtown College delegation were Jovanni Diaz, Taylor Flamand, Kayla Furman, Kayla Gruber, Adam Leydig Dixon, Afsara Mirza, Kyle Oberle, Ramon Rios III, Kyle Robinson, Amanda Slaughter, James Spearman, Braden Stinar and Emily West. Each represented a diplomat from Lesotho on a different committee. West served as the Head Delegate. All members sponsored draft resolutions that got adopted by their respective committees. They all represented the College with enthusiasm and dedication to negotiation, diplomacy and peacemaking.
Students of Michele Lee Kozimor-King ’93, associate professor of sociology, attended the Eastern Sociological Society annual meeting in February 2017. The students received an Alpha Kappa Delta (AKD) Student Research Travel Grant and an AKD Chapter Representative Travel Grant, which funded the trip.
The following students presented individual research in the Undergraduate Poster Session: Justina Beard ’17, Anh Bui ’17, Courtney Shaffer ’18, Irene Snyder ’17 and Alyssa Vielee ’18.
Miranda Sweetman ’17 had her paper chosen for a regular panel session and Snyder presented another paper in a roundtable session and received the Best Poster Award for her HID research examining work-life balance in media newsrooms in her undergraduate research poster session.
Bui, Shaffer, Snyder, Sweetman and Vielee presented the community-based research Poster in the Undergraduate Research Poster Session on behalf of the community partner, the Mindanao Peacebuilding Institute Foundation Inc.
Students of Fletcher McClellan, professor of political science, presented papers at the annual meeting of the Pennsylvania Political Science Association, Pittsburgh, that took place March 31 and April 1, 2017. Participating were Brendan Rawa ’17, Matt Rucci ’17 and Emily West ’17.
Taylor Miles was selected as a finalist in Photographer’s Forum magazine’s 37th Annual College & High School Photography Contest.
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