Humanities Week 2012 : Inquire, Explore, Impact

How do we decipher reality in such a virtual world? The technological sublime may not manifest itself as monumental physical artifacts such as the Hoover Dam, nor as the grand adventures of NASA space missions, but as exponential expansions of virtual realms, virtual money, and virtual politics. At stake are notions of sovereignty unanchored by physical territory, the relation between “real” and virtual money, and the relation between virtual realms and physical violence. Daniel Suarez provides a compelling exploration of these issues in his two science fiction novels, Daemon and Freedom. The novels imply that transational global culture is on the brink of momentous changes unprecedented in modern history; a claim that will be explored in this talk.

Words are like daggers and Dante knew how to throw them. Dante engaged in an exchange of poetry (a tenzone) with a distant in-law, Forese Donati. They wrote six sonnets to each other comprised purely of insults. In his poems, Dante depicts Forese’s wife as suffering a cold because he keeps her poorly covered at night; he describes Forese as a terrible glutton, whose excesses cause him to rob passers-by on the streets; and he depicts the entire Donati family as thieves. Forese takes none of this sitting down, of course, but accuses Dante, and the whole Alighieri clan, of behaving in ways unseemly to a medieval nobleman— cowardice, deception, and money-lending. Ultimately, this exchange exemplifies the debates surrounding nobility and poses the question, “Are you and your family really noble?”

Is perception reality in politics? Wouldn’t it be refreshing if politics were about substance—about ideas and facts and not about appeals to emotion and attacks on character? In recent years, there has been a rise in polarization across the citizenry. The fragmented media environment has led to a change in campaign strategies whereby candidates microtarget citizens with much greater precision than ever before. Unless we are part of a targeted group, we seldom know what strategies have been used to help form our opinions about candidates. As we strive to understand the personalities of the people who represent us, moral and ethical matters count for more than we might care to admit. Join us for an unbiased talk about current political language and the strategies used to gain your attention across all party lines.

The atrocities of war are unspeakable, but what of their effects on the offspring of notorious characters in history? In 1985, Rolf Mengele, the son of the notorious Auschwitz “Angel of Death” Josef Mengele, revealed that he had visited his father in Brazil in the 1970s. In 1987, German writer Peter Schneider wrote a story called “Vati” (German equivalent of “Daddy”), which, though fictionalized, was clearly based on the Mengele’s story. Over time, Schneider’s story has come to be regarded as one of the most significant German texts in the 1970s and 80s that thematized the situation of children whose parents were adults during the Nazi years and had varying degrees of complicity in the crimes committed. Schneider’s story was the basis of 2003 film Rua Alguem 5555: My Father. The film is unavailable on DVD, and the story has still not yet appeared in English translation. Kovach will discuss his recent translation of the story, and his ongoing attempt to find a publisher willing to undertake the project.

Charlie the Unicorn. Honey Badger. Coke and Mentos. Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon. No Impact Man. The Cinnamon Challenge. Gangnam Style. These and dozens of other internet memes over the years have entertained and amazed us, often many times over. What strange dynamo drives their circulation across geo political boundaries and with such alacrity? McAllister will pursue these and related questions by way of a meditation on the compulsions of memory, the innovations of imitation, and the delights of a perilously captured imagination.

Everyday we are inundated by the voices of others. Through daily conversation, music, literature, and even our technological gadgets, we are awash in a sea of voice. All these voices create what philosopher Mladen Dolar describes as, “the very texture of the social,” but what kind of “social texture” do we hear in voices that appear unusual or incomprehensible to our sense of proper communication and aesthetics? If we listen closely, the noisy voices of sound poetry and the schizophrenic rhythms of contemporary hip-hop paradoxically speak—with much difficulty, anxiety, and wonder—to us about our social world. They present a surprising version of ourselves back to ourselves, and seem to follow Alexander Pope’s famous dictum, “what oft was thought but never so well expressed.”

Relive Russian history. “Moscow is Burning” commemorates the 200th anniversary of Napoleon’s invasion of Russia, the burning of Moscow, and the eventual defeat of the Grand Armée as it retreated from the avenging Russian army and the unforgiving Russian winter. This is a spectacular evening of Russian poetry, music and mayhem. Use your imagination and come dressed as Napoleon, Kutuzov or a Moscow fire victim. Prizes will be awarded for the most creative costumes.

Take one creative climate, two grad students, a good idea and what do you get? The Department of Spanish and Portuguese Film Festival (DSPFF) is an annual undergraduate film competition, that invites students to explore film making in an academic setting as a creative medium for their language learning endeavors. With the increasing interest in amateur filmmaking and the affordability that the digital age brings to the industry, it is no small wonder to see the camera lens finding its way into the classroom. Discover the birth of DSPFF as well as the pedagogical practices that are at the heart of this student-driven event. Plus, enjoy some of the best short films from previous festivals.

The Humanities have gone digital! As the number of low-cost or free mobile and desktop applications flood the market, the field of Digital Humanities is becoming more exciting. Scholars and students can now accomplish tasks that only a few years ago were either not possible or required complicated coding or high- end computing power. The range of these applications provides access to digital communications, collaboration, advanced visualization, data storage and retrieval at unprecedented levels. Digital Humanists are incorporating these tools into teaching, research, and creative expression, enabling people to experience the Humanities like never before.