RCOAL Conversations

Happy December, everybody! In this episode we get a visit from the Dean. Dr. Wahl and I discuss building projects happening on campus at Missouri State University. We talk about new academic programs, the phases of the academic realignment, AI, the new digital humanities lab, and much more. Shawn enjoys books about motivation and leadership. In the conversation, he shares an example of book that has inspired him. The title of that book is Reframing Organizations: Artistry, Choice, and Leadership, by Bolman and Deal.

Shannon Cay is a visual journalist with The Daily Citizen. We talk about the making of her recent short documentary "Beyond the Veil: Exploring the psychic community in Springfield." We also discuss the Daily Citizen, how Shannon got her start in journalism, and much more. Thanks for listening.

Dr. Suzanne E. Walker-Pacheco is a Professor in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Gerontology at Missouri State University. She stopped by the Humanities District to share the inside story of Paws to the Polls, a nonpartisan voter participation and voter literacy campus initiative. ~ You can find the voter info guides we discussed as well as the videos we discussed here: https://publicaffairs.missouristate.edu/PTTP/default.htm ~ Thanks for listening! If youre listening to this conversation your web browser, please help me out by subscribing to the podcast for free on a podcast app such as Spotify, and tell a friend about the show. You can also reach me at jayhoward@missouristate.edu

**Interested in the Humanities District Fall Book Club? Click here!** ~ My guest this month is Andrew Crocker, an Instructor of Political Science at Ozarks Technical Community College (OTC) and the co-advisor for a student organization called Politically Active, a nonpartisan student-run group focused on improving the political literacy of Ozarks Tech students. ~ Andrew also co-hosts a podcast about OTC called Oh That's Cool. ~ The Humanities District is Springfield-based podcast hosted by me, Jay Howard. I talk to leaders in the arts, social sciences and humanities about their work in the community.

**Check out the Humanities District Book Club!** > The Last Human Job by Allison Pugh ~ My guest today is Dr. Leslie Baynes, Associate Professor in the department of languages cultures and religions at MSU. She teaches many classes on topics in Religious Studies including a class on apocalyptic literature and a class on C. S. Lewis, both of which I took in 2007. ~ Leslie is the author of the forthcoming book, "Incarnation and Imagination: C. S. Lewis and the Bible." She has visited the museum that holds Lewis's wardrobe, the library that holds many of his personal letters, the pub where the Inklings met, and even Lewis's house, the Kilns. ~ We talk about all things Lewis, including Leslie's recent participation in the inaugural cohort of the Inklings Project.

Today's guest is Gemma Campanini, poetry event facilitator extraordinaire. If you've ever felt like poetry made more sense out loud and in person than it did on the page, you're in good company with Gemma. We talk about many of Gemma's poetic and literary endeavors, past, present, and future, including but not limited to: Oh Snap poetry, poetry slams, poetry for personal healing, the Bards of Moon City, the Ozarks Literacy Council, the Missouri Fine Arts Academy, as well as Gemma's newest project, "Reignite - burn through barriers with free verse poetry," upcoming this fall. Like The Humanities District on facebook, subscribe to the Substack, and share this podcast with a friend!

Today we welcome Jennifer Murvin back to the podcast. Jennifer is assistant professor of English at Missouri State and owner of Pagination Bookshop in Springfield. The shop is celebrating its 5th birthday this year! We talk about highs and lows from the past 5 years and look to the future.

Today's guest is Dr. Jonathan Groves, Professor of Communication and Department Chair of Communication at Drury University. In today's conversation we talk about Jonathan's class, "Communication and Civic Engagement." We talk about the Community Focus Report, which Jonathan has facilitated since 2016. And we talk about KDRU, Springfield's community radio, live from Drury University. The Humanities District is a podcast about creativity and community. Host Jay Howard talks to academics and alumni in Springfield Missouri about their work. Got an idea for the podcast? Drop me a line at jayhoward@gmail.com.

What is a pedagogy of truth? Read a transcript of this episode on Substack here. Heather Walters is a senior instructor of Communication. Today we talk about two of her books: Understanding Argumentation in a Post-Truth World, and Communication Ethics: Promoting Truth, Responsibility, and Civil Discourse in a Polarized Age.

Stop the presses! A conversation with professor Mike Czyzniejewski. Read a transcript of this episode on Substack here. Our topic today: The ongoing plagiarism scandal that hit literary magazines around the country. To learn more, I spoke with Professor Mike Czyzniejewski, editor of Moon City Review, Missouri State's literary journal. Mike is a returning champion on the podcast: We spoke about Moon City Review back in March 2022. Mike teaches a Small Press Production class which focuses on Moon City Review. This scandal has furnished endless discussion starters in his class of late. “It gives us this huge topic to talk about,” said Mike. “And then we had a lot of followups. I've given kind of a daily update about this as the stories evolved.”

Episode transcripts are now available on Substack! Tracie Gieselman France is an archivist at Meyer Library University Archives and Special Collections. In this conversation, Tracie sheds light on the marvelous surprises that await you in the university archives. We also discuss the book "Creating Family Archives: A Step-by-Step Guide to Saving Your Memories for Future Generations" by Margot Note. To view the collections online, check out the special collections website. And for more from Tracie, check out this episode of OzarksWatch video magazine.

Here's the link to the Jay's Podcast Feedback Survey! --> https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeDtxohoFTQvqiXqTUYtd_4jK0dTX7yUt3p6sixE3ByJW5HDQ/viewform?usp=sf_link ~ ~ ~ We did it! 16 episodes in a 16 week semester. Woot woot! Happy finals week, happy holidays, and merry end of the semester! I'll be taking a production break over Christmas, and I'll be re-branding the podcast again in the Spring as I continue to refine the show's focus. Please take the survey and share your thoughts on where we go from here! ~ ~ ~ This week I take a moment to thank you for listening and to reflect on what I've learned through this delightful semester of podcasting.

Tessa Cooper is a freelance lifestyle writer. Her work appears in places such as 417 Magazine (Sign up for Tessa's Table Talk Newsletter!), Apartment Therapy, and The Spruce⁠. Tessa and I discussed our top picks for our favorite categories on 417 Magazine's annual “Best of” ballot. – Everything from best patio, to best sandwich, to best cocktail. Do you agree with my and Tessa's picks? Tessa is 2016 Missouri State graduate who studied Public Relations and Design, is my guest for episode 15 of the Fall 2023 season. This is the third installment of the Alumni Series. I ask Tessa the hard questions in this interview, including: “Is there any upper limit to the number of throw pillows that should be on a bed?” We talk about secret menu items, travel writing, and house tours. Tessa also gives a shoutout to some of her most memorable professors during her undergraduate career at Missouri State.

Introducing Dr. Bajalan Dr. Djene Bajalan is associate professor of history at Missouri State University. ~ Talking History Djene is co-host of Talking History, a radio program and podcast created by KSMU. Each month, Dr. Bajalan and Patrick Needham speak with historians and scholars about the ideas, people, and events that have shaped our world. (https://www.ksmu.org/podcast/talking-history). You can hear the program on the radio on Thursdays, or tune in on the website to hear the radio spot plus “Talking History Extra.” Djene is also a contributor on several other podcasts, including This is Revolution (https://open.spotify.com/show/0EGnAcDc6f13xJey7nRYPD) and American Prestige podcast where he hosts a series about the history of the Kurds (https://www.americanprestigepod.com/p/the-history-of-the-kurds-w-djene). ~ Maybe Scar was the good guy? We discuss The Lion King at about 36 minutes into the conversation. I ask Djene why the MSU general education world history classes are the way they are, with HST 103 covering up to the year 1600, and HST 104 covering 1600 on. Why 1600? The answer is multi-pronged, but one thing Djene talks about is the difference between premodern societies and modern. Djene points to the Lion King as an analogy of how pre-modern societies worked: “Everybody is in their place in society and should stay in their place. And the bad guy, Scar, his big sin is bringing the hyenas into the ruling elite, and destructing the natural order of things.” Djene notes that people did move up and down in pre-modern societies sometimes, but, in general, “if you were a peasant, you would expect your children to continue being a peasant. If you were an aristocrat, you would expect your children to continue being aristocrats. You have a society which was hierarchically organized into different social classes […] There was no concept of a universal right, as it were. But in modern society that's really different.”  So, Scar could be cast as the good guy in the Lion King “because he's trying to bring more people in that ruling elite of society, that's challenging the hierarchies of society.” ~ Housekeeping We also discuss Djene's other classes, his research interests, and the History department more generally. Please note that this episode was recorded earlier in the semester, prior to the October 2023 Hamas attack. You can follow the Making Cash podcast on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100094909736350⁠ Please like, follow, subscribe, and share!

Today's guest is Greta Cross, 2023 Missouri Press Association Young Journalist of the Year. A graduate of MSU's journalism program, Greta was the editor-in-chief of the Standard during her time at Missouri State, and is now the trending topics reporter for the Springfield News-Leader. In today's conversation we talk about how trending topics is the everything bagel beat, and we talk about the “strange, weird, glorious place” that is Springfield, Missouri. Greta is currently developing a 5 episode podcast project forthcoming in 2024 about drag in rural Missouri communities. We talk about the art and activism of drag, Greta's interviews and research for the project including her use of the Meyer Library OLGA archives (Ozarks Lesbian and Gay Archives), and much more.

Today's guest is Jack Diamond, senior instructor in the CMJF department and advisor of the student newspaper, the Standard.  Check out the Standard's website here --> https://www.the-standard.org/ Note especially their email newsletter. They also have student-run podcasts! Jack and I discuss: A student newspaper's role in campus community. The impact of COVID on campus and on the Standard, The history of Standard and how its operations have changed over time, The now-defunct MSU readership program that used to provide the Wall Street Journal, NYT, and the News-Leader daily to students and the campus community, Some of the controversies the paper has covered, The classes Jack teaches, and Freedom of the press. This was the first episode I've ever recorded in the Standard's podcasting studio, and the equipment there is great! I'll definitely be back!

Happy Halloween! In honor of spooky season, our topic today is horror. American horror fiction, that is! ENG 355 is a variable topics class in the English department, and it's one of the classes taught by today's guest - Joel Coltharp, instructor in the English Department at Missouri State University. We talk about gothic horror, weird horror, cosmic horror, monsters, body horror, psychological horror, supernatural horror, and much more. Joel is also the fiction editor at Moon City Review. We talk about his editing, teaching, and writing. We also talk about Books to Keep, a charitable community organization that sponsors book fairs in our community. Check out Books to Keep here. Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast on your podcast platform of choice, and follow on facebook. Thanks for listening.

Dr. Stephen Berkwitz is department head of the Languages, Cultures and Religions at Missouri State. He is also an expert in religious studies with a special focus on South Asian religions. He teaches classes including Buddhism, Yoga and Meditation, and Theories of Religion – a class he developed. We talk about comparative religion, Buddhism, and the Four Noble Truths. I pose questions on religious topics ranging from jet skis to beer styles, and Stephen deftly addresses them all. As a Buddhism expert, I had to ask Stephen about the Taylor Swift song, Karma. Is karma really the breeze in Taylor Swift's hair on the weekend? Stephen (who has written books on Buddhist poetry, and who in a past life was a concert promoter) breaks it all down for us. We also talk about the LCR department itself and its role in the University's public affairs mission and it's cultural competence pillar. Learning about something new, such as an unfamiliar language or religion, can help us look at things that are familiar to us in a new light. Check us out on facebook, and please share this podcast with your friends and colleagues.

To those of you listening from the MSU campus community, happy Midterm!! We have Thursday and Friday off this week for Fall Break. The podcast will be taking time off for fall break too, so we'll be back Monday the 23rd with a brand new conversation. This week my guest is Jon Mabee, Associate Professor in the Department of Communication, Media, Journalism and Film. Jon's many classes include Fundamentals Media Production, Principles of Cinematography, and special topics classes including Advanced Directing: D&D Storytelling. We talk about D&D and nerd culture, from noble paladins to evil dragons. Jon explains what aspiring filmmakers can learn about storytelling from studying the character dynamics in role-playing games. We also talk about the TV and film industries, which Jon's media students are preparing to enter. The writers guild was on strike from May 2 to September 27 of this year. The actors went on strike July 14, and that strike is still ongoing. We talk about topics related to the strike including AI, what TV is doing in the meantime, and the future of the industry generally. Instead of recording a housekeeping segment this week, I thought I'd put housekeeping here in the show notes and let the episode start right off with the guest. What do you think of the format? Can I get away with putting the housekeeping only here in the shownotes (shoutouts, announcements, previews of the episode conversation topics, etc) or do you prefer to hear me talk about it at the top of the episode? I think it can work well both ways, but sometimes I like it when a podcast host omits the preface and get right to the meat. Let me know all your thoughts. jayhoward@missouristate.edu. As always, I want to say a hearty THANK YOU to everybody listening. The podcast audience continues to grow. Thank you for telling your friends about the podcast. Analytics show a lot of Springfieldians are listening. And beyond the campus community and the Springfield area, we've got people listening from as far away as Germany. Very cool. Please take a moment to like and follow the podcast on facebook. Rate and review the pod on facebook and/or Apple Podcasts. Subscribe on your platform of choice, especially if your platform of choice is Spotify.

Today's guest is Dr. Amy Knowles, assistant clinical professor in the department of English and the interim director of English education. Amy works with preservice teachers, which are students studying education in a content area, in this case English Language Arts, who have degree requirements that include practicums and student teaching that they must meet in order to be certified. I ask Amy what sort of challenges PSTs face and how they learn to navigate them. Amy and I talk about the teacher shortage, teacher burnout, the definition of socially just instruction, and the sticking points that arise for preservice teachers in their placements. ~ Happy National Podcasting Month, everyone! I'm so grateful for the conversations I've been able to share with faculty, graduates, and community members so far, and I'm looking forward to more conversations throughout the rest of this semester with amazing people who are using their calling to make the world a little brighter, whether in higher education or beyond. We'll take a production break over Christmas. What direction should the podcast take next year? Send your feedback and suggestions to jayhoward@missouristate.edu! facebook page.

Nick Beatty is an instructor and academic advisor in the Department of Political Science and Philosophy. In today's episode, Nick and I chat about two central topics: political science (from international relations to political efficacy) and chess club (from chess strategy to chess scholarships). In the episode intro, I mention a bunch of upcoming things. Here are the links to those things: MSU Public Affairs Conference schedule. I mention the upcoming virtual panel plenary session with Diego Senior titled The Very Real Implications of AI Chatbots and Mental Health. He worked on a podcast called Bot Love. The Making CASH podcast was featured on the Reynolds College blog. Check it out! Here's the Wild Bob's Musical Book Club info. Here's MSU chess club info. Here's Springfield Good Neighbor Wek info. And here's the podcast's humble facebook page.

Stacy Rice is Senior Instructional Designer in the Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning (FCTL) at Missouri State University. On January 18, 2023, the FCTL blog posted a piece by Stacy about artificial intelligence and its role in education: ⁠FCTL Blog post: Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Its Impact on the Classroom⁠ Stacy's post was the first of its kind that I found. At the time, I had only just discovered ChatbotGPT, and I wondered whether my students were using it or not. Today, exactly eight months after the FCTL published the post, Stacy's insights are more relevant than ever. In today's conversation, we talk about all things related to AI in higher ed. Check out the Making CASH Facebook page. Thanks for listening.

It's such a joy to speak with Dr. Shawn Wahl, the Dean of the Reynolds College of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities. Jay Howard and Dean Wahl talk about Tent Theater, the John Goodman Amphitheater, The Reynolds Scholarship, the completion of the Grant Street Underpass, upcoming college celebrations, the new college's footprint on campus and throughout the community, marching band, and the recent announcement of the largest one-time gift in Missouri State history to support the construction of a new state-of-the-art facility to enhance arts, social sciences and humanities education. Follow the podcast on facebook here.

Who is the film person in your life? Personally, I know a bunch of film buffs, but only one of them has a Youtube channel! This week I talk to Nathan Jones about his Youtube journey. Nathan currently has 3.27K subscribers on Youtube and 550 videos on his channel. In my book, that's a pretty big deal. He's collected more than 4,000 Blu-Rays---around 1,200 of which he hasn't yet seen. Specifically Blu-Rays with Nathan Jones https://www.youtube.com/@blu-rayswithnathanjones Nathan is an RCASH Alum! He holds an MA in COM, same as me. Know another alum who should be featured on this podcast? Let me know! Pod news: Someday soon I hope to start crowdsourcing questions for future guests using Facebook. In the meantime, please consider following the Making CASH podcast Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100094909736350 And please subscribe on your podcast player. It makes a big difference to my analytics. Please and thank you. You can always reach me (Jay) via email at makingcash417@gmail.com. And remember: We're not in it for the money.

Dr. Alan Tinkler is an associate professor and assistant department head in the Department of English at Missouri State University. We talk about a new summer internship program called The Springfield Way. The Springfield Way is a paid summer internship program. Summer 2023 was its first run. There were 14 students who each did 100 hours of service with a community partner using skills that are specific to the students discipline. The internships were designed by the community partners to build capacity. To illustrate what capacity building means, Dr. Tinkler talks about the difference between AmeriCorps and vista. Whereas AmeriCorps works on the principle of direct services, Vista's purpose is to build operational and organizational capacity. At the Springfield way, all of the internships tilt toward the capacity lift side of things. This year, all of the Springfield Way community partner organizations work with individuals or families who are experiencing housing insecurity or homelessness. Examples of partners include: One Door, the Kitchen Inc, and the Drew Lewis Foundation. Examples of the kinds of internships we're talking about include: Project Management Intern, Planned Giving Specialist, and Success Story Specialist. We discuss related topics, including: the origin of the Springfield Way, where the name comes from, the community focus report, the living wage in Springfield, plans for the future of the Springfield way, the community learning agreement, housing insecurity in our community. We also the concept of a community engagement profile: Any given individual might have a service profile, for example, or a doner profile. These can change throughout our lives.  Thoughts on this episode? Weigh in on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100094909736350&mibextid=ZbWKwL Do you have an idea about who/what we should feature on an upcoming episode? Contact Jay at makingcash417@gmail.com

Dr. William Harwood is an assistant professor of philosophy at Missouri State University. We talk about data ethics, the trolley problem, and much more. The trolley problem stuff starts at around 1:02:10 in the episode. Thoughts on this episode? Weigh in on Facebook! --> https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100094909736350&mibextid=ZbWKwL Do you have an idea about who/what we should feature on an upcoming episode? Contact Jay at makingcash417@gmail.com

Welcome to Making CASH. We're coming back from the summer hiatus with a new name and a new look. When the semester starts, new episodes will drop weekly on Mondays (instead of monthly like before.) Making CASH is an independent podcast. This podcast started in 2021 under the name "RCOAL Conversations." Today, the podcast's mission remains the same: To bring you fascinating conversations with professors, graduates, and community members working in the Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities.

The podcast relaunch survey: https://forms.gle/pjDo3DdPnWyGjh7QA The town hall: https://youtu.be/OzdyPIlLEww Well, we knew academic realignment was coming, and now that it's here, Dean Wahl stops by the podcast to break it all down.

Dr. Wahl explains the academic realignment processes that are currently underway at Missouri State University. We chat about data collection, the blending of colleges, and beyond. Programs and timelines and Bears, oh my!

Dr. Elizabeth Dudash-Buskirk is Associate Professor in Communication. We talk about an organization called U-Turn in Education which is against the banning of books. Conversation condensed. Got an idea for an episode? Let me know! Season 3 planning is now in progress.

Sarah is an associate professor of dance at MSU. We chat about her involvement in Humanities, volume 2: an exhibit at the Springfield Art Museum. We also talk about the Spring Dance Concert, and this episode features a shout-out from the COM department about the Vicki Stanton Public Speaking Showcase. SGF Art Museum: https://sgfmuseum.org/266/Humanities-Vol-2

Deidre is associate professor of sculpture at MSU and is on the board of Sculpture Walk Springfield. Deidre's website: It Is What It Was Sculpture Walk Sign up for "Visiting Artists, Designers and Scholars Series: Public Sculpture Symposium: Concept, Material and Placemaking"

Dr. Wooden is a professor in the department of English, literature program coordinator, disability studies coordinator, and the current provost fellow for public affairs. The public affairs conference is Sept 20-22!

Dr. Wahl reflects on the summer and highlights exciting events coming in the fall 2022 semester. Go Bears! ~ RCOAL Conversations Shoutout: 2022 Recognition of Institutional Excellence in Media https://beaweb.org/festival/2022-school-rankings/

Joy is a filmmaker, producer, and assistant professor in the department of Media, Journalism, and Film. She teaches many classes including color theory. Have you ever wondered how a film gets national distribution? Wonder no more! Joy answers this question and many others from her own experience.

Missouri State University President Clif Smart talks to Megan Grissom about the job of a university president, why communication skills are important for professionals in all occupations, and more. This is a re-broadcast of episode 3 of Showcase Sensations, a podcast by MSU student and COM major Megan Grissom. You can find Megan's awesome podcast here: anchor.fm/vspss

Deana and I discuss the Vicki Stanton Public Speaking Showcase! We also talk about project based learning, Effective Listening, and Leadership in Practice.

Emlyn is a flutist, composer, and an instructor in the department of music. We talk about her class, Arts in the Community, as well as many other exciting projects. ~ Video of Adaptation Variations by Takuma Itoh, from American Wild Ensemble's Hawaii 2020 program https://youtu.be/MWrxzasGjMc ~ Video of Pezzettino by Daniel Pesca, performed by Emlyn Johnson and Daniel Ketter. https://youtu.be/d3e3uQOLFNk ~ Emlyn also co-hosts "The New Music Listening Club" podcast. https://www.newmusiclisteningclub.com/

Mike is associate professor in the department of English at Missouri State. He's the editor of Moon City Review, the coordinator of the creative writing program, and a darn fine storyteller.

Dr. Thomas discusses MSU's student-led theatre company and how anyone can get involved. We talk about medieval drama and compare notes on the book/recent HBO series, Station Eleven. The Teaching Drama Podcast The Theatre History Professor YouTube Twitter

Azaria is assistant professor of dance at MSU. We discuss the digital dance company of which she is a part as well as the best places to find dance in Springfield and beyond.

Dr. Holladay discusses the Judy Awards, 'ungrading,' and media analysis and criticism. We discover we're both Ted Lasso fans.

Jay and Shawn celebrate year two of the podcast and look forward to great things to come in RCOAL in 2022.

Dr. Harper has created a Study Collection of replica artifacts using a curriculum innovation mini-grant to bring the ancient past to life.

Michael discusses the history of the Center for Learning and Writing. We discuss the power of having a daily writing practice, and we discuss Michael's authorship of graphic novels.

Dr. Larson takes us behind the scenes of the award winning reality TV show "Show-Me Chefs," the upcoming escape-room themed reality show "Co-Op," and other productions that she and her students have worked on.

Meg discusses the new arts and culture festival coming to downtown Springfield.

Dr. Spates discusses some of his classes, including organizational communication, communication strategies for recruitment in organizations, communication and diversity in the workplace, and many more! (Also, we mention the fuse podcast in our conversation, on which Dr. Spates was a guest. Shoutout to fuseconversations.org/podcast)

Here are the links from today's conversation: missouristate.edu/developingplan/ and tenttheatre.missouristate.edu/schedule.htm

Antoinette shares the story behind bringing the Tournées film festival to Missouri State. Shawn shares updates.

Lisa shares her Broadway experience and expertise with students in the Department of Theatre and Dance.