The Leading Edge

Inclement Weather Notice

Oregon State University Corvallis campus to be closed on Monday, January 4

Due to continued early morning sub-freezing weather in the Willamette Valley — and the all-day closure of many nearby public services and schools — Oregon State University’s Corvallis campus will be closed on Monday, Jan. 4. University officials will monitor weather conditions throughout the day. OSU Corvallis employees and students are encouraged to check the OSU homepage for weather-related updates that may affect Tuesday’s campus operations.

Events

Friday, Jan. 8

Anthropology Tan Sack Series — University of Tennessee Post Doc. Vivian Choi, author of “Disaster Nationalism: Tsunami, War, and Insecurity in Sri Lanka” (2016) will give a lecture on how Sri Lanka’s 2004 tsunami resulted in the introduction of new state-based disaster management technologies meant to displace traditional ways of sensing disasters via weather, superstitions and the behavior of animals and insects. The continued popularity of such infrastructures of feeling illustrates a lack of faith in state-sponsored projects. The talk, entitled “Infrastructures of Feeling: The Sense, Science, and Governance of Disasters in Sri Lanka,” will be in 201 Waldo Hall at noon.

Monday, Jan. 11

At the January 11 Corvallis Science Pub, Assistant Professor of Psychology Kathleen Bogart will describe her research on the twists and turns of interpersonal communication as seen through the eyes of people with disabilities. Born with facial paralysis, a condition known as Moebius Syndrome, Bogart learned as a child how to compensate in order to communicate. The Science Pub presentation is free and open to the public. It begins at 6 p.m. at the Old World Deli, 341 S.W. 2nd St. in Corvallis. Sponsors of Science Pub include Terra magazine at OSU, the Downtown Corvallis Association and the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry.

Thursday, Jan. 14

DJ Spooky: Forests, Electronics, and Composition — Composer, multimedia artist and author Paul D. Miller, a.k.a. DJ Spooky, is composing a Forest Symphony based on his four seasonal residencies at the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest. In this multi-media presentation, Miller will talk with musician/composer Dana Reason about his composition process, incorporating electronics and multimedia elements, and his experience in composing the “Forest Symphony.” 1-3 p.m., Reception 3-4 p.m., Benton Hall, Room 303.   Seating is limited.

Cannibals and Saints: Bones as Medicine in Early Modern Europe — Bones, particularly skulls, were long used in various therapeutic preparations for a variety of ailments. What was the peculiar vital quality of bones that gave them such healing power?  Professor Anita Guerrini will compare the medical uses of bones to therapeutic uses of skeletal relics, which were employed in some very similar ways from the origins of Christian relics in late antiquity. 4:00 p.m., MU Journey Room.

Friday, Jan. 15

On January 15, novelist and longtime journalist Hector Tobar will read at the Valley Library Rotunda at 7:30 p.m., followed by a Q&A and book signing. His most recent book, “Deep Down Dark: The Untold Stories of 33 Men Buried in a Chilean Mine and the Miracle that Set Them Free,” (2011) was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award in General Nonfiction. Tobar’s work also includes the novels “The Tattooed Soldier,” (1998) and “The Barbarian Nurseries” (2011). This event is part of the 2014-2015 Literary Northwest Series, sponsored by the MFA Program in Creative Writing in the School of Writing, Literature, and Film.

News

Philosophy professor Allen Thompson was recently interviewed for Philosophy Talk’s 2015 Year in Review. Dr. Thompson will be discussing the “Year in Science and Climate Change” and the Climate Talks in Paris. The episode will air Thursday, Jan. 7 at 8 p.m. PST on OPB. http://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/examined-year-2015.

The 6th annual OSU Wind Band Symposium takes place on January 8-9 in Benton Hall. The event, designed to give instrumental rehearsal and conducting pedagogy information to high school and middle school band directors from the Northwest, features Dr. Sarah McKoin; Director of Bands from Texas Tech and wind band conductor at the Brevard Summer Institute. The symposium also features the Grant High School Wind Ensemble, The OSU Wind Symphony, and the OSU Wind Ensemble.

“VČELA: Blood & Honey,” an exhibit of sculpture, installation and language by artist Craig Goodworth, opens on Monday, Jan. 11, in the Fairbanks Gallery on the Oregon State University campus in Corvallis. A reception and artist’s talk will be held from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 14. The event is free and open to the public.

World Languages and Cultures, The Little Gallery, 210 Kidder Hall, is pleased to present Irene Hardwicke Olivieri: Secrets of the Creatures. Olivieri grew up in South Texas and has lived in Latin America and studied art in New York City. While many paintings are personal or deal with social and environmental justice issues, all are evocative of universal themes. On view: January 4 – March 11.  Reception: Thursday, January 14, 3-5 p.m.

CLA This Week will not be published Jan. 11 and Jan. 18. Please continue to submit your items. We will begin publishing again on Jan. 25.

Current Research, Publications and Creative Activity

Assistant Professor of English and M.A. director Ray Malewitz recently published the following: “‘Some new dimension devoid of hip and bone’: Remediated Bodies and Digital Posthumanism in Gary Shteyngart’s Super Sad True Love Story,’ in Arizona Quarterly. Another of Malewitz’s articles, entitled “Climate-Change Infrastructure and the Volatilizing of American Regionalism” was just published in the “Infrastructuralism” special issue of Modern Fiction Studies.

Sebastian Heiduschke, associate professor in the School of Language, Culture and Society, will open the film series Banned! DEFA’s Forbidden Films 1965-66 at the Goethe-Institut Los Angeles on January 13 with an introductory lecture about film censorship in East Germany. http://www.goethe.de/ins/us/los/ver/en15018324v.htm.

Assistant Professor of Psychology Kathleen Bogart recently published the following, along with SPS MAIS alum Amy Bonnett, and SPS undergrad Mariah Estill, and SPS alum Cassie Colton: Rosa, N., Bogart, K. R., Bonnett, A. K.,** Estill, M. C.,* & Colton, C. E.,* (2016). Teaching about disability in psychology: An analysis of disability curricula in U.S. undergraduate psychology programs. Teaching of Psychology, 43 (1), 59-62.