The Leading Edge

Events

Monday, April 24

A delegation from the University of Aruba visiting OSU to further collaborations in research and education will give a  lecture at 2 p.m. in MU 211. Questions and discussions will take place after the lecture.  All are welcome. 

Diaspora and Identity: Afro-Swedish Places of Belonging – Lecture by Nana Osei-Kofi, Center for the Humanities Research Fellow and Director of the Difference, Power, and Discrimination Program. Recent events have forced issues of racialized gender and anti-Black racism to the forefront of public discourse in Sweden. Drawing on interviews, research on community action groups and social media, and her own background as the daughter of a Ghanaian father and Swedish mother, Osei-Kofi will discuss how and why Afroswedes are developing new languages and experiences of diasporic identity. 4 p.m., Autzen House, 811 SW Jefferson.  

The Wars in Iraq and Syria: National, Regional, and Global Implications — Public talk by Sarhang Hamasaeed. In his talk, Hamasaeed will examine the complexities of the wars in Iraq and Syria and discuss their implications for the region and the wider world. He once served as deputy director of the Council of Ministers of the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq. He is currently the director of Middle East Programs at the U.S. Institute of Peace. 7:30 p.m. C&E, LaSells Stewart Center.

Tuesday, April 25

Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret — This groundbreaking feature-length environmental documentary follows intrepid filmmaker Kip Andersen as he uncovers the most destructive industry facing the planet today – and investigates why the world’s leading environmental organizations are too afraid to talk about it. 6 p.m., Strand Agriculture Hall, 111.

Reflections on the Holocaust: Public talk by Lucille Eichengreen —  Eichengreen would as a teenager endure the brunt of the Holocaust. During World War II, she survived the Lodz Ghetto, Auschwitz, and Bergen-Belsen. After liberation, she assisted the British in identifying and bringing to justice more than forty German camp personnel. This event is free and open to the public, but tickets are required to be admitted into the auditorium. 7:30 p.m., the LaSells Stewart Center, Austin Auditorium.

Wednesday, April 26

Religious Prejudice on the Contemporary Scene: How Great is the Threat? —  Panel discussion on the current level of religious prejudice, primarily in the U.S. and Europe. Hilary Bernstein, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, will discuss recent indicators regarding the level and intensity of Antisemitism, while Amarah Khan, Associate Director of Global Diversity Initiatives at OSU, will speak to the issue of Islamophobia, both locally and more generally. 7:30 p.m., Milam Auditorium.

Thursday, April 27

The Transformative Power of the Holocaust: Public talk by Anne Kelly Knowles — Knowles is among the foremost proponents of GIS, a methodology that bridges geography and history. In her talk Knowles will draw on survivor testimony and her extensive research on concentration camps and ghettos in order to explore “the power of confinement, relocation, forced labor, and the constant threat of violence to change the everyday worlds of Jews throughout Eastern Europe.” 7:30 p.m. C&E, the LaSells Stewart Center.

Friday, April 28 

Music à la Carte — Flamenco guitarist Berto Boyd. Noon, MU Lounge.

SAC Spring Colloquy — “Surveillance Studies and Communication Studies: Intersections.” 4 p.m., Shepard Hall Room 106. Joshua Reeves, assistant professor of New Media Communications & Speech Communication, will discuss the development of the Nationwide crime reporting appartatus that would become Emergency 9-1-1, as well as the C.A.R.E. America program. 

Literary Northwest Series — Author and OSU professor of English Chris Anderson will read from his recent book of collage essays, “Light When It Comes: Trusting Joy, Facing Darkness, and Seeing God in Everything,” which was published in October 2016 by Eerdmans Publishing. Previous books include “The Next Thing Always Belongs” and “Edge Effects: Notes from an Oregon Forest,” a finalist for the Oregon Book Award in creative nonfiction. 7:30 p.m. Valley Library Rotunda.

Sunday, April 30

OSU Faculty Recital — David Servias, piano, 3 p.m., Benton Hall 303. 

Recurring Events

Oregon State University will host “Cultural Conversations,” an exhibition of prints from the collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Schnitzer Family Foundation, April 3 through May 3. Schnitzer is a Portland businessman, collector and philanthropist who owns one of the country’s largest private collections of contemporary prints and multiples.  Pieces from the exhibit will be displayed in the Fairbanks Gallery as well as in four cultural centers on campus. The exhibition was curated by Kirsi Peltomäki, associate professor of art history at OSU.

The Microbiome Art Project — This project is a collaboration between OSU’s research community and The Arts Center in Corvallis. The project focuses on microbial systems that affect human health, biodiversity of animal species, and air, earth and water quality. This exhibition asks both artists and researchers, How Can We See the Unseen? Through this exhibit, the arts will document and interpret complex research concepts and bring greater understanding for artists and the public, as well as offer a unique perspective to the scientific community. April 13 – May 27, The Arts Center, 700 SW Madison Avenue. This exhibit is a part of SPARK: Arts+Science@OSU.

Oregon State University’s Center for the Humanities is hosting an exhibition of work by Assistant Professor of Art Kerry Skarbakka titled “Blackout,” through June 8. This is Skarbakka’s second solo exhibition in Corvallis in a year. The installation is comprised of objects of art and understanding, encapsulated in the medium used to line the beds of trucks, and thus blacked out, or rendered void. Utilizing the significance of the Center for the Humanities and coinciding with the March for Science and Earth Day on April 22, the Skarbakka says the exhibition provides “a message of solidarity against attempts to defund and silence the arts, the sciences and the humanities.”

The Little Gallery proudly presents Betty LaDuke’s “Bountiful Harvest and Border Crossings,” April 3 – June 16, with an opening reception on April 27, 3:30 -5:00 p.m., Kidder 213. LaDuke’s wood panel murals document and narrate stories of Latino farm workers who work on farms in Oregon’s Rogue Valley. For more  information: 541-737-2146.

News

Assistant Professor of Art Kerry Skarbakka’s work was recently covered in The Velvet Light Trap: A critical Journal of Film and Television. Additionally, the current issue of Men and Masculinities has published an essay on Skarbakka’s work written by Corey Dzenko: Continuing to Work toward U.S. Manhood — Contemporary Performance-photographer Kerry Skarbakka’s The Struggle to Right Oneself.

Current Research, Publications and Creative Activity 

Instructor of music Sean Paul Mills was a guest on KWAX 91.1 FM for their annual spring fundraising campaign. Mills, along with KWAX host Peter van de Graaf (famous for his work as host of the Beethoven Satellite Network) raised over $4000 to support the all-classical, non-commercial radio station.

Instructor of music Jill Pauls led the the OSU Flute Choir “FlutissimO” in an invited performance at the Greater Portland Flute Society flute fair on April 1st. 

OSU Marching Band percussion coordinator Justin Preece performed a solo recital on Sunday, April 23 as part of the local “Sundays at 3 Concert Series.” The recital, titled “Patois: The Language of French Modernism” featured works by Messiaen, Boulez, Delecluse, Sammut, and Gaultier.