Spring 2009 Events and Programs
Human Rights Film and Lecture Series
FALL 2008 EVENTS AND PROGRAMS
EVENT/PROGRAM INFORMATION WILL BE UPDATED THROUGHOUT THE SEMESTER. FOR MORE INFORMATION ON A SPECIFIC EVENT/PROGRAM, YOU CAN CONTACT THE LISTED COORDINATOR(S).
ALL EVENTS ARE FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
Constitution Day, Richard Lederer (Guest Lecture)
Monday, September 15, 2008, 11am-1:00pm in room G-101.
DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM:
In conjunction with Constitution Day, Richard Lederer, author of numerous books, including Presidential Trivia, will speak on the lives, administrations, and coincidences found in the histories of the 42 men who have held the office of President of the United States. A recognized expert on words and the English language, Mr. Lederer is likely to touch on these topics as well. This event will last for approximately 75 minutes, including a question and answer session. Refreshments will be served.
In keeping with this year’s Humanities Institute theme, “(Re)Connecting: Our Diverse Voices and Visions,” this program will offer cultural enrichment by bringing to life the personalities of the men who had a profound effect on American and world history. It ties into Constitution Day by facilitating a discussion of the sections of the Constitution dealing with the Executive Branch. It also will provide student interaction with a well-known published author and KPBS radio personality (the former host of “A Way with Words”). History and Political Science students will benefit from a new perspective on people and events they are reading about in their classes. Speech students will see an expert speaker and they and English students will get a real lesson in the use of our language, including a multicultural view of its origins.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Val Ontell
Instruction Librarian
Phone: (619) 388-2549
Office: LRC-441
Email: vontell@sdccd.edu
Lois Wittner
Speech Communications
Phone: (619) 388-2215
Office: G-208
Mailbox: G-248
Email: lwittner@sdccd.edu
Engaging Students in Chinese Language Learning Workshop
Friday, October 3, 2008, 9am-12:00pm in room G-108.
DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM:
The Chinese language has become one of the fastest-growing foreign languages taught in the United State. According to the 2007 report done by the Modern Languages Association, students’ enrollment in Chinese has an increase of 50% since 2003. The purpose of this event is to better Mesa’s Chinese language curricula, improve our students’ learning outcomes and to connect the campus community with the larger Chinese language community in San Diego.
Presenter: Prof. Qian He, UC San Diego, “Engaging Students in Chinese Language Learning”; 20 minutes PPT presentation followed by Q & A.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Dr. Shannon Shi
Assistant Professor of Chinese
San Diego Mesa College
7250 Mesa College Drive
San Diego, CA 92111
Phone: (619) 388-2369
Office: G229
E-mail: sshi@sdccd.edu
Spoken Word Event
Wednesday, October 15, 2008, 12pm-1:30pm at the A.S. Stage (Next to Campus Bookstore).
DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM:
On behalf of the African American Heritage Committee, there will be a Spoken Word Event that features spoken word artists at Mesa College. The poets will provide a program aimed at motivating and inspiring the campus community to reflect on the importance of diversity on-and-off campus.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Leroy Johnson
Counseling Department
Phone: (619) 388-2834
Office: I-408
Mailbox: I-408
Email: lejohnso@sdccd.edu
“The Angry Eye:” Film and Discussion
Thursday, October 16, 2008, 12pm-1:30pm in room H117-118
DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM:
In keeping with the Humanities Institutes “Connecting: our Diverse Voices and Visions”, this film The Angry Eye highlights with striking force the subtle forces of discrimination that continue to exist in our society.
The film is an hour in length and consists of a remake of Jane Elliot’s “Blue eyed/brown eyed” experiment with her third grade classroom in 1968. In 1968, a schoolteacher in a rural Iowa town made a decision to help her third graders learn how destructive discrimination can be. The class had recently chosen Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to be their class hero. They were having trouble understanding how anyone could use violence against this gentle, non-violent hero Dr. King’s assassination Jane Elliot decided to educate her class on the meaning of discrimination. Her experiment was profound in its outcome. For two days, she divided the class into Blue and Brown eyed groups. On alternating days she discriminated against one group, holding the other group as superior in every way.
“The Angry Eye” is a modern version of this experiment, led by the same pioneer, Jane Elliot. In the film we see first year college students given the same experiment for the longest two and a half hours of their lives. The film pontificates how discrimination continues in the modern world. Students of color are able to identify with the cruel reality that they face on a daily basis. Students who enjoy the “privilege” of being white gain insight as they confront the reality their friends of color face daily. The experiment shows how discrimination has a negative and psychologically damaging effect even after a few minutes.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Sue Shrader-Hanes
Marriage Family Therapist
Student Health Services
Psychological Counseling Coordinator
Phone: (619) 388-2774
Email: shanes@sdccd.edu
San Diego Mesa College Book Club
2008-2009 Academic Year, One Meeting each Semester
(October 17, 2008 and March 20, 2009) and location TBA.
DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM:
The target audience is any Mesa College students, faculty and/or staff members interested in strengthening a relationship toward the enjoyment of reading. If you consider yourself a life-long learner and enjoy reading for the simple pleasure of learning, without a deadline or instructor-imposed due date or final exam, this activity will be inspire you.
Participants will be given an opportunity to read and discuss books with colleagues and friends, books that they may otherwise not select. We will use some of the funding to bring in a guest facilitator, who will be skilled in helping groups develop through the art of reading and literature. In a sense, participation in a book club may be a great way to “travel” and learn more about different countries and cultures without leaving the campus. Reading and discussing a book can allow participants to feel comfortable talking about issues and controversial topics related to “others” and “characters in a work of fiction”. A facilitator of a discussion can also help readers identify themes and analogies related to our own lives.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Thekima Mayasa
Associate Professor
Black Studies Department
Phone: (619) 388-2352
Office: G-103B
Mailbox: G-248
Email: tmayasa@sdccd.edu
Rediscover the Long-forgotten Traditional Chinese Music & Musical Instruments
Wednesday, October 22, 2008, 12pm-1:30pm in room TBA.
DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM:
Three professional Chinese musicians will perform from traditional Chinese music instruments, such as er hu, pi pa and gu zheng in various classrooms. All three instruments were the mainstay of Chinese music and enjoyed a history of thousands of years, until Western instruments spread to China in early 20th century. The performance includes solo and ensemble. The musicians will give a brief introduction to the history of the instrument and the method of playing. There will be a session of question and answer afterwards.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Dr. Shannon Shi
Assistant Professor of Chinese
San Diego Mesa College
7250 Mesa College Drive
San Diego, CA 92111
Phone: (619) 388-2369
Office: G229
E-mail: sshi@sdccd.edu
Sal Castro: The Struggle for Change and the East Los Angeles Walkouts of 1968: A Leader’s Perspective
October 22, 2008, 9:30am-11am, room G-101.
DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM:
Sal Castro will be speaking to the campus community regarding the issues discussed below. As a major force behind the East Los Angeles Blowouts (the subject of a one-hour documentary from the Chicano: History of the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement PBS produced series and the recently released HBO feature film of the event called Blowout) Castro still speaks to the modern problems in contemporary education that impact on Latino-Chicano students.
Sal Castro, a principal organizer and supporter of the East Los Angeles Walkouts will address an assessment of the conditions in the East Los Angeles High Schools which culminated in the decision to boycott the schools. In this assessment the issues of the perceived educational inadequacies by students and community leaders will be uncovered. This will afford the campus community with the opportunity to engage in discussion regarding the critical educational issues facing the Chicano student in those days and reflect on the current challenges through its major leaders.
Discussion of the various challenges to Chicano education exposes a level of critical engagement by young students with the forces that shaped Chicano education in those years and reveals the momentous response to these perceived educational inadequacies. In this manner, the campus community will have the opportunity to reflect on and connect to the critical educational challenges faced by students and assess the challenges they face in contemporary conditions.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Michael R. Ornelas
Professor and Chairperson
Chicana/o Studies Department
Phone: (619) 388-2266
Office: G-103E
Mailbox: G-248
Email: mornelas@sdccd.edu
Native American Heritage Month: (Re)Connecting: Our Diverse Voices and Visions
November 6th (Main Quad) all morning and November 18th (H-117/118) 6pm-9pm
DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM:
For 2008 the NAHM proposal is to have Kumeyaay Bird/Wildcat singers, a film night showing Pow-Wow Highway, a classic coming of age Indian movie and finally a performance art piece by Cahuilla artist Gerald Clarke. A transfer day for American Indian students with universities that offer American Indian / Native American Studies or programs is being considered separately. The NAHM committee will also sponsor an Essay Contest. NDN Facts will once again pop up on campus to enlighten the students, staff and faculty. We hope to promote the new Certificate of Proficiency in American Indian Studies and to inform Business majors about the Gaming Studies program at SDSU.
American Indians have occupied the Americas for thousands of years and have persisted to the current day and age. Indian culture helps us connect to our past and vision for the future. Kumeyaay Bird and Wildcat songs connect the past and survive for new generations to appreciate. Students will be encouraged to interact with performance artist Gerald Clarke. The NAHM Essay contest promotes critical thinking and reflection. Pow-Wow Highway teaches about contemporary Indian issues and exemplifies the connection to our ancient past.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
O. Pierre Romero
Adjunct Counselor-EOPS
Email: oromero@sdccd.edu
Phone: (619) 388-2781
Chicano/Latino Heritage Committee 2008 Celebration: Forty Years after the Chicano Movement
Various throughout Fall 2008 and Spring 2009
DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM:
The Chicano/Latino Heritage Celebration is an annual inter-disciplinary celebration organized by the Chicano/Latino Heritage Committee. Every year throughout the fall semester, various artists, writers, and scholars are invited onto the Mesa campus to present their works to the Mesa college community. Each event is organized by a member of the Mesa College faculty and emphasizes a particular discipline. The goal of these events is to expand our students’ knowledge and understanding of Chicano/Latino heritage as well as to engage our students in a dialogue about the role of cultural expression in our society. This year’s theme, “Forty Years after the Chicano Movement” will place the focus on artists and scholars who participated in some way in the Chicano Movement of the 1970s. It is our hope that through this theme we can encourage our students to participate in the discourse on the Chicano Movement and its ultimate impact on our society.
This year’s celebration will consist of six events, each focusing on a different discipline. The celebration will encompass various types of events including readings, lectures, theatrical performances, and art exhibits, occurring throughout the academic year. While we have finalized a working schedule for next year’s event, we are currently in the process of contacting and inviting several artists and scholars to participate in the celebration.
The Chicano/Latino Heritage Celebration is an excellent example of Mesa College’s commitment to Multi-Cultural Studies as well as a wonderful opportunity to showcase some of the most talented and intelligent minds in the Latino community. We are particularly excited about the nature of this year’s celebration, focusing on various means of expression. As always, we appreciate the support of the Humanities Institute and look forward to working with you in the future.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Manuel J. Vélez
Assistant Professor
Chicana/o Studies Department
Phone: (619) 388-2375
Office: G-103C
Mailbox: G-248
Email: mvelez@sdccd.edu
The Social Sciences Occasional Lectures (SSOL)
All lectures meet 12:00pm-2pm in LRC room 435.
Lecture dates for 2008-2009 include: September 19, October 10, November 14, February 20, March 13, April 17, May 8.
DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM:
The Social Sciences Occasional Lectures (SSOL) series has been a highly successful Mesa College tradition since the early 1990s, and continues to provide our Social Sciences faculty with the opportunity to hear local and outside speakers for instructional improvement as well as professional insight and discussion. Our speakers generally provide information related to their latest research in the fields of History, Political Science, Philosophy, Geography, and other areas that may be relevant for the Social Sciences. It has been traditional for us to celebrate Black History Month as well as Women’s History Month whenever possible with relevant presentations. An important element of the series is that it provides 2 hours of Flex credit as a series of workshops. We usually have seven meetings in an academic year, all held in LRC 435, where speakers address our Social Sciences faculty; the events are open to the public, including interested students. The presentations usually last from 45 to 60 minutes, followed by a discussion.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Nina Rosenstand
Professor of Philosophy
Department of Social Sciences
Phone: (619) 388-2407
Office: H-301G
Mailbox: H-207
Email: nrosenst@sdccd.edu
Human Rights Awareness Committee’s Films/Guest Lecturer Series in Fall 2008
All films will be screened in LRC 435 (October 24, and November 9, 11:10 AM-12:35 PM, and December 10, 4:00-6:00 PM, respectively)
DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM:
The Human Rights Awareness Committee will be showing three films and invite one speaker in fall 2008 in order to promote increased campus awareness of Human Rights issues. The films, Armenian Genocide, White Light Black Rain: Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and Madeline Albright: Genocide in Kosovo, explore the interconnection of ethnicity, religion, gender, war, and human rights in historical periods such as the First and the Second World War and the end of the Cold War, and assess their legacy in the present. The films are, therefore, consistent with the Humanities Institute’s current theme of “Re-connecting: Our Diverse Voices and Visions” The committee also wants to invite a UN representative to discuss the organization’s recent efforts to combat human rights violations, particularly in war-torn areas. The objective is to inspire a sense of hope on campus that measures to rectify wrongs are being taken, and to emphasize the fact that the first step to the amelioration of any injustice is creating awareness.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Sudata DebChaudhury
Professor of History
Department of Social Sciences
Phone: (619) 388-2418
Office: H-302J
Mailbox: H-302
Email: sdebchau@sdccd.edu
Ellen Snortland performance of “Now That She’s Gone”
Tuesday, December 2, 2008 and location TBA
DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM:
Barbro Snortland was an enigma, mostly an infuriating one, to her youngest daughter, Ellen, from the time Ellen was born, we learn, until Barbro's death in 2003. Now That She's Gone , however, is considerably more than a poignant and insightful recounting of the lives of a mother and daughter who never connected well.
Directed by John Mitchell, author-actor Ellen Snortland's script examines her tumultuous personal history as an attorney, a journalist, a recovering cocaine addict, and a stage practitioner, set against the backdrop of the American feminist movement of the 1970s and '80s — she is a baby boomer, after all. She also weaves in dramatic material regarding the one gift her mother gave her: an abiding appreciation for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that Eleanor Roosevelt persuaded the United Nations, against all geopolitical odds, to approve.
At precisely 90 minutes, there are moments when you wonder if Snortland will succeed in knitting together the threads of her tapestry. When she does, it's a moment that's thrilling in its simplicity. Yes, Snortland does learn why her mother was the cold, laconic creature she was. No, it wasn't because the elder Snortland didn't want a third child — or three girls, for that matter. Detective work and intuition pay off for this performer in a family story beautifully brought to the stage.
Gloria Steinem says, "Ellen says I'm the 'grandmother' of this play, but I'm not crazy enough to think that it was my planting of a seed when in fact it is her enormous talent. She has a gift for being serious and funny, making you laugh and understand at the same time. The first time I saw it, I brought two friends who were visiting New York City from Kenya - a mother and a daughter - to see it, and they loved it too; it's universal."
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Pat Vine
Art Department
Phone: (619) 388-2829
Office: D-105
Mailbox: G-248
Email: pvine@sdccd.edu
Mesa Visions, Mesa College’s Literary Magazine
Fall 2008
DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM:
The English department’s Honors English 249 Introduction to Creative Writing course will once again hold Mesa’s annual poetry and short story contests and produce Mesa Visions, Mesa’s literary magazine of student writing and artwork.
The contests and potential for publication in Mesa Visions provide our students tremendous motivation to create and articulate some wonderful written and visual art works, and publication, is the corollary from which the contest winners benefit. We award cash prizes to the 1st through 3rd place winners in both the short story and poetry contests at an award ceremony. This year, the ceremony we include a student art exhibition and most likely will take place on December 10th, 2008, from 6:30-8:30. Last year we held the event in G101. We would like to invite you, or a representative of the Humanities Institute, to attend our Mesa Visions reading and ceremony and to present a cash award to a winning student.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jennifer Cost
English Department
Phone: (619) 388-2363
Office: G-306
Mailbox: G-248
Email: jcost@sdccd.edu
Wendy Smith
English Department
Phone: (619) 388-2347
Office: G-311
Mailbox: G-248
Email: wsmith@sdccd.edu
Child Development Lending Library
Fall 2008
DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM:
The lending library will introduce children to phonemic awareness, letter sounds, and basic literacy concepts that are needed for early reading success. The project will target Head Start and low income parents; to help the parents better understand how their children learn to read and the role they can play in this process. The project aims to encourage parents to read to their children as part of an effort to develop early cognitive skills for children ages 0-5. Children and parents will check out literacy materials at the center that interface with the curriculum activities of the program.
This project will raise awareness of the importance of early literacy. It will encourage family time, support early reading, support literacy skills and the love of books. This project will provide parents and children with the tools to increase their language experience through quality literature.
The program staff and department faculty supports the values, mission and goals of the college through mentoring and conducting career orientations; helping students select programs and courses that help satisfy their transfer and/or career goals. Reconnecting parents and children through the joys of literature will support the child’s capacity for learning. These same children are future college students.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Ida Cross
Child Development Center
San Diego Mesa College
Phone: (619) 388-2812
Email: shanes@sdccd.edu
Curriculum Transformation Project
This project investigated and promoted the inclusion of multicultural perspectives in courses across disciplines.
Guest Lecture/Performance Series
Highly respected scholars, artists, and political figures such as Dr. Cornell West, Nikki Giovanni, Guillermo Gomez-Pena, Yo Yo Ma, Russell Means, Lawson Inada, Shirley Chisolm, and Rosa Parks have visited Mesa College to address the College community, as well as the broader San Diego community.
Celebration of Diversity
The Institute has supported various multicultural events such as: Festival of Colors, Brown vs. Board of Education Commemoration, Gospel Night, Latino Heritage Week, Women's History Month, etc. Special events have included the creation of a sand mandala by Buddist monks, Pow Wows, and guest dramatic productions.
Conferences
The Humanities Institute has sponsored and/or hosted a variety of national, state and regional conferences in Humanities (e.g., Community College Humanities Association Conference) as well as provided support for other conferences hosted by the College (e.g., California Assessment Institute, Phi Theta Kappa Leadership Conference, etc.)
Faces of America
A family-history project which started at Mesa College, Faces of America was later funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities as a national project.
Outreach and Recruitment
The Institute has taken an active role in the development of partnerships with elementary and middle schools and hosted a variety of activities for these students. The Institute has also participated in campus wide community service activities such as Habitat for Humanity.
Faculty Workshops
The Humanities Institute has coordinated and/or supported a wide variety of workshops designed for faculty, for example: a non-violent communication workshop, Saturday seminars on topics such as world religions, brown bag lunches, etc.