A&H Forum Abstracts

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September 11

Dean William Babula (English)

Long before we had The DaVinci Code, and now continuing after its publication, there was and is a slew of code seekers looking for clues about Shakespeare ­ or the real author - in his plays ­ or rather in secret codes embedded in the plays attributed to him. Leading the pack are the Anti-Stratfordians, usually amateur American scholars who argue that a 'commoner' who was 'raised in an illiterate household' could not have written the plays that bear his name. Other code breakers seek to prove Shakespeare was Catholic, or had a particularly dirty mind, or that he walked with a limp and played the Nurse in Romeo and Juliet. The paper surveys this strange world of passionate code seekers.

September 25

Brantley Bryant (English)

What's that noise from the manuscript crowd? Recent work on medieval literature pushes in new and eccentric directions, freshly emphasizing the instability of European cultures, gleefully blurring temporalities, promiscuously picking up theoretical moves, and channeling past
literature's affective power and inescapable strangeness. Stephen G. Nichols has identified a "New Middle Ages" emerging from such scholarship, as the period is re-conceived and re-imagined. In this talk I will critically assess these recent   developments and discuss how they have
made their way into the classroom. How can discussions at the field's vanguard (or lunatic fringe) give students new ways to approach medieval literature's difficulties and pleasures? How do these new approaches suggest a   place for medieval literature in more general classes
investigating contemporary problems? The talk aims to prompt a lively discussion about teaching in the humanities, investing students in challenging material, shaping a global curriculum, and thinking about the past.

October 9

Jennifer Roberson (Art History)

The grand Hassan II Mosque, which towers over Casablanca, Morocco, is the largest contemporary mosque in the world and the culmination of King Hassan II's decades-long architectural program. Throughout his reign,
1961-99, King Hassan II sought to create a façade for Morocco that was carefully crafted to highlight Morocco's identity. This presentation examines King Hassan II's architecture and his notion of constructing a national identity.


October 23

Ajay Gehlawat (Hutchins)

In recent years, even as Indian popular cinema, colloquially called Bollywood, has continued living up to its name, parodying and incorporating Western elements in its films, Hollywood films have increasingly turned to Bollywood for their inspiration. This talk will examine some of the more recent instances of this cinematic interplay and consider the implications of Hollywood referencing Bollywood in an era of
Monsoon Weddings, Brides and Prejudices.

November 20

Daniel Malpica (CALS)

Indigenous Mexicans form the largest share of the new Mexican migrants arriving to the United States.  Better job opportunities and more attractive wages coupled with severe unemployment and exploitative conditions at home have encouraged indigenous people to migrate in search
of employment to the United States.  As a result, indigenous Mexican have come to el norte in record numbers and have reshaped Mexican communities in the United States.  In the dissertation, I explore how social capital and social networks influence the social and economic incorporation of
indigenous Mexican migrants into the United States.  In particular, I examine what kind of work indigenous Mexicans do, how they find work, and how they struggle to work in the new low-wage economy, raise families, and move ahead.
Based on ethnographic fieldwork and in-depth interviews with Zapotec indigenous migrants from Oaxaca (Mexico) who are living in Los Angeles, the dissertation seeks to shed light on the dynamic processes of family and ethnic networks in contemporary labor markets.  Despite facing racial and ethnic discrimination from Americans in general as well as from mestizo Mexican immigrants who deride them for their dark skin, short height, and "backward" culture, Zapotec migrants seem to have adapted quite adequately to the United States.  This dissertation illustrates how
indigenous Mexicans cope with their new conditions as they adapt to their new home.  The research highlights that indigenous Mexicans can count on social networks, family ties, and communities to mobilize resources more easily and effectively, including the ability to find work.  Zapotec
migrants rely on their networks and communities; in so doing, they strengthen these institutions and thereby accumulate social capital.  This ethnographic analysis pays particular attention to how indigenous Mexicans generate social capital to obtain resources for survival and social
mobility.


December 4 -

Michael Litle (COMS)

Michael Litle presents a new film:  During a busy farmer's market in Sebastopol, Wadner Pierre, a foreign exchange student at SSU, attempts to sell his photographs of Haiti.

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