Kingfisher 2012

A PUBLICATION OF THE

COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES

AT THE UNIVERSIT Y OF UTAH

2012

THE KINGFISHER

“Education Is Not Filling A Bucket But Lighting A Fire”.

-W.B. Yeats

Table of Contents

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MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN

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COLLEGE AT A GLANCE

DEPARTMENTS 4 Communication 6 Languages & Literature 8 English 10 History 12 Philosophy 13 Linguistics

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PROGRAM SPOTLIGHTS International Studies University Writing Center

FEATURES

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Religious Studies by Muriel Schmid Jewish Studies Initiative by Maeera Schreiber Mormonism’s History with Race: Telling both Sides of the Story by Max Perry Mueller

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What is Interdisciplarity? by Ana Plutinski Scholarships Making a Difference

30 CONVOCATION 32

DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI 2012 Ronald Poleman, B.A. History, 1953 Orson Scott Card, M.A. English, 1981

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PARTNERSHIP BOARD

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DONOR THANKS

Message from the Dean W

ithin the College of Humanities, students have daily opportunities to experience astonishing and transformative moments. We challenge them to “think outside of the box� and to evaluate their perspectives of the world.

Such critical questioning and evaluation helps our students develop a conscience in a complex world, the fundamental ingredient for a successful world citizen, one who contributes to the long-term improvement of our planet and its inhabitants rather than to their decline. This is at the core of why a Humanities education remains critical to an effective university education.

In the following pages, you can read about the relevant and important work being done by College of Humanities faculty, students, alumni and friends. I thank you for your interest and help in this important work.

Robert D. Newman Dean, College of Humanities The University of Utah

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Departments Communication English History Languages & Literature Linguistics Philosophy

Centers

American West Center The Asia Center Middle East Center Tanner Humanities Center University Writing Program & Center

Interdisciplinary Programs & Initiatives

Applied Ethics Asian Studies Portuguese & Brazilian Studies British Studies Cognitive Studies Environmental Humanities International Studies Latin American Studies Peace & Conflict Studies Religious Studies Rhetoric & Writing

College at a Glance T

he College of Humanities is the

second largest college on campus and is at the core of the University of Utah mission and experience. The Humanities offer a continuing reminder of an approach to a conscience in a complex world. Faculty produce scholarship and offer instruction directly addressing communication skills, critical thinking, cultural awareness and diversity, close readings of print and visual media, and how to embrace other perspectives, thereby laying the groundwork for compassionate and informed approaches to life and living.

Professors teach essential skills and tools for thinking and communicating, emphasizing a commitment to community and awareness of our integral function in a multifaceted global culture. Students of the Humanities emerge as better-

informed, thoughtful world citizens with a foundation for nuance and flexibility.

All undergraduates enroll in Humanities courses at some point in their academic pursuits.

Each year, about 2500 of these students choose to focus their studies on Humanities, selecting from the College’s 32 majors and 37 minors. The College confers one-fifth of the University’s undergraduate diplomas annually. Additionally, the college currently includes about 400 graduate students who have matriculated into one of 17 Master’s and 13 Ph.D. programs. The College’s 182 faculty member continue to be among the most frequent winners of University teaching and research awards, and are the most diverse in terms of ethnicity and gender.

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Department of Communication Kent Ono selected as New Department Chair Dean Robert D. Newman named Professor Kent A. Ono as the new Chair of the Department of Communication, effective July 1, 2012. In making the announcement, Newman praised Professor Ono for his outstanding national reputation and his demonstrated administrative talents that make him an ideal fit for the department at this moment in time. According to Interim Chair Robert K. Avery, “I have known Professor Ono since he began his impressive career at the University of California at Davis in the early 1990s, and he is extremely well-suited to lead our community of teachers and scholars to the next level of academic excellence.”

Ono earned his Bachelor’s degree in English from DePauw University in 1987, his Masters in Communication from Miami University in 1988, and his Ph.D. in Rhetorical Studies from the University of Iowa in 1992. Professor Ono conducts research on rhetoric and discourse, media and film, and race, ethnic, and cultural studies and has published widely in both Communication and Asian American Studies.

He is presently co-editor of Critical Studies in Media Communication, the scholarly journal founded at the University of Utah in 1984 by Professor Robert Avery.

Professor Kent A. Ono

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Annual Communication Awards Banquet Honors Distinguished Alums, Students, and Community Members The 57th annual Communication Awards Banquet, held April 4th, 2012, honored the many students who received awards, internships, and scholarships, and paid tribute to a prestigious lineup of community award recipients.

Among those honored at the annual event were three special alums of the Department who received the Quintus C. Wilson Alumni Achievement Award

Jill Remington Love

Salt Lake City Council Member

Christopher Nelson

Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs, University of Utah Health Care

Michael H. Sorensen

Sports Writer, Deseret News

The 2012 Service to Journalism Award was presented to Rod Decker, reporter and talk show host at KUTV Channel 2 in Salt Lake City. Finally, the Distinguished Service Award, a special acknowledgment for a lifetime of outstanding contributions to Utah and the Intermountain West, was awarded to Norma Matheson, Former First Lady of Utah. Matheson, who has often been called the “Matriarch” of the Democratic Party in Utah, has spent many years in the service of Utah.

Two New Certificate Programs Approved Beginning Fall Semester 2012, the Department of Communication will offer two new certificate programs:

Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Certificate in Health Communication Graduate Interdisciplinary Certificate in Health communication.

Both programs involve the study of how communication about health is co-created, transmitted, received, constructed, and circulated in various contexts.

Historic Great Salt Lake Invitational Experiences Record Growth

The John R. Park Debate Society (formerly Utah Forensics), the department’s speech and debate team, hosted the historic Great Salt Lake Invitational (GSL) in January 2012. The GSL is one of the department’s oldest traditions and honors the significant role played by the U in forensics in the western United States. This year, over 25 colleges and universities from more than 10 states were in attendance, including UCLA, Lewis & Clark College, UC-Boulder, California State University-Long Beach, and Texas Tech University, among others. Because of this robust attendance, the GSL is 50% larger than last year and is 600% larger than when it was re-inaugurated just 5 years ago. This year’s tournament came on the heels of a fall semester filled with unmatched successes for University of Utah debaters. Among these accomplishments, Junior Rebecca Isbell and sophomore Rachel Wootton climbed into the top 30 in the national rankings of NPDA debaters.

Department Celebrates 25th Anniversary B. Aubrey Fisher Memorial Lecture The distinguished speaker at this years’ B. Aubrey Fisher Memorial Lecture was Wayne A. Beach, Ph.D., Professor in the School of Communication at San Diego State University. His address, titled “Raising and Responding to Cancer Fears, Uncertainties, and Hopes,” focused on his particular concern with health and illness. Dr. Beach also conducted an informal student seminar that extended his formal presentation into an in-depth look at his research methods, titled “Open Data Session: Video Analysis of Talk and Embodied Actions in Oncology Interviews.” A 1981 graduate of the department’s doctoral program, Beach worked closely with Aubrey Fisher, who served as the advisor of his supervisory committee. As the 25th Anniversary Lecturer, Dr. Beach carried on Fisher’s powerful legacy as he presented his years of successful research since graduating from the U. It was an anniversary celebration not to be forgotten.

2011 Town and Gown Forum Featured KUED’s Mary Dickson

The 2011-2012 Town and Gown Forum featuring KUED’s Mary Dickson was a night of celebration, reflection on the integral place of communication studies in our media-saturated world, and a renewed commitment to provide students with experience in the professional workplace. The packed room at Little America Hotel, filled with distinguished alums of the Department, past lecturers, students and professors, was a testament to the important work Dickson has done in the community since graduating from the Department of Communication.

She spoke on “Creating Desire in an Insecure World” drawing on her vast experience as a broadcast journalist, creative service director, newspaper reporter, teacher, and documentary writer and producer. Since graduating from the Department with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communication in 1976, Dickson has used her scholarly experience to direct and complement her work in many aspects of the media landscape.

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Department of Languages & Literature Welcome to the new Department Chair: Katharina Gerstenberger Professor Gerstenberger comes to the University of Utah from the University of Cincinnati, where she was a department head and professor of German.

Her book publications include Truth to Tell: German Women’s Autobiographies and Turn-of-the-Century Culture (2000) and Writing the New Berlin: The German Capital in Post-Wall Literature (2008). She has authored numerous articles and from 2007-2012 was co-editor of The Women in German Yearbook.

Her current book-length project is tentatively titled, Disaster Narratives: History and Catastrophe in the German Imagination.

Welcome to Professor Al Duncan

Professor Duncan joins the department faculty with an emphasis on Classics. He received his PhD from Stanford University in 2011. His dissertation, Tragic Ugliness, studied the reflexive relationship between genre and aesthetics in Greek drama and argued that ugliness, a value historically associated with comedy, is in many cases proper – even essential – to tragedy.

Professor Katharina Gerstenberger

“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head.

If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart.”

-Nelson Mandela

A heartfelt and much deserved thanks to Fernando Rubio and Jane Hacking, co-chairs of the Languages and Literature Department for the past three years. They have done a fabulous job bringing together a broad and diverse faculty group, and launching many exciting new programs.

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Professor Al Duncan

L2 TReC A Center for Language Instruction and Research L2 TReC (Second Languages Teaching and Research Center) is a broad-reaching Center devoted to second language acquisition research, instruction, assessment and promotion. The new Center oversees pedagogy for all languages taught on campus and works closely with the Utah State Office of Education to provide support for Utah’s Dual Language Immersion programs.

The Center profiles the university’s unique strengths in foreign language education, coordinates with Utah State Office of Education (USOE) foreign language initiatives, and provides a focal point for research in Second Language Acquisition (SLA). It works collaboratively with many other units on campus, with institutions of higher education around the state, and with K-12 educators.

The Center coordinates foreign language instruction for 21 languages through the third year. Instruction is available to University of Utah students, business professionals and organizations and other non-traditional learners.

As part of its teaching mission, the Center embraces the use of technology to improve language teaching and to facilitate universal access to language instruction. The Center also works closely with the business community and with other units on and off campus to respond to their language-related needs, from instruction on language for specific purposes, to translation and interpretation services.

American Sign Language Arabic Chinese Classics: Greek Modern Greek Latin French

The Center is directed by Professors Jane Hacking and Fernando Rubio, former co-chairs of the Languages and Literature Department.

Professor Fernando Rubio

Professor Jane Hacking

Language Acquisition Research L2TReC is involved in second language acquisition research from elementary to post-secondary contexts.

Collaboration with the Utah State Office of Education provides a unique opportunity to study the acquisition of Spanish, Chinese, French and Portuguese by students enrolled in immersion programs in Utah public schools.

Japanese Russian Spanish Turkish Modern Hebrew Italian

Hindi-Urdu Korean Portuguese Modern Greek Navajo Pashto Persian

Italian

日本語 7

Department of English Barry Weller, New Department Chair Welcome to Professor Barry Weller, new Chair of the English Department. Weller is a beloved professor of English at the University, having received the Ramona Cannon Award for Distinguished Teaching in the Humanities and the University of Utah Distinguished Teaching Award. He is currently editor of the Western Humanities Review. He holds a M.Phil. in English Literature from Oxford and a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from Yale. Before coming to Utah he taught at Yale and Johns Hopkins.

Professor Barry Weller

Utah Arts and Museums Competition Awardees Congratulations to Professor Jeff Metcalf, who won the Original Writing Competition in the category of creative non-fiction.

Congratulations also to several Creative Writing program alums who were honored in the same competition: Jennifer Tonge ( B.A. Political Science 1988) and Dawn Lonsinger (M.F.A. Creative Wrting 1997) won first and second places in the poetry competition. Dawn Houghton (B.A. English 1990), another Creative Writing alumna, won both an honorable mention in the short-story category and second place for a poetry collection.

Professor Jeff Metcalf

Welcome to our new faculty members

Michael Mejia

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Professor Mejia received his MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Alabama and will teach fiction writing.

Jeremy Rosen

Professor Rosen received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago and will teach contemporary American literature.

English faculty receive prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship Congratulations to Katharine Coles and Lance Olsen, two of our Creative Writing professors, who have been awarded Guggenheim Fellowships for 2012-2013. These fellowships are intended for those who have already demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts. Fellowships are awarded through a competition, which receives between 3,500 and 4,000 applications each year.

Katharine Coles’ fifth and sixth collections of poems are forthcoming from Red Hen Press; she is also the author of two novels. Her poems, essays, and stories have appeared in such journals as The Paris Review, The Gettysburg Review, Poetry, North American Review, Southwest Review, DIAGRAM, and Ascent. In 2009–2010, she served as the inaugural director of the Poetry Foundation’s Harriet Monroe Poetry Institute.

She is a full professor at the University of Utah, where she founded and co-directs the Utah Symposium in Science and Literature. In 2010, she traveled to Antarctica to write poems under the auspices of the National Science Foundation’s Antarctic Artists and Writers Program; her forthcoming collection, Cold Heart, comprises poems from that project. During her Guggenheim Fellowship period, she will be extending this work into a lyric examination of the history of Antarctic exploration.

Aa

Professor Katherine Coles

Lance Olsen is author of eleven novels, one hypermedial project, four critical studies, four short-story collections, a poetry chapbook, and two textbooks about fiction writing, as well as editor of two collections of essays about innovative contemporary fiction. His most recent novels include Calendar of Regrets, Head in Flames, Anxious Pleasures: After Kafka, and Nietzsche’s Kisses. His short stories, essays, poems, and reviews have appeared in hundreds of journals, magazines, and anthologies.

Olsen is an N.E.A. fellowship and Pushcart prize recipient, and former Governor-appointed Idaho Writer-in-Residence. His novel Tonguing the Zeitgeist was a finalist for the Philip K. Dick Award. He teaches experimental narrative theory and practice at the University of Utah and serves as Chair of the Board of Directors at Fiction Collective Two. He is Fiction Editor at Western Humanities Review. With his wife, assemblage-artist and filmmaker Andi Olsen, he divides his time between Salt Lake City and the mountains of central Idaho.

Professor Lance Olsen

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Department of History Welcome

T

he History Department is delighted to welcome a new faculty member, Dr. Michelle Wolfe (Ph.D, Ohio State University), a scholar of the history of early modern Britain, with an emphasis on religion and gender.

Her book, shortly to appear with Cambridge University

• Ben Cohen and Susie Porter, “Great Ideas in the Humanities” awards for their respective projects.

• Ben Cohen, Virgil C. Aldrich Fellow at the Tanner Humanities Center (Spring 2012.)

• Peter Sluglett, elected President of the Middle East Studies association (MESA) for 2012-2013.

Additionally, five of our faculty received support from the Council of Dee Fellows to enhance teaching: • Rebecca Horn “Latin American Studies-Nahuatl Language”

• Ben Cohen, Wesley Sasaki-Uemura, Janet Theiss, “Revisiting Asian Civilizations” • Bradley Parker “Ancient Civilizations of the Andes”.

New Faculty Book Publications Professor Michelle Wolfe

Press, is titled “The Gender Reformation: Clerical Marriage and Clerical Manhood in Early Modern England.”

Dr. Wolfe’s research and teaching will contribute to the department’s offerings in British history, and strengthen the department’s growing strengths in the early modern field.

Faculty Honors and Awards

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• Ron Smelser, 2012 “Distinguished Faculty Service Award.”

• Matt Basso, 2012 “Graduate and Postdoctoral Scholar Mentor Award.”

Matthew Basso, Andrew Farnsworth, Ralph Powell, and Judy Blunt, Wo/Men at Work (Salt Lake City: Red Butte Press, 2011).

Peter Sluglett (with Hakan Yavuz), eds., War and Diplomacy: the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878 and the Treaty of Berlin, (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 2011).

W. Paul Reeve and Michael Scott Van Wagenen, eds., Between Pulpit and Pew: The Supernatural World in Mormon History and Folklore (Utah State University Press, 2011).

Peter von Sivers, Charles Desnoyers, and George Stow, Patterns of World History (New York: Oxford University Press, 2011).

Noteworthy • In April of 2012, the History department inaugurated an annual conference. The conference, with title of “Practicing History,” features the research of faculty, graduate and undergraduate students.

• The History department was showcased on Historians TV at the American Historical Association in 2012. The video features History faculty and students and can be accessed on the department’s website and on Youtube.

In the Community • Together with the College of Humanities, the History department continues to supports the Westside Leadership Program under the direction of Susie Porter.

•The 2011-12, the O. Meredith Wilson Lecture in History was presented

by Professor John Thornton of Boston College who spoke on “The Challenge of African History: Joys and Trials of Wrestling with Africa’s Pre-Colonial Past.”

•Professor Eric Foner, DeWitt Professor of History at Columbia University spoke in September 2012, based on his Pulitzer prizewinning book, “The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery.”

“There is no history of mankind, there is only an indefinite number of histories of all kinds of aspects of human life.”

-Karl Popper

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Department of Philosophy

P

hilosophy - A Solid Foundation for Graduate School

Recent statistical reports suggest that for students interested in Ph.D. programs, law school, medical school or MBA programs, an undergraduate degree in Philosophy may be the best foundation.

Each of these programs requires test scores on exams emphasizing logical skills (e.g., GRE, LSAT, MCAT, GMAT).

Philosophy students consistently achieve among the highest overall scores on graduate school entrance exams.

Welcome to our new faculty members

GRE Scores

Verbal Quantitative

Writing

Philosophy

589

636

5.1

English

559

552

4.9

History

543

556

4.8

Art History

538

554

4.7

Physics

534

738

4.5

Political Science

522

589

4.8

Economics

504

706

5.4

The top overall scores on the GRE, by major, as ranked by a recent analysis in Discover Magazine.

“Philosophy is the highest music�

-Plato Fascinating Philosophy Workshop Held July 2012

Comparing Two Masters: Xunzi and Hume

Dustin Stokes

Professor Stokes specializes in Philosophy of Mind and Cognitive Science.

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Jacob Stegenga

Professor Segenga specializes in Philosophy of Science, Biology, Medicine, Philosophy of Social Sciences and Bioethics.

Among comparisons that are drawn between Chinese and Western thinkers, David Hume is often compared with Mengzi, an early Confucian, while another early Confucian, Xunzi, is often compared with Thomas Hobbes. Through a series of seminar-style sessions over a period of four days, this workshop explored an alternative pairing namely of Xunzi and Hume, which has not been much explored in existing scholarshop.

The Workshop was made possible by a generous grant from the American Council of Learned Societies, funded by the Chiange Ching-kou Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange.

Department of Linguistics

L

inguists study language to understand the structure of languages, how they vary and change, how they are used in various contexts, and how they are learned.

Linguists believe that an objective study of language will lead to a greater understanding of the human mind. Students begin the study of linguistics by learning how to analyze languages - their sounds (phonetics and phonology), their ways of forming words (morphology), their sentence structures (syntax), and their systems of expressing meaning (semantics). This knowledge serves as the key for understanding language change, the acquisition of languages by children and adults, and language in its social and cultural contexts.

Graduate Student Miranda McCarvel is conducting research with her distant relatives on the Island of Jersey off the coast of Normandy, France, on the structure and preservation of their seriously endangered language, Jèrriais. Miranda is one of three linguists in the world, and the only one in the United States, working on this language. She has recently returned from the Island where she observed primary, secondary, and adult Jèrriais classes and visited with native speakers, including the owner of the farm that historically belonged to her family.

Highlights and Achievements

Professor Rachel Hayes-Harb and graduate student Robert Capps are collaborating with the English Skills Learning Center to investigate the efficacy of two competing English language teaching methods for preliterate refugee and immigrant learners of English as a second language. The project, funded by a Community-Based Research Grant from the University of Utah, was featured in a story in the Salt Lake Tribune.

Undergraduate Student Advisory Committee Chair Jeffrey Green is conducting a study in the Speech Acquisition Lab to determine whether adult language learners make greater use of knowledge of their first or their second language when learning a third language. The project is in the data collection phase, and the results will be presented in the Spring at the Undergraduate Research Symposium.

Professor MaryAnn Christison has been named the recipient of the 2012 James E. Alatis Award for Service to TESOL, established in order to recognize outstanding and extended service to the international TESOL organization and community.

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The

International Studies Program 14

T

he International Studies Program uses the wideranging resources at the University of Utah to prepare students to live and work in the increasingly global world of the 21st century.

Established in 2003, it continues to be one of the most popular undergraduate programs in the University, with over 400 students currently enrolled as International Studies majors.

A degree in International Studies grounds students in different disciplines such as communication, foreign languages and cultures, economics, history, and political science and permits them to explore their international scope. Students choose a regionally focused “Area Studies” track such as Asian or Latin American Studies, or a thematically

Left to right: Ian Abbott, Patrick Braasch (teacher), Sara Scott, Johanna Watzinger-Tharp (IS program director), Camilla Lutz, Julie Burggraf, Inmi Kim Patterson (US Consul General fro Germany), Wendy Ketter, Jose Saavedra, Daniel Jesche (teacher), Gabrielle Ernest, and Anna and Eva (tutors). Location: Consulate General of the United States in Hamburg, Germany.

focused“Global Studies” track, for example Language/Culture, Global Health, Environment and International Tourism. The degree provides students with a greater understanding of global and international issues, and guides them toward incorporating their awareness, knowledge, and skills into their career goals. Graduates of the program work in foreign service, business, teaching, and international organizations.

All students who declare an International Studies major participate in a study abroad program or an international internship. International Studies has its own summer program in the North German city of Kiel,

near Hamburg. Students take courses on European Politics and International Law and visit sights pertinent to international relations and politics. In summer 2012, for example, students visited the Consulate General of the United States in Hamburg and spoke about Germany-U.S. relations with the Consul General, Inmi Kim Patterson. Through their international experiences students gain a deeper understanding of today’s global issues, build their language and cultural capacity, and also define their career interests.

Each year, the International Studies Program hosts the Anne and Sandy Dolowitz Lecture in Human Rights. Generous support from Anne and Sandy Dolowitz makes it possible to host speakers from around the world who share their perspectives on compelling human rights issues. In 2011, Lydia Cacho, human rights activist and journalist from Mexico, spoke on human trafficking. In 2012, Mario Pecheny,

Elizabeth Jessop, Mali, on her humanitarian internship through the Ouelesseboughou Alliance

sociologist from the University of Buenos Aires, spoke on sexual and human rights in Latin America. Every three years, the lecture focuses on the Holocaust. In 2010, Fred Breinersdorfer from Berlin Germany, and screen-writer of the Oscar-nominated film “Sophie Scholl: The Final Days,” talked about Human Rights and Resistance in Nazi Germany.

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Glendale Dreamkeepers The University Writing Program The University Writing Program (UWP) has established The Glendale Dreamkeepers Project in partnership with Glendale Middle School and the Glendale Community Learning Center (CLC) to support the ongoing development of cognitive and critical skills for middle school students, particularly English Learners, through culturally relevant pedagogy that focuses on identity development, narrative inquiry, and creative expression with digital media.

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T

he Dreamkeepers Project which takes its

name from Gloria Ladson-Billings’ seminal text, The Dreamkeepers: Successful Teachers of African-American Children, is premised on research that reveals students are motivated by curricula in which they can recognize their own experience.

The project posits that an unconventional approach to literacy development, in which students are encouraged to explore, value and express their own identities, will facilitate student achievement and retention. Multiple studies conclude that culturally responsive pedagogy can significantly influence “academic achievement and resilience” (Hanley & Nobblitt, 2009). Indeed, most underrepresented students recognize their lack of representation in the public school systems. Rather than insist that students assimilate in order to achieve, the Glendale Dreamkeepers Project assumes that students’ literacy and other study skills will improve when they are able to use their cultural positioning to achieve academic success.

The Dreamkeepers Project was initiated by UWP Assistant Professor/Lecturer, Heather Hirschi; and Glendale Assistant Principal, Jennifer Mayer-Glenn. Professor Hirschi volunteered throughout Spring semester with Glendale students in the after-school video workshop.

The Dreamkeepers Project partnership now includes Spyhop, SHIFT and University Neighborhood Partners. In 2012/13, Dreamkeepers will implement the Adobe Youth Voices curriculum for which SHIFT is providing training to Professor Hirschi and Dr. Casey Boyle, Assistant Professor, UWP and English. Dr. Boyle, who specializes in Digital Humanities, will volunteer with the project monthly.

The project, which hopes to identify effective academic interventions, will begin the research component in fall 2013 with Dr. Maureen Mathison, UWP Director, and Prof.

Hirschi as primary investigators.

“Rather than insist that students assimilate in order to achieve, the Glendale Dreamkeepers Project assumes that students’ literacy and other study skills will improve when they are able to use their cultural positioning to achieve academic success.”

-Maureen Mathison

University Writing Program Director

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R eligious S tudies

at The University of Utah

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M

ore than ever, religion is considered to be a field of general inquiry that fully belongs to the Liberal Arts curriculum. According to a recent study conducted by the American Academy of Religion, Religious Studies majors in public institutions grew by 40% during the first decade of the 21st century, as universities began offering a wider array of courses and introducing students to diverse world religious and spiritual traditions.

This summer, the University of Utah joined the national trend and now offers an interdisciplinary BA in Religious Studies, modeled after similar programs across the country. While the new Religious Studies program is housed in the College of Humanities, the range of interdisciplinary coursework that makes up the core of the program encourages students to think beyond methodological boundaries. Since we went a long time without this option on our campus, students may yet wonder why the study of religion is so important in our world.

In his provocative book, Religious Literacy (2007), Professor Steven Prothero makes the case for re-instituting into the Humanities curriculum courses that provide college students with basic foundational knowledge of various religious traditions in order to train them to be conversant in the world at large.

His perspective responds to a general shift in the Liberal Arts that acknowledges the need to train students to be better global citizens, literate participants in intercultural exchange, and, importantly, knowledgeable about the religious ideas that motivate people and events around the world. In this context, religious and interreligious literacy is in high demand today as religious diplomacy again emerges as a central element of politics,

“...students may yet wonder why the study of religion is so important in our world.�

-Muriel Schmid

economics, and peacemaking.

In acquiring analytical skills and knowledge about religious traditions, students will be able to dialogue thoughtfully and respectfully with other cultures and work collaboratively with representatives from various faith backgrounds.

Now that the program has been approved, Religious Studies will serve as an umbrella for the development of several new fields of inquiry that will ideally lead to new minors: Jewish Studies and Islamic Studies, Coptic Studies, Religion Professor Muriel Schmid and Conflict, etc. It will also serve as a platform for new collaborations between the University and community partners, open opportunities for service-learning courses and exchanges with local organizations, attract speakers, and allow for new research projects to be developed around issues such as religion and politics, religion and ethics, religion and culture, etc. Faculty members who have participated in the establishment of this program are now eager to contribute to its development. Our current centers and programs that overlap with it intellectually will contribute to the growth and the visibility of this new major.

Students are impatient to enroll and start their course of study.

The new major in Religious Studies represents an exciting opportunity for the University of Utah to be part of a crucial national conversation about the role of religion in public life and to become a leader in this field.

-Muriel Schmid

Assistant Professor Director of Religious Studies Department of Languages and Literature

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The

Jewish Studies Initiative

At The University of Utah

Maera Y. Schreiber

Associate Professor of English Chair, Jewish Studies Initiative

Y

ears ago, upon hearing that I was about to leave Los Angeles and move to Utah (to teach at the University of Utah), friend after friend said to me: “You know, in Utah Jews are considered ‘Gentiles.’” Largely spoken in jest (with perhaps just a tinge of dismay), the comment reflected my friends’ collective anxiety about the prospect of me--a passionately committed, intellectually engaged, rigorously trained Jew--moving to a place where I would dwell perpetually in exile, an Other in Zion!

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As it happened, what appeared to be a liability actually turned out to be an advantage. For even as I was warmly welcomed by my home department (English), by the University community at large, as well as by the relatively small but vibrant local Jewish community, I found myself explaining Jewish customs and traditions, and teaching Jewish texts, to a highly engaged but mostly non-Jewish audience. But instead of simply shoring up my conviction in whatever “truths” I thought I might convey about Jewish identity, I found that--more often than not--these encounters with students, friends, and colleagues actually compelled me to re-examine a whole host of ideas and claims, often to surprising ends. Indeed, my book, Singing In A Strange Land: A Jewish American Poetics (which received a book award last year from the American Jewish Studies Association), was more innovative precisely because of some of the rich conversations I had here in Utah, conversations which pushed me beyond my usual intellectual boundaries.

“Increasingly it became clear to me that, rather than the University of Utah being the least likely place to establish a Jewish Studies Program, it was actually ideally suited to such an undertaking...”

These experiences led me to design a course I titled “Jews and Other Others,” looking at ideas of Jewish identity in a comparative context with other groups, including African American, Asian American, Latino, and Mormon. I’ll be honest: not all of the conversations that occurred during that semester were easy or comfortable. But for most of the students, the course offered a sustained (and exciting) opportunity to explore all kinds of assumptions about identity--Jewish and otherwise.

Increasingly it became clear to me that, rather than the University of Utah being the least likely place to establish a Jewish Studies Program, it was actually ideally suited to such an undertaking: an academic program devoted to the idea of exploring both how Jewishness contributes to our understanding of other kinds of difference, and how Jewishness itself is complicated by these comparative encounters. For, as readers of Kingfisher know, the College of Humanities is the site of many innovative programs focusing on interdisciplinary approaches to education and research. Two programs in particular, Peace and

Professor Nathan Devir

Conflict Studies and Religious Studies, have proved to be important partnerships for launching this initiative in Jewish Studies.

The spark for this venture arrived in the spring of 2011 when, to my good fortune, the Department of Languages and Literature hired Professor Nathan Devir, who came to the University of Utah by way of Middlebury College, where he had taught in its acclaimed program of Hebrew language and literature. Born in Montana, Professor Devir received his undergraduate degree from the University of Haifa (after completing a stint as an officer in the Israel Defense Force), and then returned to the United States where he received his PhD in Comparative Literature from Pennsylvania State University. Professor Devir’s cutting-edge research on the “neo-Jewish” groups in India and Ghana (groups that, by self-identifying as Jewish, challenge the boundaries of culture and belonging) sets an exciting precedent not only for Jewish Studies at the University of Utah, but for programs throughout the world who are interested in refashioning themselves by engaging in cross-cultural, ethnic and religious dialogue.

Under the aegis of the College of Humanities and its Religious Studies Program, Professor Devir and I are initiating the plans and groundwork for an exciting Jewish Studies Program here at the University of Utah. Our plans include not only a number of innovative courses and community lectures by visiting scholars, but also an academic minor in Jewish Studies, as well as a study-abroad course in Israel. Keep your eyes open for these exciting opportunities as we develop them!

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Mormonism’s History with Race:

Telling Both Sides of the story Max Perry Mueller

Mormon Studies Fellow 2011-2012, Tanner Humanities Center

O

n April 10, 2012, the Salt Lake City Tribune’s religion reporter, Peggy Fletcher Stack, posted on her Facebook page, “I know what I’ll be writing about for the next seven months.” Rick Santorum’s surprise announcement that he was dropping out of the Republican nomination race led to Stack’s post, which was more acquiescent than celebratory.

for Holocaust victims. Whatever their political persuasion, many Church members can’t wait until early November when this long “Mormon Moment” will finally be over, and they can get back to business, and to worshiping, in relative peace. Or so they hope.

Many members of the LDS Church have joked that Mitt Romney’s candidacy is like conscription. But they haven’t become political foot soldiers. Instead they have (often reluctantly) been drafted into the missionary ranks of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as they are now called upon to answer their bosses’, neighbors’ and (non-Mormon) friends’ incessant questions about Mormon planets, sacred underwear and proxy baptisms

“These parallel histories of Mormon race relations continue to the present day. The Church, after all, is now more international than American, and probably more non-white than white.”

Stack is a member of the LDS Church who has covered religion and politics for the Tribune for nearly three decades. She seems to share the sentiments of a good number of Mormons during this contentious election year, as a devout Mormon attempts to unseat America’s first black president. More than ever before, scholarship on the LDS Church’s relationship with people of African descent is taking on a particularly charged hue.

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This is particularly true for Church members like Stack, whose business is covering her faith. This is also true for scholars like me. My academic life is focused on Mormonism, more specifically on the intersection of Mormonism with race—one of the most sensitive issues in LDS History.

However, I’m not Mormon, and therefore my faith-life has not been turned into the stuff of unending headlines or banter for pundits and comedians.

Historically, non-Mormons who write about race and the LDS Church have told one version of the story: for more than 130 years, the Mormon hierarchy banned blacks from full church membership. As this version goes, the Brethren constructed this ban based on the belief that people of African descent were cursed: the spiritual inferiors to all other races. In the nineteenth century, like many others in the Atlantic World, Mormons derived this belief from a racialized reading of certain passages of the Book of Genesis, readings that had long served as a justification for the enslavement of Africans.

It is interesting that in his newspapers, Frederick Douglass, the most famous black man of the nineteenth century, had written sympathetically about the Mormons. In late 1840s, Douglass printed compassionate reports about the Mormon Exodus from America. Douglass detailed how anti-Mormon vigilantes drove the saints from their homes in Illinois. According to Douglass, the Mormons were a persecuted minority whom, like Douglass’s African brothers and sisters in chains, the American Republic had failed to protect.

Yet in the early 1850s when Douglass learned that the Mormons in Utah had legalized permanent African “servitude” he also raised the specter of Mormon polygamy. For Douglass, Mormons’ racialized theology justified “othering” the saints in the minds’ of his readers, making Mormon religious beliefs and practices seem bizarre, and even threatening.

Douglass established a storyline that generations of Mormon watchers would follow: The LDS Church demeans people of African descent, both theologically and (often) politically. Therefore, at least in this storyline, the LDS Church is worthy of being demeaned as theologically suspect, and its members deemed ineligible for certain political offices. Even 34 years after the LDS Church overturned its ban on people of African descent attaining full membership status, Mitt Romney faced this storyline from many supporters of his rivals for the GOP nomination. And this is a storyline that he will most likely face from supporters of President Obama.

Yet the history of Mormon racial exclusion is only half the history of the LDS Church’s relationship with black people. In Douglass’s initial compassion for the Mormons lies a parallel history: one of mutually expressed kinship between saints and people of African descent. This kinship has waxed and waned, and waxed again, over the LDS Church’s 182-year existence. It is true that Joseph Smith wrote anti-abolitionist screeds in the mid-1830s. But in 1844, it is also true that Smith ran for president as a gradual abolitionist, agreeing with Douglass that the American government had failed to protect its religious and racial minorities, despite the promises of the Declaration of Independence. It is true that the Utah territory legalized a form of slavery in

the 1850s. But it is also true that the LDS Church encouraged its slave holding converts to free their slaves, a recommendation that many converts followed.

It is true that after Joseph Smith died, his successors banned blacks from the Mormon priesthood and from Mormon temples. But it is also true that when Jane Manning James, a friend of Joseph Smith and perhaps the most famous early black Mormon convert, passed away in her home at the corner of 2nd Avenue and 5th East in Salt Lake City, her obituary was printed on the frontpage of the Deseret News. And five days after her passing, the president of the Church, Joseph F. Smith eulogized her as a faithful and beloved saint.

These parallel histories of Mormon race relations continue to the present day.

The Church, after all, is now more international than American, and probably more non-white than white. Yet as recent comments from a BYU religion professor highlights, the Church continues to struggle with the legacy of its exclusionary past, a legacy that continues to affect the lives of saints today (non-white and white).

During this political season, America is vetting Mitt Romney. However, it is also clear that, as was the case for John F. Kennedy’s Catholicism 60 years ago, America is also vetting Romney’s faith. And Mormonism’s history with race will certainly be a part of this vetting process.

During this Mormon Moment let us insist that both histories of Mormonism’s relationship with race (both of exclusion and of kinship) are told.

“Douglass established a storyline that generations of Mormon watchers would follow: The LDS Church demeans people of African descent, both theologically and (often) politically.”

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What is “Interdisciplinarity”?

Ana Plutinsky Professor, Philosophy of Science

U

niversities, granting agencies, and students have been clamoring for more interdisciplinarity. Yet, what is genuine interdisciplinarity?

My goal here will be to give some suggestions. However, the goal here will not simply be definitional, but also normative: what exactly is the value of interdisciplinarity? Interdisciplinarity has many benefits; when we work across disciplines, we can learn from one another about different topics, methods, and conceptual tools; such work permits us to return to old problems with a wider view. However, interdisciplinarity has limits as well: students with either undergraduate or graduate degrees in interdisciplinary fields may have trouble finding a home after finishing their degree. And there is a set of skills and a genuinely rich history that (whatever their flaws), each discipline has, which is worth learning.

My field, philosophy of biology, is an intersection of history, philosophy, and social studies of biology. One question that philosophers of biology have been concerned with a great deal of late is the nature and value of “integrative research” in the biological and biomedical sciences. This dovetails with the topic of this piece. A variety of philosophers of science have offered models of “integrative” research. A few of the distinctive features of integrative research are:

Integration involves some form of collaboration between fields, which range from drawing upon evidence from different fields, on up to placing of constraints on explanation from one sub-field to another. Integrations are often local; that is, they often involve establishment of connections between two specific areas of research, or fields of study, rather than,

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e.g., two entire disciplines, for the purposes of addressing a specific problem. That is, integration may involve “transient” connections between otherwise independent disciplines, targeted at addressing specific questions.

Such connections need not be connections between theories per se, but also sharing of information, laboratory or other techniques, methods, or concepts. There are institutional features of science that function either to promote or prevent integrative work.

The above illustrates the range of things that might be called “integrative” or interdisciplinary – one might simply have a transient connection with a neighboring field, in order to address a new, specific problem or question. Or, one might merge whole fields, or see two whole disciplines as constraining one another in their future problem domain. Is this a good thing? It depends. Sometimes integration simply a kind of “takeover” of one field by another, in the name of “integration.” Often, this is accompanied by deployment of resources from one domain to another. For example, many traditional research problems in the biological sciences have been eclipsed by advances in molecular genetics.

As an example, some classical epidemiologists are concerned that, in the name of “integrative” research, many more federal and private dollars are put into research on yet one more “obesity gene,” rather than attempting to track or intervene upon the environmental and social causes that make (perhaps a far more significant) contribution to obesity.

So, integration is a two-sided sword. On the one hand, it can be enormously effective and important – helping us to see connections or contributions from one domain to another that we never before imagined.

On the other hand, it can involve collapsing one field into another, with mixed consequences. One area where I think interdisciplinarity is genuinely evolving is biomedical humanities. “Biomedical humanists” address a range of questions about how ethical issues, scientific and institutional history, personal narratives, fiction, poetry, theater, and the tools of communication, intersect in medicine. This work of integrating different disciplinary perspectives on medicine has been enormously fruitful. I’ve seen in my own classes how including narrative or historical readings along with traditional bioethics can better engage students.

However, training “within” disciplines should not be eclipsed altogether by interdisciplinary work. One of the best ways to learn from one another is to join a club, one where members have been doing something for a long time, and do it very well. If you want to learn gymnastics, you (ideally) sign up for classes at a gym, and learn from an instructor who has been doing gymnastics for a long time. Gymnasts know how to prevent injuries, how to look graceful, what muscles to train, and how.

This kind of specific skill set is essentially what the disciplines, or getting a Ph.D. in a specific discipline, helps us achieve. We want to learn from experts.

This is how I felt when I took my first philosophy class; I wanted to become an expert in the art of thinking. I was in awe of my professors, but not because of their vast store of knowledge about philosophy. The reason I was in awe of them was not because of what they knew, but how they could think. They were quick at picking up patterns of reasoning

– they knew the moves one could make, and countermoves, and they knew how to step in and reshape the debate. Such reshaping was what excited me about the enterprise of philosophy; that we could change the way we think, and not just what we think. Their discipline was the result of decades of study of philosophical conversations about the nature of justice, or the nature of knowledge. We should not let “disciplinary” learning simply dissipate – we need the disciplines to become disciplined. However, we need each other, to see how our disciplines can and should evolve.

How can we work better together? One way is to share space, to share work, to read one another’s work, share students and classes, teach together, and learn from one another. However, there can be important institutional barriers to this. On the present funding model at the University of Utah, departments compete to get students in their classes, because they are funded by how many students we can get to sign up.

This is not only bad for interdisciplinarity. It is bad for collegiality. Interdisciplinary teaching is difficult to make happen, because you have to share students (and associated funds) with other departments, or take away faculty from your majors’ schedule of course offerings. It seems that the only way to attain and maintain the status of “interdisciplinarity” is to create one’s own “interdisciplinary minor,” institutionalizing your own success. But, doing this and maintaining collegiality with neighbor disciplines can be a challenge. You can consult with faculty from other disciplines and include their courses in your new “interdisciplinary” minor, but the fact that departments are rewarded by the number of students they can get in their classes runs counter to this kind of friendly co-activity. We need to change this model, and change our institution (for the better).

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SCHOLARSHIPS

a g n i k Ma e c n e r e f f i D W

hat if your involvement could be the catalyst that launched a group of young people, armed with expansive understanding, deep passion, and tangible skills, to make a difference in the personal and professional worlds they will inhabit?

This is the impact of donors who help fund student scholarships and awards in the College of Humanities.

Undergraduate education in the United States is the subject of compelling political debate as our standing in the global community continues to slip. The United States currently ranks only 16th in the world in terms of the number of students graduated from colleges and universities – and increasingly, those that graduate are earning specialized trade degrees that fail to prepare them for success in a complex international community.

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Within the College of Humanities, we are constantly exploring innovative ways to deepen and broaden the educational experience for our students. . However, curricular innovations, fabulous instructors and beautiful high-tech classrooms and buildings mean little to a prospective student for whom the University doors are slammed shut because that student can’t afford to pay tuition. We’re working hard to keep those doors open to as many students as possible, regardless of their background or ability to pay.

Each year, the college helps students with financial support that comes in a variety of ways, to include tuition, fellowship support, books, and housing. This is made possible through an impressive roster of scholarships, fellowships and awards.

This support adds up to more than $1,000,000 each year, all funded by generous donors, friends and college alumni who recognize the power of helping a young person seize their education and achieve their goals. (Continued on Page 28)

“In the best traditions of public universities,” states Robert Newman, Dean of the College of Humanities, “we are committed to providing affordable education to all who qualify. Higher education is the great equalizer in our country, where university degrees should not be limited by family income, but accessible to all talented, hard-working individuals.

Scholarships permit us to sustain and to honor this essential democratic principle, contributing profoundly to the fulfillment of the American Dream and bolstering our society as a whole.”

-Dean Robert Newman

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Making a Difference

Highlighted here are just a few scholarships making a tremendous difference in the lives of others.

Community Scholarships for Diversity

DUSTIN PORLAS Community Scholarship for Diversity recipient 2012-2013 International Studies Major, Peace & Conflict Studies Major, Health and Nutrition Minor “I am originally from La Habra Heights, California. I chose my majors because I hope to work with the World Health Organization, as well as in international and clinical law. I know that I will need a very diverse educational background to help me on my career path. I chose areas that I have strengths in, as well as a lot of interest in. After graduation, I plan on attending law school and have been considering a master’s in communication.”

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This full tuition scholarship helps first-generation students succeed in obtaining their undergraduate degrees and preparing for future pursuits. Whenever possible, recipients are selected from applicants whose ethnic background is under-represented in higher education in Utah, or whose cultural background or life contribute to an educationally diverse environment at the University. This award is renewable each year, as long as the recipient demonstrates reasonable academic achievement and progress toward graduation. The program currently enjoys a 96% graduate rate, due in large part to the renewable nature of the scholarship, and related faculty mentoring and social support elements. Perhaps as impressive as this graduate rate is the fact that more than half of all Diversity Scholarship awardees go on to graduate or professional school after leaving the University of Utah.

Johanna S. and Fritz G. Kempe Memorial Scholarship This unique scholarship was established in memory of Johanna Kempe, who returned to school in her sixties, and was working on her Ph.D. at the age of 69 when she expectantly passed away. Recognizing the difficulty that Johanna had in returning to school at this point in her life, her family chose to establish this scholarship in her honor, in an attempt to help other students, 60 years of age or older, who are embarking on their own journeys in graduate school. “This was an extraordinary opportunity to both honor our mother’s lifetime of learning -- and support the ambitions of courageous individuals like her,” notes Fred Kempe, son of Johanna and Fritz Kempe.

Mostofi Memorial Scholarship

This scholarship fund was established in 1980 by donations from the parents and friends of Simin S. Mostofi, who was tragically killed in an automobile accident. This includes a $500 award to an East High School graduating senior attending the University who has overcome obstacles in the pursuit of academic excellence.

O.C. Tanner Humanities House Scholarships

Each year eleven undergraduate students in the College of Humanities are selected to live in the O.C. Tanner Humanities House in historic Fort Douglas, and receive $1200 to offset housing costs. “O.C. Tanner is pleased to support the Humanities House scholarship program,” states David Petersen, CEO of O.C. Tanner Corporation. “Obert C. Tanner, former professor of philosophy at the University of Utah, believed that a university experience was a privilege, and that as many as wanted the opportunity should have it if they were willing to work hard for it. He also felt strongly enough about education that he made scholarships possible to help students along their way.”

Originally built in the 1870’s as officer’s quarters, the O.C. Tanner Humanities House has been renovated to create a unique living and learning community for students. It provides an opportunity for students from throughout the College to live together in a vibrant, interdisciplinary community.

Pauline Clyde Pace Scholarship

This scholarship, awarded based on academic merit for a student in the Department of Communication, was established in 2003 in honor of Pauline Clyde Pace, a distinguished Communication graduate who is known internationally for her humanitarian efforts.

LoPrest Book Award

This $500 book is granted to a deserving Humanities student. As an award to fund books, this reflects the donor’s (Adelma LoPrest) love of learning. The award rotates between departments in the College of Humanities.

“We graduate from college thinking we know all

the answers—and then the real world hits us like a hurricane. If we’re lucky, someone who’s already learned to successfully battle the surf reaches out and teaches us how to swim. My “real world swim coach” was Elizabeth Haglund, who served the U for 29 years, first as executive director of public relations and later as special assistant to President Chase Peterson. Elizabeth kept my head above water when times were tough, and taught me how to make the most of favorable winds in the business world. Endowing a scholarship in her name in the Department of Communication was both a way to say “thank you” to a remarkable friend, and to ensure her mentoring spirit would continue to buoy up others who might follow in her footsteps.”

- Mark Woodland

Vice President, Chapman University M.A. Mass Communication 1989

The Elizabeth M. Haglund Award

This scholarship supports upper division undergraduate students in the Department of Communication. It was established in 2007 with gifts from Mark L. Woodland and friends and family of Elizabeth M. Haglund, in honor of her impressive teaching career and powerful impact on her students.

James H. And Mary Ann Gardner Scholarship

This unique scholarship provides a resident tuition waiver for high-achieving undergraduate students majoring in history. Preference is giving to students who will pursue graduate training in business, law or medicine.

Harvard David Hanks Scholarship

The Harvard David Hanks Scholarship provides a tuition waiver for a University of Utah student majoring in History, with a focus in American History. Preference is given to non-resident students from Idaho.

Reza Ali Khazeni Memorial Scholarship This scholarship, funded by the Reza Ali Khazeni Memorial Foundation, offers a study abroad and research support for graduate students in the Humanities, Fine Arts or Architecture.

William D. Cocorinis Scholarship

This scholarship has been established in the Department of Languages and Literature to provide educational assistance to deserving students engaged in the study of modern or ancient Greek language, history or culture.

CHLOE NGUYEN Community Scholarship for Diversity Recipient 2011-2012 Mass Communication Major Arts and Technology Minor “Having lived in America since I was 2, my family roots go back to Vietnam. I write for The Daily Utah Chronicle and Lessons Magazine and act as reporter, anchor and producer for the U’s weekly newscast, Newsbreak. I am also a graphic designer at PoleVault Media and have my own freelance photography business. Upon graduation, I plan to pursue a master’s in photojournalism and broadcasting and achieve career in journalism.”

The Charles Patrick Halliday Scholarship for Benevolence

This scholarship has been established in the Department of Languages & Literature to provide support for students who demonstrate financial need and are pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree in a foreign language. Special consideration is given to students with special circumstances or from families with special circumstances.

For more information about contributing to scholarships in the College, or creating a new scholarship, contact Heidi Camp, Assistant Dean for Advancement and Research (801) 581.6214 heidi.camp@utah.edu

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Convocation 2012 The following remarks are by

Marion Munn, B.A. Speech Communication, 2012 Convocation Speaker, delivered at the Huntsman Center on May 4, 2012

A

s I look out across this convocation of the University of Utah’s College of Humanities, I see faces from various cultures and nations. And I see, not merely Americans and Koreans, English, Chinese, or Latin Americans, (including Colombians!) – above all, I see human beings.

Because of our educational experience in the College of Humanities, I hope that we have become individuals with a greater understanding of the human experience. I hope that with that understanding we have also developed the ability to transcend national boundaries, to understand the communication of others, and to connect effectively with mankind across the globe.

During the time that I have spent in class with fellow students, as a tutor at the University Writing Center, and as a peer advisor in the Communication Department, I have had the privilege of getting to know some of you just a little. As I have listened to you and read your essays and personal statements, I have shared your insights into what being human really means - and found that it rarely includes a smooth and seamless road to success.

I have learned that for some of us, college life, and life in general, has been challenging.

Some have faced abuse, some severe illness, others economic difficulties, physical disabilities, or even the challenge of writing academic papers in a language that is not their mother tongue – a skill at which I marvel!

“...I hope that we have become individuals with a greater understanding of the human experience.”

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Everyone has a unique story to tell. Even professors have shared stories on occasion. One of my favorite professors in the college, who is today an

inspiring and accomplished teacher, told me that the very first thing he did when he arrived at college as an undergrad, was to sell every single textbook his parents had bought for him! (I didn’t ask what he used the money for.) We don’t always get things right the first time, and a part of being human and accessible is to acknowledge that fact. Sometimes, when we have encountered bumps in the road or detours, we have been fortunate to have friends and family to encourage us to keep going and to do our best. My own parents did not have the opportunities that I have enjoyed. They finished their education at ages 14 and 15. University was never an option for them. My mother passed away last year, and on behalf of this year’s graduating students, I thank all of you here this evening who have been our supporters – parents, grandparents, spouses, children, extended family and friends. On many occasions, those supporters have also included caring professors and wise academic advisors who have helped to keep us on track– we include you in our thanks.

The human experience can be raw, harsh, and difficult. It can also be intensely beautiful and rewarding when lived with passion. This same passion may have led us to choose to study within the humanities and within those disciplines that have consumed our interest and made hard work worthwhile.

As someone who found her first day at the University of Utah so petrifying, she almost didn’t turn up for the second day; this graduating student applauds all of you for staying the course. In addition, I applaud those of you who have recognized that temporary setbacks are not the whole story, and, as Albert Einstein stated, “you have never failed until you stop

trying.” I applaud all of you here today who have persisted and arrived successfully at this wonderful transitional point.

Today, we can share a sense of elation and joy in the celebration of success, but in addition, as we return to our communities in many parts of the world, as well as here within the United States, let’s continue to feel a passion for life, and a commitment to a critical evaluation of the societies

“The human experience can be raw, harsh, and difficult. It can also be intensely beautiful and rewarding when lived with passion.” in which we live. With that evaluation, I trust that we choose to use the voice that we have developed through our studies in the humanities, and become part of the continuing dialogue to improve the human condition, and to care for the beautiful planet that we inhabit. As Dr. Martin Luther King Junior stated, “An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.”

It has been our privilege to receive an excellent education in the humanities, and now we have the privilege of putting that education to work, not just for ourselves, but wherever possible for the wide ranging needs of humankind.

So, congratulations to the class of 2012! I wish us all an immensely successful future. Thank you.

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Distinguished Alumni 2012 The College of Humanities posthumouslyrecognized Ronald Eugene Poelman as a Distinguished Alumnus for 2011-2012. This outstanding man was honored during the College of Humanities Convovation ceremony on May 4, 2012.

The following remarks were given by his wife, Dr. Anne Osborn, at a luncheon in his honor.

“I

am really impressed by these young and not-so-young scholars who are here with us today, along with their faculty mentors who have obviously made such a profound impact on their educations. It reminds me of a philosophy of education that Ron and I both share, even thought he was educated here at the U and I at Stanford.

It is this: find the best professors and take whatever they teach. That has served us well.

The University of Utah, and education in the humanities meant an enormous amount to Ron Poelman. He loved learning to the day he died. He devoured books. He loved to learn, and it never stopped for him.

The Poelmans were immigrants, as most of us were. Ron was the first born in his family in the United States. At the start of the Depression, Ron was the first in his family to go to college. It wasn’t easy for him. It’s hard to believe that there was a time when

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families had no food. But this was a reality for Poelmans, who often would actually open the cupboard and find nothing to eat.

By the time Ron turned 16 years of age, his father had been out of work for two years.

Ron had been saving up for College, but that year he secretly spent his savings to provide Christmas for the family. It was only years later that his siblings found out that Ron was indeed the Secret Santa that provided Christmas that year.

Despite the fact that he now had no college fund, Ron still desperately wanted to go to college. He was really smart, a wonderful man, and the valedictorian of his class. His teachers all thought he should go to college, but he simply didn’t have any money. His parents then said to him, “You know we can’t afford to send you to University. But if you can pay your way, you can live at home without paying room ,and board.” Now for some of you here in this room, the thought of paying room and board in your own home is foreign. But in that era, in that class of family, when you graduated from high school you went to work and helped pay expenses. Ron’s parents’ willingness to let him live at home without paying ultimately made the difference between his ability to go or not go to College.

One of my fondest memories is of Ron talking about those early days at the University of Utah.

He would walk all the way up to campus every day, and stay late studying in the library, until it closed at 11pm. “I would walk out on the president’s circle,” he’d tell me, “and just stand there and drink it in, and be profoundly grateful for the opportunity. For just being there.” I could hear the wonder and the magic of the moment in his voice, as he expressed his love for this place – The University of Utah.”

-Anne Osborn

Ronald Eugene Poelman, 1928-2011 Elder Ronald Eugene Poelman passed away in his home this past year at the age of 83. At the time of his death, he was an Emeritus General Authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the First Quorum of the Seventy.

Ron was born in Salt Lake City, the eldest of six children. He attended East High School, and later served a mission for the LDS Church in the Netherlands. In 1953, he completed a BA in History at the University of Utah. He went on to earn his Juris Doctorate from the U two years later. He subsequently earned an MBA from Harvard’s Business School. In 1950 he married Claire Stoddard Poelman, a consultant with Stanford University.

Ron’s professional career included work as Chief Corporate Counsel of Consolidated Freightways. He was ultimately promoted to Executive Vice President for Consolidated, but left this position soon after to accept the call to serve as a General Authority in the First Quorum of the Seventy for the LDS Church. In subsequent years, he would served in the General Sunday School presidency on three separate occasions, as a member of the Presidency of the Seventy, and as a counselor in the North America Southeast, North America Southwest, North America Central and Utah South area presidencies. Other church assignments included chairman and CEO of the Development Board, chairman of the Deseret Trust Co. board of directors, managing director in the Family History Department, and director of the Deseret Gym. Throughout his life, Ron remained active in community affairs, serving on the Board of Directors of both the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce and Ballet West His wife, Claire, predeceased him in 1979. A few years later, in 1982, he married Dr. Anne G. Osborn. Ron has left behind a stunning legacy of service, faith, dedication and family.

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Distinguished Alumni 2012 The College of Humanities recognized Orson Scott Card as a Distinguished Alumnus for 2011-2012. Scott was honored during the College Concovation ceremony May 4, 2012. The following are excerpts from his remarks given at a luncheon in his honor.

“I

t is always so good to come back to Utah. It takes my breath away – because it’s 3,000 feet up. I live close to sea level, so scaling the cliff up here to the museum was a challenge. I came to the Masters program in English at the University of Utah by accident. I came originally for the PhD program in Theatre. But once here, I discovered that I was really bored with theatre – something I never thought would happen. So I wandered over to the English department, and asked if I could switch my emphasis. They let me – and I began a marvelous adventure. It was the University’s English Department that got me through Ulysses, The Rainbow, The Lighthouse, The Good Soldier … books I would never have finished had I not been required to because I abhor 20th century fiction. I think it hates the audience, and rejects the common people to whom I wish to write. And yet how can I go to war unless I know my enemy? So I got my education in enemy territory.

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During my undergraduate days at BYU, I was able to “test out” of the History class requirement so had never taken a history course. This is interesting becuase history is what I now read constantly.

I’ve read thousand of books since my time at BYU. History was at the heart of my reading as a child.

I became a consumer of history. If I wasn’t interested in some part of history, it meant that I simply didn’t know enough about it to be interested

in it, so I worked to fill the gap. Bruce Patton’s Army of the Potomac gave me Enders’ Game, my most popular novel. As I studied Lincoln’s search for a good commander for that army, Patton gave me the roots for everything I needed to know about finding a commander who could save the human race in my novel.

Many young aspiring writers tell me they’re planning on majoring in English. With an apology to the English department, I tell them instead to major in History, or just get a degree in Humanities. I stress they shouldn’t just read literature and learn the received opinions of those authors. If they are going to enter the conversation of literature, they must enter as an equal, not as an inferior. I suggest they break into the English department, steal the reading list and read everything on it. But they shouldn’t wait to find out what other people think about what they’ve read.

They need to figure out what they think about it.

Meanwhile, I tell them to absolutely take English classes and learn their own language - study it to the bones, find out how it works. Preferably, this will include learning another language because one really doesn’t learn about English until one speaks another language. Then study history, and learn everything possible about the human condition, about the many, many ways of being human. One of the reasons for this push to a broader educational approach is that when students focus just on Creative Writing, for example, they miss the opportunity of studying with professors like Francoise Camoin, my mentor. Francoise was open to all kinds of storytelling genres. He understood that every genre, like every language, develops its own culture, values and rules, and that we can create great literature in any of them. Francois and I discussed endlessly what pure story is. We ultimately agreed that story was that part which can be completely translated into another language. Everything that can’t be translated is just the performance. Francois was the most story-centered writing teaching I’ve ever known. I’ve striven to emulate him in my teaching, and building on the foundation of what he taught me ever since. I still teach every chance I get, and am constantly trying to get back to school because you just never stop learning. I’m still trying to figure out this writing thing. I’m still trying to figure out how to find anything worth saying, so that when people are done with a book of mine they haven’t just beenentertained – they’ve found something more. And in this process, I’m constantly going back to the things I learned here at the University of Utah, to my foundation in literature and the art of writing.

So I’m glad to be back. Even if it takes my breath away.”

Orson Scott Card Orson Scott Card received a master’s degree in English from the University of Utah in 1981. He is a prolific and internationally recognized author, perhaps best known for his science fiction novels Ender’s Game and Ender’s Shadow.

Card was born in Richland, Washington, and has strong pioneer roots. When he was a young boy, his family settled in Santa Clara, California.

During this time he recalls spending hours in the Santa Clara library, where he devoured all the books in the children’s section and then sneaked into the adult section to discover the then-new genre of science fiction. He ultimately enrolled at Brigham Young University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre.

Card served a LDS church mission in Brazil. Upon his return and subsequent graduation from BYU, he founded a repertory theatre company - and because such things are seldom financially solvent, he soon found himself in need of money to pay the bills. According to Card, this need for cash was the catalyst that prompted his first attempts at writing science fiction. In 1977 he published the novelet version of “Ender’s Game” in the August issue of Analog. Soon after, he was awarded the John W. Campbell Award for best new writer from the World Science Fiction Convention. In the mid-1980s, the novel version of Enders Game and its sequel, Speaker for the Dead both won Hugo and Nebula awards, making him the only author to win both of science fiction’s top U.S. prizes in consecutive years.

His commentaries on subjects from literature and film to restaurants and consumer products now appear weekly in his column “Uncle Orson Reviews Everything” (published by the Rhinoceros Times in Greensboro, NC). He also authors a very popular blog, “The Ornery American,” where he writes about culture, politics, and world affairs.

Card now offers writing workshops from time to time, and teaches writing and literature at Southern Virginia University. He is married to Kristine Allen Card, and together they have five children.

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Partnership Board Members 2012-2013 Ross C. “Rocky� Anderson Former Mayor Salt Lake City

Martin Frey Managing Partner Mainsail Investments

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Geralyn Dreyfous Executive and Creative Director Salt Lake City Film Center

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