Thursday, September 6, 2007

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

What’s the over/under on Afghanistan?

Can the outcomes of military conflicts actually be predicted according to a mathematical model? Dr. Patricia Sullivan of the University of Georgia has tried to establish a formula based on examples of “asymmetrical warfare” from 1946-2002. She claims her formula correctly predicted 78 percent of the outcomes. But Dr. Derek Frisby, history, warns, “Risk is inherent in warfare, and attempting to predict the odds seems only to state the obvious. Warfare is at its most fundamental level a human endeavor and subject to friction, the fog of war, and other uncontrollable and, most importantly, unquantifiable variables.” (Under Sullivan’s model, there is only a 20 percent chance of success for the U.S.-led forces in Iraq.)

Contact Frisby at 615-494-8856.
dfrisby@mtsu.edu

A taste of style

If you’re planning a special night out, you want a menu full of choices. At “Art a la Carte,” the one-night show and sale featuring eight area artists, aficionados can saunter from room to room, savoring whatever pleases their palates—or palettes. The event, scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 8, from 6 to 9 p.m. at 519A N. Maney Ave., is a revisiting of a similar 2004 show, when Christie Nuell and seven colleagues turned her home into an art gallery for an evening. “The idea of having art exhibitions in alternative spaces, rather than galleries and museums, gives the artists freedom to put up the work that they want to show rather than what the gallery feels they can sell," says Nuell, an MTSU art professor and exhibit organizer.

Contact Nuell at 615-898-2506.
cnuell@mtsu.edu

Women in depth

From prisoners to poetry and from Hitler to Hillary, the 2007-2008 Women’s Studies Research Series at MTSU will offer presentations on a diversity of provocative and thought-provoking topics this academic year. Each of the seven lectures is slated to take place at 3 p.m. one Thursday a month in Room 100 of MTSU’s James Union Building. All lectures are free and open to the public. “The MTSU women’s Studies Research Series has something for everyone interested in women’s experience,” says Dr. Jane Marcellus, professor of mass communication. “By bringing together scholars from across campus, we touch on a wide variety of feminist viewpoints in an informal monthly gathering.” The first presentation will be “Daughters in the Fatherland: Behavioral Socialization of German Girls in Nazi Germany,” by Dr. Nancy Rupprecht, professor of history, Sept. 20.

Contact Marcellus at 615-898-5282.
jmarcell@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

AUDIO AUGMENTATION--Give your kids a wholesome, fun extracurricular activity this school year. Enroll your child in the Youth Culture and Arts Center’s (YCAC) next recording workshop at MTSU. The current enrollment period is in effect through Sept. 7 for the upcoming Sept. 13-Oct. 12 workshop in MTSU’s John Bragg Mass Communication Building. The workshop is for youngsters ages 12-17, and the fee is $125 per student. Classes are taught by Ryan York, a 21-year-old MTSU student and teacher of guitar, bass, and drums lessons at Chambers Guitars and Musical Instruments in Murfreesboro. Ryan will provide instruction in cassette four-track instruction, digital eight-track, computer recording and electronic music. All proceeds will benefit YCAC, a program of Youth Empowerment Through Arts and Humanities (YEAH), a nonprofit organization. Call 615-631-9479 or contact York at bororecording@gmail.com.

BONJOUR!--Any student whose summer was no more exciting than spending endless hours lying by the pool frying to a crisp can prepare now for an unforgettable summer 2008. There’s no time like the present to register for the annual general education study abroad program in Cherbourg, France, which will run from June 2 to June 27. At this beautiful port town in the Normandy region of northwest France, students will experience the history, art and culture of the area. “With the general education program, a student can spend four weeks in Cherbourg and in Normandy, and they can begin studying French while they’re there if they choose to, but they don’t have to already know any French,” Dr. Anne Sloan, Assistant to the Provost for International Education, says. Contact Sloan at 615-898-5091 or asloan@mtsu.edu or Jennifer Campbell, Director of International Education and Exchange, at 615-898-5179 or jjcampbe@mtsu.edu.

STAR POWER--The MTSU Department of Physics & Astronomy will present First Friday Star Parties, which will take place the first Friday of every month for stargazers of all ages. This Friday, Sept. 7, Dr. Eric Klumpe will lead a discussion on Jupiter from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in Room 102 of the Wiser-Patten Science Hall. Following the 30-45 minute public lecture, there will be outdoor telescope observing (weather permitting). The Star Party is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Klumpe at 615-898-2483 or Dr. Charles Higgins at 615-898-5946.

IN THE DRAWING ROOM--Youngsters who want professional instruction in drawing can experience a first-class introduction to the art at a Youth Culture & Arts Center (YCAC) workshop for ages 12-17. The workshop will take place from 1-4 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 15, in Room 117 of the Todd Building on the MTSU campus. The instructor will be Erin Anfinson, assistant professor of art at MTSU. “During this workshop, students will explore the media of charcoal, gesture drawing and working from a still life,” says Anfinson. She recommends that participants wear clothes they won’t mind getting dirty because “charcoal is a little messy.” Space for this workshop could fill quickly. The fee is $20 per person. To register, go to http://www.youthculturecenter.org. For more information, contact the instructor at anfinson@mtsu.edu.