Friday, February 13, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

News that looks like America

Will the election of the nation’s first African-American president and the emergence of women policymakers alter the way the news media cover race and gender issues? Drs. Jennifer Woodard and Clare Bratten of the MTSU Department of Electronic Media Communication will discuss this topic at 7 a.m. this Sunday, Feb. 15, on “MTSU on the Record” on WMOT-FM (89.5 and wmot.org). To hear last week’s program with Dr. John Vile, dean of the University Honors College, discussing books of his father’s proverbs and essays about James Madison, go to http://frank.mtsu.edu/~proffice/podcast2009.html anytime and click on “February 8, 2009” at the top of the page.

For more information, contact Gina Logue at 615-898-5081 or WMOT-FM at 615-898-2800.

Herspaniola

The MTSU Black History Month Committee will present “Poto Mitan: Haitian Women, Pillars of the Global Economy,” a documentary film, from 3:30-5:00 p.m. Monday, Feb. 16, at the Keathley University Center Theater. Co-producers Renee Bergan and Mark Schuller will be in attendance for a question-and-answer session. Told through the compelling lives of five courageous Haitian women, “Poto Mitan” gives the global economy a human face. While the film offers an in-depth understanding of Haiti, its focus on women’s subjugation, worker exploitation, poverty and resistance demonstrates that these are global struggles. Finally, through their collective activism, these women demonstrate that, despite monumental obstacles, collective action makes change possible. This event is free and open to the public.

For more information, contact Dr. Sekou Franklin at 615-904-8232 or Tara Prairie at 615-494-8918.

His truth is marching on.

Dr. Robert Hunt, professor of history at MTSU, will speak at the next meeting of the Middle Tennessee Civil War Roundtable at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 17, at the Heritage Center of Murfreesboro and Rutherford County, 225 West College St. in Murfreesboro. Hunt will present “Citizen Soldiers and the Politics of an Anti-Slavery War,” a program based on his research for a new book that will be published soon by University of Alabama Press. Hunt will examine how Union soldiers, particularly those in the Army of the Cumberland, came to adopt emancipation as part of “their war” and not simply Lincoln’s war or the Republicans’ war. He also will talk about how veterans of the war later incorporated this emancipation event into their understanding of the national victory they had won, shaping the way future generations thought about the conflict.

For more information, call Jim Lewis at 615-243-6830 (before 8 p.m.).
mtcwrt@comcast.net

TR EXTRA

THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME.--To help students dealing with high prices and tight budgets, the MTSU Off-Campus Housing Web site will waive its $25 fee for posting notices of apartments to be sublet effective immediately. The Web site (www.mtsuoffcampus.com) was created in November 2007 by the Office of Off-Campus Student Services in cooperation with Off-Campus Partners, a Virginia-based company providing services to nearly 30 universities. Property managers pay fees to post information such as location, price and type about apartments, condominiums and houses for rent and for sale. To make it easier for students to cut transportation costs, the Web site also features Carpool Central, a message board for people seeking rides to and from school; Ride Board, for rides wherever they want to go out of town; and a Roommate Matching message board. For more information, contact the Office of Off-Campus Student Services at 615-898-5989 or ocss@mtsu.edu.

Y’ALL COME BACK NOW, YOU HEAR?--The MTSU Department of Art’s Gallery at Todd Hall presents “Revisited,” an exhibit featuring the collective works of four of its retired faculty members, through Friday, Feb. 20. The artists whose work is being showcased are Ollie Fancher, who taught graphic design and drawing; Jim Gibson, sculpture; Klaus Kallenberger, jewelry; and David LeDoux, painting. Eric Snyder, gallery curator, says these individuals “contributed a great deal to the Department of Art’s program and curriculum and have been asked to return to MTSU in honor of their hard work.” The gallery is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays and is closed on all state holidays. Admission is always free and exhibits are open to the public. For more information, contact Snyder at 615-898-5653 or esnyder@mtsu.edu.