Friday, September 4, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Thinking outside the box

Are there any movies that actually depict intellectually gifted people in positive ways? Dr. Scott Carnicom, associate dean of the University Honors College, cites “Good Will Hunting” with Matt Damon and Robin Williams and “Little Man Tate” with Jodie Foster. Sometimes they’re even portrayed as terrific adventurers, such as in “The DaVinci Code” and the “Indiana Jones” series. However, all too frequently, the images are indicative of a more limited imagination. “We pigeonhole people,” Carnicom laments. “Rather than acknowledging the existing multiple facets of people’s personalities, we reflexively criticize anyone who actively engages in academics and put them in a little box of our own construction. Then we contradict reality by saying that they need more variety in their lives, even though we are guilty of the stereotype.”

Contact Carnicom at 615-494-7611.
carnicom@mtsu.edu

“Things will get better despite our efforts to improve them.”—Will Rogers

The Tennessee economy was a big stinker in the second quarter, but the analysts at MTSU’s Business and Economic Research Center say at least it wasn’t as bad as it was in the second quarter. In the latest edition of Midstate Economic Indicators, they write, “In all, economic activity continued to decline at a slower pace with one notable exception: housing construction appears to have finally turned the corner. The more comprehensive indicators of economic activity, however, continue to signal contraction. More jobs were lost, with total employment dropping to its lowest level since the second quarter of 2005. The unemployment rate rose to 10.3 percent in the midstate and 9.4 percent for the Nashville metropolitan area, but the increase was somewhat lower than in the first quarter.”

Contact the Business and Economic Research Center at 615-898-2610.

The color and gender of journalism

Dr. Dwight Brooks, new director of the MTSU School of Journalism, will examine depictions of race and gender in the news media at 7 a.m. this Sunday, Sept. 6, on “MTSU On the Record” with host Gina Logue on WMOT-FM (89.5 and wmot.org). Brooks, who most recently was chair of the Department of Mass Communication at Jackson State University, says his approach as a journalism professor is to “move through different media and give them different examples to deconstruct. … I still see students living in very separate worlds. I think there’s probably a greater sense of acceptance, but really where we’re trying to go is not just a sense of acceptance. It’s a real understanding of people who are different and [willingness] to embrace them.”

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

TR EXTRA

TWINKLE, TWINKLE, LITTLE STARGAZERS--Jana Ruth Ford, physics and astronomy, will discuss “Black Holes and Warped Space” starting at 6:30 p.m. tonight, Sept. 4, kicking off the fall 2009 First Friday Star Party schedule. The talk will be held in Wiser-Patten Science Hall, Room 102, and outside the building. Ford will have a 30- to 45-minute public lecture followed by outdoor telescope observing (weather permitting). Other scheduled Star Parties include Dr. Chuck Higgins’ “Atmospheric Fireworks: Aurorae in the Solar System” on Oct. 2; Dr. Eric Klumpe’s “400 Years after Galileo: How Our View of the Universe Changed” on Nov. 6; and Jeff Gritton’s “Binary Stars: Strange Star Dance” on Dec. 4. Each event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Higgins at 615-898-5616 or chiggins@mtsu.edu or Klumpe or Klumpe at 615-898-2483 or eklumpe@mtsu.edu.

STACKS OF WAX AND POUNDS OF SOUND--This year, the Memphis Music and Heritage Festival will feature Martin Fisher, director of Recorded Music Collections at MTSU’s Center for Popular Music, demonstrating his talent for recording sound the old-fashioned way. He will enable festivalgoers to record their own voices with genuine original Edison phonograph equipment on modern cylinders that have a chemical composition similar to those used by Edison. Participants also will be able to listen to themselves through Fisher’s old-fashioned horn. The Memphis Music and Heritage Festival is scheduled for tomorrow, Sept. 5, and Sunday, Sept. 6, from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. each day. Admission is free. Contact Fisher at 615-898-5509 or wmfisher@mtsu.edu.

GETTING TO KNOW US--On Tuesday, Sept. 8, the courtyard will be the venue for the Volunteer Fair from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. The Student Organization Fair is slated for 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 9. From 8 p.m.-midnight on Friday, Sept. 11, it’s “Dance the Night Away” in the Tennessee Room of the James Union Building. Contact Randy Weiler in the Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-2919 or jweiler@mtsu.edu.

WHEN YOU YEARN TO LEARN--MTSU professors, past and present, will serve as some of the tour guides for the 19th annual “Adventures in Learning,” an interesting educational experience for persons age 50 and older, on four successive Mondays, Sept. 14, 21, and 28, and Oct. 5, at First United Methodist Church, 265 W. Thompson Lane in Murfreesboro. Topics to be explored include recreation, literature, country music, genealogy, technology, ethnicity and history. Classes will last from 9:30-10:30 a.m. and 10:45-11:45 a.m. “Adventures in Learning” is made possible by a local interfaith coalition. The cost for all four weeks is $8 in advance or $10 after Sept. 2. Lunch reservations and payments must be made in advance of the classes. Lunch will be catered by Carolyn’s Creations, followed by forums on various items of civic interest. Contact Mary Belle Ginanni at 615-895-6072.

SOLID AS A ROCK BLOK—Registration is open now for this fall’s Rock Blok workshop at MTSU. Young musicians ages 10-17 can learn music, make friends and form a band at the workshop, which is slated to begin tomorrow, September 5. “When a student signs up, he or she is assigned to a band with other students,” says Ryan York, executive leader of Youth Empowerment through Arts and Humanities (YEAH!) and workshop leader. “Each band has two professional musicians as volunteer teachers. The students then spend two hours each Saturday learning music, working up a set list, making merchandise for their band, recording an album and writing music.” At the conclusion of the workshop, the bands will perform in concert. The fee is $40 a month ($120 total). For more information, go to www.YEAHintheBoro.org, send an e-mail to info@YEAHintheBoro.org, or call 615-849-8140.

PRESSING ON--The legacy of MTSU’s working replica of an 18th century printing press will be explained through photos and prints as part of an exhibit at the main branch of the Nashville Public Library, 615 Church St., through Sept. 27. The exhibit is titled “Telling the Story: Letterpress Printing and Community.” The university’s segment will include the story of letterpress printing at MTSU. The works of current MTSU art students; alumni; visiting artists; faculty; elementary, middle- and high-school teachers and students who printed on the James E. Walker Library’s unique device will be highlighted. A reproduction of the English common press used by Benjamin Franklin in the early 1700s, the printing press was handcrafted in 2004 and 2005 out of chestnut and white oak wood from a100-year-old house in Virginia. Contact Kristen Keene at 615-898-5376 or kkeene@mtsu.edu.

ART FROM THE HEART--The Todd Art Gallery at MTSU will present the art department’s 2009 biennial Faculty Art Exhibition through Sept. 17. “This exhibit will feature works of art by faculty members as a way to introduce their work to art majors, the broader campus population and the community,” says Eric Snyder, gallery curator, who adds that the artworks represented will vary in media and styles—from representational, abstract and non-objective to traditional media in a straightforward manner and mixed media with a “twist.” The gallery, which is located in the Todd Building on the MTSU campus, is open from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. each Monday-Friday and is closed on state and university holidays. Admission is always free. Contact Snyder at 615-898-5653 or esnyder@mtsu.edu.