Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Scary stuff

As Halloween approaches, it behooves us to remember that not all horrors are cute, clever or temporary. The horrors of the Holocaust were all too real and beyond anything either Edgar Allan Poe or Stephen King could have imagined. The impact of the Nazis’ institutionalized terrorism remains with us to this day. Dr. Nancy Rupprecht, history, and the Holocaust Studies committee have received a contract to create a second book based on papers from the MTSU International Holocaust Studies Conference. The title will be The Holocaust and World War II in History and in Memory. The MTSU Holocaust Conference became the International Holocaust Conference in 2009 after attracting other paper proposals from first-class scholars from Canada, Germany, Great Britain, Ukraine, Poland, Israel, Italy and Slovenia to participate in the ninth biennial conference.

Contact Rupprecht at 615-898-2645.
nrupprec@mtsu.edu

Going global

Dr. Steven Livingston, political science, is conducting a study titled Tennessee’s Global Competitiveness: A History of Globalization in the Volunteer State. This study is motivated by the realization that globalization will affect significantly the economy and society of Tennessee but that the extent of the globalization is poorly understood and has yet to be measured. It addresses the pattern and historical development of globalization in Tennessee, creating a methodology to assess the global competitiveness of each of the state’s counties and a set of variables to measure that competitiveness. It will produce a figurative map of globalization in Tennessee. The competitiveness of each county will be determined, as well as how that competitiveness is changing over time.

Contact Livingston at 615-898-2720.
slivings@mtsu.edu

Warrior words

Dr. Conrad Crane, director of the United States Army Military History Institute, will discuss the development and application of a new counterinsurgency doctrine to guide military leaders at 8 a.m. this Sunday, Oct. 24, on “MTSU on the Record” With host Gina Logue on WMOT-FM (89.5 and wmot.org). Crane, who is slated to speak at MTSU on Tuesday, Nov. 2, was the lead author of the new Army-U.S. Marine Corps counterinsurgency manual, which was released in December 2006. In November 2007, he visited Iraq at the request of Gen. David Petraeus to evaluate the new doctrine in action. A veteran of 26 years of military service, Crane holds a bachelor’s degree from the U.S. Military Academy and master’s and doctorate degrees from Stanford University.

Contact Logue at 615-898-5081 or WMOT-FM at 615-898-2800.

TR EXTRA

EXPLORE THE WAR--After two excursions to the South Pacific to expose students to some of the critical sites of World War II, an MTSU historian prepares to embark on a tour of some of the pivotal sites of the European Theater of Operations for his “Warfare and Public Memory in Western Europe” class (HIST 3070). Dr. Derek Frisby, associate professor of history, will escort students across the continent May 19-June 3, 2011, in tracing the war’s “Great Crusade.” The 16-day tour will include an examination of Normandy; Bastogne; Dachau; Operation Market Garden, a campaign fought in Germany and the Netherlands; and the “Eagle’s Nest,” Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler’s retreat in the mountains above Berchtesgarden. Students also will follow the route of the 101st Airborne Division’s “Band of Brothers.” Tours of Omaha and Utah beaches, Arnhem and the “Battle of the Bulge” site are on the itinerary, as well as the Bayeaux Tapestry, Paris, Verdun and Waterloo. For more information, contact Frisby at 615-904-8097 or dfrisby@mtsu.edu. Financial aid is available. Apply as soon as possible. Contact the Office of Education Abroad and Student Exchange (MT Abroad) at 615-898-5179 or mtabroad@mtsu.edu.

STEP IT UP—Members of seven Greek organizations will step lively for prizes and pride at the annual homecoming week Step Show presented by the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 22, at MTSU’s Murphy Center. The teams will perform intricately designed and rehearsed routines that will be judged in the categories of complexity, creativity, synchronization, crowd interaction and other criteria. Admission for this year’s show is $12 in advance at the Murphy Center Gat A ticket office through tomorrow, Oct. 21, or $15 on the day of the show. Only cash will be accepted. For information, contact Angela King at 615-898-5812 or anking@mtsu.edu.

BODY AND SOUL--Women in Action, an MTSU student organization, will present “Love Your Body Day” from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. tomorrow, Oct. 21, on the Keathley University Center knoll on the MTSU campus. The purpose of the event is to encourage women to love themselves inside and out. Students and faculty will be asked to participate in physical activities, including jumping rope, hula hoops and jogging in place, for prizes. Vendors, including Curves, Renfrew Center for Eating Disorders, MTSU Health Services, VOX-Voices of Planned Parenthood and the Women’s Studies Student Organization, will distribute information. For more information, contact Courtney Clardy at 615-995-0680 or cac5y@mtmail.mtsu.edu.

A RADICAL IDEA--A series of six Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) classes will be offered at no charge from 6-8 p.m. each Thursday from Oct. 21 through Dec. 2 at MTSU police headquarters, 1412 East Main St. in Murfreesboro. The class will be open to all female MTSU students, faculty and staff, as well as to the general public. A workbook/training manual will be provided to each student. Enrollment is limited. For more information or to enroll, contact MTSU RAD instructor Sgt. David Smith at 615-692-2424 or 615-494-7858.

COMING HOME--MTSU Student Government Association Homecoming events include T-shirt Swap Days Oct. 20-22; Horseshoe Competition, Oct. 21, 5 p.m., Recreation Center; Chili Cook-off and Corn Hole Competition, Oct. 22, 5 p.m., Murphy Center; NPHC Step Show, Oct. 22, Murphy Center; and Fight Song, Oct. 20, Murphy Center “Forest.” The homecoming parade will begin at 11 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 23, at the intersection of Maney Avenue and Main Street and will end at the Tennessee Livestock Center on Greenland Avenue. It all leads up to the homecoming football game against Louisiana-Monroe at Floyd Stadium at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 23. For more information, contact Donald Abels at 615-898-2537 or sgahome@mtsu.edu.

SING “HAPPY BIRTHDAY”--MTSU’s Center for Popular Music will celebrate its 25th birthday this month. Items from its collections are on display in the atrium of the James E. Walker Library. A 25th birthday gala, complete with cake and all the trimmings, is slated for 12:30-2:00 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 23, at the center, which is located on the first floor of the John Bragg Mass Communication Building. This event is free and open to the public.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS--It’s time again for “Operation Christmas Care,” the project that sends holiday cheer to wounded warriors. The service, which was started in 2006 by Lee Ann Newton, executive aide for the Tennessee Mathematics, Science and Technology Education Center, has sent more than 20,000 Christmas cards to hospitalized military personnel. “Unfortunately, our soldiers’ individual support systems often dwindle after the life-threatening danger has passed,” says Norton, “and yet their painful daily regiment toward recovery continues. E-mails are nice, and they’re appreciated, but a colorful card or letter with a heartfelt message of support and encouragement can beam from the walls of their hospital rooms until they leave.” Contact Newton at 615-904-8573 or lnewton@mtsu.edu.