News

Portuges authors film studies articles

Several articles by Catherine Portuges, professor of Comparative Literature and director of the Interdepartment Program in Film Studies, have been published recently.
 
“Jewish Immigrant Directors and their Impact on Hollywood” appears in “Hollywood's Chosen People: The Jewish Experience in American Cinema,” published by Wayne State University Press and edited by Daniel Bernardi, Murray Pomerance and Hava Tirosh-Samuelson.
 
“Cinema’s Alchemist: The Films of Peter Forgacs,” published by the University of Minnesota Press, includes a chapter by Portuges titled “Found Images as Witness to

Greensboro Massacre survivor to speak Nov. 1

The Rev. Nelson N. Johnson, a survivor of the 1979 Greensboro Massacre, and his wife Joyce, will speak Thursday, Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. in the Campus Center Auditorium as part of the History Department’s Feinberg Lecture Series on “Truth and Reconciliation, History and Justice.” The Johnsons will discuss the truth and reconciliation process and their work in the Beloved Community Center in Greensboro.
 
In 1979, members of the Ku Klux Klan and American Nazi Party opened fire on a Greensboro, N.C. civil rights protest, killing five activists and members of the Communist Workers Party.

Campus closes in advance of Hurricane Sandy's arrival

With forecasters predicting heavy rain, strong winds, power outages and flooding in the region due to Hurricane Sandy, university officials announced that UMass Amherst and its off-campus facilities around the state will be closed Oct. 29.

The closing notice was communicated to students, staff and faculty through broadcast e-mails, text messages, the recorded emergency closing telephone line and via the campus's website. The notice was also distributed to local television and radio outlets.

The closure decision came after Gov.

Game Studies Colloquium set for Nov. 8-10

The Pioneer Valley Game Studies Colloquium, a series of events concerning academic game studies, is being held Nov. 8-10 at UMass Amherst, Smith College and the Modern Myths bookstore in Northampton.
 
The goal of the colloquium is to showcase recent research and expose faculty, students and community members to this ever-expanding field of study.

The scheduled events are as follows:

“Pervasive Games in Stockholm,” a lecture by and discussion with Annika Waern of Stockholm University, Thursday, Nov. 8, 7-9 p.m., Seelye Hall 101, Smith College.

“From Media Studies to Game Studies,” a panel

Presentation to address classroom use of i>clicker

Faculty and graduate student instructors are invited to “i>clicker: Transforming Student Learning through Technology,” a special guest presentation featuring Mats Selen, one of the i>clicker inventors, on Friday, Nov. 2 from 10-11:10 a.m.
 
Students’ unprecedented access to content on the Web is providing a unique opportunity to transform the role of lectures in education, moving the focus from content delivery to helping students synthesize content into knowledge.

Doctoral oral exams for Nov. 5-9

The graduate dean invites all graduate faculty to attend the final oral examinations for the doctoral candidates scheduled as follows;

Sompit Wanwong, Ph.D., Chemistry. Monday, Nov. 5, 2:30 p.m., 153 Goessman. Dissertation: “Molecular Designs for Charge and Ion Transporting Materials.” Sankaran Thayumanavan, chr.

Jean Kosha, Ed.D., Education. Tuesday, Nov. 6, 1:30 p.m., 151 Hills House. Dissertation: “Miss, Miss, I’ve got a Story!: Exploring Identity Through Micro-Ethnographic Analysis of Lunchtime Interactions with Four Somali Third Grade Students.” David Evans, chr.

Patek explores sound in the sea in Honors Faculty Lecture

Listening beyond the rhythm of ocean waves and squawks of seagulls, biologist Sheila Patek explores the sounds below the ocean’s surface during her talk "(un)Silent Sea" on Wednesday, Nov. 7 at 6:30 p.m. in the Student Union Ballroom. The talk is part of the Honors Faculty Lecture Series presented by Commonwealth Honors College.
 
"A healthy sea is full of sound. Yet," she asks, "Are we heading toward a silent sea?"  Her lecture examines the biomechanics and behavior of sound in the sea, and considers the ever-increasing impact of humans on ocean life.

Quilter appointed copyright and information policy librarian

Laura Quilter has joined the Libraries staff as copyright and information policy librarian.

Quilter has a master of library and information science from the University of Kentucky and a J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law.
 
Quilter has taught as an adjunct professor at Simmons College, and at the Samuelson Law, Technology and Public Policy Clinic at the UC Berkeley School of Law.  She has consulted with libraries and non-profits on copyright, privacy, and other technology law concerns.

Stockbridge student awarded new GreenDependence Scholarship from National Grid Foundation

Derek Silva, a second-year Stockbridge School of Agriculture student from Lowell studying sustainable food and farming, is the first recipient of a new scholarship established by the National Grid Foundation to encourage minority students to pursue green-related careers.

 
Funded with a $10,000 gift from the foundation, the GreenDependence Scholarship provides financial assistance to a qualified student interested in sustainability who wants to apply knowledge and skills through a community service-learning project.

Lecture examines challenges to translating Shakespeare into Portuguese

Lawrence Flores Pereira will speak on "Translating Shakespeare's Drama into Portuguese: poetry, prose and other problems" on Wednesday, Nov. 7 at 4 p.m. at the Renaissance Center, 650 East Pleasant St.

 

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