Spring 2023
Inside the Open
News and Inspiration from the College of Liberal Arts -
Spring 2023
2022–23: An Academic Year in Review
A Message from the Dean
Reflecting on all that our faculty, staff, and students have accomplished during this academic year leaves me feeling honored to work with such a group of dedicated people. From our individual and collective efforts, many initiatives, new programs, and advances were made possible this year. A visit to the College of Liberal Arts news page offers a glimpse, and while there are many to be proud of and far too many to list, in this article are a few of note.
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An inside look
IMAGINERIT 2023
Creativity and innovation take the spotlight
Interactive exhibits drew thousands to the RIT campus.
Inspiring people, amazing work.
Where STEM and the Arts Live in Harmony
Inside Higher Ed features RIT’s Performing Arts Scholarship program and talks to student Mia Clarizio, School of Performing Arts Director Erica Haskell, and RIT President David...
Student agency lends creative talents to help promote Imagine RIT
A new School of Communication student agency, Technically Speaking, connects RIT students to first-hand, professional experience in marketing and public relations.
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Three cheers for our first students transitioning to law school with the 3+3 program
RIT’s College of Liberal Arts partners with Syracuse University’s College of Law to offer an accelerated 3+3 law program. Students complete both a bachelor’s degree and Juris Doctor degree in six...
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Hello, friend.
Get to know the people who keep the College of Liberal Arts moving forward in these regularly updated profiles.
Nominate a faculty or staff member for a future profile spotlight
Meet Yuhan Huang, Assistant Professor in Modern Languages and Cultures
- Shameless brag: I am gifted at using creative expressions to inspire people and foster mutual understanding. As a person with a strong sense of community, I always try to apply this skill to generate positive changes. I was one of the founding members that drove Purdue University to establish an Asian American and Asian Resource and Culture center when I was a graduate student there. The photo was taken at the center as I was invited back to visit this March, in front of a poster art I created with a previous student to discuss his experience of being a 1.5-generation immigrant. Recently, I have been working with a group of Chinese diaspora feminists to grow an activist community by utilizing open-mic comedy for free speech. I think this will be the coolest Chinese-language stand-up comedy show, and it is also the topic of my next journal article!
- What or who inspires you?
My friends who persist in their activist efforts despite being ha rassed by Chinese authorities. They’ve taken a lot of risks and lived a life of inconvenience by being at the forefront of activism.
And my mother who has taught me to push beyond perceived limits by example. - A goal or dream you are working towards: Write many books (both scholarly and creative). I have a lot of stories to tell, and I will tell them one by one.
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Three experiences or destinations on your bucket list: (1) Going on a book tour, (2) traveling with my mom to three top places she’d like to visit, and (3) completing the 46ers in the Adirondacks with my partner.
- On your perfect day off, you’re most likely to be found: Hanging out with friends or hiking with my partner.
Newsmakers
May 25, 2023
<p><a href="https://www.rit.edu/directory/baagll-bruce-austin">Bruce A. Austin</a>, professor in the School of Communication, reported and wrote <a href="https://www.maineantiquedigest.com/stories/quest-for-the-chest-madeline…;“Quest for the Chest: Madeline Yale Wynne's Masterpiece,”</a> the cover story for the June 2023 issue of <em>Maine Antique Digest</em>. The story is about a curator’s inadvertent encounter with a photograph of a <a href="https://www.historic-deerfield.org/events/gardenofhearts">1903 bride’s chest</a> that prompted a two-decade long search to bring the chest home. The hunt led to a fundraising campaign for the chest’s acquisition and resulted in its repatriation to the place where it was crafted.</p>
May 25, 2023
<p><a href="https://www.rit.edu/directory/cmkgsh-christine-keiner">Christine Keiner</a>, chair of the Department of Science, Technology, and Society, is one of 25 national college-level educators who has been selected to participate in the <a href="https://www.neh.gov/">National Endowment for the Humanities</a>-funded summer seminar on “Reading, Writing, and Teaching the Rust Belt.” The two-week seminar aims to help participants “equip their students to shape the future of the Rust Belt, identify and contribute to social solutions, and reimagine the role of the humanities within this sphere.” Keiner plans to enhance her syllabus for her environmental studies course on the Great Lakes, and to continue researching historical and contemporary Rust Belt bioinvasions.</p>
May 18, 2023
<p><a href="https://www.rit.edu/directory/baagll-bruce-austin">Bruce A. Austin</a>, professor in the School of Communication, authored <em><a href="https://sunypress.edu/Books/T/Tourists-and-Trade">Tourists and Trade: Roadside Craftsmen and the Highway Transforming Craft</a></em>, published by SUNY Press. The book examines two small Western New York craft shops located on Routes 5 and 20, initiated at the height of the Depression, and their role elevating handcrafts from pantry shelves to museum vitrines and craftworkers from hobbyists to artist-professionals by innovating a business model adopted 70 years later on a very different “super highway” — the Internet.</p>
May 11, 2023
<p><a href="https://www.rit.edu/directory/sxbgsl-silvia-benso">Silvia Benso</a> and <a href="https://www.rit.edu/directory/bxsgla-brian-schroeder">Brian Schroeder</a>, professors in the Department of Philosophy, hosted a virtual seminar with philosopher Caterina Resta (Università di Messina, Italy) on <a href="https://www.rit.edu/events/geophilosophy-environmental-crisis-and-end-w…;“Geophilosophy, Environmental Crisis, and the End of the World.”</a> The seminar, which also featured responses by professors Elvira Roncalli (Carroll College, Montana) and Damiano Benvegnù (Darmouth College, New Hampshire), was organized in collaboration with Tim Campbell (Cornell University), Stefano Giannini (Syracuse University), and Donatella Stocchi-Perucchio (University of Rochester), and was funded by a grant from the <a href="https://www.cnycorridor.net/groups/pct11-theorizing-italy">Central New York Humanities Corridor</a> through an award from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.</p>
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