School of Humanities
Our Digital Programs During Covid-19
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We want to invite current and prospective graduate and undergraduate students, as well as our alumni and members of the university community, to participate in digital programs we are hosting this semester. We hope these projects will help to address some of the isolation and distance we are all experiencing during shelter-in-place. If you would like to join any event, please contact the coordinator to get access. Take care and stay safe!
CONNECT: VIRTUAL EVENTS
"Getting Your Work Out There: A Panel on Publications and Conferences"Join us on Teams next Wednesday, April 15, at 1 PM for a panel on publishing and submitting to conferences. The panel will discuss both scholarly and creative work. Wednesday, April 15, 1 - 2:30 PM on Teams We'll take questions at the end of the panel, but feel free to let me know ahead of time about any topics you'd like addressed. Email me at olivia.clare@usm.edu. |
Into the Unknown: A Virtual Movie Club Discussion on Frozen IIIn his review of Frozen II (2019) for Inverse, Eric Francisco claims that while Disney’s blockbuster hit, Frozen (2013), was a “queer parable,” the sequel is “a family musical about the evils of colonialism, about the pain it causes and the lies it creates.” I have not yet seen Frozen II, but Francisco’s claim has me ready to watch it as soon as possible. The COVID-19 crisis means that I am spending a bit more time in my living room and in front of the television, so I thought this might be the perfect time to watch Frozen II and then to have a virtual meet-up with USM students and faculty who are interested in talking all things Disney—and, in this case, critical interpretations of Frozen II. I hope you will join us in our virtual “movie club” talks! Watch the movie beforehand, have popcorn ready for our conversations, and let’s spend some time talking about Frozen II and its contributions to Disney’s legacy of public pedagogy. Date: Monday, April 20th Time: 5:00pm How: Email Dr. Inman at joyce.inman@usm.edu if you are interested in participating to get the link to our online discussions. |
Let's Play "Everything"
April 23rd at 6:00pm Let’s Play “Everything”: Experimental Live Stream and Group Chat (April 23, 6-7:30pm CST)
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH5ZYk3rjsEucSbNxA55-DQ Nominated for the “Best Indie Game” at the Golden Joystick Awards, and winner of the “Most Innovative” prize at the Games for Change Awards, Everything is one of the most bizarre and thought-provoking games of the decade. Unconventional, experimental, humorous, and wondrously thoughtful, it’s the perfect game to experiment with “stream of consciousness” chat and discussion. Dr. Carey is new to live streaming, so he needs your help. Tune in, play, watch, connect, laugh, and add your consciousness to our collective chat stream. |
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“Corona Virus Bedtime Stories”Please join History professors Dr. Andrew Wiest and Dr. Heather Stur every evening this week at 9:15pm on Facebook Live, where they will read excerpts from their Vietnam War books. Dr Wiest will read from his award-winning book, Vietnam’s Forgotten Army: Heroism and Betrayal in the ARVN, and Dr. Stur will read from her forthcoming book, Saigon at War: South Vietnam and the Global Sixties. Both books focus on South Vietnamese perspectives and bring new voices into the Vietnam War story. So settle into a comfy chair and join them! Visit this link to learn more. |
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A History of Racism and Rights Activism in Hattiesburg and USMUSM students, faculty and staff: Join us Wednesday, June 10th, for a virtual round table discussion entitled "A History of Racism and Rights Activism in Hattiesburg and USM." The event will be recorded and posted as well for any who are unable to watch it live.This panel is co-sponsored by the Center for Black Studies and the Center for the Study of the Gulf South at Southern Miss. Read the press release and learn more about to join the panel here.
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Center for the Study of the Gulf South member Dr. Max Grivno spoke at the Mississippi Library Commission's Lunch Lecture Series on June 19th.Link to the Lecture found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2vOvooF3-I |
Night at the Museum: Indie Showcase
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Virtual Poetry Reading by Dr. Angela BallOn Thursday, October 8th, join the virtual poetry reading by Dr. Angela Ball. She
will be reading from TALKING PILLOW and new poems.
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Join a Virtual Book Club on October 16th! |
CONNECT: VIRTUAL COMMUNITIES
Corona Virus Bedtime Stories with Dr Andy Wiesthttps://www.facebook.com/andrew.wiest.10/videos/10158017127355115/ One of several readings, the one above is one is from Dr. Wiest's bestselling The Boys of '67: Charlie Company's War in Vietnam. These are Corona Virus Bedtime Stories -- including, as you will see, Dr. Wiest's own version of milk and cookies read on Facebook Live. Dr. Wiest explains the concept of the readings: I just thought one night rather early on in this whole thing that it might be good to throw some art/humanity out there in the midst of this crisis. I figured that it couldn't hurt. It got a better response than I thought it might. The lowest viewership to these has been in the hundreds, and the highest viewed one has over 700 views. Turns out it was a good way to get into touch with old friends, students, and, of course, the veterans I wrote about. “About The Boys of ’67: Charlie Company’s War in Vietnam I long thought that the "real" story of the Vietnam generation of soldiers had never been told. It seemed to me that those young men and women were too often used to score political or historical points instead of writing about them. Much of my teaching centers around what war does to the young humans who fight it -- the intersection of violence and humanity. And I really hadn't seen a book that dealt with the combatants of Vietnam in terms of their humanity. The book was born through incorporating veterans into my classroom. In 1998 I took a group of students to the VA hospital on the coast where we met with veterans who were undergoing treatment for PTSD, It was an amazing experience, and one of the veterans (John Young, who is the subject of much of the reading below) really touched me. From that point on Young came to every Vietnam class I taught - driving from Picayune on his own dime -- to help me teach. We also set up a class to take him, other PTSD veterans, and USM students to Vietnam where they could reconfront their trauma in a therapeutic way while USM students learned about the reality of war. Long way to say that this book resulted from all of that. It follows one company (160 men) from their childhood, through their training, through their war, and through their lives after the war. The company lost 26 men killed and 105 wounded during their year of Vietnam. The book is about who they were, what their wartime lives were like, and about the impact of war. This particular snipped mainly focuses on a small incident in Vietnam in which John Young lost one of his best friends -- the nightmare that he could never shake. I have gone on to complete this book in the readings, and I am now reading from the book's sequel -- Charlie Company Journeys Home: The Forgotten Impact on the Wives of Vietnam Veterans. As I was working on the first book it became ever more clear to me that nobody had ever written about the impact of the war on the wives and families of the fighting soldiers. These women and their children had their lives transformed by war in every way - a war that they didn't fight. |
Join the Game Studies Group
Listserv invite: https://mailman.usm.edu/mailman/listinfo/gamestudies It’s important to stay connected right now, so I encourage you to join the group. It's officially sponsored by the School of Humanities and offers an wonderful way to participate in an active community of enthusiastic players. If you have any questions, email the group's faculty advisor (craig.carey@usm.edu) or the group's student president (lena.kinder@usm.edu). |
English Commonplace BoardAre you looking for a jolt of joy? Do you have something joyful to share? Are you curious about what others have been reading, writing, and playing during this period of isolation? Look no further. Visit the unofficial USM English Commonplace Board—a friendly place for students, faculty, and alumni to share joyful glimpses of their lives reading, writing, and playing. Check it out and get ready to smile—then make others smile in turn. No pressure, no names, no negativity—just anonymous bursts of joy. As the motto says, “Read. Write. Play. Smile. Share.” |
During this period of social distancing, many have turned to video games as a way
to connect, play, share ideas, and build community. USM students are no different.
The Game Studies Group—now an official student organization—has been actively discussing
video games for months, creating a healthy and vibrant community for students to talk
about what they’ve been playing. The group is open to gamers and non-gamers alike,
novice and expert players, or anyone with an interest in thinking about games. Recently,
we've been chatting about everything from Animal Crossing to Death Stranding, from anticipated AAA games to small indie games like Kind Words, to the color and shape of the new PS5 controller, to storytelling techniques used
in narrative games. We’re also planning some upcoming events, from live streaming
events to Netflix Party chats. If any of this sounds interesting, please take a moment
to join the listserv and/or Discord group.