UVa-Wise special lecture series to highlight immigration issues

Throughout the months of October and November, The University of Virginia’s College at Wise will present a number of special lectures and presentations, including visits from two best-selling authors. October will be highlighted by a Special Lecture/Faculty Colloquia Series on immigration, border consciousness and transnationalism.

Wilma A. Dunaway, associate professor in the School of Public and International Affairs at Virginia Tech, will speak on “Romantic Idealism Dies Hard: Challenging Mythology about Southern Appalachia.” The lecture will begin at 1 p.m. in the Chapel of All Faiths on Monday, Oct. 1.

A benefit recital will be held on Oct. 2 to aid in the establishment of the Peyton Richmond Russo Scholarship at UVa-Wise. Peyton Russo’s daughter, pianist Eugenie Russo, will perform at 7:30 p.m. in the Chapel. The following day, Eugenie will speak on the “Ex-patriot Experience: Being an American in Austria” at 1 p.m. in the Rhododendron Room on the fifth floor of the C. Bascom Slemp Student Center.

Pulitzer Prize-nominated author Tim O’Brien will speak about his book, “The Things They Carried,” during a 1 p.m. lecture on Friday, Oct. 5, in the Fred B. Greear Gymnasium. The book, which is this year’s shared freshman reading at UVa-Wise, is a collection of vignettes about a platoon of American soldiers in the Vietnam War and the things they carried with them, either in their bags or in their hearts. O’Brien will sign books immediately following the lecture.

Also on Oct. 5, pianist Phillip Hayner, of Piedmont College, will give a piano recital and presentation at 7 p.m. in the Chapel. Hayner’s presentation, “Romantic Wars: First Blood,” features performances of the Liszt B minor Piano Sonata and the Brahms F minor Piano Sonata and reveals an interesting historical link between the two.

UVa-Wise international students from Turkey, Russia, Kenya, Mexico, El Savador, Columbia and other countries will conduct a panel discussion about their home countries and their experiences in the United States. The panel discussion is set for, Monday, Oct. 8, 1 p.m., in the Dogwood Room of the C. Bascom Slemp Student Center.

Professor Jeffrey Morrison of Regent University and Georgetown University will speak on “John Witherspoon and James Madison: The Founding of the American Republic.” The lecture will begin at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 9, in the Chapel.

Lopita Nath, a former UVa-Wise associate professor of history, will return to campus to speak on “Understanding the South Asian Diaspora.” Nath, who now teaches at the University of the Incarnate Word, will lecture at 1 p.m. in the Chapel on Wednesday, Oct. 10.

Silvia Mejia of the College of Saint Rose will present her documentary about Ecuadorian migration processes and will speak on the concept of “Digital Nostalgia,” or the relations between migration movements and new technology. Mejia’s presentation will begin at 1 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 26, in the Chapel.

Nicholas Kiersey, a UVa-Wise teaching fellow of history and political science, will speak on “What Kind of Europe? Turkish Accession and the Quest for a European Polity.” The lecture will begin at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 31, in the Chapel.

“Digitizing Jefferson’s Virginia,” will be the topic of a presentation by UVa-Wise Professor of History Tom Costa and student Diane Petro.  The presentation will look at Petro’s summer research project on local Virginia records of the post-revolutionary period. This presentation will focus on wills and deeds of emancipation, documents that Virginia masters used to free, or “manumit,” their slaves. Costa and Petro argue that the language of the documents may provide an understanding of the motives of masters who manumitted their slaves. The joint presentation will be given on Monday, Nov. 5, at 1 p.m. in the Chapel.

The Department of Language and Literature, the Department of Communication Studies and the staff of the Jimson Weed invite the community to join in Coffee Night, a reading/performing event dedicated to the poetry and prose of campus and community creative writers on Tuesday, Nov. 6, at 6:30 p.m. in the Chapel. Appalachian poet and novelist Rita Quillen will be the featured author.

Professor David Roberts of the University of Georgia will speak on “Rethinking the Totalitarian Movement in 20th Century Europe” on Wednesday, Nov. 7, at 1 p.m. in the Chapel.

UVa-Wise Assistant Professor of English Gretchen Martin will present “Dismantling an Ideal and Revising the Plantation Script in Charles W. Chesnutt’s ‘The Conjure Women and Other Conjure Tales,’ ” on Monday, Nov. 12, at 1 p.m. in the Chapel.

Renowned Appalachian author Lee Smith will read from her novel “Oral History” about a college student who returns to her childhood home of Hoot Owl Holler and discovers tales of murder, suicide, incest and blood ties. A question-and-answer session and a book signing will follow Smith’s reading. A retired professor of English at North Carolina State University, Smith has received many honors, including an Academy Award in Fiction from the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1999.  Smith will present her lecture on Wednesday, Nov. 28, at 7 p.m. in the Fred B. Greear Gymnasium.

Works by Lee Smith and Tim O’Brien are available in the UVa-Wise Bookstore.

All lectures and presentations are free and open to the public.

For more information about the October special lecture series or other lectures and presentations at UVa-Wise, contact the Office of College Relations at 276-328-0130.

Posted Semptember 24, 2007