Members of our College of Letters and Science faculty are excited to present our Faculty Forum for the 2024-2025 academic year. The faculty lecture series is open to the public and free of charge. Light refreshments served.
For more information, contact: Robert Sirabian, Department of English, email robert.sirabian@uwsp.edu
2024-2025 Presentations
Oct. 9, 2024
Luke Whitmore – Religious Studies: “Analyzing Himalayan Futures in 2023: A Jungle of Decisions”
What does it mean to be living in the central Indian Himalaya during a time when both climate-driven problems and tourism are on the rise? Based on a five-week exploratory trip to the area of Garhwal (found in the North Indian state of Uttarakhand) in 2023 (and years of previous research in the area), Dr. Whitmore proposes to explore the possibility that focusing on the ways that local religious rituals are becoming less collective and less agriculturally-based may help to answer this question. Part of the goal of this talk is to invite conversation about possible future directions for the research.
Nov. 14, 2024
Joshua Horn – Philosophy “Cheating and Integrity in Games?”
We typically have intuitions that cheating is morally impermissible. But what we’re less clear about is what it means to cheat in the first place. This talk will discuss the way in which philosophers and game theorists have tried to understand cheating as a phenomenon. We’ll work through several attempts to define cheating, and I’ll defend the view that it is impossible to cheat in a single-player game because cheating should be understood as…you’ll have to come to find out.
Dec. 5, 2024
Cory Haala – History: “History and International Studies: Tim Walz and the Midwestern Liberal Tradition”
The selection of Tim Walz as Kamala Harris’s running mate in 2024 became a social media sensation, whether for Walz’s status as a “Midwestern dad” or his policy achievements as governor of Minnesota. Walz’s rise, though, ought to be understood as a rare modern victory for “Midwestern liberals” and an opportunity to understand the history and potential of progressive populist politics. This presentation situates Walz’s career within a longer arc of distinctly Midwestern politics, embodied in Wisconsin not only by Robert (“Fightin’ Bob”) La Follette, but congressmen like Dave Obey as well as senators like Russ Feingold of Wisconsin and Paul Wellstone of Minnesota. Those progressive traditions reemerged during the 1980s’ twin crises of deindustrialization and the collapse of the family farm, leading a new generation of grassroots progressives to build the electoral, policy, and organizing infrastructure that quite literally taught Walz how to be a politician. It will also briefly discuss the results of the 2024 presidential election and its potential meaning for those political traditions.
Feb 13, 2025
Amy Zlimen Ticho and Kate Kipp – Social Work: “Instructor Self-Disclosure in the Classroom: Benefits, Risks and Best Practices”
Based on a survey of social work instructors (n=380) affiliated with bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs, this talk will focus on the perceived benefits, risks, and strategies associated with instructor self-disclosure in the college classroom. Results suggest social work instructors have vast personal and family experiences that they utilize as valuable teaching tools and overwhelmingly, instructors generally believe there is a time and place to share anything. Yet, results also suggest that some experiences, identities, and beliefs are more likely to be shared than others. Qualitative analysis of the data illuminated a myriad of themes regarding risks, including negative implications to careers and students, breaching boundaries, and physical safety concerns. During this talk, a decision-making model will be shared to assist instructors as they consider the use of self-disclosure. While this research is specific to social work education, those teaching in other disciplines may find value in the results.
March 11, 2025
Wade Mahon – English: “Ellen Phillips, Stevens Point’s First Poet Laureate: Under the Pines, 1875”
Ellen E. Phillips, who wrote under the pseudonym Ada J. Moore, was the unacclaimed poet laureate of Stevens Point in the 1860s and 1870s. Her husband Dr. John Phillips was an early Stevens Point pioneer and civic leader, and her father Rev. Samuel Read Hall of Vermont, was a pioneering educator who had opened the first “Normal School” in the United States. When it first appeared, Under the Pines, 1875 was “the only book of poems ever published in the northern part of Wisconsin” according to the Stevens Point Journal (9 Dec 1876). Fellow Wisconsin poet Ella Wheeler Wilcox praised it as “a credit to its author and to Wisconsin—the state which contributes more to Eastern literature than all other Western states combined.” Roughly 150 years after its first publication, Cornerstone Press will reissue the book in 2026 as part of the Midwest Heritage Series. The presentation will focus on Ellen Phillips’s story, her poetry, and her family’s role in the founding of UWSP (i.e., the Stevens Point Normal School).
April 10, 2025
Alex Toumi – World Languages and Literatures: “The Death of Albert Camus: Accident or Assassination?”
After winning the Nobel Prize of literature in 1957, at the age of 43, Albert Camus died in a car crash on January 4, 1960. The sports car driven by his friend and editor Michel Gallimard, hit a tree, killing Camus instantly. But recently, it has been reported by scholars and journalists, that Camus may have been killed by the KGB. Camus found himself caught in the middle of several battles: the raging cold war between the CIA and KGB and the tragedy of many dissidents neutralized by totalitarian regimes; the 1954 France-Algeria war, between De Gaull’s army and extreme right OAS army; and French settlers’ pro-colonization and Algerian independentists. Indeed, more than 60 years after his death, Albert Camus remains more actual and more provocative than ever.
2023-2024 Presentations
Oct. 12, 2023
Freesia McKee – English: “How to Title a Poem”
Trying to compose a title for a poem—or any other piece of writing—can feel confusing and mysterious. Instead of waiting around for a stroke of genius or that evasive “good idea,” creative writers can use a systematic method to generate title options for their work. This approach can be transferred to titling anything (a song, a scholarly article, a conference presentation, etc.). McKee will discuss the title taxonomy she developed and demonstrate how title-writing plays out in her life as a poet.
Dec. 5, 2023
Jason Zinser – Philosophy: “Disentangling Domestication: Are Humans ‘Domesticated’?”
It is orthodoxy to believe that humans have domesticated a variety of plants and animals, but some argue that we have this relationship backwards – we are the species that has been domesticated, or that we are self-domesticated. Zinser will explore domestication, both the historical use of the concept as well as its underlying biological processes, to assess whether we should consider humans as domesticated. Ultimately, he will argue that humans are not self-domesticated in any biologically interesting way, but viewing humans through the lens of domestication reframes our relationship to the natural world.
Feb 8, 2024
Tom Leek – World Languages: “Developing a Translingual Search Function for Ancient Languages… and Who Needs It”
Natural Language Processing (NLP) has made possible machine processing of human languages for a variety of purposes such as search, translation, text generation, or plagiarism detection. While NLP technologies have been robustly applied to modern languages, ancient languages have received only light attention via newer technologies. Through the alignment of vectorized language corpora of Latin and Middle High German corpora, Leek will discuss different approaches to gaining the most accurate alignments as a step towards creating translingual search functionality. A translingual search function may allow for more effective research of translingual influences in textual traditions.
March 12, 2024
Kay Mann – Sociology and Social Work: “Rights, Social Movements, and the Wisconsin Idea”
Social rights and social movements are closely related. In an age of rollbacks of hard-won rights and debates about curriculum and affirmative action in public institutions of higher education, the role social movements have played in the formation of rights of citizenship suggests paths for regaining and expanding those rights. This paper explores the origins of rights and the role of mission-oriented public institutions like the University of Wisconsin in contemporary debates around social and civic rights.
April 11, 2024
Alex Toumi – World Languages and Literatures: “Albert Camus: Exiles from Algiers: Part Three of a Camus Dramatic Trilogy”
Camus once said that he knew how to write only from personal experiences. An orphan at 10 months old, he was raised by an illiterate mother, a half-deaf, Spanish cleaning lady. He grew up in Belcourt, a poor working class, immigrant part of Algiers, comparable to the South Bronx, in New York, in a two-room apartment. Camus was poor by third world standards, had tuberculosis at 17, then at 37. He lived under Vichy France and Nazis occupation in Paris. Between 1954 and 1960, condemned by both France and Algerians, living through the tragic France-Algeria War, Camus was torn, living a violent divorce between his “Patrie”- Mother Country and “Pays”- his Birth Land. After winning the Nobel Prize in 1957, Camus “became silent.” He died in a tragic, “controversial car crash” on January 04, 1960, at the very young age of 46 while writing his last novel The First Man. This play is the third part of the Albert Camus trilogy, after Between my Mother and Injustice and AmericCamus 1959. The theme of this third play is best expressed by Camus himself: “In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer. And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there’s something stronger – something better, pushing right back.”
May 2, 2024
Shanny Luft – Religious Studies: “Religion and Stand-Up Comedy”
Stand-up comedians have a unique place in America as entertainers who have frequently been labeled cultural critics, public educators, social activists, and even modern philosophers. In that context, it may not be surprising to observe that contemporary stand-up comedians have a lot to say about religion. Yet how contemporary comedians engage with religion has undergone significant change in the last three decades. In this talk, Luft will examine what popular comedians have had to say about religion, what aspects of religion are (and are not) susceptible to ridicule, and how stand-up comedy has adapted to suit America’s increasingly diverse religious landscape.
2022 Presentations
Feb. 10, 2022
Chris Diehm – Philosophy: “American Chestnut Restoration: Accommodating Others or Scaling Up?”
A genetically modified variant of the critically endangered American chestnut (Castanea dentata) has been developed for use in efforts to restore the species. This essay argues against such use, on the grounds that deploying the engineered tree has potential to set troubling industry and conservation precedents, operates on an ethical paradigm of increased intervention rather than increased accommodation of other forms of life, and presents significant justice challenges in relation to Indigenous groups. In light of these problems, it is recommended that conservationists follow the approach to chestnut restoration adopted by the Canadian Chestnut Council, which opposes the conservation application of genetically modified chestnut trees.
March 8, 2022
Chad Johnson – Computing and New Media Technologies: “Image Forgery and Deepfake Detection in Computer Investigations”
The ubiquity of image processing leads to ever more convincing image forgeries. This is a growing concern in cybersecurity in all industries. While the potential for automated detection remains, there is no doubt that a trained investigator is and shall remain a critical component in the identification of image and video forgeries. This session will present an investigative process model developed for the processing of digital image evidence particular to the discovery of image forgeries.
April 14, 2022
Eduardo Gregori Selles – World Languages & Literatures: “Translating Contemporary Spanish Poetry at UWSP”
A discussion on the experience of translating contemporary Spanish poet Alfonso Brezmes for the university’s Cornerstone Press. Selles will present on the landscape of Spanish poetry and provide a reading of several poems both in Spanish and in translations.
May 3, 2022
Justin Rueb – Psychology: “Revisiting the Educational and Psychological Benefits of Study-Abroad Programs”
Study-abroad programs exist throughout the world, and the United States is a major consumer of these popular programs. This presentation will look at the many psychological and educational benefits for studying in a foreign country to include improved cultural awareness and increased self-confidence. Furthermore, a student research project concerning gratitude, done partially while studying abroad in London, will highlight increased understanding of the differences between American and British cultures. Finally, the presentation will look at the successes of UWSP International Education program concerning a variety of programs as well as total student participation.