Members of our College of Letters and Science faculty are excited to present our Faculty Forum for the 2025-2026 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
September 25, 2025
Lara Garrido – World Languages and Literatures: Opposing Sexualities, Colonial and Post-Colonial Femininity in La Guaracha del Macho Camacho
CCC 321 at 4:00 pm
The goal of this project is to analyze the lasting effects of Spanish colonialism and American imperialism on the characters in La Guaracha del Macho Camacho (1976). Luis Rafael Sánchez sought to symbolize how Puerto Rican culture appears to be at an impasse by using a traffic jam as the backdrop for the story to unfold. Garrido argues that it is rather a split between the colonial past and the imperial present that is inevitably intertwined with the island’s culture, which is represented in the feminine ideals of the novel.
October 9, 2025
Sandra Neumann- Psychology: Lessons I’ve Learned about Teaching in Support of, and As an Advocate for and with, Queer Students
CCC 321 at 4:00 pm
Some of us remember the murder of Matthew Shepard in October 1998. However, many queer students have died since then in the aftermath of anti-queer violence including Nex Benedict, who died in 2024 – 25 years, 4 months, and 8 days after Matthew. These deaths connect different generations of the queer community, past and present, still at risk. The purpose of this talk is to share six “lessons” learned over 25 years of teaching as an open lesbian to an increasing number of Queer students. Using the deaths of Matthew Shepard and Nex Benedict as a backdrop, Dr. Neumann will explore how to better incorporate advocacy for and with Queer students into teaching efforts.
November 20, 2025
Heather Molenda-Figueira – Psychology: Female Brain, Male Brain: Functional Differences or Fiction?
CCC 321 at 4:00 pm
Much has been made of sex differences in the brain in popular press and culture. But what are the differences, and what do they mean, if anything? In this presentation, Dr. Molenda-Figueira reviews how sex differences in the brain develop and what structural differences exist. Further, we’ll examine which sex differences are consistent and how they might inform us about behaviors from cognition, language and emotional states.
December 2, 2025
Patrick Miller – Philosophy: Intoxication for the Revolution: Bataille and Benjamin on the Politics of Surrealism
CCC 321 at 4:00 pm
Surrealism was not merely an artistic movement, but it included explicit political goals with published manifestos. Georges Bataille and Walter Benjamin, both influential philosophers and critics of the early 20th century, wrote about the potential of this art movement. They wrote about the revolution potential of this movement to access the unconscious and communal powers that could upend the status quo. This talk will discuss the political goals of the Surrealists and the possibilities Bataille and Benjamin saw in the movement. These will be explored with an eye towards how Bataille and Benjamin moved towards other revolutionary means and why.
February 12, 2026
Robert Sirabian/ Wade Mahon – English: London High and Low: Studying British Literature Abroad
TBD in CCC
During London: High and Low, a three-week study abroad course this June, students read 18th– and 19th-century British literature and saw three dramatic performances, both classic works and those belonging to popular culture, some leaning towards the seedy. The course focused on London itself as the central character of the readings and plays. In Imagined London (2004), Anna Quindlen tellingly notes, “Yet it is the glory of London that it is always ending and beginning anew, and that a visitor, with a good eye and indefatigable feet, will find in her travels all the Londons she has ever met in the pages of books, one atop the other, like the strata of the Earth.” This presentation will illustrate how teaching abroad focuses not on locale as simply a static backdrop or collection of tourist spots but rather as an interplay of reading imaginatively, thinking critically, and exploring a city’s neighborhoods, streets, sights, and sounds through the layers of historical time.
March 10, 2026
Amy Zlimen Ticho/ David Barry – Sociology & Social Work: Natural Burial: An Exploratory Study of Attitudes and Practices Among Funeral Directors in the U.S.
TBD in CCC
This presentation examines the knowledge, impressions, attitudes, and practices pertaining to natural burial among funeral directors through a multi-state, anonymous survey project. This study offers important contributions to the field of death studies and environmental sociology, in that it helps to uncover funeral directors’ perspectives and contributes to an understanding of the social aspects of natural burial. Findings from the study reveal an unbalanced concentration of support for natural burial practices and a paradox between how funeral directors self-describe support versus the realities of their practice. Potential future trajectories and the impact on death systems in the U.S. are discussed.
April 9, 2026
Kristine Prahl – Biology: Biofuels and The Role of Genetically Engineered Yeast
TBD in CCC
The presentation will discuss the importance and history of biofuels, including various generations of biofuels. Dr. Prahl will especially focus on ethanol and her efforts to enhance the ability of yeast to produce ethanol from xylose. She engineered a strain with an extra copy of a gene for alcohol dehydrogenase. The strain was then analyzed to determine if it had elevated alcohol dehydrogenase activity and if it had an increased rate of ethanol production.
May 5, 2026
Lisa Siewert – Geography & Geology: Integrating GIS and Geoscience along the Ice Age Trail
TBD in CCC
This presentation showcases the creation of an interactive geologic map of Wisconsin’s Ice Age Trail, developed as the capstone project for Siewert’s MS in Cartography and GIS. The map focuses on glacial features such as moraines, kettle lakes, outwash plains, and exposed bedrock across Lincoln, Marathon, Langlade, and Portage counties. Designed for public use, the map provides accessible descriptions, layered visualizations, and mobile-friendly features to enhance the hiking experience. She will share the tools and techniques used and how user feedback from Ice Age Trail hikers helped shape the final design. Beyond the map itself, she’ll reflect on how this project connects geoscience, cartography, and public education.