In Honor of Humanities

Humanities Week will feature a series of events, including a language fair, panel discussions and film screenings with some of the UA's most distinguished faculty members.

A weeklong celebration of the humanities at The University of Arizona will emphasize the role and significance of the field's disciplines.

"Humanities Week," which is sponsored by the UA College of Humanities and the College of Science, begins April 4, and the majority of its events are free and open to the public.

The week of events is meant to explore ways in which crossing the disciplinary divide has enriched and – in some cases – come to anchor scholarship and teaching.

The first event, the Southern Arizona Language Fair, will be held on April 4 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Modern Languages Building, 1423 E. University Blvd.; the Manuel Pacheco Integrated Learning Center, 1500 E. University Blvd.; the Education Building, 1430 E. Second St.; and the Psychology Building, 1503 E. University Blvd.

The fair will include a competition and multicultural expo with more than 2,100 competitors from 45 schools across the state. Students will recite poetry and present short plays in 13 languages.

The week also includes an April 6 panel discussion, "Cross Fertilizations Between Humanities and the Sciences," with several UA distinguished faculty members. The discussion will be held at 4 p.m. in Room 120 of the Manuel Pacheco Integrated Learning Center.

Richard Poss, a UA associate professor of astronomy, will moderate the discussion. Poss is also former director of the UA Humanities Program.

The panelists are:

Chris Impey, a University Distinguished Professor and deputy head of the astronomy department, has focused his research on observational cosmology, gravitational lensing and the evolution and structure of galaxies. Impey has published an extensive number of popular articles on cosmology and astrobiology and "The Living Cosmos," which was published in 2007. His second book, "How it Ends," is set to be published this year.

Alison Deming teaches in the UA's creative writing program and served as director of the UA Poetry Center for 12 years. Deming is a poet and writer of non-fiction, whose works are widely published and anthologized. Her 1994 publication, "Science and Other Poems," was listed among the Washington Post's favorite books and also was chosen for the Walt Whitman Award of the Academy of American Poets. Her most recent book of poems, "Rope" is scheduled to be published later this year.

Regents' Professor Emeritus George Davis, a UA geosciences professor, has had a distinguished research, teaching and administrative career at the UA and internationally. A former UA provost, Davis currently serves as chair of the National Science Foundation's Geosciences Advisory Committee. Although he is retired, Davis continues teaching UA undergraduates and conducts research with the Mt. Lykaion Excavation and Survey in Arcadia, Greece.

Mary Voyatzis, the UA classics department head, has excavated for several years at sites in Arcadia and at sites on the Greek islands of Paros and Crete. Her work in Greece has led to a number of publications, including a book on the Sanctuary of Athena Alea at Tegea, Greece as well as articles on different aspects of early Iron Age Arcadia. Voyatzis is also heavily involved in the Archaeological Institute of America and with the Hellenic Foundation of Tucson, which was instrumental in creating the classics department. Her most research activity has been at the Mt. Lykaion site in Greece, where she and her expedition co-directors, students and researchers are examining an ancient altar of Zeus. The site is considered the major excavation site in Greece today.

The panel will bring insight into the critical interactions between the humanities and the sciences while using their research and personal experiences as evidence.

On April 13 at 6 p.m. "Forgotten Lives" will be screened in Room 150 of the Richard A. Harvill Building, 1103 E. Second St. The documentary was directed by UA Regents' Professor of Classics David Soren and KUAT's Dan Duncan, with the participation of UA students as researchers and actors.

The film examines the lives of three individuals, Vaudevillian Fred Stone, who created the role of the Scarecrow in the original Wizard of Oz musical; Annette Kellerman, who pioneered competitive swimming for women and launched the form-fitting swimsuit; and Frank Calvert, who discovered the lost city of Troy.

More than 20 events have been scheduled for the week. For a full listing of events, visit the UA College of Humanities Web site. Here is a sampling of what the week will hold:

April 4

The film, "Rudo y Cursi," will be screened at 7 p.m. at the Harkins Theatres Tucson Spectrum 18, 5455 S. Calle Santa Cruz. The 2009 Sundance Film Festival entry is a comedy about two brothers, one who dreams of becoming a professional soccer player and the other, a famous singer. The College of Humanities joins other UA departments and programs, Tucson businesses and Mexican government agencies in supporting the screening. The cost is $10 for the general public and $25 for reserved seats with a post-screening reception. For more information, call 520-621-9303.

April 6

From 7 to 9 p.m., award-winning short French films will be screened in Room 120 of the Manuel Pacheco Integrated Learning Center. "Les Lutins (Leprechauns)" represents the best in fiction, documentary and animation, many of which have won awards at film festivals around the world. A few shorts from the collection will be shown at the UA and are making their U.S. premiere. The event is co-sponsored by the UA Department of French and Italian and the Alliance Française of Tucson. For more information, call 520-621-5345.

April 7

At 4 p.m., Laura Gutiérrez of the Spanish and Portuguese department along with Vicky Westover, director of the Jack and Vivian Hanson Arizona Hanson Film Institute, will speak about films that will be presented at Tucson Cine Mexico 2009. The event will be held in Room 307 of the César E. Chávez Building, 1110 E. James E. Rogers Way. To learn more, call 520-621-1983.

At 5 p.m., "Nazi Skinheads: Hate Crime in Ukraine," will be screened in Room 150 of the Manuel Pacheco Integrated Learning Center. This documentary traces the origins of the Nazi Holocaust on Soviet soil in Ukraine. The film was directed by Daniel Reynolds, who was a Peace Corps worker in the Ukraine. The screening will be introduced by Theresa Polowy, who heads the UA Russian and Slavic studies department. For more information, call 520-621-7341. At 5:30 p.m., students in the UA Medical Humanities Program will read original prose. The event will be held at the UA Poetry Center, 1508 E. Helen St.

At 6 p.m., Regents Professor Emeritus Richard Shelton will lead a discussion about his work in the Arizona prison system. Shelton, of the UA's English department, held writing workshops in Arizona prisons and authored "Crossing the Yard" about his experience. The discussion will be held at Cushing Street Bar and Restaurant, 198 W. Cushing Street, in Downtown Tucson. The event is fashioned after the UA's popular Science Café events, which are hosted by Flandrau: The UA Science Center.

April 8

The College of Humanities will host an information fair from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. north of the Administration Building, 1401 E. University Blvd. Students and faculty from departments and programs within the college will be on site to talk about the college's academic programs, study abroad opportunities and outreach efforts, among other things. To learn more, call 520-621-4743

The UA Poetry Center Library will host behind the scenes tours from 2 to 4 p.m. The tours are offered at no cost. Gail Brown, the center's executive director, and head librarian Rodney Phillips will open up the climate-controlled archives to show off the rarest of the Poetry Center collections. To learn more, call 520-626-3765.

April 9

"Travelling through Medieval Europe: A Hands-On Classroom Experience" will be held 3 to 4 p.m. in Room 410 of the einel Optical Sciences Building, 1630 E. University Blvd. Albrecht Classen, a German Studies professor, has created a model for a thematic European study abroad program, which he has conducted since 2004. Classen and students from the 2008 program will inform attendees about their travels. To learn more, call 520-621-7385.

April 10

The Brazilian film, "O Céu de Suely (Love for Sale: Suely in the Sky)," will be screened at 4 p.m. followed by a discussion. The event will be held in Room 310 of the Modern Languages Building. The film, which was released in 2006, follows a woman as she returned to her northeastern Brazilian home town after a failed attempt at living in São Paulo. Lucy Blaney, a doctoral degree candidate in Spanish and Portuguese, is using the film in her dissertation research on the representations of prostitution in film. For more information, call 520-621-1983.