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Black Womxn, STEM Fields Need You! So Don’t Exit Stage Left When Things Get Hard.

Mar. 16, 2021—Nicole M. Joseph is Assistant Professor of Mathematics Education at Vanderbilt University. Renã A. S. Robinson is Associate Professor of Chemistry at Vanderbilt University. Hey, Sis, if you have been keeping up with anti-racist, racist, and diversity, equity, and inclusion talks in STEM then you might be feeling like we’re feeling. Tired. Over it. Overwhelmed....

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Editing as Activism – Wiki-events Related to Women’s History Month

Mar. 9, 2021—Mary Anne Caton is the Grants and Programs Manager and Wikipedian-in-Residence for the Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries. As we celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8 and beyond, the Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries are partnering with campus units to sponsor virtual Wikipedia edit-a-thons that celebrate women’s lives, achievements, and history. Why edit Wikipedia? Because editing is activism and brings women’s...

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Women’s History Month 2021

Mar. 2, 2021—Rory Dicker is director of the Margaret Cuninggim Women’s Center and is a senior lecturer in the Gender and Sexuality Studies Department.  Buried in the stimulus and COVID-relief bill that passed at the end of 2020 was a piece of legislation of significance to those who care about women’s history. The Smithsonian Women’s History Act provides for the creation of a national museum...

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From Bones to Flesh: On Writing Philosophy and Fiction 

Feb. 23, 2021—Kelly Oliver is Alton Jones Professor of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University and author of three mystery series. Her latest, High Treason at the Grand Hotel, A Fiona Figg Mystery, came out on January 5th. After thirty years writing philosophy books—on such a broad range of topics that some scholars in my field wondered if I was writing philosophy at all—one stormy afternoon...

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Meet a Fellow: Fiacha Heneghan

Feb. 16, 2021—Fiacha Heneghan is a 2020-2021 Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities Graduate Student Fellow from the Philosophy Department. His dissertation concerns Kant’s conception of the good, its relation to the history of philosophy, and its significance for contemporary environmental issues. Before coming to Vanderbilt, Fiacha studied math and philosophy at DePaul University. His other interests...

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“Diabetes: History of Race and Disease”

Feb. 9, 2021—Arleen Tuchman is Nelson O. Tyrone, Jr. Chair in History and Professor of History at Vanderbilt University. She is also the author of Diabetes: History of Race and Disease. In 1985, my dad started feeling thirsty all the time. Because he was in his mid-60s, overweight, and had sugar in his urine, his doctor assumed that he had type 2 diabetes. I didn’t know it at the time,...

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3 Questions with Author John Patrick Leary

Feb. 1, 2021—John Patrick Leary will be the guest speaker for the Critical University Studies Seminar meeting on Wed., Feb. 3 at 3:30 PM. He will discuss “From Corporatese to Universities.” Register here. What do you mean by the word “corporatese” in terms of its use in universities, and how widespread is it? Well, “corporatese” isn’t my word...

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Meet a Fellow: Aimi Hamraie

Jan. 26, 2021—Meet Aimi Hamraie, a 2020-2021 RPW Center Faculty Fellow. This year’s group is exploring the theme of “Imagining Cities.” What does the phrase “Imagining Cities” mean to you?  My research for Enlivened City looks at the many ways that those who are involved in making cities—urban planners and designers, non-profit organizations, city governments, and everyday people—imagine the ideal...

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Meet a Fellow: Danielle M. Procope Bell

Dec. 1, 2020—Danielle M. Procope Bell is the 2020-2021 Elizabeth E. Fleming Graduate Student Fellow from the Department of English. Her research focuses on nineteenth century African American literature. What is your research about and why does it matter? I research nineteenth century Black women’s intellectual thought. This remains an understudied topic which not only serves to obfuscate the crucial...

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Meet a Fellow: Ashley Carse

Nov. 17, 2020—Meet Ashley Carse, a 2020-2021 RPW Center Faculty Fellow. This year’s group is exploring the theme of “Imagining Cities.” What does the phrase “Imagining Cities” mean to you? After a decade of work in Panama—specifically the region around the Panama Canal—my new book project led me to Savannah, Georgia. I grew up in the Atlanta suburbs,...

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