Topic: liberal arts

Shakespeare And Race
The School of Liberal Arts and the Folger Shakespeare Library co-sponsored a scholarly conference and workshop, “Rac(e)ing the Shakespearean Archive: Antebellum, Civil War and Reconstruction New Orleans,” which examined the role of race and modern interpretations in William Shakespeare’s work. Held in February, the conference featured Othello performances with actors of different ethnicities and genders.https://tulane.it/shakespeare-race

Humanities Consortium
Tulane has joined the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) Research University Consortium, which comprises a select group of ACLS associate members that are prominent institutions who play a leadership role in sustaining and enhancing the national infrastructure of humanities and interpretive social sciences research.https://tulane.it/humanities-consortium

Distinguished Ethnobiologist
William Balée, chair of the Department of Anthropology at the School of Liberal Arts, has been awarded the Distinguished Ethnobiologist Award by the Society of Ethnobiology, the society’s highest recognition of lifetime achievement. Balée was recognized for demonstrating “the ideal of sustained scholarly excellence and leadership, with humble dedication to supporting ethnobiology students both at his institution and in the society.”https://tulane.it/distinguished-ethnobiologist

IMPRESARIO of ‘AMERICAN ROUTES’
Nick Spitzer, professor of anthropology, celebrates 25 years as producer and host of the public radio program “American Routes.” Broadcasting from a studio on the Tulane uptown campus, Spitzer continues to be grateful to “meet and converse” with vernacular musical artists as he brings their stories to a million listeners weekly.

Impression: Michelle Gibson
Since leaving New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, Michelle Gibson has taken the city’s culture to the world through her own New Orleans second-line aesthetic, a unique blend of dance styles ranging from Afro-funk to jazz.

Impression: Jackson Smith
The resilience and community of New Orleans led Jackson Smith (SLA ’07, L ’18), a Marine Corps veteran who served in Afghanistan, to make the city his home.

READING IN THE TIME OF COVID
In the course Writing About the Plague, English professor Thomas Albrecht leads students in a literary exploration of pandemic experiences.

Impression: Ali Vitali
Ali Vitali [SLA ’12], Capitol Hill correspondent for NBC News, loved writing and knew she was interested in government and politics when she headed to college, and she learned to fuse those passions — along with her love of talking to and meeting new people — at Tulane.

LANGUAGES DEAN
Roxanne Dávila, senior professor of practice of Spanish and Portuguese, is the new associate dean for language pedagogy and initiatives in the School of Liberal Arts. Dávila oversees all aspects relating to language learning and pedagogy and leads the school’s strategic vision for advancing language learning at Tulane.https://tulane.it/languages-dean