Alan Kreizenbeck, Theatre, On The Freeman Institute Workshop in Japan Studies

Associate professor Alan Kreizenbeck, theatre, attended the 2012 Summer Freeman Institute Workshop in Japan Studies, which was held at Tokai International College in Honolulu, Hawaii from May 20 to June 10.

The workshop was sponsored by the Japan Studies Association, and involved Kreizenbeck and thirteen other scholars from across the United States. The scholars attended lectures covering a breadth of material, covering Japanese history, religion, literature, visual arts, music, theatre, social policy and international relations. The workshops also afforded Kreizenbeck and his colleagues an opportunity to strengthen their knowledge of the Japanese language through interactions with young native Japanese speakers.

“I would recommend applying to this workshop to anyone interested in learning about Japan,” Kreizenbeck says. “The information I gathered during the three weeks will be of immense help in planning a course in Japanese cultural performance that I plan to offer for the Asian Studies Program in the spring of 2013.”

Nicole King, American Studies, on WYPR’s The Signal

Nicole King, assistant professor of American studies, appeared on WYPR’s The Signal on July 6th to discuss her new book Sombreros and Motorcycles in a Newer South: The Politics of Aesthetics in South Carolina’s Tourism Industry

King spoke with producer Aaron Henkin about the colorful history of the roadside attraction South of the Border and its owner and creator, Alan Schafer, as well as various issues of politics, commerce, and culture which revolved around South of the Border during its early years which coincided with the Civil Rights Era.

“I think South of the Border – and recreation in general, especially in the South – is important because it’s the politicized aspect of what we do in our free time,” said King. “We often think of politics… as happening in board rooms or in political spheres, but they actually happen in places that we go everyday, and especially in the South. If you look at a lot of cases about desegregation, they were bowling alleys, they were lunchroom counters, they were places that people hung out. So I think that they offer an important narrative about how politics happen when we don’t think we’re being political, especially when we’re going on vacation.”

You can listen to the full interview here.

Can You Solve President Hrabowski’s Favorite Math Problem?

The Imaging Research Center (IRC) recently filmed several faculty as they attempted to solve President Hrabowski’s favorite math problem. As told to Nagaraj Neerchal and Manil Suri, mathematics and statistics, and Anne Spence, mechanical engineering, the problem is as follows:

29 children are in a class.

20 have dogs.

15 have cats.

How many have both a dog and a cat?

Watch the video below to see the various methods and strategies used by the professors to answer the problem.

UMBC Professors Solve F. Hrabowski’s Favorite Math Problem from ircumbc on Vimeo.