Department Of Humanities and Politics Winter Newsletter
Message from the Chair
Dr. Nelson Bass, Professor Stephen Levitt, and Dr. David Kilroy with alumni Rehan Sherali, Moriah Johnson, and Eddie Jones at the DHP Annual Alumni reunion February 10, 2024
Welcome to the Winter 2024 edition of the Department of Humanities and Politics newsletter. We are excited to highlight another busy semester of student, faculty, and alumni achievements.
This has been a bittersweet semester for me as it is my last one at Nova Southeastern University. I am retiring from NSU in summer 2024. After over thirty years in the United States, I will be returning with my family to live in Ireland. I have been at NSU for 18 years and during that time I have had the privilege to work with many brilliant, talented colleagues and made some wonderful friends, particularly in the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences and in the Department of Humanities and Politics. I have so many great memories of working with students both in and out of the classroom during my time at NSU, many of whom I continue to connect with as alumni. I will be very sad to leave my colleagues here in DHP, but I am committed to remaining connected and look forward to following the continuing excellence of the department in the future.
As always, the diversity of activities across the Department of Humanities and Politics is on full display in this edition of the newsletter. The Center for Applied Humanities, the Reel, the Mock Trial and Model UN teams, Pre-Law programming, student honors societies, the Applied Humanities Podcast, and Modern Language events all feature in this edition. I want to call particular attention to the large number of students participating in local, regional, and national conferences in humanities and politics. Many of these students were funded through faculty and alumni giving to the DHP Scholar’s Fund. As always, our students, faculty, and alumni make me proud to be chair of this dynamic and innovative interdisciplinary department and I am confident that my replacement in this role will feel the same way.
Best wishes,
David P. Kilroy, Chair
Center for Applied Humanities
The Center for Applied Humanities had a busy spring, beginning on February 15, when it launched its “Out of Sight, Not Out of Mind” Banned Books Series. Conceived of and hosted by political science major Alexis Lass, this series featured faculty, students, and librarians to discuss the issues surrounding banned and challenged books in the state of Florida and beyond. The three-event series focused on Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye for Black History Month in February, Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale for Women’s History Month in March, and Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis for Arab-American History Month in April.
The panel discusses The Bluest Eye at the February event for ”Out of Sight, Not Out of Mind”
The Center’s biggest event of the year was the 6th annual Crossroads Student Humanities Conference, which was held on Saturday, March 23, 2024. This year’s Crossroads theme, “Unity and the Universal,” explored how the humanities both inspire and reflect the search for human connection and elusive universal human experiences. Paper topics ranged from human trafficking to racial justice to literary archetypes. Research was presented by students from NSU, University of Miami, and Florida Atlantic University.
The conference’s opening plenary speaker was Dr. Ismael Muvingi from NSU’s Halmos College of Arts and Sciences; Dr. Muvingi’s talk focused on the relevance and importance of the humanities in exploring human unity and honoring diversity while not embracing division. The event’s keynote speaker, made possible by the Stolzenberg-Doan fund, was author and playwright Carmen Boullosa, who shared powerful stories about her own creative journeys over the years.
Dr. Ismael Muvingi’s opening session at the Crossroads Student Humanities Conference
The faculty Crossroads committee is comprised of Dr. Marlisa Santos, Director of the NSU Center for Applied Humanities, and Drs. Joanne Urrechaga, Vicki Toscano, Jeremy Weissman, and Ying Ma.
Department Podcasts
The Applied Humanities Podcast released two new episodes this winter. In our first installment of the season, Dr. Katy Doll hosted IN-SIGHT Fellows, Savannah Delano, Alexis Lass, Charlotte Opris, and Jared DeRosa. The fellows joined the podcast to discuss their collaborative work with Montachem International and how they are creatively developing strategies to address the problem of plastic waste and applying the skills, knowledge, and insights that they have gained from their humanities courses to help solve pressing real-world challenges.
In our second installment of the season, Dr. Ying Ma joined the Applied Humanities Podcast to discuss her background, research, and work both within and outside of the classroom. Sharing her journey, from her formative years to her current position at NSU's Department of Humanities and Politics, Dr. Ma offered insightful reflections on the challenges and triumphs she encountered along her academic journey, providing wisdom, advice, and inspiration for aspiring scholars and changemakers alike. Dr. Ma's innovative approach to applying humanities methodologies to real-world problems illuminated the humanities' vital role in shaping a more empathetic, equitable, and culturally enriched world.
We're excited to share that the Florida 2100: Tales of Tomorrow podcast hosted a booth at NSU's Annual Community Fest! 🎉 Over 75 attendees participated by contributing to the Florida 2100 Vision Board, where they shared their hopes, visions, and dreams for the future. It was a wonderful opportunity for our community to come together and envision what lies ahead. The Florida 2100 podcast will be hosting a launch party in September 2024. Follow #Florida 2100 on Instagram and Tiktok to stay tuned for more updates!
Model United Nations
It has been a busy semester for the Nova International Relations Association (NIRA), which serves as the official NSU Model UN team housed in the Department of Humanities and Politics. In January, we hosted our first ever NIRAMUN Junior High conference to complement our annual high school conference. The junior high conference was attended by 3 schools and hosted over 50 delegates. The entire conference was organized by our executive staff: Kiara Colman (NIRA President), Paula Recio Rey (NIRA Vice President), and Alexis Lass (Position Paper Czar). We hope to run an even bigger conference next year.
NIRA in Montreal. From left to Right: Monet Elrod, Catalina Cusano, Sarah Abushi, Paula Recio Rey, Kiara Colman, Alexis Lass, and Suraj Doobay.
From March 14th through 17th NIRA traveled to chilly Montreal for CONMUN 2024! Hosted by the Concordia University’s Model United Nations team, the conference specialized in crisis and non-traditional committees. NIRA took 7 members of the team to the conference including: Kiara Colman, Paula Recio Rey, Alexis Lass, Catalina Cusano, Monet Elrod, Suraj Doobay, and Sarah Abushi. Our delegates represented Pakistan and Bhutan in the Commission on Science and Technology for Development and NIRA members also acted out some interesting roles in crisis committees (including J. Edgar Hoover in “The Room Where It Happens!”) The team performed admirably, as this was just the second time in its history they have competed in crisis committees.
Mock Trial
Our prosecuting team was composed of Attorneys Robert Milman, Nick Pena, and Bruna Azevedo, and led by Co-Captain Robert Milman. Our defense team was composed of Attorneys Alexis Lass, Sophia Wehle, and Angelo Fleurime, and led by Co-Captain Alexis Lass. Our witnesses, Mikayla Apicella, Montunique Van Staden, and Bryan Soudrain, competed on both sides. There are four rounds, each with two ballots, meaning our team received a total of 8 ballots. Each side competed twice.
Robert Milman competed in two rounds and received outstanding attorney on all four ballots. Alexis Lass competed in two rounds and received outstanding attorney on three ballots. Sophia Wehle competed in two rounds and received outstanding attorney on two ballots. Bruna Azevedo competed in two rounds and received outstanding attorney on two ballots. Angelo Fleurime competed in two rounds and received outstanding attorney on one ballot.
Mikayla Apicella competed in 8 rounds and was ranked as outstanding witness on 6 ballots. Bryan Soudrain competed in 8 rounds and was ranked as an outstanding witness on 5 ballots. Montunique Van Staden competed in 8 rounds and received outstanding witness on 3 ballots.
Behind the scenes was Coach Bill Barner, and our two student assistant coaches, Jessica Pridgen and Jocelyn Vega. The following students also contributed through research, timekeeping, and preparation outside of round: Tyler Williams, Zashawn Christopher, and Maria-Elissa Zamora.
NSU's Mock Trial Team
Language Programming
The Department of Humanities and Politics’ language program has been quite active during this winter 2024 semester.
The language program celebrates the return of Mandarin Chinese to its course menu. After being discontinued for several years, we are happy to report that CHIN 1210: Elementary Chinese I was offered this winter semester. Dr. Ying Ma, Assistant Professor of Chinese, Literature, and Gender Studies, taught the course which focuses on the Mandarin language, as well as rich cultures of China and the Chinese-speaking world. We look forward to offering Chinese 1210 every semester, as well as CHIN 1220: Elementary Chinese II in Winter 2025.
To mark the arrival of our Chinese language courses, NSU’s chapter of Alpha Mu Gamma: The National Collegiate Foreign Language Honor Society co-sponsored The Reel’s screening of the Chinese animated film, Nezha. Dr. Ma conducted a lively post-film discussion.
Languages and film came together this semester, as well, as our department held its first ever Spanish Film Series thanks to a grant made possible by Pragda, SPAIN arts & culture, and the Secretary of State for Culture of Spain, as well as the generous support of the Alvin Sherman Library. The event was co-organized by Dr. Yvette Fuentes, Dr. Yair Solan, and Kimberli Kidd (Alvin Sherman Library) with help from several student groups, including the Spanish Club, Fin Films, and NSU’s chapter of Alpha Mu Gamma. The series ran from January 16 to Feb. 11, 2024, and five films were screened: In the Heights (USA/2021), The Future Perfect (Argentina/2016), Everybody Leaves (Cuba/Colombia/2015), Memories of My Father (Colombia/2020), and Parallel Mothers (Spain/2021). Post-film discussions included the participation of DHP faculty: Dr. Nelson Bass, Dr. Yvette Fuentes, Dr. Amanda Furiasse, Dr. Ying Ma, Dr. Yair Solan, and Dr. Joanne P. Urrechaga. The event was a success with students, faculty, and the local community coming out to view films focusing on the diverse cultures of the Spanish-speaking world.
Our department also came together to celebrate National Foreign Language Week, hosting the first ever Foreign Language Fair on Thursday March 7th in the Cotilla Gallery of the Alvin Sherman library. Various professors participated in this event and introduced students to the languages taught and spoken on campus. From our department, we had the participation of Prof. Maud Cassagnol (French), Dr. Ying Ma (Chinese), and Drs. Joanne P. Urrechaga, Yvette Fuentes, and Maria Pereira Jimenez (Spanish). Prof. Riva Markowitz (ASL/Patel College of Health Care Sciences) was also present with her student assistants.
Students enjoy working with Dr. Ying Ma at the Foreign Language Fair.
Our department’s language program continues to work with others across campus. On March 18th, for example, we co-sponsored an ASL practice session with the Patel College of Health Care Sciences, led by Prof. Riva Markowitz and student members of NSU’s chapter of Alpha Mu Gamma.
The Foreign Language Fair brought together students and faculty from French, Spanish, Chinese, and ASL courses.
And, finally, the annual induction ceremony for new members of the Alpha Alpha Zeta Chapter of Alpha Mu Gamma will be held on Friday, April 12, 2024, from 4-6 p.m. in the Alvin Sherman Library’s Levan Center. The chapter will induct 17 students as full members, as well as two of our language faculty members, Dr. Ying Ma (Chinese) and Dr. Joanne P. Urrechaga (Spanish).
The Reel
The Reel, NSU's Annual Film series, concluded its seventh season of film screenings and accompanying audience discussions. This semester's events began in January with The Reel's international cinema selection, the innovative Chinese-language animated blockbuster Nezha. In March, The Reel screened Wes Anderson's latest feature film, Asteroid City. Both films mixed humor with fantastical conceits and serious themes that were explored in post-film discussions with audiences of over 30 students, faculty, staff, and members of the community. The Reel was also featured in an article published in March in NSU's student newspaper The Current on the series' history and its film programming.
As always, thought-provoking conversations at The Reel's shows were facilitated by department faculty. Dr. Ying Ma led a discussion of Chinese mythology and the values of Eastern and Western cultures as reflected in Nezha. Following the Asteroid City screening, Dr. Yair Solan discussed the film's meta-narrative with attendees and the existential issues it raised. For these events, The Reel was proud to partner with the Department of Humanities and Politics's Modern Language program, NSU's chapter of Alpha Mu Gamma (National Collegiate Foreign Language Honor Society), the Society of Animation, Gaming, and Entertainment (SAGE), and Fin Films. In addition to its continued partnership with The Reel, Fin Films organized events of its own throughout the semester. Wrapping up its second year as NSU's student-run film club, Fin Films hosted a "Barbenheimer" show as well as on campus screenings of films including Free Guy and The Banshees of Inisherin and an online Oscars viewing party.
Dr. Ying Ma leads discussion at The Reel's January screening of Nezha.
The Reel and Fin Films will return this fall for a full slate of film programs in the upcoming year. For more information, contact The Reel's coordinator and Fin Films' faculty advisor, Dr. Yair Solan (ysolan@nova.edu).
Pre-Law Programming
This winter DHP continued its pre-law programming by teaming up with CAPS and the Shepard College of Law for Pre-Law Week. This collaboration encouraged all pre-law students from across the University to come together and enjoy various types of programming including academic events, mentoring events, LSAT prep events, social events and more. This programming is in addition to the many events hosted by Phi Alpha Delta, the only pre-law fraternity on campus.
PAD fall recruitment
Brain Bowl
Honor Societies
The Department again welcomed many new members to its honor societies representing excellence in political science, pre-law, and language. Students celebrated their initiations in April.
Phi Alpha Delta, the undergraduate pre-law fraternity, welcomed new members:
Varun Jagarlamuni
Kaitlyn Berg
Zashawn Christopher
Elizabeth Avila
The Alpha Lambda Rho Chapter of Pi Sigma Alpha, the national political science honor society, welcomed the following new student members:
Nicholette Lanane
Alexander Trofimov
Madison Alvarez
Joshua Abadi
David Holger Mahnke
Amenia Farraj
Olivia Jones
Nikolas Tousis
Casey Homorody
Melina Pecci
Italia Lewis
Farham Labib
Suraj Doobay
Mahir Abrar
Sway Abelard
The Alpha Alpha Zeta Chapter of Alpha Mu Gamma foreign language honor society welcomed new student and faculty members.
Student members:
Malea Burroughs, ASL
Carly Burch, ASL
Isabella Celidonio, ASL
Alora DaFonseca, ASL
Madison Ferry, ASL
Francesca Galanti, ASL
Joshua Ganues, ASL
Fabiola Leon, Spanish
Devyn Mizrahi, Spanish
Madison Nelson, ASL
Yachi Patel, Spanish
Graciel Quezada, ASL
Federico Joway Rodriguez Chang, ASL
Maya Summiel, ASL
Lena Belle Tillman, ASL
Emily Troy, Spanish
Mikayla Walas, ASL
Faculty Members:
Dr. Joanna P. Urrechaga, Spanish
Dr. Ying Ma, Chinese
Student Research
Conference of Florida Historians
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On Saturday, January 27, senior Mikayla Apicella presented her original research paper at the Conference of Florida Historians. Mikayla is a senior studying Neuroscience and History. She is a presidential scholar recipient and a Student Success Ambassador.
The annual conference draws together historians throughout the state at all levels, from undergraduate students to professors. Mikayla presented her research about the Manhattan Project, the top-secret project during World War II to develop the atomic bomb, in her paper "Deciding the Impossible: Moral Conflicts and the Manhattan Project." She completed this research during an independent study in the fall with Katy Doll, PhD, through the Department of Humanities and Politics.
"Presenting my paper at the Florida Historians Conference was an amazing experience, giving me confidence in my public speaking skills and allowing me to engage with fellow undergraduate students and historians," Mikayla said. "Discussing my paper with others also inspired and challenged me to dive deeper into my thesis, helping me to grow academically."
Dr. Doll highlighted Mikayla's work, stating "Mikayla crafted an excellent paper using thorough research and careful argumentation." Her work was well received and several professional historians spoke highly of Mikayla's presentation.
Mikayla Apicella at the Conference of Florida Historians
Popular Culture Association Conference
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This past March, Nicolas Peña, Melany Chacón, and James Geier presented individual papers at the Popular Culture Association (PCA) Conference. PCA was founded over fifty years ago for scholars who share interests in cultural studies beyond the canon. This year’s national conference included over 1500 presenters and showcased panels on area studies ranging from Cemeteries and Grave Markers, Border Studies, and Children’s & YA Literature to Disability Studies, Disasters and Apocalypses, Food, Happiness, Monsters, Sports, Vampires, Vehicles, and more.
Nick, Melany, and James are each seniors graduating this May 2024. Nick is an Education Major with a Minor in English. Melany is a Secondary English Education Major with endorsement in ESOL. James is a double major in English and Biology. Each were sponsored at PCA by Dr. Aileen Miyuki Farrar, Associate Professor of Literature, and had their professional development supported by NSU’s Student Government Association and the Department of Humanities & Politics Scholar Fund.
Nick was the first of the three students to present, setting the tone as part of a “Music: Metal and Hip Hop” panel. His paper on “Musical Samsara: A Comprehensive Analysis of the Resurgence of Punk and Metal Aesthetics and Ethos in Contemporary Underground Rap Music” explored a comparative history of fashion in punk and metal music culture.
Kicking off the next day was Melany’s early morning panel, “Undergraduate Session: Theorizing Race and Gender.” Her presentation, “Blue Eye Samurai: Blurring and Merging within the Borderlands,” applied an adapted model of Gloria Anzaldúa’s mestiza consciousness to an animation series that likewise explores hybridity in character identities, plot structure, visual effects, and music.
James finished strong as part of the “Undergraduate Session: Contemporary and Historical Framings of Family Dynamics, Queer Culture, Disability, and Age” panel. Their presentation on “Popularization and Protest: Analyzing Queer Language and Its Usage in ‘IT GIRL’,” examined patterns of reclaiming and reappropriation in queer slang, with special attention to the use of the song, “IT GIRL,” on TikTok.
Reflecting on each, Dr. Farrar remarked, “I am proud of Nick, Melany, and James. There are many challenges that come with planning for such a large national conference as this, but each of our students wowed their audiences and area chairs. Their papers spoke on passions they have individually cultivated while exhibiting meticulous scholarly work. They each have shown themselves to be young emerging experts in their fields.”
PCA is a national conference open to scholars of all disciplines and in the past has included presentations from NSU’s faculty and students on literature, TV & film, mathematics, and rhetoric. Next year’s PCA conference will be in New Orleans. Calls for abstract proposals (call-for-papers, or CFPs) will go out in the fall. The Department of Humanities & Politics encourages all students to apply.
Pi Sigma Alpha National Student Research Conference
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Political science students presented original research at The Pi Sigma Alpha National Student Research Conference in Washington D.C. hosted by George Washington University. The day before the conference, we went to all the must-sees in D.C. such as the National Mall and the White House. We also were able to get a tour of the Capitol and visit a couple of museums during our time there. The first night was a career reception where all the students were able to meet professionals in specific fields such as government and nonprofit management. As Kiara Colman said, “We had the chance to speak to professionals in the government sphere as this is a career I would like to pursue. Overall, this conference was truly a once in a lifetime experience where we were able was able to present our research and take a glimpse into what life could be like in the next couple of years after our undergraduate careers.”
Kiara Colman presented “‘Unspoken. Unseen. Unprotected.’ An Analytical Investigation into the Public’s Perception on Immigration Levels.” Gabriella Fidanze presented “Too Tough on Crime? The Relationship Between State Political Ideology and Incarceration Rates.” David Holger Mahnke presented “The ideal of Olympic Peace: Can sports help bring the Ukraine war to a swift end?” Casey Homorody presented “Compulsory Voting and Governmental Effectiveness: How Mandatory Voting Improves Democratic Function.”
From left to right: David Holger Mahnke, Kiara Colman, Gabriella Fidanze, Casey Homorody
Florida Political Science Association Annual Conference
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Several students presented their work at the Florida Political Science Association conference in March at the University of Florida. Charlotte Opris presented “The New Global Wave of Authoritarianism: An Inevitable Economic Downfall?” Sophia Wehle presented “A Comparison of the Impact of Colonial Heritage on the Development of Former Western and Soviet Union Colonies.” Nicholette Lanane presented “The Digital Divide Within Education: A Look at the Post-Covid Impact.” Melina Isabelle Pecci presented “Teenage Pregnancy in the US: Systemic, Social, & Safety Issues.”
Of her experience, Charlotte Opris said:
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This past weekend I was honored to present my paper "The New Global Wave of Authoritarianism: An Inevitable Economic Downfall?" at the annual FPSA conference at the University of Florida. This was an amazing opportunity to present my own research examining the impact of regime type on economic growth and get feedback from both peers and faculty members of colleges across the state. I would like to thank FPSA for the opportunity, as well as Dr. Edwards for supporting me throughout this research project, without whom this analysis would never have been developed to the extent it is. I would also like to congratulate my peers who also did amazing work as well at this conference!
Charlotte Opris at the Florida Political Science Association
Of her experience, Sophia Wehle said:
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The weekend of March 9th I had the opportunity to preset my research, “A Comparison of the Impact of Colonial Heritage on the Development of Former Western and Soviet Union Colonies,” at the Florida Political Science Association’s annual conference. This research looked into how the different types of colonialism that the Western World and the Soviet Union Practiced impacted the development of former colonies after they were decolonized and found ultimately that former Soviet colonies tended to be more developed than former Western Colonies. This conference was my first time ever presenting my own research and I felt that it went very well. Being able to present research that I have spent all year working on was incredibly fulfilling and it was exciting to hear how many people were interested in it throughout the question portion of the presentation.
From left to right: Sophia Wehle, Nicholette Lanane, Melina Isabelle Pecci, Charlotte Opris
From left to right: Charlotte Opris, Sophia Wehle, Nicholette Lanane, Melina Isabelle Pecci
Interested in giving to the DHP Scholar Fund to support undergraduate and graduate research in the department? Click on the code:
Travel Study with Professor Stephen Levitt
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I had not taken groups of students abroad for twenty-seven years. However, I did help arrange a program for English law students who visited Florida from Anglia Ruskin University up until 2008. Now it was 2023 and 2024, more than a decade and one-half since I had worked on any student travel whatsoever in any capacity. How was I going to put together study abroad in the post-Covid era with an on-going war in Europe?
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The course, Genocide in the Twentieth Century, is offered every two years and it has a travel-study component. In previous years, Professor Gershman had organized the travel, and he concentrated the trip around civil wars in the former Yugoslavia and the Holocaust, visiting Cracow, Budapest, Belgrade, and Sarajevo. I was left with the question, what would be an effective program that I could design and then deliver?
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I decided to start the trip in Warsaw and finish it in Berlin. Two destinations were easier to navigate than four. As well, I made another decision. The travel-study program would be organized around eleven lectures delivered at museums, historical sites, and art galleries. I wanted to balance out the difficult themes of genocide, particularly World War 2 and the Holocaust, with giving students some appreciation of European history and life before and after Hitler. I wanted to present the Germans not only as perpetrators, but sometimes as victims, too. To help with the logistics and daily management of the travel, I asked Dr. Nelson Bass to accompany the NSU students. This helped me a lot.
On the trip, undergraduate students dealt with the difficult Holocaust issues at the Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw (which houses the secret archives of Warsaw ghetto). We spent more than two hours there with Dr. Agnieszka Witkowska-Krych, an expert on this topic who has written books and articles about orphan children in the ghetto. She showed us some of the documents, photos, wills, artworks, and writings the victims left behind. At the House of the Wannsee Conference, where officials negotiated their roles in bringing about the final solution, the planned murder of eleven million Jews in Europe, our lecturer showed Nova Southeastern students the actual paragraphs from the protocol of the meeting. He challenged the students to evaluate the coded language the murderers used to both further and conceal their plans. The students also heard about the terror state of the Nazis at Topography of Terror (today a museum, but formerly the site of the Gestapo in Berlin). On the coldest day of the ten, our guide, Ralf Oberndörfer, a German lawyer specializing in legal history, walked the group around Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp.
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Students took at a Model of Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp
In Warsaw when the group went to the Jewish Museum, the theme was not only the Holocaust. Rather the tour was about Jews in Poland in the twentieth century. Our guide told us about Jewish life between the wars, when Poland was free and there were hundreds of newspapers printed in Yiddish. After walking through the section of the exhibit on the Shoah, we learned about the few Jews who remained in Poland after the war. On the first Sunday morning of the trip, there was a tour of the Warsaw Uprising Museum. The most significant piece there, or at least the largest, was the replica of an American Liberator B-24J Bomber, which symbolized the dropping of supplies from the air to the people of Warsaw in August 1944. The Uprising Museum provided a film of Warsaw taken in 1945 from an airplane that showed in three dimensions that hardly a building was left standing after the war. That evening as my students wandered around the old city, they considered how this oldest section of Warsaw had been rebuilt carefully, accurately, and lovingly.
The students on the trip with Stephen Levitt in the middle holding the confirmation receipt for the tour through the Polin Jewish Museum in Warsaw.
I tried to juxtapose images of war and death with life and renewal. In Berlin, the students took pictures in front of the Brandenburg Gate and heard a lecture in one of the Bundestag buildings about current problems in German politics and international relations. They enjoyed the hotel in Berlin and ate wonderful breakfasts at the Polonia Palace Hotel in Warsaw. Go on the website of this hotel and see what this four-star plus hotel looks like. I have to tell you, dear reader, that we did not stay at Polonia Palace because it was four-star plus. Rather, we stayed there because it was one of the few hotels to survive the war; General Eisenhower stayed at this grand hotel when he visited Warsaw in 1945. In the interwar period, the hotel attracted famous guests including Prime Minister Piłsudski. I think the students on the trip loved meeting a group of ten students and two teachers from one of the best high schools in Poland. After a tour of part of the remains of the ghetto on the last Saturday evening in February, we all moved on to dinner at a pizza restaurant and there was lots of talk, comparing American life with Polish life. There were many common interests. The American students were amazed at how much the Polish students knew about the United States.
The Nova Southeastern University students on the trip to Europe in 2024 loved the discussion of Gerhard Richter’s art (entitled Birkenau) at the New National Gallery in Berlin. Our guide explained to them why Richter had covered the original image of burning bodies with layers of color, so the shocking images could not be clearly seen any longer. The ten American students marveled at the methods Germans used to escape East Germany at the Wall Museum including a balloon and special cars with hidden compartments. The Nova students on the trip considered the expulsion (ethnic cleansing) of fourteen million Germans from Central and Eastern Europe at the Documentation Centre for Displacement, Expulsion, and Reconciliation. At the German Resistance Museum, they heard about the July 20th plot to assassinate Hitler as well as the Kreisau Circle resistance group, led by Helmut von Moltke.
Professors Levitt and Bass with the students in front of the Bundestag Offices on Unter den Linden, Berlin.
To make history come alive and connect past with present, in Berlin the group of Nova students had coffee with Dr. Ludwig von Moltke at a fancy café in Potsdamer Platz. They heard from my friend Dr. Mathias Wagner, about growing up in East Germany, and they listened to Mrs. Mende, (my former landlady) about the escape of her family from East Prussia in 1945. Most of the students went shopping in Warsaw for clothes and gifts, and they enjoyed restaurants in Berlin, including Walhalla in Moabit. It was on Tuesday evening when I took the group up the staircase of St. John’s Church, designed by Karl Friedrich Schinkel, at the end of Kirchstrasse (Church Street) where I rented an apartment for more than fifteen summers. There they saw the big letters noting the church’s destruction on November 23, 1943, and its reconsecration in June 1957. It said further: “Those who sow in tears will reap in joy.”
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I think our trip from February 22nd to March 3rd also mixed tears and joy. The students cried openly or secretly for the millions who died or were murdered in the Holocaust and World War Two. They also enjoyed the intellectual rigor of the eleven lectures at museums, art galleries and historic sites. The students from NSU had the joy of meeting new friends in Europe, and of seeing many historic places in two famous European cities, Warsaw and Berlin.
Alumni Reunion
On Saturday February 10, 2024, NSU’s Halmos College of Arts and Sciences hosted a reception for alumni of the Department of Humanities and Politics. The reception was held in the Arena Club Room of the Don Taft University Center. This year about thirty alumni attended as well as twelve professors. Department Chair, Dr. Kilroy, was there to welcome the group.
The food this year was fabulous. However, the room was a little quieter than previous years because there was no basketball game scheduled that day. This gave the professors and alumni a great opportunity to talk and catch up on what had transpired in the year since our last event.
Alumni Spotlight
Linea Cutter, BA in Political Science and History, 2015
In May of 2023, Linea graduated with her PhD in political theory as part of the interdisciplinary ASPECT doctoral program at Virginia Tech. After graduation, Linea accepted a position as a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at the College of Charleston for the 2023-2024 academic year. At the College of Charleston, Linea taught courses in American government, political thought, food politics, and international relations theory. Recently, Linea accepted a tenure-track Assistant Professor position in the Department of Politics at the State University of New York at Oswego. Beginning in the Fall 2024 semester, Linea will teach courses in political theory and offer courses in the Gender and Women’s Studies Program at SUNY Oswego.
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Tyrianna Richards, BA in English and Spanish minor, 2020
Tyrianna has spent most of her time since graduation teaching English as a foreign language overseas. She spent two years, 2020-2022 in a rural province of Thailand teaching English to first and second year highschoolers. Upon her return to the United States, she worked for a year as an HVAC technician. She then successfully applied to the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) program, relocating to Kyoto in August 2023, where she began working as an assistant language teacher. She now works at 3 different schools, 2 elementary schools and one junior high, teaching students from the first year of elementary to the third year of JHS (ages 6 - 15).
Graduating Seniors
Linda Collins Major: Legal Studies
I plan to attend law school and am currently waiting for responses before selecting.
Jared DeRosa Major: Political Science Minors: Mathematics, Economics, and Global Engagement
I will be pursuing a Master’s degree at the Graduate School of Political Management at George Washington University in Washington D.C.
Jennifer Maria Fanea Major: Legal Studies Minor: Criminal Justice
I have been accepted into St. Thomas University's Benjamin L. Crump College of Law in Miami, Florida.
Amenia Farraj Major: Political Science
I have been accepted into a Ph.D. program at FIU in political science (and I'm waiting to hear back from other law schools and Master's programs).
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Amber Marie Hockaday Double Major: Legal Studies and Political Science
I commission on May 17th as a Finance officer in the United States Army, following which I will go to Fort Jackson, South Carolina, for my basic officer leadership course for 3 months, and then will hopefully be stationed in Vincenza, Italy.
Eryka Gusztyn Major: Legal Studies Minor: Business
I will be pursuing an MS in Real Estate Development in the College of Business at Nova Southeastern University.
Olivia Jones Major: Political Science
I plan to attend graduate school to pursue a master’s in foreign policy but am still undecided on where. In the meantime, I will be continuing to work and travel.
Alexis Lass Major: Political Science Minor: Philosophy
I will be applying to the MS in Experimental Psychology program at NSU to continue research on the categorization of war crimes and continuing my advocacy against book bans.
Amber R. Paquette Major: Legal Studies Minor: History
I have been accepted into the graduate MS program in National Security Affairs and International Relations in the Department of Humanities and Politics at NSU.
Aubrey Shearin Major: Legal Studies Minors: Music and Transdisciplinary Studies
Since I did my Bachelors in three years, I am planning to take a year off to be around family and relax before applying to law schools in Tennessee.
Amar Singh Major: Interdisciplinary Studies Minor: History
I am not fully sure what I am going to be doing during the year after graduation yet but my current plan for after graduation is to continue my education in the field of history.
Steven Stabile Major: History Minor: Philosophy
I look forward to attending Shepard Broad College of Law at NSU in the Fall 2024 semester!
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Jocelyn Vega Major: Legal Studies Minors: Spanish, Global Engagement, Honors
I will be attending law school in the Fall!
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James Geier Major: English and Biology. James will be pursuing a master's in English at New Mexico State University with a teaching assistantship this fall
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Special Congratulations to Dr. David Kilroy
The Department of Humanities and Politics congratulates Dr. David Kilroy on his retirement! Dr. Kilroy has been a wonderful chair and leader of the department, and he will be sorely missed.
Dr. Kilroy first came to Nova Southeastern University in 2006 and has been an important voice in the field of international history and US foreign policy. His research includes US history, Irish history, and global interactions of American officials. He has written extensively about the life of Colonel Charles Young, a man originally born into slavery who became a soldier, officer, diplomat, and civil rights leader. Dr. Kilroy’s publications include the book For Race and Country: The Life and Career of Colonel Charles Young (2003) and Days of Decision: Turning Points in U.S. Foreign Policy (2011) and countless journal publications. He was also an active presenter at conferences across the United States and in Ireland.
Dr. Kilroy earned his PhD from the University of Iowa, his master’s from University College Dublin and his bachelor’s from University College Dublin.
Many students at Nova learned American history, world history, Irish history, research methods, and the senior seminar in his undergraduate classes. He also has been an active contributor to the honors college and NSU’s graduate program in national security affairs and international relations. Dr. Kilroy also created the Irish Film Festival, which brings Irish films not widely available in the US to campus. Through a collaboration with the Irish Film Institute in Dublin, Dr. Kilroy has brought a range of films from contemporary dramas to thoughtful documentaries
to campus for more than a decade. The festival draws a wide audience from Nova and the wider community.
In addition to all his academic success, Dr. Kilroy has been a tireless advocate of the humanities and the department. He helped shepherd the department through many transitions and develop its focus on applied humanities, digital humanities, dialogue and democracy and more. He has successfully helped the department secure funding from internal and external sources, such as the Florida Humanities, to support its important institutes including the Center for Applied Humanities.
But most of all, we will all miss Dr. Kilroy for his wonderful camaraderie. The faculty, staff, and students all wish Dr. Kilroy the best on his next adventure.
Faculty Highlights
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Katy Doll, PhD, presented “Pearl Harbor and Public Sentiment,” at the Boca Raton Public Library, December 7, 2023.
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Katy Doll, PhD, reviewed The Third Option: Covert Action and American Foreign Policy by Loch Johnson (New York: Oxford University Press, 2022), for the H-Diplo Robert Jervis International Security Studies Forum, January 2, 2024, https://networks.h-net.org/group/discussions/20017922/h-diplorjissf-roundtable-review-15-20-johnson-third-option
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Katy Doll, PhD, served as chair and commenter for the panel “Studies in War and Ideology,” Florida Conference of Historians Annual Meeting, Melbourne, FL, January 27, 2024.
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Katy Doll, PhD, served as chair and commenter for the panel, “Migration and Community in History,” Florida Conference of Historians Annual Meeting, Melbourne, FL, January 27, 2024.
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Katy Doll, PhD, participated in a panel on Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale as part of "Out of Sight, Not Out of Mind", a series on banned books hosted by NSU's Center for Applied Humanities, March 5, 2024.
Katy Doll, PhD, reviewed History on the Run: Secrecy, Fugitivity, and Hmong Refugee Epistemologies by Ma Vang, (Durham: Duke University Press, 2021) for H-War, March 2024, https://networks.h-net.org/group/reviews/20026392/doll-vang-history-run-secrecy-fugitivity-and-hmong-refugee-epistemologies
Aileen Miyuki Farrar, PhD, presented “Why Spiders?: Art, Politics, and the Monstrous Victorian Arachnid,” Popular Culture Association Conference (PCA) in Chicago, IL, 27-30 March 2024.
Aileen Miyuki Farrar, PhD, sponsored student presentations by Nicolas Peñas, Melany Chacón, and James Geier, Popular Culture Association Conference, 27-30 Mar. 2024.
Aileen Miyuki Farrar, PhD, served as Judge, South Florida Youth Poet Laureate, Omari Hardwick bluapple Poetry Network, Jason Taylor Foundation, 1 April 2024.
Aileen Miyuki Farrar, PhD, attended Knowledge for Freedom Faculty Institute: Classroom, Campus, Community, Yale University, 11-13 January 2024.
Yvette Fuentes, PhD, published a review on Lorca after Life by Noël Valis. (Yale University Press, 2022.) Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, 61:5 (Jan. 2024)
Yvette Fuentes, PhD, published a review on Looking for Other Worlds: Black Feminism and Haitian Fiction by Régine Michelle Jean-Charles. (University of Virginia Press, 2022). Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, 61:5 (Jan. 2024)
Yvette Fuentes, PhD, introduced award-winning Mexican author and guest speaker, Carmen Boullosa, and moderated the Q & A session at the 6th Annual Center for the Applied Humanities Student Conference, March 23, 2024.
Yvette Fuentes, PhD, co-organized the department’s first ever Spanish Film Series with Yair Solan, PhD, and Kimberli Kidd of the Alvin Sherman Library. The series ran from Jan. 16-Feb. 11, 2024, and included the screening of five Latino/Latin American/Spanish films with post-film discussions. The Spanish Film Club series is made possible with the support of Pragda, SPAIN arts & culture, and the Secretary of State for Culture of Spain.
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Amanda Furiasse, PhD, published “Hello World: Digital Media and the Search for Interplanetary Life on Religion’s Final Frontier,” in Journal for the American Academy of Religion 91 no. 1 https://doi.org/10.1093/jaarel/lfad056
Amanda Furiasse, PhD, was accepted into Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine NEH Summer Institute on the Health Humanities.
David Kilroy, PhD, was a panelist for "U.S. Occupation of Haiti and Its Long-Term Effects," Roundtable, Haitian Heritage Museum, Miami, Florida, February 29, 2024.
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David Kilroy, PhD, presented "History and Memory," Farquhar Honors College and Alvin Sherman Library Open Classroom, Nova Southeastern University, March 6, 2024.
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Stephen Levitt, LLM, co-presented “Genocide in the 20th Century: Discussion and Student Panel" to the Lifelong Learning Institute, Fort Lauderdale, FL, on March 28, 2024. For more information on the Genocide in the 20th Century course and Levitt's trip with students to Warsaw and Berlin see his article in this edition of the newsletter.
Ying Ma, PhD, presented "'Queerness in a way saved my life': Reading Ocean Vuong’s On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous" at the Southern Humanities Conference in Savannah, GA, on February 2, 2024.
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Yair Solan, PhD, is presenting "Hysterical Fiction: Neurasthenic Comedy in Turn-of-the-Century Magazines" at the American Literature Association Conference, Chicago, IL, May 24, 2024.
Yair Solan, PhD, has been appointed to the editorial board of Studies in American Naturalism, a journal specializing in this literary movement from its nineteenth-century origins to its transformations in the modern and contemporary periods.
Yair Solan, PhD, and Teng Li, JD PhD, participated in a panel on Toni Morrison's novel The Bluest Eye as part of "Out of Sight, Not Out of Mind", a series on banned books hosted by NSU's Center for Applied Humanities, February 15, 2024.
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Vicki Toscano, JD, PhD, published “The Responsibility Objection to Thomson Re-imagined: What If Men Were Held to a Parallel Standard?” in the International Journal of Feminist Approaches to Bioethics, vol 16., no. 2, Fall 2023. P. 26-45, https://doi.org/10.3138/ijfab-2022-0011
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Jeremy Weissman, PhD, received a favorable review of his book The Crowdsourced Panopticon: Conformity and Control on Social Media (Rowman & Littlefield, 2021), in the December issue of IEEE Technology and Society Magazine.
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Charles Zelden, PhD, participated in a panel discussion on “election integrity” at a voting rights conference held at the Shepard Broad College of Law at NSU in January.
Charles Zelden, PhD, spoke with the Weston Democrats and the Plantation Democrats on the 2024 election cycle.
Newsletter Committee:
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Katy Doll, PhD
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Amanda Furiasse, PhD
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David Kilroy, PhD
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Stephen Levitt, LLM
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DHP Graduate Assistant: Kimberly White