University of Kentucky College of Arts & Sciences

Frank Walker, associate professor in the Department of English, discusses the origin of the word "Affrilachia" and how the use of the word forces the redefinition of a region traditionally described as all-white. Walker noted several key artists and intellectuals from Appalachia to illustrate the region's cultural diversity.

This podcast is a recording of his lecture on May 21st, 2012, at Shanghai University. The session was part of the Symposium on Globalization, Identity, and Cultural Diversity.

Produced by Cheyenne Hohman.

During the summer of 2013, UK Junior Mary Kate Elliott joined seven other students from around the United States in a month-long Fulbright summer program in England called the Fulbright Nottingham-Trent University Summer Institute. Elliott is working on a double major in English and French, with a minor in Dance. In this podcast, Elliott talks about the Fulbright program and what she has brought back from abroad.

This podcast was produced by Cheyenne Hohman.

With the help of a generous grant from the U.S. State Department, UK has been able to forge a partnership across the Pacific. On March 29th, 2012, three UK scholars will go to deliver lectures for the Inaugural Symposium for the American Studies Center at Shanghai. Rich Schein and Patricia Ehrkamp from the Department of Geography and Doug Boyd from the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History will be lecturing on "Urbanization in the American South." The symposium will be the first of its kind at Shanghai University, but will be followed later this semester with another series of presentations about Appalachian art, literature and culture in May.

Andy Doolen, an associate professor in the Department of English and Director of the American Studies program, is also serving as the Director of the American Studies Center in Shanghai. In this podcast, Doolen talks about the upcoming symposium, the story behind the partnership, and what UK and Shanghai University aspire to do for one another in the future.

This podcast was produced by Cheyenne Hohman.

There are all sorts of rare materials in UK Libraries, including a huge collection of books and posters from the former Soviet Union. With the 2012-2013 academic school year's A&S Passport to the World initiative focusing on Russia and its neighbors, the collection will get some extra exposure. This podcast interviews Gordon Hogg, Director of the Special Collections Library, about this unique part of UK Libraries' holdings. The Passport to the World initiative is sponsored by the A&S Advisory Board.

This podcast was produced by Cheyenne Hohman.

John Brown served with the Federal Bureau of Investigation for more than two decades. He served in many capacities, including as a serology examiner, special agent, investigator, and was program manager for the development of the National DNA Indexing System. In this podcast, Brown describes some of his work with the Bureau and how taking chemistry courses at UK gave a solid foundation for the career path he chose.

This podcast was produced by Stephen Gordinier.

Technology in the classroom is often discussed in terms of solving issues of scale—the rise of massively open online courses just being the largest of examples. Perhaps though, technology may serve the most good when it's scaled to student needs.

Psychology Professor Jonathan Golding has found this to be the case in the many classes he teaches. As he has increasing experimented with tools like Facebook and blogs, Golding has found that the most gains come in the small interactions between students, where they learn to deal with themselves on their own terms, as real individuals. The result: a more productive learning environment made more intimate—not less—by the latest technology.

In this podcast, Professor Golding discusses how he uses modern social media platforms like Facebook to change the way his students interact with him and each other while also noting some of the tensions that exist when incorporating technology into the classroom.

This podcast was produced by Patrick O'Dowd.

Internationally renowned scholar and activist Vandana Shiva visited the University of Kentucky to present her lecture on "The Future of Food" and to discuss the many challenges of global sustainability. Shiva has been the author of more than 20 books on sustainable agriculture, development, feminist theory, alternative globalization, and bioengineering. Her work in the interdisciplinary field of sustainability has elevated her to the position of one of the field's foremost thinkers and has even earned her the title of "environmental hero" from Time Magazine.

Shiva’s lecture was made possible by support from the UK Student Sustainability Council, the Student Government Association, the College of Arts & Sciences' departments of Sociology and Geography, and the Central Kentucky Council for Peace and Justice.

This podcast was produced by Patrick O'Dowd.

What do politics have to do with the end of the world? UK Philosophy graduate Joan Braune recently finished her dissertation, which is focused on Erich Fromm's role - and break from - the Frankfurt School. She thinks that the connection between political renewal and dreams of catastrophe are detrimental to progress. Braune discussed some of her research at Villanova University's April 2013 conference, " Apocalyptic Politics: Framing the Present," and shares her research in this podcast.

Biology Professor Ashley Seifert describes his job as a scientist and educator at the University of Kentucky as one of the best gigs around. It’s hard to disagree.

Seifert only recently joined UK but he is already making big plans for the research he hopes to conduct. His background is one of a developmental and regeneration biologist meaning he studies creatures—mainly vertebrates—who have the ability to regenerate parts of themselves.

Through their study, Seifert hopes to not only shed light on how these animals do what they do but learn potential new ways to help people who may be either sick or injured.

In this podcast, Seifert discusses the research he’ll be conducting at UK, his goals, the different species of animals he’ll be working with, and how being a scientist is one of the best gigs around.

This podcast was produced by Patrick O'Dowd.

We often hear about veterans that can't shake traumatic experiences and memories of war, but what about those who find ways to cope? Travis Martin, a PhD candidate in English, is doing research to document the ways in which veterans use the arts to process and move past trauma. He is the President of Military Experience and the Arts, a project that connects veterans with resources and outlets for their artwork, poetry, fiction, and scholarship, as well as the Veterans' PTSD Project, which seeks to dispel stereotypes about post-traumatic stress disorder by giving veterans a voice.

In this podcast, he reads and discusses three of his poems, “A Little Boy With Bananas,” “The Writing on the Wall,” and “Rifling About,” all of which reflect on his combat experiences in Iraq and life after returning home. The first two were featured in the New York Times, and the third can be downloaded from here.

This podcast was produced by Cheyenne Hohman.