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Spotlight on Faculty Scholarship

robinsonFor Erin Robinson, PhD, associate professor of sociology, anthropology and criminal justice, the intersection of sociology and environmental studies is a key area in her teaching and scholarship.  Robinson’s research on air pollution in Tonawanda brings together research practices and mechanisms for social change in this newly published article “Sharing Stories: The Role of Personal Narratives in Community Mobilization” Humanity and Society, November 2016, Vol 40:4, 442-461

The article discusses the role of narratives in social change, specifically how telling stories through qualitative interviewing leads to community mobilization.  Residents concerned about environmental contamination in their communities turned to the revelations in each other’s stories to empower and inspire action for social change.  Reflections on the role of the researcher and ethics give the reader an insight into community-based research practices from a sociological perspective.

Click here to read and access through the Canisius Library.

Submitted by: Sara Morris, PhD, associate vice president, Academic Affairs

The Clothesline Project

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Canisius observed Domestic Violence Awareness Month with the “The Clothesline Project.” Students created t-shirts with inspirational messages and wore purple ribbons to commemorate National Purple Thursday (October 20). The t-shirts are on display throughout the campus.

Submitted by: College Communications

Canisius Chorale Inaugurates 2016-2017 Season

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The Canisius College Chorale, under the direction of Frank Scinta, will inaugurate its 2016-2017 Sacred Spaces Concert Series with a program on Sunday, October 23 at 7:30 p.m. at Nativity Church, 4414 S. Buffalo Street in Orchard Park, NY (near Thorn Avenue).

The concert features works by Vivaldi, Whitacre, Faure, Dawson and Ticheli among others. The event is free and open to the public.

The Sacred Spaces concert series stems from an idea proposed 12 years ago to feature the chorale’s music in some of Western New York’s most beautiful and acoustically resonant environments – namely, the sanctuaries of our area’s churches. As a result, the choir has visited nearly 40 houses of worship with its repertoire of sacred and secular music spanning five centuries.

Now in its 20th season, the Canisius College Chorale remains one of Western New York’s most active collegiate music ensembles. Composed of 100 undergraduate and graduate members, the chorale regularly presents concert programs to school, church and community audiences throughout Western New York and southern Ontario. In recent years, the chorale has performed with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Ars Nova Chamber Musicians, Amherst Symphony Orchestra, Camerata di Sant’Antonio, Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus and the Dave Brubeck Quartet.

Please join us for a lovely evening of great choral music.

Submitted by: Frank Scinta, adjunct professor, fine arts

Serious Games Meetup Group

SeriousGamesMeetup2On Friday, November 4 at 1:00 p.m. in Lyons Hall Room 122, come to the first meeting of the Serious Games Meetup Group.  Our goal is to familiarize faculty and staff with theories and tools for design and development of serious games or games for purposes other than pure entertainment.

Serious games can serve a wide variety of purposes: educational topics, scientific simulations, healthcare and therapeutic processes, personnel training, emergency management, city planning and politics. The group will explore learning theories, game design, and conduct workshops using various applications and “game engines” that will aid faculty and staff in the development of serious games…and yes we will play games too!

The group, facilitated by P.J. Moskal, associate professor of communication studies and Mark Gallimore, PhD, instructional designer in the Center for Online Learning and Innovation (COLI), will meet on the first Friday of the month at 1:00 p.m. for one-hour sessions.

COLI Quick Tip!  Share files with colleagues across campus (and around the world) with Google Drive.

Submitted by: Mark Gallimore, PhD, instructional designer, COLI

Canisius to Host HS Model UN Conference

On Thursday, October 27 the Canisius College International Relations Program proudly welcomes to campus 400 students from 19 area high schools for the 38th annual High School Model United Nations Conference. Canisius College students help facilitate this day of diplomacy, public speaking and collaborative, experiential learning.

Coming just three days after United Nations Day, the conference features six concurrent simulated sessions of international deliberative bodies including the United Nations Security Council, the Human Rights Council and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. The conference also features an historic simulation of the UN Security Council in November 1996, just as the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan, the Rwandan-Zairean refugee crisis sparked armed conflict in Africa’s Great Lakes region and the Abkhazia conflict threatened to destabilize the newly independent post-Soviet state of Georgia.

A volunteer staff of nearly two dozen Canisius College students will moderate and adjudicate the proceedings, which challenge participants to learn rules of parliamentary procedure and specific countries’ positions on controversial international issues. The staff is largely drawn from the Model UN Diplomacy Organization, a student club affectionately known as MUNDO. Many, though not all, of the club’s members are international relations majors.

Student-delegates will represent countries from around the world – 190 delegations in all – and will discuss, debate and attempt to formulate resolutions on pressing issues of the day, including the situations in Haiti, Libya and Syria; questions of human rights, sustainable development and indigenous peoples; and concerns about fossil fuel dependency and child labor.

The International Relations Program is a multidisciplinary program that offers a major and a minor and draws upon exceptional faculty in the departments of History, Political Science and Modern Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, as well as International Business and other programs and departments at Canisius.

We are delighted to welcome the high school students and their advisors to our campus and we hope you will help us in making our guests feel welcome on our campus this coming Thursday!

Submitted by: Jonathan M. DiCicco, PhD, associate professor, Political Science; director, International Relations