At the proverbial intersection, we turned north, moving from Denver to Duluth.
I spent over ten years teaching UMD undergraduate students the Spanish language and about Spain’s history, politics, art and literature, and cultural heritage. I traveled with them to Salamanca, Spain, where the old city, recognized as a UNESCO world heritage site, became our classroom in situ. One of my most rewarding experiences as an educator was seeing the positive impact study abroad in Spain had on my students, one that reminds me of the path I took in my own learning as an undergraduate.
Now, I have made another slight turn from being in the classroom to serving the college I love as interim Dean. In this role, I have seen the ways CAHSS students, faculty, staff, and alumni join together in discovery and impact. Intersectionality, the points where themes and approaches converge together, has been a guiding principle in the college this year—and though I can think of many examples, let me highlight just three here.
The Department of English hosted the Jankofsky Lecture where MIT Professor Arthur Bahr and Cal Tech Professor Jennifer Jahner discussed the relationship between the past and the future, the fragility of technology, and how Medieval Studies helps us think about technological resilience. The Tweed Art Museum hosted bulldogs for yoga in the exhibition space of Stuart Klipper’s “Passages” collection, which includes ten photographs of naturescapes. The Head of the Lakes Jazz Festival brought together incredible musicians, Ingrid Jensen, Brian Perez, Ryan Frane, Gordon Lewis, and David Schmalenberger, to perform, teach, and coach over a dozen Minnesota high school jazz ensembles.
Please keep an eye on forthcoming interdisciplinary events at https://cahss.d.umn.edu/. Next academic year, we plan to explore the intersections between water, ecology, and human lives by hosting a book club and by remembering the Edmund Fitzgerald. We hope you will join us.
The theme of this issue of Confluence, intersections, highlights the important and inspired work we are doing in CAHSS to bring people together and to make connections across disciplines and methods. As a friend of CAHSS, you are a key part of this work. Please reach out to me to chat at any time. I would love to connect.
Jennifer Brady
Interim Dean, CAHSS