Film Series on Immigration Launches with "El Norte"

On Tuesday, Feb. 28, El Norte, a film by director Gregory Nava, will kick off a movie series on immigration. “El Norte” will screen at 7 p.m. at the Auburn Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (540 East Thach Avenue). Dr. Robert Leier, professor in the Auburn University College of Education, will lead discussion.

El Norte, the first independent film to receive an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay, traces the journey of two Mayan youth who flee Guatemala following a Guatemalan Army-led massacre in their village. The journey is marked by danger, and sometimes humor, as the two make their way to Los Angeles.

Leier, who will moderate El Norte, is currently an assistant professor and program area coordinator for the graduate degree and certificate programs in English for Speakers of Other Languages Education, Department of Curriculum and Teaching, College of Education at Auburn. In addition to its Oscar nomination, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

The series, which is free and open to all, will include screenings of seven other films, including Harvest of Shame, Pueblos Hermanos and Morristown. Each screening will take place at AUUF at 7 p.m. Designed to spark discussion of both film and issues of immigration, the series was created by Dr. Kerri Muñoz and is sponsored by the Auburn University Latin American Studies Center for Community Connections, the College of Liberal Arts Global Citizenship Project, the departments of Foreign Languages and Literatures, English, and Political Science, as well as AUUF and the Caroline Marshall Draughon Center for the Arts & Humanities in the Collegeof Liberal Arts.

Auburn Speaks 2013 Announces Editors and Call for Submissions

Auburn Speaks, an annual peer-reviewed publication showcasing research and creative scholarship by Auburn University faculty, students, staff and alumni, is pleased to announce that Dr. Graeme Lockaby, the associate dean for research in the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, will serve as the editor for its 2013 edition.

Auburn Speaks features important research at Auburn University that affects and may be of interest to the general public. Accessible and visually engaging, the publication draws from all disciplines.

The 2013 edition will focus on water. The topic is a subject rich with applications across the sciences and social sciences, including state, regional and global issues of use, conservation and quality. Water is a significant factor in issues related to energy and the environment, rural and urban development, public health, as well as food production, processing and distribution. Water informs creative research, the visual arts, creative writing and performing arts. Auburn’s long history of engagement in water research will also be featured.

Lockaby serves as director of the Center for Forest Sustainability and has extensive experience with research and outreach on water issues. Working with him to recruit and edit submissions are ten  faculty members who will serve as subject area experts and  associate editors: Dr. Kelly Alley on social/policy issues and arts/humanities; Dr. Claude Boyd on water use and aquaculture; Dr. Prabhakar Clement on groundwater; Dr. Mark  Dougherty on global water issues; Dr. Diane Hite on ecosystem services; Drs. Elise Irwin and John Aho on biodiversity; Dr. Latif Kalin on land-use change; Dr. Charlene LeBleu on low-impact development; and Dr. Puneet Srivastava on climate influences.

The deadline for submissions of articles to Auburn Speaks is no later than April 15. The Auburn Speaks website (www.auburn.edu/auburnspeaks) offers contact information and submission guidelines. Those with questions about appropriate topics for submissions are encouraged to contact an associate editor.

Auburn Speaks is a project of the Office of the Vice President for Research, with assistance provided by the OVPR’s Program Development Office, the University Writing Initiative and the Caroline Marshall Draughon Center for the Arts Humanities in the College of Liberal Arts, as well as the College of Agriculture’s Office of AgriculturalCommunications and Marketing.

The 2012 edition of Auburn Speaks, which will debut in April during this year’s Auburn University Research Week, will include features and profiles relating to research on the BP oil spill. Information about it can also be found at the Auburn Speaks website.