Eric Schlosser Speaks on "To Be an American"

Acclaimed author and journalist Eric Schlosser will give a free talk on Thursday, March 22 at 4 p.m. in the Auburn University Hotel and Conference Center auditorium. His talk, “To Be an American,” addresses the historical, cultural and social implications of our nation’s immigrant identity.

As a melting-pot nation, the United States has experienced both the vigor and the tension that comes from making one of many. Schlosser’s wide-ranging perspective addresses the roots of American identity and the impulse that helped make the nation a destination for those in search of economic, cultural and religious freedom. 

Schlosser’s first book, Fast Food Nation, published in 2001, helped start a revolution in how Americans think about what they eat. In 2011 it was named one of Time magazine’s 100 all-time best nonfiction books and remained on the New York Times bestseller list for two years. His second book, Reefer Madness (2003), looked at America’s thriving underground economy and was also a New York Times bestseller.

Schlosser served as an executive producer and co-wrote the feature film Fast Food Nation (2006), directed by Richard Linklater. He was a co-producer of the award-winning documentary, Food, Inc., directed by Robert Kenner, and served as executive producer of There Will Be Blood (2008), directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Two of Schlosser’s plays have been produced in London: Americans (2003) at the Arcola Theatre and We the People (2007) at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre.

As an investigative journalist, Schlosser has made a career of going outside the mainstream media to give a voice to people not always widely heard. He’s followed the harvest with migrant farm workers in California, spent time with meatpacking workers in Texas and Colorado and gone on duty with the New York Police Department Bomb Squad. 

Schlosser’s talk is sponsored by the College of Liberal Arts’ Caroline Marshall Draughon Center for the Arts & Humanities, Department of Communication & Journalism and Community and Civic Engagement Initiative, as well as the Auburn University College of Agriculture. 

Film Series on Immigration Continues with "Abandoned"

Abandoned (2000, 55 minutes), a film by directors David Belle and Nicholas Wrathall, is the second installment of a film series on immigration. Abandoned will screen at on Tuesday, March 6 at 7 p.m. at the Auburn Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (540 East Thach Avenue). Dr. Stacey Hunt, professor in the Auburn University College of Liberal Arts, will lead discussion.

Abandoned, takes a close look at the personal impact of immigration laws and depicts the severity of current detention and deportation policies. Through intimate interviews and shocking footage of detainees' treatment behind bars the film provides an eye-opening experience for those unfamiliar with the detention system.

Hunt, who will moderate Abandoned, is currently an assistant professor of Political Science. She specializes in comparative politics with an emphasis on contemporary state construction in Latin America.  Abandoned, has been shown at over a dozen film festivals and focuses on the effects of the 1996 law that allows for the Immigration and Naturalization Service to imprison legal permanent residents and asylum applicants.

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.

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.

Intersections and Meeting Grounds: Public History and Community

On February 17-18, 2012, Auburn University will host a two-day symposium exploring the intersection of public history and community in the South, with a focus on Alabama. The symposium, “Intersections and Meeting Grounds: Public History and Community,” will be held in the Special Collections and Archives Department of the Ralph Brown Draughon Library.

“Intersections and Meeting Grounds” will explore the roles of community, institutional, and academic partners in public history collaborations. The symposium aims to bring together a diverse range of panelists working in Alabama and across the South to address strategies and approaches for sharing authority, effective decision-making, resolving conflict, and community engagement.

The symposium is sponsored by Auburn University's College of Liberal Arts' Caroline Marshall Draughon Center for the Arts & Humanities and Department of History, Alabama Department of Archives and History, and History Matters LLC.

Registration for the conference is $30 ($15 for students), and includes lunch on Friday and Saturday. Registration for the keynote dinner Friday evening is $15. For a schedule and a list of presenters, please visit www.cla.auburn.edu/publichistory or call 334-844-4903.

Discover SHR at Free Master Class

On Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012, the Southern Humanities Review will host “Discovering SHR,” free master writing classes at St. Dunstan’s Episcopal Church in Auburn.

Pushcart Prize nominees Alison Pelegrin and Emma Bolden will lead workshops on writing poetry and nonfiction. Pelegrin, poet, essayist and author of two poetry collections, will offer a poetry writing workshop from 10 a.m. to noon. Bolden, currently an assistant professor at Georgia Southern and author of How to Recognize a Lady, will lead a nonfiction master class from 1 to 3 p.m.

The classes are free and open to the public, but seating is limited. To reserve a spot, send an email to shreng@auburn.edu. Following the master classes, The Gnu’s Room will host a free reading by the presenters at 6 p.m. For more information on the reading, visit www.thegnusroom.com. 

The Southern Humanities Review was founded in 1967 as the official publication of the Southern Humanities Council. Under the leadership of Professor Dan Latimer and Alumni Professor Chantel Acevedo, SHR publishes fiction, poetry, critical essays and book reviews on the arts, literature, philosophy, religion and history. Work published in SHR is considered for Best American Essays, The Art of the Essay, Best American Poetry, Best American Short Stories, New Stories from the South, Prize Stories: O. Henry Awards and The Pushcart Prize. For information on submitting and subscribing to SHR, visit the website.

“Discovering SHR” is made possible through the generous support of the Auburn University Department of English and College of Liberal Arts, as well as grants from the Alabama State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.