Archive for February 2008
January 2008 | Main Page | March 2008
February 29, 2008
Films in March
Film Movement Film Series
Tuesday, March 11
7:30pm Hodges Library Auditorium
The Way I Spent The End Of The World
Romania / d. Catalin Mitulescu / 106 min
Set in Romania towards the end of the Ceausescu regime, The Way I Spent the End of the World depicts a few months in the life of one family as they deal with universal struggles like raising kids, finding work, and abiding by societal expectations
March 25, 2008
7:30pm Hodges Library Auditorium
Fraulein
Switzerland / d. Andrea Staka / 81 min
Fraulein explores questions of nationality, immigration and generational differences through the lives and friendships of three women from the former Yugoslavia living in Zurich and working in a cafeteria
Biology Nights
Thursday, March 27
6:30 PM Hodges Library 253
Too Hot Not to Handle: Winning the Battle Against Global Warming
Run Time: 55 min.
This film offers a wealth of scientific evidence for dire climate-change predictions--but it also shows how businesses, local governments, and citizens can take positive action to reduce future dangers. With in-depth discussions of what may lie ahead, including increases in storm surges, hurricanes, water pollution, forest fires, and epidemics, the program promotes the urgently needed use of alternative energy sources, such as biodiesel, clean-burning coal, and wind and solar power. Interviews with leading climatologists and environmental health experts enliven the film's two-pronged focus on perils and solutions.
Posted by outreachsla at 03:19 PM in Film Series
February 26, 2008
Michael Knight to Read at Writers in the Library, March 10
Michael Knight, UT associate professor of creative writing, will read from his recently published book, The Holiday Season, at the March 10th Writers in the Library event.
In the first of two novellas comprising The Holiday Season, a father and two adult sons struggle through the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays to redefine their relationships after the death of the wife and mother who bound them together. The second novella, set during one New Year's Eve, "is packed with people brought into uncomfortable proximity on a night traditionally given over to optimism." [New York Times Book Review].
Earlier books by Michael Knight include Divining Rod, a novel, and two collections of stories, Goodnight, Nobody and Dogfight and Other Stories.
Knight sets his narratives in his native Alabama -- and to good advantage. "Nobody writes about the contemporary Southern upper middle class as well as Michael Knight," according to the Mobile Register. "Knight's writing [is] understated, graceful, easy. At the same time, he is no stranger to the Southern Gothic tradition, which is to say he peoples his novel with characters whose eccentricities, at once comic and sad, are accepted and everyday," says the Washington Post Book World. And the New York Times Book Review allows: "For all its dark insight into human entanglements, Knight's fiction also contained surprising jolts of humor."
Join Writers in the Library at 7 pm, Monday, March 10, in the UT Hodges Library auditorium to experience Michael Knight's own Southern blend of realism and humor.
Posted by Martha Rudolph at 12:00 AM in Events, Writers in the Library
February 25, 2008
Student Art in the Library - Call for submissions
UT Libraries seeks submissions to the Fall Student Art in the Library exhibition. Entrants must be registered graduate or undergraduate students. The deadline for submissions is Tuesday, April 8.
Selected artwork will be installed in May and remain on view through November 2008 in first floor reference room, Hodges Library. For more info, contact Jennifer Beals at 974-0014 or jbeals@utk.edu.
Student Art in the Library: http://www.lib.utk.edu/refs/artinlibrary/
Posted by admin at 01:55 PM in Announcements, Exhibits
February 22, 2008
Who are the Melungeons? Wayne Winkler to speak, March 11
Who are the Melungeons? These mysterious inhabitants of Hancock County, Tennessee and environs are one of a number of "tri-racial isolate"* groups living in southern Appalachia. Like other mixed-race groups, they were the targets of legal and social restrictions enacted during the 19th -- and even the early 20th -- century.
The historical origins of the Melungeons are the subject of many conflicting theories. Are they of Gypsy or Turkish ancestry? The descendants of shipwrecked sailors? A longstanding myth even proclaimed them an indigenous people, inhabiting Appalachia before the arrival of the first white settlers. And present-day genetic studies have not provided a conclusive answer to the question of their origins.
To learn more about the Melungeons, join us to hear Wayne Winkler on Tuesday, March 11, 11:00 am, in 605 Hodges Library. Winkler, himself of Melungeon ancestry, is the former president of the Melungeon Heritage Association and author of Walking Toward the Sunset: The Melungeons of Appalachia.
A collection of books on the Melungeons is available in our Culture Corner, 1st floor, Hodges Library.
*Tri-racial describes populations thought to be of mixed European, sub-Saharan African, and Native American ancestry.
Posted by Martha Rudolph at 12:15 PM in Events
February 13, 2008
Topiary artist Pearl Fryar to visit UT, Feb. 27-28
Self-taught topiary artist Pearl Fryar will visit UT this month. Fryar, an African American man in his mid-60s who began creating a three-acre topiary garden in 1984 in an effort to win Yard of the Month for his home, has become an international phenomenon and is the subject of an award-winning film.
The film, A Man Named Pearl, will be screened at the Cox Auditorium, Alumni Memorial Hall, Wednesday, February 27, 7 pm. A discussion with Mr. Fryar will follow the film. The film offers an upbeat message that speaks to respect for both self and others, and shows what one person can achieve when he allows himself to share the full expression of his humanity.
Fryar will also visit the Pendergrass Library on the agricultural campus on Thursday, February 28. A reception will be held in his honor at 5:30 pm in the library, followed by a demonstration of his work at 6:00 pm.
Support for these events is provided by Ready For The World, the Commission for Women, the Black Cultural Center, and the UT Libraries Diversity Committee.
Posted by Martha Rudolph at 12:24 PM in Events
February 11, 2008
Readings by authors Julie Auer & Stephen Dupree, Feb. 25
Writers in the Library continues its spring line-up of authors with readings by local authors Julie Auer and Stephen Dupree on February 25. Readings begin at 7 pm in the Hodges Library auditorium.
Julie Auer is a Knoxville lawyer and freelance writer of fiction and nonfiction. Previously inspired by her work as a public defender to write about crime, her work has appeared in several regional anthologies including the 2004 literary edition Knoxville Bound.
Apart from crime, her published work ranges from social justice commentary for the Hellbender Press to a monthly humor column for the Knoxville Voice. She is currently at work on a book project about the 1934 Stonega Company coal mining disaster in Derby, Virginia.
Stephen Dupree is a lifelong Knoxvillian with generous and varied exposure to the world. Military, acting, and technical employment have sent him into many corners of Europe and the U.S. and allowed him the opportunity to explore some of the corners of his mind. Observations, questions, and conclusions all appear in his writings. Whether by accident or effort, he tends to look at things from a slightly different angle than the "norm." Nothing is off limits and humor can be found in anything, are his guidelines. He has been a contributing columnist to Knoxville's Metro Pulse.
The Writers in the Library series is sponsored by the University of Tennessee Libraries and the Creative Writing Program of the UT English Department. For further information, please contact Jo Anne Deeken, head of technical services, UT Libraries, at 974-6905 or jdeeken@utk.edu, or R.B. Morris, Jack E. Reese writer in residence, UT Libraries, at 974-3004 or rbmorris@utk.edu.
Posted by Martha Rudolph at 09:00 PM in Events, Writers in the Library
February 05, 2008
Got Research? UT Libraries' Research Assist Provides Individualized Assistance
"Doing library research can be very challenging," Jeanine Williamson, a reference librarian who founded Research Assist, said. "With Research Assist, you can get one-on-one help finding, selecting and locating other sources that make a research project complete."
Students often rely too heavily on Internet resources that may not be reliable. Some universities, such as the history department at Middlebury College in Vermont, have limited students' use of sites like Wikipedia.
"Whereas Wikipedia is extraordinarily convenient and, for some general purposes, extremely useful, it nonetheless suffers inevitably from inaccuracies deriving in large measure from its unique manner of compilation," a statement from the Middlebury College department reads. "Students are responsible for the accuracy of information they provide, and they cannot point to Wikipedia or any similar source that may appear in the future to escape the consequences of errors."
Librarians at UT look forward to helping students identify appropriate scholarly sources for their research. "Internet sites like Wikipedia can be a great place to start, but it isn't the place to do real research," Rita Smith, associate dean of libraries, said. "We look forward to helping students broaden their information-gathering skills, and to teaching them how to analyze the accuracy of the information they use. Information literacy is one of the best ways to get ready for the world," Smith said.
Students can make an appointment for Research Assist by filling out the form at www.lib.utk.edu/refs/researchassist/. There are also drop-in hours described on the web page.
Posted by Martha Rudolph at 01:18 PM in Press Releases
February 04, 2008
Run (or Walk) to Benefit the UT Libraries
The UT Graduate Student Senate continues their tradition of raising funds for the UT Libraries with the 16th annual "Love Your Libraries" Fun Run, Saturday, February 23.
The 5K run through the heart of the UT campus will start at Circle Park at 8:30 am, and the one-mile fun walk will follow. The registration table opens at 7:30 am. Pre-registration is $15; race day registration is $20. Click here to download the 2008 entry form.
The Graduate Student Senate held its first race to benefit the UT Libraries in 1992. Proceeds from the race are used to purchase library materials crucial to graduate-level study and research.
The race is sanctioned and emceed by the Knoxville Track Club. An awards ceremony will follow the race. Awards will be given to the top three runners overall, 1st Masters (40+) and 1st Grand Masters (50+), male and female -- as well as awards given by age and gender. Awards must be picked up on race day; they will not be mailed. Fun Run t-shirts are guaranteed to all pre-registered runners. Shirts will be given out on a first-come, first-served basis on race day.
For more information, contact Graduate Student Senate Vice President Trey Forgety at 865-974-2377 or gss2@utk.edu.
Posted by Martha Rudolph at 08:00 AM in Events
Film Movement Films for February
See some very good films at Hodges Library for free
Film Movement gathers films from the top film festivals from around the world. Most of these films do not receive U.S. distribution. Each month Film Movement releases one film on dvd, and grants performance rights to UT Libraries to show the films on-screen.
So join us this Spring at the UT Libraries' Film Movement Series and sample award-winning, first-run independent and international feature films unlikely to be screened elsewhere in Knoxville.
Seven films will be shown in Hodges Library Auditorium at 7:30PM every other Tuesday from January 29th through April 22nd. A short film will follow the main feature. The film screenings are free and open to the public.
Film Schedule for Febrary
Febrary 12: Viva Cuba (Cuba) running time: 80 minutes
Cuba / d. Juan Carlos Cremata Malberti / 80 min
Two children on the cusp of adolescence embark on a journey when their friendship is threatened by their parents' social and political differences.
February 26: The Island (Russia) running time: 112 minutes
Somewhere in Northern Russia in a small Russian Orthodox monastery lives a very unusual monk. Those who visit the island believe that the man has the power to heal, exorcise demons, and foretell the future.
Posted by outreachsla at 08:00 AM in Film Series
February 03, 2008
Feb. 11 Reading by MariJo Moore, author who draws on her Cherokee heritage
Author MariJo Moore will read at Writers in the Library on Monday, February 11, at 7 pm in the Hodges Library auditorium.
Moore wears several literary hats -- author, editor, publisher. A North Carolina resident of Cherokee, Irish and Dutch ancestry, she channels the voices of her Native American ancestors through several genres -- fiction, essays, poetry.
She has published collections of Native American tales, an award-winning collection of her own short stories with a focus on Cherokee women (Red Woman with Backward Eyes and Other Stories), and her first novel (The Diamond Doorknob).
The most recent collection of her poetry is Confessions of a Madwoman. Her earlier Spirit Voices of Bones includes one poem that is translated into eleven different native languages.
Moore has edited several anthologies of essays by and about Native Americans, including Eating Fire, Tasting Blood: Breaking the Great Silence of the American Indian Holocaust and Genocide of the Mind: An Anthology of Native American Writing. Eating Fire, Tasting Blood includes essays with such poignant titles as "Manifest Destiny: Greed Disguised as God" and "A Flood of Tears and Blood: And Yet the Pope Said Indians Had Souls."
Moore was chosen as Wordcrafter of the Year (2003-2004) by the Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers. She was honored with the prestigious award of North Carolina's Distinguished Woman of the Year in the Arts in 1998, and chosen by Native Peoples magazine as one of the top five American Indian writers of the new century (June/July 2000 issue). Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers chose her as creative prose fiction Writer of the Year in 2002 for her book Red Woman with Backward Eyes and Other Stories. She is founder of rENEGADE pLANETS pUBLISHING, which was chosen as Publisher of the Year by Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers in 2001.
The Writers in the Library series is sponsored by the University of Tennessee Libraries and the Creative Writing Program of the UT English Department. For further information, please contact Jo Anne Deeken, head of technical services, UT Libraries, at 974-6905 or jdeeken@utk.edu, or R.B. Morris, Jack E. Reese writer in residence, UT Libraries, at 974-3004 or rbmorris@utk.edu.
--
Granddaddy stood five feet four inches and was slight of stature. "Paper-sack brown" was how my family described his coloring. Shiny, crow-black hair and eyes, he called himself a "full-blooded Cherokee." Many times people mistook him for one of the Mexicans who came to the rich bottomlands of western Tennessee every fall to pick cotton. He never bothered to correct them.
When I was growing up in the fifties, it wasn't as acceptable to be American Indian as it is now. There was no Dances With Wolves over which non-Indians romanticized. No rebellious young people totally distraught over the Vietnam War, looking for answers to society's ills through spiritual teachings...
--from "Everyone Needs Someone" by MariJo Moore, in Genocide of the Mind: An Anthology of Native American Writing
Posted by Martha Rudolph at 08:00 AM in Events, Writers in the Library