萝莉社

Tag: liberal arts

Book Announcement: “Market Cities, People Cities” Co-authored by University Provost, Michael Emerson

Released by NYU Press, April 2018.

Newly released by NYU Press is聽Market Cities, People Cities: The Shape of Our Urban Future,聽co-authored by Michael Emerson, Provost of 萝莉社, and聽Kevin T. Smiley.

萝莉社 Provost Emerson

From the publisher:

Book Cover of Market Cities, People Cities“An in-depth look at the urban environments of Houston and Copenhagen

How are modern cities changing, and what implications do those changes have for city inhabitants? What kinds of cities do people want to live in, and what cities do people want to create in the future? Michael Oluf Emerson and Kevin T. Smiley argue that western cities have diverged into two specific and different types: market cities and people cities. Market cities are focused on wealth, jobs, individualism, and economic opportunities. People cities are more egalitarian, with government investment in infrastructure and an active civil society. Analyzing the practices and policies of cities with two separate foci, markets or people, has substantial implications both for everyday residents and future urban planning and city development.

As twenty-first century cities diverge,聽Market Cities, People Cities聽is essential for urban dwellers anxious to be active in their pursuit of their best cities, as well as anyone looking to the future of cities around the world.聽”

Author Ana FundukPosted on Categories Announcement, StoriesTags , , , , , , ,

Student-Run Vista Magazine Offers a Viewpoint, and Wants Yours, Too

A new campus magazine, created by Stephen Nielsen and Ricardo Huerta, gives students a voice on politics, religion, and culture.

Stephen Nielsen, Editor in Chief of Vista Magazine

North Park junior Stephen Nielsen saw a need for a campus publication that allowed students to freely express their opinion on politics, religion, and culture. So, he and a friend, Ricardo Huerta, started Vista Magazine.

鈥淣orth Park is a very politically charged campus, and we wanted to create an outlet for students to express themselves,鈥� said Nielsen, who, with Huerta, wanted to veer slightly from Spectrum, the existing, newsier student magazine.

鈥淲e didn鈥檛 see enough students participating in written dialogue,鈥� Nielsen said.

A sampling of the magazine鈥檚 most recent issue seems to help address that: An article about gun reform shares space with a movie review of smash box office hit Black Panther by Ghanian student Frank Roberts; there is also a page devoted to students sharing their #METOO experiences.

The quarterly, which premiered this past winter and was followed by a recent spring edition, is currently in search of talented writers and designers for next year.

鈥淥ur goal is to show that North Parkers are thinkers from all walks of life,鈥� said Nielsen, who encourages students to reach out to him if they鈥檇 like to join his staff or submit their original writing.

Nielsen and Huerta started the magazine from scratch, seeking approval and financing from the Student Government Association, then asking Dr. Reinhold Dooley if he would be their faculty advisor. The English professor and one-time North Park Press faculty advisor said yes immediately, and has mostly allowed the staff to be autonomous.

鈥淚f we need advice on an issue or about publishing something controversial, Dr. Dooley has been there to help guide us through the decision,鈥� Nielsen said.

He and Huerta hope the magazine lives on after their graduation and even created a five-year business plan with the future in mind. Right now, the magazine needs to staff up for next year.

鈥淭he most important thing to know is that we exist to serve North Parkers,鈥� Nielsen said. If you鈥檙e interested in being a part of his mission, visit .

Author Ellen AlmerPosted on Categories StoriesTags , , , , ,

Committed to Faculty and Student Diversity: University Dean, Dr. Liza Ann Acosta

As University Dean, Dr. Liza Ann Acosta鈥檚 hope is to facilitate the work of faculty development鈥攚ith a student body comprised of a diverse population and mirrored by a diverse faculty.

Portrait of Dean Acosta

鈥淚 am invested in the wellbeing of my students and my colleagues. Being asked to do more with little is overwhelming, but my colleagues鈥� dreams for our students are on my mind every single day. My wish is to make those become real possibilities.聽 An investment in our faculty is an investment in our students.鈥�

Facilitating Faculty Development

As University Dean, Dr. Liza Ann Acosta鈥檚 hope is to facilitate the work of faculty development鈥攚ith a student body comprised of a diverse population and mirrored by a diverse faculty, so that all our students can see themselves reflected in the people who teach them. A new mentorship program for first-year and ongoing rising faculty and a partnership with the Faculty Senate and Office of Institutional Effectiveness for the inclusion of adjunct faculty development are among the initiatives supporting Dean Acosta鈥檚 vision of having a well-rounded, diverse faculty at North Park.

Retention and Recruitment of Faculty of Color

Dean Acosta has initiated efforts to more effectively recruit and retain faculty of color who can and do impact the student learning experience through expertise, mentorship, and role-modeling. In these efforts, Dean Acosta advises and serves on search committees, advocates for faculty and staff of color, and leads monthly meetings for faculty and staff of color for community-building.

Helping Students Have an Enriching Intercultural Experience

Dean Acosta is encouraged every day by North Park students as she observes them make connections between classroom and world. 鈥淧reparing students to contribute in real possible ways鈥攖hrough the arts, life sciences, technology鈥攊s what we seek at North Park, with faculty who have a passion for planting a seed and watching students grow.鈥�

At North Park, Dean Acosta continues to teach, advise, and mentor students. She is also part of the Council on Diversity Equity and Inclusion whose central role includes bias reporting. 鈥淚 am always thinking of ways that North Park鈥檚 faculty, as a collective, can be even better in their respective specialty fields, and how we can help students have an enriching, intercultural experience,鈥� said Dean Acosta. Academic programs are structured in a way to reflect both a rigorous learning experience in the classroom and experiential learning opportunities outside the classroom when engaging how the diverse city of Chicago functions and thrives.

Core principles guide Dean Acosta: encouraging creativity, providing resources for continuous improvement and innovation, documenting and learning from best practices in research and teaching, advocating for a diverse faculty, and nurturing professional development for all faculty members. Meeting the needs of both students and faculty is an ongoing process鈥攁 role that for Dean Acosta is always evolving.

Author onlinemediaPosted on Categories Profile, StoriesTags , , , , , ,

Book Announcement: The Hermeneutics of Hell, edited by Gregor Thuswaldner, Dean of Arts and Sciences and Professor of Humanities at 萝莉社

Palgrave Macmillan to release on August 27, 2017.

Palgrave Macmillan to publish聽The Hermeneutics of Hell: Visions and Representations of the Devil in World Literature, edited by Gregor Thuswaldner, Dean of Arts and Sciences and Professor of Humanities at 萝莉社.

Dr. THUSWALDNER’s Profile

From the publisher:

“This collection of essays analyzes global depictions of the devil from theological, Biblical, and literary perspectives, spanning the late Middle Ages to the 21st century. The chapters explore demonic representations in the literary works of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Dante Alighieri, Charles Baudelaire, John Milton, H.P. Lovecraft, and Cormac McCarthy, among others. The text examines other media such as the operas Orfeo and Erminia sul Giordano and the television shows Breaking Bad, The Sopranos, and Mad Men.

The Hermeneutics of Hell, featuring an international set of established and up-and-coming authors, masterfully examines the evolution of the devil from the Biblical accounts of the Middle Ages to the individualized presence of the modern world.”

Author Ana FundukPosted on Categories Announcement, StoriesTags , , , , ,

NPRESS Presentations Bring Summer to a Close

On Friday July 28, 12 North Park research summer students presented their findings to close out 2017鈥檚 summer NPRESS Program (North Park Research Experience for Summer Students).

On Friday, July 28, 12 North Park summer research students presented their findings to close out 2017鈥檚 summer NPRESS Program (North Park Research Experience for Summer Students). Dr. Boaz Johnson began his opening remarks in the Helwig Boardroom in the Johnson Center: 鈥淭hese students have had the opportunity to work alongside the best professors in the world, and I have been all over the world, so I can say that.鈥�

In this highly competitive program, only 12 students were chosen to participate in summer research. These students are provided with on-campus housing and a $3,500 stipend to accompany their 40-hour work weeks of PhD-level research. 鈥淎s in the past, students have said that this has been their most intense and yet most enjoyable experience at North Park. They get a professor to work with them, all by themselves,鈥� says Dr. Johnson.

 

ABOUT NPRESS

The NPRESS (North Park Research Experience for Summer Students) program provides opportunities for North Park students to conduct research with a North Park faculty mentor for eight weeks over the summer. It was the brainchild of a core group of faculty and funded by a small group of donors, allowing students to dive into a topic in a way that the constraints of an academic year do not always allow. Students received a $3,500 stipend and were given the opportunity to live on campus, making it possible for them to focus solely on research.

Author Ana FundukPosted on Categories Announcement, News, StoriesTags , , , ,

Book Announcement: Just Debt by Ilsup Ahn, Carl I. Lindberg Professor of Philosophy at 萝莉社

Baylor University Press to release on October 15, 2017.

Baylor University Press to publish聽Just Debt: Theology, Ethics, and Neoliberalism by聽Ilsup Ahn, Carl I. Lindberg Professor of Philosophy at 萝莉社 and Carnegie Council Global Ethics Fellow.

Dr. Ahn’s Profile

From the publisher:

“Debt鈥攑ersonal, corporate, governmental鈥攊s so pervasive in contemporary economies, with its moralistic logic nearly unquestioned. Debt鈥檚 necessity renders it morally neutral, absolving it of the dehumanizing effect it brings in unbridled financialization.

In Just Debt Ilsup Ahn explores ethical implications of the practice of debt. By placing debt in the context of anthropology, philosophy, economics, and the ethical traditions provided by the Abrahamic religions, Ahn holds that debt was originally a form of gift, a gift which was intended as a means to serve humanity. Debt, as gift, had moral ends. Since the late eighteenth century, however, debt has been reduced to an amoral economic tool, one separated from its social and political context. Ahn recovers an ethics of debt and its moral economy by rediscovering debt鈥檚 forgotten aspect鈥攖hat all debts entail unique human stories. Ahn argues that it is only in and by these stories that the justice of debt can be determined. In order for debt to be justly established, its story should be free from elements of exploitation, abuse, and manipulation and should conform to the principles of serviceability, payability, and shareability.

Although the contemporary global economy disconnects debt from its context, Ahn argues that debt must be firmly grounded in the world of moral values, social solidarity, and political resolution. By re-embedding debt within its moral world, Just Debt offers a holistic ethics of debt for a neoliberal age.”

Author Ana FundukPosted on Categories Announcement, StoriesTags , , ,

Making the Most of Your Education: Kathleen Dillon C’11

Kathleen Dillion C’11, English literature alumna, shares about growing into her professional life and giving back to her community.

Kathleen Dillion, C'11, graduated with a degree in English Literature and minored in Politics and Government. She participated in multiple clubs and organizations including 萝莉社 Press, was Secretary of the Queers and Allies group, and was a member of both Sigma Tau Delta and Pi Sigma Alpha.

North Park will forever be the place where I met lifelong friends and mentors. It will also always represent challenge and growth for me. The most valuable lesson I learned at North Park is that your education, and your life in general, is what you make of it! Though I was a transfer student and rather shy, I put myself out there and made friends with whom I am even closer today.

I spent my first summer after graduation working for Shoreline Sightseeing downtown and having a wonderful time just enjoying living in the city. I then moved back to Michigan to begin a position as a substitute teacher. I had been unsure as to what was next for me and wanted to gauge my interest in returning to school for a teaching certificate. After taking on multiple paraprofessional roles, I decided that I would like to go back to school for a Master鈥檚 in English. I knew that I wanted to teach at the college-level. Loyola University Chicago, in Rogers Park, had a 鈥榯eaching track鈥� for their Master鈥檚 in English program.

I found a graduate assistantship as a Tutoring Coordinator with the TRIO Student Support Services program on campus鈥揂chieving College Excellence (ACE), which serves students who are the first in their family to go to college, have higher financial need, and/or have a documented disability. After graduating from Loyola, I went on to teach College Composition at College of Lake County, and Developmental Writing at North Park! It was so very interesting teaching in the same classroom in which I took so many of my undergraduate courses.

I later applied for a new Academic Counselor position ACE wrote into their grant. I got the job and have been with ACE as a full-time staff member for over a year now.聽I am the academic counselor and primary first and second year advisor for a group of about 70 students. I see myself as an advocate, ally, and, along with the rest of ACE, a support system for our students, who need guidance in navigating college life. I also teach two sections of UNIV 101, supervise a staff of ACE students who have trained to be peer mentors, and supervise the graduate assistant Tutoring Coordinator, my former position.

At North Park, because it鈥檚 small, students, staff, and faculty wear multiple hats鈥揑 can juggle multiple positions and projects because of my time at North Park and the opportunities I was given there. My time as a Writing Advisor, under the guidance of the great Carol Martin, gave me the experience I needed to work as an English Language Arts paraprofessional for at-risk students, which lead to Loyola鈥檚 English Master鈥檚 program and positions at TRIO.

My position with the North Park Press, political philosophy courses, and summer internship in D.C. prepared me for community organizing. I am now a Community Organizer in Rogers Park, am on the Steering Committee for our independent, progressive ward body, and am the Political Coordinator at the Heartland Cafe. This experience has been invaluable and I am putting my education and values into action.

One of the best things you can do, in my view, to give back to 萝莉社 is to go on and be a credit to the University鈥檚 mission. Are you a person of character, compassion, and common sense? Think through what it means to live a life of significance and service. It can feel like a corny line sometimes when you are in college, but I find myself reflecting on these values every day now. Folks who live lives of significance and service are so desperately needed in this world.

Author Ana FundukPosted on Categories Profile, StoriesTags , , ,

“Potential to Research, Develop, Explore”: Jorge Ortiz C’17

Jorge Oritz C’17, economics alumnus, shares about his experiences at North Park.

Alumni, Jorge Ortiz, describes why chose North Park.
"The student-faculty relationship is exceptional, and the staff are always helpful when you start any academic project."

One of Jorge Ortiz鈥檚 most memorable moments at North Park was the day he graduated. He walked in front of the procession carrying his home-country鈥檚 flag, the Ecuadorian colors flying ahead and above him on his way to the stage. 鈥淣orth Park is an institution that has a lot of potential if a student wants to research, develop, or explore; its diversity challenged my perspectives on many of my views.鈥� Jorge counts it a great accomplishment that he 鈥渟tudied and graduated in a foreign country in a foreign language.鈥�

Jorge enjoyed his time at North Park, involving himself in much of what the University has to offer students as far as extracurricular activities. He was president of the Economics Club, as well as a member of the executive team for the inaugural TEDx event held at North Park. Jorge also had this to say about the summer research program he participated in, 鈥渢he opportunity to do NPRESS with professor Gavoor, studying the relationship between the cost of goods sold and inventory, was one of my favorite opportunities at North Park.鈥�

Life after graduation has served Jorge well, landing a full-time position as a business developer executive at North Side Community Federal Credit Union just two weeks after commencement. Jorge credits North Park’s Career Development and Internships Office with helping him develop a strong resume and offering guidance through his job search. He plans to continue working for the next couple of years and starting graduate school in 2019. 鈥淚 explored a lot of economic theories at the University. This is a wonderful institution where I made friends for life, including professors who have become mentors.鈥�

Author Ana FundukPosted on Categories Profile, StoriesTags , , ,

Student Blog: My SVF Exchange Program Experience

This is a student blog post submitted by Kaylyn Sweitzer, C鈥�19. Kaylyn is an English Literature and Creative Writing major.

This is a student blog post submitted by Kaylyn Sweitzer, C’19. Kaylyn is an English Literature and Creative Writing major.

Never have I felt so filled, yet so empty. Charles Dickens explains my situation well in the opening line of A Tale of Two Cities: 鈥淚t was the best of times, it was the worst of times.鈥� I felt completely torn between having the time of my life and wanting nothing more than to go home. Studying abroad is, in fact, the most fulfilling and rewarding thing you can do in college; however, I will be the first to say that it is also the most draining and difficult. But just because it was hard certainly does not mean that it wasn鈥檛 worth it. And I have to say . . . it was completely worth it.

Upon my return from studying at SVF in Sweden, I was frequently asked the convenient conversation starter, 鈥淗ow was Sweden?鈥� To which I found myself providing a variety of answers. I openly shared personal details and anecdotes with some people, while shielding aspects of my experience with others. No one knows the true story of my time in Sweden鈥搉ot even me. It already feels like a distant memory. I look at the photos see the familiar faces of the friends I spent both the most rewarding and challenging four months of my life鈥揳nd it just doesn鈥檛 feel real. I have pictures of me standing in front of the Eiffel Tower, the Roman Colosseum, and Big Ben, but I am still struggling to process the fact that I was there just a few months ago. I spent a semester on another continent, in a different country, learning an unfamiliar language, and eating cultural food; however, since I鈥檝e been back at North Park, that experience has felt like more of a fantastical adventure. And in a way, it was. I was living in a dream鈥搈y childhood dream of traveling Europe. It was euphoric, incredibly brilliant, simply life-changing. But it was also taxing, strenuous, and exhausting.

In the wise words of Bilbo Baggins, 鈥淚t鈥檚 a dangerous business going out of your door. You step into the road, and if you don鈥檛 keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to鈥� (LOTR). By moving to a different country, I had exposed myself to the elements of the world. In America, I know what to do, where to go, what to say . . . for the most part. I am comfortable. Living in Sweden, I was surrounded by a new language and culture. By the end of the day, I was exhausted and not just from the wear and tear of going through the day. It was partly due to having to adjust to a different environment and way of life. Even trying to process the Swedish language wore me out. I was uncomfortable, but I was thankful to be. We grow and change when we鈥檙e uncomfortable and when we鈥檙e challenged and pushed to our limits. In those moments, we don鈥檛 break鈥搘e rise. So even though I felt strained and overwhelmed by the unfamiliarity, I knew that the familiarity and comfort would come with time.

With each passing day, I appreciated the country and culture of Sweden, along with my overall experience, more and more. I appreciated walking out of my dorm every morning to see the sun rising over the city of J枚nk枚ping and Lake V盲ttern, Friday fika and Ica runs, the peace and quiet of SVF, having late night talks with my roommate, FaceTiming my family from the basement of my dorm at midnight, Pepparkakor and gl枚gg, having to use a converter whenever I needed to charge my phone, daily morning fika, and having to wear reflective bracelets to avoid being hit by cars since it would get dark by 3:00. It would鈥檝e been so easy to take the little things for granted, but the little things are what made the opportunity so special.

I really enjoyed getting to know Sweden鈥檚 lifestyle. Generally speaking, life in Sweden simply happens at a slower pace; people aren鈥檛 in as much of as rush. They multitask less and focus on the moment more. Swedes also tend to be more reserved and humble and not as showy and flashy as Americans. I love how Swedes routinely pause throughout the day for fika breaks; they鈥檙e very good at being communal and forming deep relationships over time. And that鈥檚 another thing I appreciated about Sweden鈥攖hey take all relationships seriously.

Studying abroad pushed me to grow in ways I hadn鈥檛 anticipated beforehand. I grew in my confidence and independence, and I learned to rely on myself in a whole new way. It was the longest I have ever been away from my family, meaning that I had to accept the fact that I couldn鈥檛 always rely on them to hold my hand. Apart from relying on myself, I also had to rely more heavily on those around me. I had to accept the fact that I needed to place my trust in my peers and to accept the idea of vulnerability. Sweden did leave me vulnerable鈥攙ulnerable and raw, my protective walls peeled away. Shedding these skins hurt, but it allowed new ones to replace the old, and these new skins have made me stronger and more resilient than ever before. And I owe all of this change to my decision to leave my comfort zone and take on an adventure of a lifetime, my adventure in Sverige.

Author Ana FundukPosted on Categories Blog, StoriesTags , , , ,