This blog post expresses my perception of activism as a queer woman of color. I implore readers to keep a sense of humanity and activity with them throughout daily life, not just when convenient or absolutely necessary.
When I first embarked on my undergraduate journey I was eager to learn, but unsure what knowledge I would value the most. I knew there was so much about the world that was kept hidden from me, and I was more than willing to find it. As a queer Black woman, I have always been intimately aware of the injustices that intersect with my identity, however, it was college (not the institution itself but my peers within it) that pushed my mental boundaries and expanded my worldview to understand and acknowledge the blatant human rights violations and social justice disasters occurring worldwide. As individuals with access to higher education, we have been given a wealth of knowledge, and with that, a mountain of responsibility. It is up to us to advocate for and protect individuals who aren’t able to do so for themselves. They say college students are rarely on the wrong side of history, and I truly believe that is because of our ability to fully embody the humanity that seems to be lost within the organizations that surround us. Moreover, our ability to access individuals and their stories from across the globe instantaneously only heightens the moral obligation to act.
Activism is intrinsic, it is something you feel and enact constantly, whether it is obvious or not. Throughout my academic journey, it became increasingly clear that to be silent is to be complicit, there is a responsibility that is only growing as time goes on. A moral obligation to not just know and sympathize, but to act. Awareness is the first step we are equipped with through education. However, there is always a need for not just an activist perspective, but an activist lifestyle, ingraining these values so deeply that they become second nature. There is a question that I had to answer for myself: what does it mean to live as an activist?
There is so much more to activism in addition to the marches, protests, and sit-ins. While those are increasingly valuable and celebrated forms of resistance, activism can be quiet but just as strong. In my experience, there is a necessity for both forms of activism. It is necessary to be aware, to be angry and horrified with everything you see, because what we are witnessing, what we have been witnessing for so long, is not normal, and shouldn’t be treated as such. But with all the global catastrophes occurring in the world right now, there is simply not enough time in the day to attend every protest and sit-in. With that, I want to implore my fellow students to find value in daily forms of activism. Activism is in who you associate with, what you buy, who you support, what you learn, and how you speak, the power within that is unprecedented. When you look at activism as living your values in any way possible, it is clear that it is the most accessible activity in the world, truly anyone can do it.
What I want everyone reading to take with them, is that we can never be passive participants in conversations about the future, we need to be active and fight for it. Since the creation of the internet, we have been able to witness and access injustice from our fingertips. There is responsibility within that, it is crucial that we keep our sense of humanity close to our hearts, and continue to fight for what is just. Throughout my time as an undergraduate student, my understanding of this responsibility has only intensified and I’m sure the same can be said for all of my fellow students. It is understandable and healthy to acknowledge the burnout that comes with being an activist, but understanding that activism can be adapted based on what you are able to give, makes it so much more accessible.
]]>You have to act as if it were possible to radically transform the world. And you have to do it all the time
– Angela Davis
By: Parker Vogel
Photo Credit: Lauren Moxley
Lauren Moxley is a junior in the Media and Communication Studies program at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) and pursuing a minor in Political Science
Lauren chose UMBC versus her other option, University of Maryland (UMD), primarily because of the campus size; she opted for the circular, tight-knit spacing that encompasses all of the UMBC buildings over the potential difficult commutes, 20-minute walks to classes, and bus rides around the campus’s college town at UMD. Following that choice, Lauren’s decision of a major and ultimately the MCS degree first began with English before a quick search online brought her to seeing public relations as a job on the rise. She saw herself in that role or some form of social media, marketing, or branding, and MCS was simply the best fit; after starting, she was surprised how enjoyable the varying aspects of the major were, and didn’t know how something like UMBC’s videography and podcasting classes would go (especially when considering how much different editing softwares would come into use), but found them to be a unique balance and outlet for creativity as opposed to core and GED courses. She remarks that UMBC provides so much under the umbrella of MCS, and that alone gives the learning opportunities about paths available to MCS students outside of marketing or public relations.
On campus, Lauren has been and is involved in many organizations, including the Tennis Club as their social media manager for the fall of 2022 and the spring of 2023, The Retriever as their current social media manager, UMBC’s sports broadcasting for the fall and winter of 2023, the Political Science Council of Majors constructing some Instagram posts, and a book club! Not only that, but Lauren’s intern experience has also brought her on campus into the Department of Professional Programs, acting as a communications intern where she writes posts for their blog consisting of graduate student tips, encouraging applications to UMBC’s graduate program, and providing information on current events at UMBC. Lauren also transcribes podcasts, creates Instagram content that highlights students and staff through the university’s graduate program, and provides focus on outstanding industries that align with the presently available programs.
Lauren’s other working opportunities include iHeart Radio, where she was able to help with promotional work for a few events per month. One of the events was a contest promotion at a boat show, but the largest event Lauren worked was the Jingle Bell Ball in the winter of 2023, working the meet and greet with the iHeart Radio hosts before being allowed to see NCT Dream and Flo Rida right at the side of the stage. She also briefly met Kendall of Big Time Rush in passing!
Lauren describes her experience as supportive; it might seem overwhelming as a freshman coming into the university, but not knowing where to start is natural and UMBC has so many networking and experience opportunities available - many times right on its doorstep. She encourages prospective and new students to meet with professors and discover their background and ask who they have connections with. MCS 144’s course really sets a tone and understanding of what to do to find professional opportunities and manage yourself in a professional way, and encourages the exploration of any internship because it will ultimately teach you your likes and dislikes while giving you practical experience. For example, Lauren cites thoroughly enjoying her current role with the Department of Professional Programs, and realized that the broadcasting work she did wasn’t fully the correct fit.
Looking into the future, Lauren has an internship lined up for the summer of 2024 at Underwriters Laboratories, a national safety organization located in Washington, D.C. that helps to manage fire safety. Her role will consist of heavy public relations work, gathering pertinent information from scientists in the lab and relaying it to the public. She truly loves to write, and sees her work continuing in that way. Her realistic goal for a career is internal communications and public relations work at a company, but she finds her dream to be running social media for a touring musician.
For most people, obtaining a Ph.D. is a means to an end—authorship, professorship, a career destination. For Charlotte Keniston, it’s about the journey as a lifelong learner. After joining UMBC as a Peaceworker Fellow, Keniston received her M.F.A. in imaging and digital media in 2014. She continued her work in Baltimore and eventually rejoined the Shriver Center Peaceworker Program as a staff member with the intention to work towards her Ph.D. in language, literacy, and culture (LLC). And she did just that.
A: I came to Baltimore in 2011 as a Peaceworker Fellow and got my master’s of fine art in imaging and digital art, now called the intermedia and digital arts program. As a Peaceworker Fellow, I was involved in conversations about how career paths could be used for kind of a broader meaning or bigger impact. I did work in the Baltimore neighborhood Pigtown around food justice and food access when I was a master’s student, and I left my academic program kind of wanting more of those conversations. When I applied to my position in the Shriver Center in 2017, I saw that as a way to continue that meaningful work in Baltimore and give me the chance to pursue a Ph.D. in the LLC program.
Joby Taylor, Ph.D. ’05, LLC, director of the Shriver Center, seated in center, gather with Peaceworker fellows at Black Yield Institute, the location of Keniston’s dissertation research partner. (Photo courtesy of Keniston)
A: As I went through the LLC program, I started to hone my interest in how universities can work with their surrounding communities to answer pressing questions posed by those communities. My role at the Shriver Center really informed that line of questioning because in my role with the Peaceworker Program, I’m placing graduate students into community-engaged partnerships, and so I’m thinking all the time about how do we steward those partnerships, how do we be good neighbors of our campus community and then our broader communities, and how are we ethical in the work that we do in communities?
A: I found lots of ways to connect my job with the research and work that I was doing academically. I worked with an organization called Black Yield Institute in Cherry Hill to do the practical version of my dissertation research, and I brought all the Peaceworker Fellows there one day to work on a library project. It was like I was showing up there as my whole person with my students in tow and with my kids in tow. And then my students, the Fellows that I work with, got a chance to really see the work that I was doing. I actually feel like that made the project a lot stronger.
“I’m placing graduate students into community-engaged partnerships, and so I’m thinking all the time about how do we steward those partnerships, how do we be good neighbors of our campus community and then our broader communities, and how are we ethical in the work that we do in communities?
Charlotte Keniston, Ph.D. ’24, M.F.A. ’14
A: It definitely did, and I think it’s nice to just be able to commiserate. When I see the panic in their eyes about the end of the semester, I feel that—so I feel like it can be extra empathetic. I make sure the snacks for our practicum seminar are extra good toward the end of the semester (I know we both need it). We do writing groups together, and they honestly are some of the best voices to say, “You need to take a break—you’re doing too much.” I feel like I have their support as much as they have my support.
Keniston (second from left, standing) with Peaceworker Fellows. (Photo courtesy of Keniston)
A: Joby Taylor is my supervisor and he graduated from the LLC program too, so I felt like not only was he kind of walking in front of me, he was also dismantling barriers for me—looking at my calendar and suggesting, “You have a free day in two weeks. You should take that to write.” Or very practically making things work for me and just serving as a really good sounding board.
A: I think I had people who I was kind of holding onto their coattails as they got me to the finish. Ciara Chiristian, one of the directors in i3b, was that person who was a step or two ahead of me in the program. She got her dissertation two years ahead of me, but we were in the same cohort and she was the person that when I was really stuck with my thinking, I’d come to her for help. And now I have people who are just a step or two behind me, who I’m encouraging and helping them figure it all out. It really feels like LLC fosters that kind of connection between students that we really help each other get to the finish.
Keniston and her family take a break for a quick selfie. (Photo courtesy of Keniston)
A: I think a lot of people say, “Oh, don’t do a Ph.D. unless you want to be a professor.” But I don’t think that’s a necessary requirement. I did not go into this thinking that I wanted to be a professor. I already had my terminal degree. I had the chops to be a professor if I needed to, and I love my staff job. But I still had all these intellectual curiosities that I wanted to explore, and this was the way to do it.
]]>Dear American Studies Faculty, Staff, Students, Alumni, and Supporters:
Many thanks for your support as we close out the 2023-2024 Academic Year.
It has been an exciting and productive year for the department!
Please read on for some Department highlights from this past year.
Thank you all for your support of the department and a big congratulations to all of our American Studies, majors and minors, Public Humanities minors, and Asian American Studies minors who are graduating this year.
If you need us, during the summer, just drop me an email at tbhalla@umbc.edu or email our amazing program management specialist, Morgan Dowty at morgando@umbc.edu.
I wish you all a restful and peaceful summer,
Dr. Tamara Bhalla
Student Highlights
We are very proud of the students presenting their hard work at Undergraduate Research and Achievement Day 2024!
Spencer Hanks| United Or Divided: Examining Desegregation In Anne Arundel County Schools
Larissa Kuonen | Autistic People In The Workplace, Housing, And Transportation
Juelle Lee | Checked Out: Public Libraries As Sites Of Assimilation
Luke O’Neill | Fueling Diversity: Understanding Student-athletes’ Dietary Habits
Taylor Phelps | Politics Of Education: How A Political Movement Fueled Controversy At Queen Anne’s County Public Schools
Karla Press-Porter | Maryland Perspectives On The Use Of The Phrase “Defund The Police”
(Pictured above: Larissa Kuonen)
(Pictured above: Karla Press-Porter)
(Pictured above: Prof. Fouts and Spencer Hanks)
Faculty Highlights
Prof. Mike Casiano is the recipient of the annually-awarded CAHSS Early-Career Faculty Excellence Award. His book, Let us Alone: The Origins of Baltimore’s Police State, is under contract with the University of Illinois Press.
Prof Andy DeVos successfully piloted a new course titled “The American Horror Film” which became an instant hit with students. He also helped reestablish the department’s partnership with the Shady Grove campus by teaching a hybrid course for SG, and he recently agreed to serve as Faculty Advisor to the student club Comics and other Media.
Prof. Conor Donnan is finishing his first monograph, Kindred Spirits: Native Americans, Irish immigrants, and Imperialism in the American West, which is under contract with Johns Hopkins University Press. He published an article on No Irish Need Apply in Baltimore City. He also worked on a committee to reimagine the flag display in the Commons, and he is currently submitting plans to paint murals in different buildings at UMBC.
Prof. Sarah Fouts, director of the public humanities program, will be working on copy edits over the summer for her forthcoming manuscript, Right to Remain: Street Food Vendors and Day Laborers in Post-Katrina New Orleans. The ethnographic manuscript is slated for publication by UNC Press in July 2025. Fouts’s short film,El Camino del Pan al Baltimore, which was co-produced with Andy Dahl and Fernando Lopez, screened at the Maryland Film Festival on May 4, 2024. The film series, which is part of the Library Congress and American Folklife Center’s Homegrown Foodways Series, will also screen at Current Space in Baltimore on June 13, 2024. On May 9, 2024, Fouts’s AMST403/682 students launched the Sabor de Highlandtown mapping, archival, and storytelling project. Sabor de Highlandtown asks the question, “What can the stories behind immigrant foodways tell us about how neighborhoods change?” This project is supported by Maryland Traditions and was done in collaboration with Southeast CDC in Highlandtown. On May 28, 2024, Fouts will attend the Consortium of Humanities Centers and Institutes (CHCI) annual conference at Berkeley to receive an Honorable Mention Award for the collaborative Baltimore Field School Public Humanities project.
Prof Nicole King has been working on her second monograph, The Ungentrifiable City: Resisting the Slow Violence of Urban Renewal in Baltimore and co-organized an event for the Humanities Forum When Your City Becomes a Campus: What Good is Higher Education for Our Cities, a talk by Davarian Baldwin, author of In the Shadow of the Ivory Tower: How Universities Are Plundering Our Cities, which took place on Wednesday, May 1 at 5:30pm at the University of Baltimore in coordination with the Dresher Center and the University of Baltimore. She was a keynote speaker at the Provost’s DELTA Teaching Forum at Johns Hopkins University May 2, 2024. She co-authored “Rethinking the Field in Crisis: The Baltimore Field School and Building Ethical Community and University Partnerships” with Sarah Fouts and Tahira Mahdi, which was published in the April 2024 issue of the Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement. King published a chapter, “Baltimore Traces: Public Humanities, Zines, and the Connecting the Classroom,” in The Routledge Companion to Publicly Engaged Humanities Scholarship forthcoming on May 31, 2024.
Prof. Tamara Bhalla has been working in her role as co-PI on the Global Asias Initiative Mellon grant that resulted in two new exciting hires this year. We welcome Priya Bhayana as project manager on the grant and Mika Thornburg as post-doctoral fellow in Global Asias. Prof. Bhalla is also working on her second monograph, Decentering Whiteness: Race and Readership in Contemporary US Literature and is excited to be presenting research at an invited talk this summer at “Free People Read Freely: Literacy, Inclusion, and Democracy” on the campus of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and at a conference for the Society for History of Authorship, Reading and Publishing in Reading, England.
Morgan Dowty, AMST’s Program Management Specialist, is finishing up her second academic year at UMBC (Go Big Dogs!) and her first year in graduate school in History and Library Science Master of Arts (HiLS) dual-degree program at UMD College Park. This year Morgan was nominated and served as one of five UMBC representatives in the 2023-24 intercollegiate cohort Building Bridges Across Maryland. She also completed the professional development course “Documenting the Impact of the Humanities in Higher Education” offered by the National Humanities Alliance.
If you are interested, applications are open NOW until the deadline Wed, May 22, 2024. We would love to see new faces and people a part of our board!
Application link here:
https://forms.gle/RxXW6E1SQQ97xiph9
]]>As part of our ongoing commitment to security, the Unix Infrastructure group will be conducting its quarterly system patching on Thursday, May 23rd and Saturday, June 1st. While many of the systems will be patched without any service disruption, there are some systems which require the downtime of key services. The schedule below outlines which key services will be offline and for how long.
Thursday, 05/23/2024 between 5pm and 10pm (most systems will only be down for a short period during this time):
Please let us know if you have any concerns or questions.
Thanks!
Tim Champ
Assistant Director of Research and Enterprise ComputingHello Retrievers and Valued Riders,
Sunday, May 19, 2024. Due to the Arbutus Arts and Crafts Festival and the subsequent road closures, we will be unable to service the following stops between 9:00 am - 6:00 pm:
On the Outbound Route:
On the Return Route:
Riders attending the festival are encouraged to use the following alternate pickup and drop-off locations during the event:
If you need any more help, please call the Transit Office at 410.455.2454. Your cooperation during this time is invaluable to us. We hope you enjoy the festival. Thank you for choosing UMBC Transit.
Safe Travels,
Your Transit Team
Festival Map
