There is no denying the plethora of research that goes on at UMBC by students and faculty alike. This semester is no exception, with two prime examples of current research in the humanities and social sciences that intuitively explore the relationships between culture and language in a global context.

A 2018 Dresher Center Graduate Student Research Fellow and MFA Candidate in Intermedia and Digital Arts, Aimi Bouillon has focused her research on tracing back to her roots. Born in Okinawa to an American soldier father and native Japanese mother, Bouillon has a unique culture of “the oppressed and oppressor” within herself.

The Ryukyu Islands are south of mainland Japan, consisting of 55 islands separated into three regions: Amami, Okinawa and Sakishima. Of these islands, Okinawa is the largest, measuring about 275 square miles. In Bouillon’s ongoing research project, “Finding Ryukyu,” she is using historical documents and digital photography to convey the transliterated histories of the Ryukyu language and its evolution throughout history.

There are many words in the Ryukyu language that “a lot of people my age just don’t know anymore,” Bouillon explained. A lot of the native language is fading into memory and being buried by Japanese and U.S. Military terms. Bouillon’s goal is to dig up these Ryukyu words through photographs and digital art.

Her research asks, “How can we derive meaning from the Okinawa landscape?” There are many Ryukyu words that convey the native people’s spirituality and culture that were based around nature and matriarchal values.

Bouillon is also interested in “how names are placed.” Ryukyu was once an independent kingdom of islands, until the 1609 Satsuma clan invasion. Bouillon points out the parallel between the clan’s invasion and the implementation of the U.S. Military in 1945 Japan.

After 1945, the Ryukyu Islands’ American names morphed from “The U.S. Military Government of the Ryukyu Islands” to “The U.S. Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands.” Bouillon explained that only one Japanese aspect changed as the English name changed: its government to people.

Bouillon’s research has shown her that language, especially names, has significance when discussing oppression and loss of culture. Language is such an integral part of cultural preservation, and so it will be interesting to see Bouillon’s final documentary project.

Another ongoing research project is being done by John Rennie Short, a UMBC Professor of Public Policy. He is exploring cartography throughout history and the notion that “maps [hold] claims to power.”

Short is particularly interested in studying National Atlases from around the world and seeing how they helped create an imagined community. He describes these atlases as imperative vessels of national sentiment, as in the cases of the Atlas of Pakistan. Once it escaped from the colonial yoke, Short explained, Pakistan created an Atlas to show off their newfound independence.

The Atlas of Cuba in 1949 and the Great Soviet Atlas during the early Cold War are prime examples of certain countries making claims to power through cartography. Brazil, Argentina, Finland and Sri Lanka have also used the atlas as a “narrative of nationhood, bio-politics, population, and environments.”

Short plans to continue his research in historical cartography and explore how nationalism is conveyed through these documents. The next Dresher Center for the Humanities lecture, “High-Tech Housewives and H-4 ‘Dreamers’” will be on Dec. 5.

The Linehan Artist Scholars Reception is an annual event students have long enjoyed.  This year, scholar alumni joined current students to meet with donors Earl and Darielle Linehan, and to thank them for their support.  Students talked about their studies and plans while alumni shared their accomplishments with the Linehans.  During the program, students and alumni displayed their talents in dance, music, theatre, and visual arts.

Learn more about the Linehan Artist Scholars Program.

See more photos from the reception. All images by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC Magazine.

“I am interested in the human face of policy,” says UMBC’s Amy Bhatt. “I want to share the personal narratives of immigrants few people hear about—highly skilled workers—and help us understand their experience as they face questions of citizenship, belonging, and community.”

Bhatt, an associate professor of gender and women’s studies, and affiliate associate professor in the language, literacy, and culture, and Asian studies programs, has made headlines nationwide by providing research-based expertise on contemporary U.S. immigration policy. She’s bringing the conversation to UMBC through a Humanities Forum talk on her new book, High-Tech Housewives: Indian IT Workers, Gendered Labor, and Transmigration, on Wednesday, December 5, 2018, 4 – 5:30 p.m., in the Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery.

“Now more than ever, Professor Bhatt’s research is crucial in helping all of us understand the everyday impact of high-skilled immigration,” shares Jessica Berman, professor of English and director of the Dresher Center for the Humanities, which organizes the Humanities Forum. “Thriving academic research communities are enriched by the knowledge and expertise highly-skilled international faculty, staff, and students bring and share.”

H-1B and H-4 visa programs allow skilled workers from South Asian countries to travel with their families to the U.S. to fill needed temporary positions in corporations, hospitals, and universities. Bhatt explains, “U.S. consumers depend on the global flow of goods and services in the tech, healthcare, and higher education sectors.” She notes, “In a global high-tech economy it is important to acknowledge the value that immigrants bring to our lives and how they are being threatened by immigration policy.”

Bhatt’s work focuses on gender as an important and understudied factor at the intersection of immigration law and global economy. She notes that 85 percent of H-1B visa holders are men. Their spouses can join them in the U.S. under the H-4 visa program, but, even if those spouses are themselves highly skilled, they are unable to apply their expertise in the paid workforce. Instead, they often become “high-tech housewives” due to the constraints of immigration law, rather than choice.

“People tend to think about H-1B visa issues as problems that only affect men,” failing to consider the often highly skilled spouses who come with them to the U.S.,” says Bhatt.

“Women’s abilities to migrate—flexibility in foregoing their own careers at times, and work to manage family demands, cultural transmission, connection to home country, and building local relationships—allow their spouses to take highly skilled jobs in the United States,” explains Bhatt. Her research explores how the current visa system not only limits the employment of highly skilled women, but also impacts their identities and day-to-day experiences in other significant ways.

In addition to her recent book, Amy Bhatt has recently published three widely read articles on U.S. and international policy issues and gender through The Conversation, including “Why Trump’s plan to forbid spouses of H-1B visa holders to work is a bad idea.” In that article, Bhatt writes, “H-4 women face a triple burden if they are able to start working again, particularly in technology: race, gender and long gaps in their resumes.”

Whether sharing her work through academic publications or news media like the Seattle Times, Bhatt’s overall message is the same.

“It is an urgent call for all of to pay attention,” she says, “to changes in immigration trends, globalization, how businesses are thinking about labour pools, and how we think of gender and women in the family in these economic and political processes.”

Banner image: Amy Bhatt. Photo courtesy of Amy Bhatt.

This time of year, students, faculty, and staff are rushing about preparing travel plans to meet with friends and loved ones. Kitchens are brimming with the scents of family recipes and the sounds of laughter as sneaky hands try to taste the Thanksgiving dishes before they debut on the table. Coming together to sit around a table with family and friends is a simple but very powerful way of making a pure human connection we try to recreate all year long.

The act is so powerful, it becomes an act of thanks in itself as we indulge in loving company, conversation, and familiar (and sometimes new) dishes.

It was through this extending of hands and pulling together as a community that on Saturday, November 10th our UMBC family, represented by the Shriver Center, Transportation Services, Off-Campus Student Services/Veteran Services, and alumni, joined forces with Tabrizi’s Restaurant, and a myriad of community partners to serve more than 220 military veterans experiencing homelessness. All came together to share the power of a community meal to value each others’ experiences, stories, and memories. Because in the end, it is not what we share or how we share, but more importantly that we take the time to share with as many at the table as possible.

Turning a meal into a movement

Michael Tabrizi, owner of Tabrizi’s Restaurant and wedding venue in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, understood the power of this exchange year-round from interactions with the vast number of homeless people around his place of business. Thinking about how he could provide the power of a shared meal, three years ago Tabrizi hosted a “Homeless Restaurant Week,” inviting those experiencing homelessness to the restaurant in lieu of hosting traditional restaurant week meals. He then started A Chef’s Table Foundation with an aim of one day opening a restaurant that provides training opportunities for homeless individuals. Last year, he hosted a Thanksgiving meal for military veterans experiencing homelessness. He served 162 veterans with limited transportation.

“All I wanted is to make the homeless people feel some dignity, hope, and believe that there is still much good in the world. The homeless feel forgotten; not acknowledged as a person, a life, a human being, and that is very sad,” said Tabrizi to Food Newsfeed. “I hope this will restore some respect and dignity. I owe that to them.”

When Hannah Schmitz, assistant director of applied learning and community engagement at the Shriver Center, heard about this vision she knew that it was an opportunity to do what the Shriver Center does best – leverage the resources of the university to connect with the community.

“I was speaking with Michael Tabrizi one night while I was at his restaurant and he mentioned these events and that transportation is the greatest barrier for getting people in poverty to come to the dinners. I kicked into work mode and thought about the resources that UMBC has and how we could potentially partner,” says Schmitz. Over the past two years she has volunteered as the event coordinator, managed volunteers, worked with organizations serving military veterans who are homeless, and spearheaded fundraising for gifts and raffle prize donations.

Serving humanity

The call was heard far and wide. Along with other members of the Shriver Center, Daniel Teage ’09, health administration and policy, associate director of transportation services, and Joe Regier, executive director of UMBC transit and community connections, provided UMBC shuttles to transport veterans from various locations. “Many people assume that UMBC Transit is just about buses and shuttles but they are really committed to community engagement and bridging the campus and community through transit,” explains Schmitz.

Antonio Silas, director of off-campus student services/veteran services, was also on board to engage UMBC’s student veterans and students from military families to greet, serve, and dine with the guests. And Winston Zhou ‘19, visual arts, volunteered his talents as a photographer.

“My mom is a retired Marine and my dad and step-dad are both former Marines, as well,” reflects Donnya Stagg ’19, global studies, who volunteered as a server. “Military personnel give up a lot and often don’t get much in return. I wanted to help veterans see how appreciative people are of their sacrifices. Giving my time at the dinner was one small way I could do that.”

Mary Slicher ’73, sociology, executive director and co-founder of Project PLASE (People Lacking Ample Shelter & Employment), was happy to participate in this special Thanksgiving meal. The Maryland Center for Veterans Education and Training; The Baltimore Station; and Loch Raven VA Community Living and Rehabilitation Center also participated. Under Armour donated hundreds of clothes, hats, and shoes, making it possible for each guest could choose up to three items.

“There are vets who did not have a great transition out of the military. There are some who did not retire but who did a tour in Iraq but did not finish or finished and did not have the support, resources, and help that we have today,” Donovan S. Garrett ’19, business technology administration; undergraduate assistant for Veterans Student Services and the Adult Learner Network; and six- year active duty Air Force veteran, currently in the reserves., “It was so nice to be able to sit with another vet and have the time to connect and to listen to their experience and reestablish a human element, a bond, build understanding — that is the most important thing about a shared meal.”

Photos by Winston Zhou ‘19 for UMBC Magazine.

Maryland Historical Society

Job Description – Lead Visitor Services Associate

Position Title: Lead Visitor Services Associate

Reports To: Visitor Services & Private Events Manager

Exempt Status: Non-Exempt

Hours worked/wk: 40

Salary: $14 per hour

Purpose