UMBC transformed into the ancient world last week with guest speakers, readings of Homer and a performance of one of Aristophanes’ plays– all to celebrate the Ancient Studies department at UMBC.

The week kicked off with a lecture from Victoria Wohl, a classics professor at the University of Toronto. Her talk “Love, Life, and Classical Athens” was a joint venture between the Dresher Center, the Gender and Women’s Studies Department and the Ancient Studies department. Wohl’s lecture covered how Athenian law defined citizenship and what that meant for the people of the Polis. After exploring a case study from an Athenian court case, she compared the legal ideal of Athenian citizenship law to the lived reality, as represented through Eurypides’ Medea. The lecture was well attended, and the library gallery was packed with students and faculty.

Tuesday, the department had the “Homerathon,” a live reading of Homer’s Iliad that lasted from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., beginning at the University Center plaza before transitioning, fittingly, to the forum outside the Performing Arts and Humanities Building. Students and faculty took turns reading passages as listeners gathered around.

Later in the week there was a performance of Aristophanes’ Assemblywomen, and the week rounded off with a scribe school on curse tablets from Molly Jones-Lewis, visiting lecturer in the Ancient Studies department.

The Ancient Studies department, which was one of the founding departments at UMBC, puts on the events of Ancient Studies week to share “a small slice of what we offer, to the Humanities in particular,” says Timothy Phin, a lecturer for the department. “It’s a chance for the UMBC Community as a whole to learn about our department and what we do here,” he adds.

Megan Woods, a fourth year ancient studies major who read during the Homerathon, enjoyed Wohl’s lecture. “It was actually really cool!” she says, admitting that even though she came initially for extra credit in a class, she found the lecture interesting.

Jo Rennich, a sophomore double-major in environmental science and ancient studies, attended some of the events  during the week. “The department is amazing, the professors are amazing,” she said. “[It’s the] most interesting department on campus!”

For more information about the Ancient Studies department on campus, take a look at their myUMBC page and check back for more events.

The events of the week are an effort by the department to inform campus about what Ancient Studies has to offer. Professors emphasize that while they study antiquity, the department is relevant to today.

Phin commented, “I hope students will recognize the richness of antiquity and the relevance of it.”

When What You Wear Understands You

Professor Nilanjan Banerjee give a short talk at yher Grit-x event on recent research on systems that use intelligent, wearable sensors to provide better human-computer interfaces and for medical applications.

How can cutting-edge research on textile sensors and wearable radar sensors help us recognize gestures, monitor sleep fragmentation, and diagnose sleep disorders? The Banerjee lab has developed and applied sensors to users with upper extremity mobility impairments, adults suffering from insomnia and restless leg syndrome, and kids with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, with the intent to begin answering that question.

The post Nilanjan Banerjee: When What You Wear Understands You appeared first on Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering.

Ephesians 4:4-6 (NIV) - “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”

Ephesians 4:4-6 (MSG) - “You were all called to travel on the same road and in the same direction, so stay together, both outwardly and inwardly. You have one Master, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who rules over all, works through all, and is present in all. Everything you are and think and do is permeated with Oneness.”

The word “one” is repeated seven times here. The one-ness, the unity of our faith, is that important, that central. And it is rooted in the one God who has moved mightily to bring us into one hope, one salvation, to Himself and His kingdom.

It is possible that these verses were a teaching that was given to new Christians as they came into the faith. Perhaps this is something that they memorized. If so, Paul was not teaching the Ephesians something brand new, but reminding them of a truth that they already received in Christ. Regardless, Paul was urging them to remember a fundamental truth that goes hand-in-hand with salvation:  God has brought us to Himself - together, as one.

Let’s memorize this passage in the NIV or MSG translation, giving thanks to God for what He has done, for this one-ness, while doing so. Then let’s pray for our churches, missional groups and campus ministries according to this passage.

Let’s declare the goodness of our God, who has given us unity, with this song, “God and God Alone” - Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8574yIiIX7I

- BR

Ephesians 4:4-6 (NIV) – “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”

Ephesians 4:4-6 (MSG) – “You were all called to travel on the same road and in the same direction, so stay together, both outwardly and inwardly. You have one Master, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who rules over all, works through all, and is present in all. Everything you are and think and do is permeated with Oneness.”

The word “one” is repeated seven times here. The one-ness, the unity of our faith, is that important, that central. And it is rooted in the one God who has moved mightily to bring us into one hope, one salvation, to Himself and His kingdom.

It is possible that these verses were a teaching that was given to new Christians as they came into the faith. Perhaps this is something that they memorized. If so, Paul was not teaching the Ephesians something brand new, but reminding them of a truth that they already received in Christ. Regardless, Paul was urging them to remember a fundamental truth that goes hand-in-hand with salvation:  God has brought us to Himself – together, as one.

Let’s memorize this passage in the NIV or MSG translation, giving thanks to God for what He has done, for this one-ness, while doing so. Then let’s pray for our churches, missional groups and campus ministries according to this passage.

Let’s declare the goodness of our God, who has given us unity, with this song, “God and God Alone”

CALL FOR PAPERS - ELO 2018

Mind the Gap!

Thinking Electronic Literature in a Digital Culture:

Explorations and Interventions

• Gaps in the field
• Translation gaps: code, natural language, media
• Narrative theory, temporal gaps and the imaginative space of the in-between
• Understanding e-lit: towards digital methodologies and/or pedagogies
• Mobile technologies’ effect on writing and reading habits
• Perceptual gaps: AR, VR, and Linking Structures
• Politics of e-lit: gaps between reception communities
• Gaps and Bridges between e-lit and digital humanities
• Gender gaps in e-lit
• Spoken screens: the gap between performance and presence
• Linguistic and cultural specificities to E-lit
• Electronic literature and urban culture
• Mind the gap! E-lit and humour
• Gaps between datasets and interfaces
• Archiving differences between libraries and museums
• Exhibition differences: ephemeral and permanent installations
• What is different about e-lit for children?

• Paper (15 min - a presentation of a single paper by one or more authors - 500 word abstract).
• Lightning talk (5 min - a short paper for a focused presentation - 250 word abstract).
• Poster (1 page poster). n.b. A poster can be combined with a lightning talk.
• Panel (90 min - a proposal for a complete panel including 3 or 4 separate papers on the same general topic - 250 word overview plus 500 word individual abstracts).
• Pre-conference Workshop (Action sessions, focused on hands-on group work on a given project or topic - 500 word abstract).

• Performance and screening (10 min - readings, actions, interventions - 250 word abstract; provide links to images, videos, etc.)
• Gallery exhibit (provide description of installation, as well as technical needs)