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In the latest essay for his Race Stories column in The New York Times, Maurice Berger, research professor at the Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture, examines the shifting attitudes toward the Confederate battle flag. “The image was at once mundane and historic. In Alabama last Wednesday, on the order of Gov. Robert Bentley, workers took down the Confederate battle flag on the grounds of the state Capitol and were photographed as they did. The camera, whose role it was to record a reality — and thus to make visible its compelling details of the world — now documented a symbol’s imminent invisibility,” notes Berger, but adds, “In the end, retiring an icon is not the same as dealing with the underlying institutional, emotional, economic and historic complications that it represents.”

Read “Making a Confederate Flag Invisible” and view the photographs at The New York Times Lens blog.

Berger’s Race Stories column, which appears monthly on The New York Times website, is “a continuing exploration of the relationship of race to photographic portrayals of race.”

Linda Dusman, Music, and Eric Smallwood, Visual Arts, were interviewed by The Baltimore Sun’s Tim Smith about their app Octava, which is designed to enhance the audience experience at symphony orchestra performances. Read the full article on the Sun’s website here.

“The app, called Octava, is aimed at enhancing the musical experience for listeners by delivering information via Wifi, synced with the music being played in the concert hall,” says Smith. In development for several years and formerly known as Symphony Interactive, the project received a $150,000 Maryland Innovation Initiative (MII) grant in 2014 (read more here).

Every so often, we’ll chat with an alum about what they do and how they got there. Today we’re talking with Jim Lord ‘99,Visual and Performing Arts, about his work as the Director of Creative Services here at UMBC.

Q: What drew you to UMBC for your studies?

A: I was really impressed with campus and the faculty in the visual arts department when I attended a campus visit. As a transfer student, I was glad to be able to move right into the graphic design program my first semester. UMBC had a great articulation agreement with my community college, so the majority of my credits transferred over with no issue.

Q: You now work at the university. Could you tell us how you got the position and talk a bit about what you do there?

A: I work in the Creative Services department. During my final semester, I ran into a classmate that was stepping down from a part-time position with the group. She advised me to speak with the creative director at the time who was also a past professor of mine. Jeanne Ivy hired me as a part-time web assistant. Four months later they informed me a full-time position was opening up, and allowed me to interview. I got the job and have been with the group in various roles ever since. I am currently the director of Creative Services. I oversee the day-to-day operations of the studio and continue to design materials for the campus community.

Q: You recently received your MFA from UB and were the first student to complete the 60-Credit Integrated Design Program. What was that experience like?

A: The experience was interesting to say the least. Juggling a full-time job, family obligations, and school work was a challenge, but I kept my head down and got through the program without too much heartache. I have my family and friends to thank for their support. I could not have done it without them.

Q: What aspect of creative design do you enjoy most?

A: Seeing my work become a reality. I love walking across campus and seeing my work in the hands of a student, on the side of a bus, or hanging on the side of a building.

Q: What advice would you give to students considering UMBC?

A: Don’t judge this place based on its reputation among your peers. Come to campus and see for yourself what UMBC has to offer. Your experience here is what you make it.

Rebecca Adelman, an assistant professor of media and communication studies, was recently interviewed for a story in Discovery about the narratives and sensational news headlines surrounding shark attacks. In the article, Adelman said that common language describing such attacks can often minimize the role of humans.

“It neatly erases any kind of human culpability for the shark bite while underscoring the notion that humans […] ought to be able to roam freely and safely anywhere on the planet, regardless of what other creatures might have preceded them there by millions of years,” she explained.

“Yet it also makes a kind of sense out of the event of a shark biting a hapless child, swimmer, surfer, or fisherman by attributing a kind of malevolent agency to the offending creature. It deflects the question of whether the human might have made a mistake by being in that part of the ocean at that time (or might have made a faulty calculation about the risk associated with their actions), but also provides a defense against the terrifying idea that bad things just happen,” she added. The full article can be accessed here.   

In light of the International Day of Yoga, Mathematics Professor and New York Times Contributing Opinion Writer Manil Suri wrote about the viewpoints surrounding Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s plans to promote it within the country: “Some Muslim preachers and opposition politicians have accused Mr. Modi of using the day to foist Hinduism on religious minorities under the guise of yoga.”

However, Suri explains in his column that, “Yoga is big business, estimated at $10 billion a year in the United States alone, and India needs to be associated with it — not just to attract tourists to yoga retreats, but also to assert its intellectual rights. The country has been fighting attempts by Western gurus to patent yoga poses, assembling a repository of over 1,500 asanas to keep them free.”

He added: “Within India, the goal is different. Those on the Hindu right have always harbored the vision of returning to India’s greatness as an ancient civilization. A practice with Vedic origins that has nevertheless attained such secular popularity is the perfect vehicle to create a shared national consciousness. The physical engagement, mental discipline and sublimation of desire enshrined in yoga meld seamlessly, yet discreetly, with the more militaristic tenets of organizations like Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.”

To read the full column titled “India and the Politics of Yoga,” click here. Suri also appeared live on CNN International on Sunday, June 21 to discuss his column.