The Center for Arts and Humanities sponsored a talk this week on "The Urgency of Now: Mass Incarceration." Faculty shared their current research, teaching, and community involvement related to carceral studies, decarceration, and abolition. Left to right: Elsa Chen (Political Science), Patrick Lopez-Aguado (Sociology), Kirstyn Leuner (English), and moderated by Allia Griffin (Ethnic Studies).

Dear College Faculty and Staff,

I want to offer a big congratulations and thank you to all of our Department Managers who recently received a reclassification! This reclassification, effective February 1, came with a raise, a new title and a new salary grade, and took a lot of effort and persistence on the part of many people. Our department managers are critical to the success of our academic departments and we cannot run the College without them, so I am extremely pleased that we have finally made some progress here.

I have been keeping very busy as we head into the middle of the quarter. Last week, we held our quarterly Leadership Board meeting at which faculty from the History Department presented. I am continuing to interview dozens of candidates for our open tenure track faculty searches and am optimistic that we will have a successful hiring year.

And in the name of employee wellness (and a little competition between AJCU schools), I want to encourage you all to sign up and log hours for the Go Move Challenge this month! SCU has won the competition for the last 5 years and many of our competitors are trying to unseat us as champions! Let’s not give them the chance!

Finally, in a nod to our winter rains, I offer below a hokku by the Japanese poet Shōha, in a translation by Harold Stewart.

Warmly,

Daniel

Every Day is a Good Day

Highlights

Giselle Laiduc and Lisa Whitfield (Psychology) organized a brown bag and reception with speaker David M. Marx (Psychology, San Diego State University), to explore social psychological interventions to enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEM. In his talk, “We belong: Broadening STEM participation through a culturally-attuned peer role model intervention,” Marx presented findings from lab and field studies that illustrated how exposing students to peer role models can shift students’ psychological outcomes in mathematics gateway courses. The event brought together students and faculty from a variety of disciplines, offering diverse perspectives and engaging conversations about how to best support historically marginalized and underrepresented students in STEM.

The event was co-sponsored by the Biology, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Mathematics and Computer Science, and Child Studies Departments. A recording of the talk is available.

Veronica Miranda (Anthropology) organized an international workshop in Paris, France, with her colleagues Mounia El Kotni and Chiara Quagliariello from Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS), titled “Global Insights on Postpartum: Perspectives from the Social Sciences.” The workshop focused on the postpartum period as a critical issue that merits increased attention and examination in the social sciences. Key questions included: 1) How the postpartum period is defined, understood and experienced cross-culturally; 2) How it shapes intimate relationships; and 3) How factors such as racial inequality, class, and gender shape access to resources, support networks, and healthcare. Contributions from the workshop addressed these themes in various contexts, spanning Europe, the Americas, and India.

At the workshop, Miranda and Alice Villatoro (Public Health) presented a paper titled “Latinx Postpartum Perspectives: Unveiling Mental Health Experiences and Needs in Santa Clara County, CA.” Their research was supported by a Bannan Mission Integration Grant. Their community collaborator, Odette Avalos from Sherman Oaks Family Resource Center, also attended and presented on the role of community-based organizations in safeguarding the well-being of Latinx birthgivers. Funding for Avalos to attend the workshop and be included in research and community collaborations beyond data collection was provided by a Mission and Ministry Special Project Grant.

Danielle Heitmuller's (Art & Art History) film, The Peacock Who Wanted To Be A Star, was invited to return to Festival PLAY in Lisbon, Portugal as part of the festival favorites program. This is the second time the film has been invited back for this honor following its initial run in the festival's shorts program.

Three SCU faculty who teach in the area of Religious Studies and Theology participated in the annual meeting of the Society of Christian Ethics, held in Chicago in January. Karen Peterson-Iyer (Religious Studies) presented a paper addressing "Formation and Malformation in Christian Ethics" and she also participated in a "Conversation with Author" Session for her new book Revisioning Sexual Ethics: A Feminist Christian Account (Georgetown). Julie Hanlon Rubio (JST) convened a session on "Researching Everyday Ethics"; and Chris Tirres (Religious Studies) presented a chapter from his forthcoming book Liberating Spiritualities: Reimagining Faith in the Américas (Fordham).

Image: Karen-Peterson-Iyer's most recent book.

Thomas Meredith's (Political Science) article, "Nietzsche's Critique of Power: Mimicry and the Advantage of the Weak," was published in the most recent issue of the American Political Science Review, Volume 118, Issue 1, February 2024 (the discipline's flagship journal).

Abstract: While most scholars understand Nietzsche as a full-throated proponent of power, I argue that his attitude toward power is far more ambivalent. Nietzsche’s critical attitude toward power is most apparent in his analysis of mimicry—the process whereby one organism (the mimic) gains an evolutionary advantage through superficially resembling another (the model). Nietzsche’s analysis of mimicry shows how power makes the strong not only indifferent but also actively hostile to adaptation and novelty. In contrast, the weak, precisely because of their weakness, are incentivized to understand, adapt to, and exploit the psychology of the strong. Nietzsche reveals that mimicry is the means by which the weak were able to achieve a revolution in values through persuasion rather than force. Ultimately, I argue that Nietzsche’s analysis of mimicry provides a compelling account of social change, and reveals how power is maladaptive, in that it blinds and ossifies the powerful.

“Strengthening Ethical Commitments to the Common Good: Team-Based Learning in the Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm” by co-authors Katia Moles (School of Engineering), Laura Robinson (Sociology), Jennifer Merritt (Miller Center), and Keith Douglass Warner has been published online in the journal Religion & Education, in a special issue on ethics and community-based learning. The article examines global participatory action research (PAR) that embodies five key elements of the Ignatian Pedagogy Paradigm (IPP): context, experience, reflection, action, and evaluation by analyzing narrative accounts from ten cohorts of Miller Center’s Lewis Family Fellowship, a nine-month team-based PAR program at Santa Clara University. Student-teams work with social enterprises in the Global South to advance the common good. Contributions include the importance of integrating spiritual frameworks into PAR to meet the needs of young people in their search for meaning and purpose, and how inculcating the IPP in college may become a lifelong practice post-graduation.

Tom Plante (Psychology) published an article, "What professional psychotherapy practice can learn from the Jesuits: Introducing Ignatian spirituality informed therapy (I-SIT)" in Spirituality in Clinical Practice. Advance online publication.

Abstract: The purpose of this article is to introduce Ignatian spirituality informed therapy, an approach that considers how the wisdom and life-enhancing strategies of the Jesuits can be best utilized and integrated into quality secular psychotherapy practice in a way that provides value-added clinical tools for psychotherapists’ toolbox. Six Jesuit or Ignatian strategies are highlighted. These include (1) seeing God (or the sacred) in all things, (2) cura personalis (i.e., care for the whole person), (3) the four D’s of discernment, (4) using the examen as an end of day review and reflection, (5) managing conflict with accommodation, humility, and the expectation of goodness, and (6) a path to kinship with civility, hospitality, solidarity, and mutuality. Each principle is defined and presented with a case example to demonstrate how the wisdom of each approach can be integrated into the professional psychotherapeutic process.

In a significant achievement for the SCU Music Department, we are pleased to announce that Ráyo Furuta, AYAL and recent recipient of the Francisco Jimenez Reach Out Award, has been honored with the Stecher & Horowitz Power of Innovation Award by the Music Teacher's National Association (MTNA)! This esteemed award, accompanied by a $10,000 prize, is presented to a single young professional artist and teacher who exemplifies an entrepreneurial spirit and innovative approach in their life and work. Recipients demonstrate prolific and outstanding accomplishment and commitment in four specific aspects of professional endeavor: Artistic Excellence, Pedagogical Leadership, Nurturing Spirit, and Community Service. Ráyo Furuta's exceptional contributions in these areas have garnered recognition from the MTNA, reflecting his dedication to excellence and innovation in the field of music. This recognition not only highlights Ráyo's personal excellence but also underscores the innovative and talented individuals across our university community.

Image: Photography by Jiyang Chen

On January 5, Kirstyn Leuner (English) received an award at the Modern Language Association Awards Ceremony at the 2024 Annual Convention in Philadelphia. The MLA Committee on Scholarly Editions awarded its seal of approval to The Stainforth Library of Women's Writing, a digital scholarly edition edited by Leuner and Deborah Hollis, published by the Advanced Research Consortium. Visit the edition and the greater project.

Image: Paula Krebs Executive, Director of the MLA, and Kirstyn Leuner. Photo credit: Edward Savaria, Jr.

College of Arts and Sciences Calendar