Current Events

Faculty Seminar on Comparitive Cultures

The Faculty Seminar on Comparative Cultures, currently in its 8^th year, constitutes resident faculty reflecting different disciplinary strengths. The Seminar meets once monthly during the academic year to consider an annual theme. Themes over the years:

1999-2000: “Emancipation and Liberation”
2000-2001: “Diaspora”
2001-2002: “Human Rights and Reparations”
2002-2003: “Violence and the State”
2003-2004: “Empire and Cultural Conquests”
2004-2005: “Empire and Cultural Conquests” (continuation)
2005-2006: “Representations of Genocide and Resistance”

Offering a variety of disciplinary perspectives, members enrich their own understanding of the theme under scrutiny and acquire new respect for their colleagues' scholarly endeavors.

The Seminar stimulates significant pedagogical and research collaboration, with material benefits for students and the entire Kean University academic community. Examples include:

Material for three courses: “Diaspora: A Senior Seminar (Dennis Klein, History), “Western Religions: Christianity, Judaism, & Islam” (Melodie Toby, Philosophy & Religion), and “Women & Resistance” (Nira Gupta-Casale, English & Women’s Studies)
The development of one course, “Freedom: Black and Jewish Perspectives” (Dennis Klein and Amrita Myers, History, with help from Barbara Wheeler, Anthropology, and James Conyers, Sociology and Africana Studies)
A full‑day faculty retreat exploring multidisciplinary collaboration
Formation of a Provost Committee on Multidisciplinary Affairs and development of a 200-plus page report, Multidisciplinary Affairs at Kean University
Visiting scholars: Paula Rothenberg (William Paterson University); Clinora Hudson-Weems (University of Missouri, Columbia); Robert Smith (Barnard College); Chen Chen, author; Vincent Bakpetu Thompson (Connecticut College); J. Paul Martin (Columbia University); Aratai Rao, a human rights activist and UNICEF consultant, Leon V. Sigal (Social Science Research Council), Rajeswari Sunder Rajan (Wolfson College, Oxford University), Ambassador Dennis Ross (Washington Institute for Near East Policy), and Anthony Lewis (The New York Times).
Seminar members & student open roundtables (in 2003, on “Violence and the State”; in 2004 and 2005, “Empire and Cultural Conquests”)
Campus-wide lectures (on Iraq, North Korea, the Middle East, etc.)
E-Book publications of seminar members’ and students’ roundtable papers (http://www.kean.edu/~orsp/online_journal/comp_journal.htm)

2005-06 Membership (in formation – new members welcome)

James Conyers (Sociology)

Kenneth Dollarhide (Dean, CHSS)

Sue Gronewold (History)

Nira Gupta-Casale (Eng./Women’s Studies)

Dennis B. Klein (History/Jewish Studies),

Seminar Co-Chair

Julia Nevarez (Sociology)

Acting Co-Chair, Spring 2006

Ann Pfau (History)

Nazih Richani (Pol. Sci./Latin Am St.)

Kristie Reilly (Dean, Graduate College)

Carole Shaffer-Koros (English)

Sharon Snyder (English)

Jay Spaulding (History)

Melodie Toby (Philosophy and Religion)

Barbara Wheeler (Anthropology/

Africana Studies), Seminar Co-Chair

Janet Yedes (Communication)

Mia Zamora (English)