Classics peer mentor program helps students learning Greek and Latin

Posted on April 4, 2019 by ainnes

Through the Classics mentorship program, established in 2013, fourth-year students Aleks Mirosavljevic and Julie Simmonds offer support to their peers in Classics courses, such as Greek, Latin and context credit courses. Absent from the photo is fellow peer mentor Keegan Bruce.

Learning any new language can be a daunting task.

But learning a language that is no longer spoken, such as ancient Greek or Latin, comes with its own set of challenges.

The Department of Classics has found an effective way to help students through language courses, offering peer support to make the learning process easier.

“Each week in a language course builds on the previous week’s knowledge, so it can quickly become too complicated for students who fall behind, and they don’t know where to begin to correct things,” says Assistant Professor of Classics Roberto Nickel.

That’s where the Classics Peer Mentorship program comes in. Peer mentors are available in the department for drop-in help during the week.

“Students feel more comfortable asking senior students for help than professors,” Nickel says.

The peer mentorship program started in 2013 as a formalized way for first- and second-year language students to get help from senior students, but quickly expanded to include students seeking help with essay assignments in large Humanities context courses.

Chosen by faculty from among the graduating class, peer mentors have all previously used the mentoring services themselves.

Each mentor is available for two to three hours a week. Instructors share course essay assignments with the peer mentors, so they are better able to support students.

There are three peer mentors currently participating in the program: Julie Simmonds, Keegan Bruce and Alex Mirosavljevic.

Simmonds was motivated to become a peer mentor in part due to her own experiences coming to University as a mature student and using the service. She now enjoys helping students with essays, whether it’s developing a thesis, proofreading a draft or formatting their paper.

“I wanted to be able to help students with some of the knowledge I’ve gained over the last three years,” she says. “It’s a great service for students.”

The program is volunteer-based, although mentors are able to include the experience on their resumés and receive letters of reference from faculty for their work. The experience is valuable for future careers within education or that require mentoring or teaching skills.

Nickel points to the drop in attrition rates in the first-year Greek course as a sign of the program’s success. Prior to its inception, up to 30 per cent of students dropped the course each year. In recent years, that number has plummeted to zero, he says.

“The mentors and the students they are mentoring are peers,” says Nickel. “They’re of the same generation, with the same experiences in education. Professors have a different experience and their undergrad experience is further away. Peers understand what the students feel confident about and what they don’t.”

What: Peer mentoring in the Department of Classics
When: Tuesdays 9 to 11 a.m. and 2 to 4 p.m.; Wednesdays 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 3 p.m.; Thursdays 9 a.m. to noon; Fridays 9 to 11 a.m.
Where: Department of Classics, GLB 347

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Kate Mazi: Giving emerging artists a home

Posted on March 4, 2019 by ainnes

Kate Mazi was one of the artists behind the recent show Permanent Vacation at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts. (Photo: Jaquelyn Bezaire)

Story by Social Media Ambassador and VISA student Erin Grayley.

I had the opportunity to sit down with Brock alumna and artist, Kate Mazi, to discuss her recent collaborative exhibition “Permanent Vacation” at the Marilyn I Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA).

The exhibition was created and curated by five Brock alumni: Jenn Hudson, Ben Mosher, Alex Muresan, Matt Caldwell and Kate Mazi. The group met during their time at Brock University in the Visual Arts program and have remained close after graduation, sharing ideas, studio space, and now an exhibition. While at Brock, they transitioned the Brock Art Club to what it is now known as The Brock Art Collective (BAC) with the goal to create more opportunities for student exhibition and workshops within the school.

With Permanent Vacation, the artists wanted to create an exhibition displaying social practice rather than a traditional gallery setting. Keeping local emerging artists in mind, the five friends created an inclusive community and addressed the struggles behind being an emerging artist.

“It’s like you’re going full speed on the highway. You’re going through school and you’re super into it, and you do acknowledge the that it’s not an easy career choice, but when you graduate, it’s like you just get pushed out of the car,” said Kate Mazi.

This feeling gave the group motivation to stay together after graduation and collaborate to work on topics and themes related to emerging artists in the area.

Kate explained to me that this exhibition was intended to give emerging artists the opportunity to work in a studio space and create connections. Up-and-coming artists, whether they are part of academia, recently graduated or are a part of the art community outside of post-secondary schooling, may struggle with finding space to work and making connections within the local artist community.

“We wanted to make it like a paradise for artists,” said Kate. “We hope that emerging artists were able to find a quiet place to work and understand the situation you are in living in this area.”

The group hopes to make opportunities for artists locally so they don’t feel the need to move to larger cities. Their goal of bringing the art community together and creating a safe space for emerging artists creates a way for artists to support each other and build up the existing community in St. Catharines.

Permanent Vacation included interactive space. (Photo: Jaquelyn Bezaire)

The exhibition opening was a prime example of how they intend to live out their goals. The group created an interactive space to inspire and encourage the creation of local art. Using A green screen (with no intended background editing) and props, they gave the space a sense of ‘here can be anywhere’ and an oasis of support and collaboration in a safe space.

Kate provided me with advice for those thinking about merging into the art community, which fits seamlessly with the theme of opening space for emerging talent.

“What I would say is, don’t be afraid to connect and collaborate with people because that’s what opens up the ideas and presumptions that you may have. It doesn’t even have to be in the same discipline. Open yourself to other disciplines because the relationships you make in school, especially in visual art will last. Time and place will always serve your practice. You’ll really change and progress in that time.”

If you missed Permanent Vacation, you can still see another collaborative work by Kate Mazi and Jenn Hudson titled “Pepsi Girls” until the end of February at Mahtay Café (located on St. Paul street across from the Performing Arts Centre in downtown St. Catharines).

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Celebrate African Heritage Month with multilingual events

Posted on February 25, 2019 by ainnes

Two special community events organized by the Department of Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures will mark African Heritage Month on Thursday, Feb. 28.

A special reception at Rodman Hall featuring traditional African music will be held for Masques, Mythes et Mascarades/ Masks, Myths and Masquerades, a multi-site exhibition of African masks in collaboration with SOFIFRAN.

“African masks are at the very roots of humanity’s origins,” says Nafée Faigou of SOFIFRAN. “They crossed through 6000 years of human history and civilization without a wrinkle. They are universal and anchored in our collective unconscious mind.”

African masks are not pieces of art and do not belong to particular individuals, Faigou says, but are an expression of the tribe’s humanity and play important social, political and sacred roles in a society.

The exhibition at Rodman Hall is linked to current exhibitions in the Matheson Learning Commons and the Department of Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures and features masks from private collections in Niagara. The exhibition is open until March 3.

Also on Feb. 28 is African Voices/Voix Africanes/Sauti za Afrika, which will animate Heather Hart’s Northern Oracle rooftop installation. People of African descent will share their thoughts and experiences as visible minorities in the Niagara region in a diversity of languages.

The events are a collaboration between SOFIFRAN, the Department of Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures, the Centre for Studies in Arts and Culture, and Rodman Hall Art Centre.

Both events are free and open to the public.

 

What: African Voices/Voiz Africaines/Sauti za Afrika and Masques, Mythes et Mascarades/ Masks, Myths and Masquerades

Where: Rodman Hall Art Centre

When: Thursday, Feb. 28 at 7 p.m.

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Dr. Keri Cronin named new Associate Dean with the Faculty of Humanities

Posted on February 6, 2019 by ainnes

Keri Cronin, Associate Professor in the Department of Visual Arts, will take on the role of Associate Dean, Research and Graduate Studies for the Faculty of Humanities starting July 1. (Photo credit Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals.)

Keri Cronin has always been invested in sharing the research of Brock’s Faculty of Humanities in far-reaching ways. And in her new role as Associate Dean, Research and Graduate Studies, she intends to continue down that path.

“There is so much great work being done here in the Humanities,” says Cronin, Associate Professor with the Department of Visual Arts.

“A lot of people hold misperceptions about what it is we do and the value and relevance of this work to the ‘real world.’ Using public platforms to highlight our stories and the excellent research being done here is, I believe, more important than ever.”

Cronin, whose position as Associate Dean in the Faculty of Humanities begins July 1, values making academic research accessible to a wide and diverse audience.

“I look forward to supporting faculty and graduate students in developing knowledge mobilization plans that make sense for their areas of expertise,” she says.

Cronin’s own research trajectory has been a blend of the traditional and the non-traditional. In addition to her academic publications, including the 2018 publication of Art for Animals, Cronin has embraced online opportunities to share her research.

The Unbound Project, a multimedia initiative Cronin co-created with Jo-Anne McArthur of We Animals, uses video, photography, interviews and social media to tell the stories of women who are working in animal advocacy.

“The Unbound Project has a very large and international reach,” Cronin says. “Using our website and social media channels, we are able to share these women’s stories widely.”

Cronin has also curated an online exhibition for the National Museum of Animals & Society. Be Kind: A Visual History of Humane Education was launched in 2012 and is used by teachers and professors in classrooms around the world.

Social justice and transdisciplinary work are key for Cronin. She is a faculty member in the Social Justice and Equity Studies graduate program and was a founding member of Brock’s Social Justice Research Institute, where she worked to showcase Humanities-based approaches to social justice work.

“Dr. Cronin is an accomplished scholar and teacher, with an excellent record of service to the University and the Faculty already,” says Dean of Humanities Carol Merriam.

“I’m very pleased that she will now put her skills and talents available to her colleagues in this new role. She is a fitting successor to Dr. Michael Carter, who has done very good work in the role since 2016.

This article originally appeared in the Brock News.

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Claire Gittins: Creating a poetry chapbook

Posted on January 23, 2019 by ainnes

This week’s post is brought to you by Claire Gittins, a second year student in English Language and Literature. Her first chapbook, The First Sailors Used the Stars to Navigate, will be coming out soon. It includes “haikus describing the truth of an image or the authors personal experience, prose poetry describing larger philosophical truths interpreted by the poet, and finally a selection of cut up poetry assemble out of entirely factual documents such as archival material as well as academic or legal material.”  In this post, she guides us through the process of creating a poetry chapbook.

Whether you’re Wordsworth’s biggest fan or a poet and you just didn’t know it, creating your own poetry chapbook is a major step in your writing career.

A poetry chapbook is a small sample of a poetry work that usually does not exceed 30 pages, which makes it manageable for the beginning or hobbyist poet.  Chapbooks offer a huge range options for distribution as well: you can publish with a traditional publisher, self-publish, or just make a few copies to give to your friends and family.

I’m going to take you through my process for creating a chapbook, and hopefully it will help you do the same!

Step One: Choose a Theme

Choosing a unifying theme for your chapbook helps to guide your work. You get to decide how strictly you want to follow you theme and what it influences.  Themes can influence your content, style, and even the structures you use for the poems.  A strong theme can also make your work fit together nicely.

Step Two: Experiment With Structure and Style

Style lets people know that you’re you!  It’s your personality fit to the page, so don’t worry about imitating another poet’s style.  Your inflection and the nuances of your writing are what make your work stand out.  You can tear up the page without the constraints of structure. (That’s called free verse, for our very beginning poets!)

However, some writers prefer constraints that help to motivate the creative process.  You can use structures like Elizabethan and Petrarchan sonnets, haikus, odes, limericks and so much more.  A Google search for ‘forms of poetry’ yields dozens of results so you’ll never run out of structures to play with.

Step Three: Getting To It

Now is the tricky part.  Up until this point we’ve been zooming through some pretty exciting creative decisions.  We’re motivated.  We’re creating.  But now we actually have to do it: write poetry.  There is no one right way to write your poems, and sometimes it feels like you’ve gone as far as you can go, but keep trying.  You never know what’s just around the corner.  Surgite!

Step Four: Editing

When I first started writing poetry, I didn’t know you could edit poems.  I thought however they happened the first time around was the way they would stay and that they could be judged on their first form.

Nothing could be further from the truth!  You have the power to change anything about your poems anytime, so don’t be afraid to add things in, take them out, reverse the order of things, and generally experiment with your own work.  You can always change it back if you’re not keen on the edits.

Step Five: Formatting

The final step to creating a chapbook is to format it.  This is another way to showcase your creativity!

Do you want to staple it into a booklet?  Format in Microsoft Word with the Book Fold option under Page Setup and print it out. (Brock students can use Word on computers in the Computer Commons)

Do you want to distribute it online?  Take photos of your poems and arrange them in an Instagram post.

Many chapbooks have art in them, and you can add things like collages or pressed flowers.  Cover design is important, too!  Pick something you think speaks to the theme of you chapbook to maximize fluency.

And that’s it!

Good luck with your chapbooks badgers!  Have fun and keep creating.

 

 

 

 

 

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Poet-scholar explores communication through visual art and writing

Posted on December 12, 2018 by ainnes

Eric Schmaltz (BA ’11, MA ’12) is a graduate from Brock’s English Language and Literature program. He went on to earn a PhD from York University and is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania.

Poet and scholar Eric Schmaltz took full advantage of his time at Brock to explore the world of words and images.

“In many ways, Brock is where I began to orient myself as a poet-scholar,” says Schmaltz (BA ’11, MA ’12), who celebrated the release of his debut book earlier this year.

“Brock offered me the space, resources, and mentors to encourage both creative and academic experiences that have been formative for my profile.”

Professors including Gregory Betts, Tim Conley, Adam Dickinson, and Linda Steer provided critical and creative spaces in their classrooms and demonstrated an openness towards engaging with art and literature.

“These values, offered to me first at Brock, remain important to my academic work as a SSHRC-funded Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania and as an emerging poet.”

Schmaltz majored in English Language and Literature with a minor in the former Great Books & Liberal Studies (GLBS). His courses in GBLS were often cross-listed with courses in Visual Arts and Studies in Arts and Culture.

But the Niagara arts community outside of Brock was just as influential.

“Of great importance to me was the time I spent with the visual arts community that exists in St. Catharines, independent of Brock––mainly, the Niagara Artists Centre (NAC),” says Schmatlz.

“NAC is one of the most valuable centres in St. Catharines whose openness and community-driven mission adds essential character and cultural experience to the Niagara Region. I collaborated on a number of events and programs with the NAC, including literary readings, workshops, special events, and exhibitions.”

Schmaltz has published peer-reviewed articles, chapbooks, literary articles, book reviews and other miscellaneous writings. His work has been published in journals and magazines such as Canadian Literature; Science Fiction Fiction Film and Television; Jacket2; Lemon Hound; The Capilano Review and Broken Pencil.

His solo show, Assembly Line of Babel, was held at the NAC, St. Catharines, in 2015. As Schmaltz told Touch the Donkey, the series explored what it means to make objects and meaning in a ready-made culture.

Schmaltz has also participated in group visual art exhibitions and curatorial projects. In 2017, Schmaltz collaborated with Graeme Ring and Kevin McPhee to present Intereactions at St. Catharine’s In the Soil Arts Festival. His work has also appeared in group exhibitions in Toronto, Kitchener, Vancouver and Buffalo, as well as at Brock’s Rodman Hall Art Centre.

“Surfaces”, Eric Schmaltz’s debut book of poetry (Invisible Publishing, 2018).

Schmaltz’s first book, Surfaces (Invisible Publishing, 2018), came out in the spring of 2018 and continues his exploration of writing and communication. Combining found elements, graphic design, imprint, translation and typography, Surfaces questions what happens to us when we write through digital channels.

Surfaces, Schmaltz told Invisblog, is a book about processes, foregrounding things coming apart and coming together. Standardized communication can lock us into a way of being; the antidote to that is “endless variation and infinite permutability,” and Surfaces is all about possibilities.

Schmaltz’s current projects include guest editing the inaugural edition of Not Your Best, an annual magazine to be published by knife|fork|book in Toronto. Schmaltz will be exploring work by writers and artists who work at the intersection of visual art and poetry.

When asked what advice he might offer young authors in our Faculty, Schmaltz emphasizes the importance of getting involved.

“Get involved with the persons and communities whom feel right for you,” he says.

“Make a contribution. No matter its size, it is valuable. Do this responsibly. Do this not just for yourself, but for others.”

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Doing archaeology under pressure

Posted on December 5, 2018 by ainnes

When natural disaster or military conflict strike, irreplaceable cultural heritage is put at risk.

Whether in recent conflicts in Afghanistan and Syria or the recent museum fire in Brazil, cultural workers and community volunteers mobilize to rescue a community’s heritage.

Fourth year undergrad and graduate students in the Department of Classics got a taste of the work involved in an museum evacuation simulation run Friday afternoon by internationally-recognized expert Brian Daniels.

Brian Daniels, who has trained cultural workers around the world in “cultural first aid,” prepares the students in CLAS 4P28/5V28 Archaeological Ethics for their simulated museum evacuation drill.

Daniels, who works with the Penn Cultural Heritage Center, has run museum evacuation training programs around the globe. He has worked on the ground in Iraq and trained local culture workers to in Afghanistan and Syria to protect culturally significant artifacts.

In fact, the evacuation exercise Brock students did had just been done the day before in Mali for military personnel, disaster responders and heritage professionals.

Associate Professor Elizabeth Greene and Daniels staged a museum disaster in the Department’s archaeology workroom using ancient pottery sherds from the Cypriot Museum’s teaching collection.

“I’m very excited because we can use the Cypriot collection here,” said Daniels. “Usually we use fake artifacts for the first time in running these.”

After a presentation by Daniels on the history, process and principles of evacuating and protecting artifacts during a disaster, the class had just twenty minutes to develop their strategy to safely move all the artifacts from the workroom to the designated safe room.

Archaeology students Sabrina Taylor, Nicole Gavin, Gloria Szylak, and Sarah Murray prepare for a museum evacuation exercise run by Brian Daniels of the Penn Cultural Heritage Center on Nov. 30. The class had just twenty minutes to develop a plan to evacuate artifacts from the ‘disaster zone’ in the Classics archaeology lab to a ‘safe room’ on the first floor of the International Centre.

The students then had 45 minutes to systematically inventory, package, and transfer the artifacts. The students were successful in moving all their artifacts to the safe room, a fundamental part of the exercise—but something not all teams are able to do. The exercise, Daniels noted, is designed to make participants feel stressed.

“In light of current political crises and recent catastrophes, this exercise provided the students with hands-on experience in responding to a heritage emergency,” said Greene.

“Such scenarios reinforce the need for all museums to have management plans to safeguard the heritage under their stewardship, recognizing its value to local and global communities.”

Sabrina Taylor and Sarah Murray wrap artifact fragments before they are transported to the ‘safe room’ on the first floor. With only 45 minutes to record and evacuate six tables of artifacts, the students had to work quickly but accurately.

Matthew Hertel and Emma Celestini plan how to best inventory and pack up the artifact fragments. The exercise was done using real pottery sherds from the Cypriot Museum’s teaching collection.

In the debrief, Daniels complimented the students on their clear division of work and how well they worked as a team—although no one had seemed to notice when a student was quietly “abducted” from the group!

“The exercise demonstrated how many factors have to be considered when cultural heritage artifacts are being evacuated to a safe location,” wrote student Sarah Murray on the class blog.

“The plan that we created was detailed enough to initiate the evacuation process but flexible enough for us to adapt.”

In the safe room, Hannah Greczkowski, Benjamin Vaillancourt, Gloria Szylak and Brian Abfal receive the artifacts and check them against the inventory lists.

The simulation exercise concluded a week of talking about the protection of cultural heritage during wartime. Students in CLAS 4P28/5V28 Archaeological Ethics have been exploring a range of ethical dilemmas about doing archaeology in the 21st century.

Topics have included the ownership of cultural heritage; looting and theft of antiquities; repatriation of heritage artifacts to source nations; preservation of heritage at risk; site preservation, reconstruction, and tourism; and the rights and responsibilities of archaeologists in their host communities and within the broader discipline.

“In each case, we bring contemporary issues into the classroom setting,” says Greene, who also serves as the Vice President for Cultural Heritage of the Archaeological Institute of America.

Brian Daniels debriefs the students following the successful evacuation of all artifacts from the archaeology lab. The exercise is designed to simulate the stressful conditions that cultural workers find themselves in when disaster or conflict strike.

The Penn Cultural Heritage Center provides a forum for discussion of the meaning of heritage and the roles of communities in heritage preservation. Daniels and the other members of Safeguarding the Heritage of Syria and Iraq (SHOSI) work closely with the Smithsonian Institution, as well as organize workshops focussing on emergency preservation and risk management.

Members helped with the evacuation of the Ma’arrat al-Nu’man Museum in Afghanistan to Switzerland during the conflict of the early 2000s. In 2014, the group began training Syrian museum professionals in Turkey as Syrian cultural monuments were being destroyed at an alarming rate. Syrian cultural workers have successfully used Second World War techniques to protect priceless Byzantine mosaics at the Ma’arra Mosaic Museum through three bombing attacks.

Cultural workers have also been trained in documenting and protecting looted sites, such as the cuneiform tablets at Ebla, and in assisting knowledge transfer of traditional cultural practices among refugees.

A version of this story appeared in Brock News.

Learn more about SHOSI:

Jamie Fisher “The Small, Good Stories.” The Pennsylvania Gazette, 18 February 2016.

Salam Al Quntar et al. “Responding to a Cultural Heritage Crisis: The Example of the Safeguarding the Heritage of Syria and Iraq Project.” American Schools of Oriental Research, September 2015.

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Erin Grayley: Learning to look at visual culture

Posted on November 29, 2018 by ainnes

Erin Grayley is a second year student in the History of Art and Visual Culture (HAVC) and a volunteer with the Faculty of Humanities’ Social Media Ambassador program. In today’s post, she demystifies what History of Art and Visual Culture is all about and answers some of your questions.

Visual culture explores the ways we think about visual imagery and how imagery affects things like society, politics, life today and history.

As a second year History of Art and Visual Culture major, I find people are often confused about what I do or what my program even is. I don’t actually create physical art in class nor do I have any studio-based work but I am considered an art student.

The way I like to describe it is, in the history of art and visual culture program (or as we lovingly refer to it, HAVC) we study the theory behind the art. Just as musicians study musical theory, we study artistic theory.

In HAVC, we focus on many different aspects of images and their effects. Aside from the art history side of things, which dives into art through the ages and work/artists that changed the face of art, visual culture focuses on skills and tools to help understand images and think critically about how we process information though images and art in everyday life.

The question of “what is visual culture” is not easily answered. Visual culture looks at the different ways we can think about visual imagery and how that imagery affects things like society, politics, life today and history, as well as how we interact with the world and the people around us.

In visual culture, we focus on a concept of “the viewer makes meaning” in relation to images and art. The importance of the viewer and how a viewer visually and contextually analyzes an image are important tools. We learn very early in the program how to visually and contextually analyze images and artwork. These skills are the foundation of HAVC and will help students during their program and in many different careers.

HAVC is not strictly related to art, either. It crosses many disciplines and is used by everyone, everyday (sometimes without even realizing it). We are exposed to visual culture everywhere we look. Having the skills to properly articulate ideas about images and critically think about what we are seeing is an important skill for students in any discipline.

I wanted to know what people outside of the HAVC community had to say so I took to Instagram and asked my friends and followers to send me questions about my program and visual culture in general. I’ve picked some of the most asked questions and answered them for you here! The response was amazing and I was so glad so many people took interest in learning more about HAVC.

What’s your favourite class?

It’s hard to pin point which is my favourite, as so many of my classes are interesting and innovative in different ways! However, Visual Culture and the Human Body (VISA 3P52) and Introduction to Contemporary Art (VISA 2P88) are among the most fascinating for me this semester.

What classes are you looking forward to in your program?

As a third year student next year, I will be able to take an independent study course (VISA 3F99) where I will be able to advance my studies in an area of mutual interest with a professor in the Department of Visual Arts. This course allows me to further my research in a specific context that interests me!

How can a student get into studying History of Art and Visual Culture?

The first courses that start you in this major would be VISA 1Q98 (Introduction to Visual Culture) and VISA 1Q99 (Introduction to History of Art). These will give you the resources and prerequisites to take your studies in many different directions within the History of Art and Visual Culture program.

Are there opportunities for abroad studying?

YES! there are many different opportunities to study abroad in this program! Depending on the year, there are different destinations for study, such as Italy and the Mediterranean! Learn more about exchange opportunities on the Brock International website.

What is your favourite part of History of Art and Visual Culture?

My favourite part of the program is definitely the visual culture side. From starting first year not really understanding what visual culture was, to now critically thinking about imagery and how visual images and art can shape the ways we think about the world and others is inspiring! I love what I am able to learn and accomplish in this program. I am inspired to research and create in new ways every day and the endless opportunities I am presented with motivate me to continue studying HAVC!

What possible careers can you pursue with this major?

There are many possibilities with a major in History of Art and Visual Culture. Since this area of study can cross through many disciplines, it can manifest into anything you want it to be. Professions include curatorial work in galleries, arts administration, law, teaching, and writing and publication.

You can find more information about HAVC at Brock on the Department of Visual Arts website.

If you have any further questions or want to speak to a faculty member in HAVC, you can contact Keri Cronin, an Associate Professor in the Department of Visual Arts, at (905)-688-5550 x5306 or keri.cronin@brocku.ca.

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Brock Grad Helping to Create Holocaust Monument in Welland

Posted on October 22, 2018 by et13vt

Fifth-year Interactive Arts and Science student and Faculty of Humanities Intern Ellen Thornton had the opportunity to interview recent History alumnus Matt Busnello about his upcoming work with the Chabad Jewish Centre of Niagara in Welland.

Matt Busnello is helping to create a Holocaust memorial in Welland in partnership with the Chabad Jewish Centre of Niagara.

Through his research, Matt Busnello (BA ’16, MA ’18) has learned about the horrors of the Holocaust and the resilience of its survivors.

The recent Brock Master of Arts in History graduate is now using his work to give back to the local community, helping to create a Holocaust monument to be built in Welland.

Busnello, who graduated at the University’s Oct. 12 Convocation ceremony, has partnered with the Chabad Jewish Centre of Niagara on the project. He has created a design contest for the monument, to be erected in the Anshe Yosher Jewish Niagara Cemetery — the oldest Jewish cemetery in the region.

“The purpose of the Holocaust and Jewish Welland Memorial is to offer Jewish people who live in Niagara, as well as visitors to the Chabad Niagara Jewish Welcome Centre, a place to commemorate the victims and survivors of the Holocaust,” Busnello says.

The Brock alumnus is running the monument’s design contest, which is open to submissions from the public, and putting together the committee that will help decide the winner.

The monument is expected to be unveiled in June 2019 to coincide with the cemetery’s centennial. It will be placed in an accessible location on the Lyons Creek Road property, adding to the region’s list of Holocaust memorials, which also stand in St. Catharines and Niagara Falls.

“This project means a lot to the people in the community,” Busnello says. “We’ve had an outpouring of support from community members but also from people who once lived in Niagara who want to participate and get involved. It’s been really special in that way.”

Busnello says Brock’s 20th century European, German and world history courses nurtured his interests as an undergraduate and motivated him to continue studying the Holocaust as a graduate student, working with Associate Professor Elizabeth Vlossak.

“Since much of Dr. Vlossak’s work deals with memory and the politics of commemoration, she suggested that I examine how the Holocaust has been remembered in Canada, specifically among its Jewish population,” he says.

His research focuses on local forms of commemoration in southern Ontario and how it connects to the larger culture of Holocaust commemoration.

Busnello says his Brock experience “played a big role in getting me to where I am today.”

“I don’t think I would have been able to take on a project of this size if I didn’t have this kind of background.”

Busnello is eager to see the results of the design contest, which is open to the public but has also been marketed to architects and architecture firms, designers and independent artists.

“We’re really going for transparency, not having it limited to any one group of people, trying to keep it open and allowing for a fair and open competitive contest,” he says.

The contest began Sept. 4 and ends on Oct. 18.

For more information about the design contest, or about the Chabad Jewish Centre of Niagara, visit the organization’s website.

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Coming to Grips with Group Work

Posted on September 19, 2018 by ainnes

Already worrying about that upcoming group project on your syllabus?  Fifth year Interactive Arts and Science student Ellen Thornton brings you student advice on successfully completing university group projects.

As a new school year begins, almost every student is taking the first few weeks to look at their syllabuses and figure out their overall workload.  Typically you will see that the final mark will calculated based on a final exam, a couple of essays or labs, and some sort of a group project.  To some students, this may not be a big deal, but others may absolutely dread it based on past experiences or hearing horror stories from friends.

Fortunately, group projects don’t have to be as bad as they seem!  Here are some of the tips and tricks that I’ve learned (sometimes the hard way) when it comes to working in groups over my university career.

Communicate Often

The biggest factor that will make or break any group project is how much you communicate with your group members.  Not only is it important for everyone to know exactly what their work is, but everyone needs to know who they are working with.

I once had a group presentation where no one knew each other in another class, until someone sent an email to our Brock emails.  The only problem was we never heard back from one member, so we continued our work without them.  Along comes the night before our presentation, everyone’s work is done, and we are just going over the finishing details, and the missing group member replies back asking when we were going to start working on our presentation!  Needless to say what we thought would be an easy night ended up being incredibly stressful trying to find something for them to add.

From experience I learned that it’s incredibly important to keep up communication with group members in order to make sure everyone is included.  If someone is not responding, keep sending messages in case the first one never goes through, and even try talking to your group members during class breaks or after class if you finish early.   Conversely, if you have not heard from any of your group members, try reaching out to them in order not to get left behind.  Who knows, you might even be the one who gets the project started!

Start your Work Early

The other main factor of a successful group project is starting as early as possible.

Many professors assign group projects and have students create their own groups early in the semester, to give them time to work together and juggle the rest of their classes.  However, if you are the last group to submit your work it may be tempting to wait until later in the semester to start working on it.  The biggest issue with this strategy is when exams start coming up, and everyone is spending their free time studying and completing final assignments. This makes it much harder to find a time for the entire group to come together and work on the project.

The best way to work around this problem is to meet with your group early in the semester.  If you really want to start early you can talk to your group members the day that the group is made.  At the very least you can put a face to the name of your group members, and if you’re ambitious, start coming up with general ideas for topics.  This way, everyone can begin doing their parts while their course load is still relatively light.  Who knows, the project may even be finished early and then everyone has one less assignment to worry about!

Have Fun with it!

Almost every lecture, seminar and tutorial that students will attend throughout the semester will involve the professor explaining a certain topic and having to write down as many notes as possible in order to prepare for the final exam.  While this is very informative, it can get less interesting doing the same thing week after week.

Group projects give students the opportunity to bring some excitement back into the course by letting them become experts in a certain topic and in most instances, teaching the class their findings.  It also allows for students who are part of the audience to potentially gain a better understanding of a certain topic because it was being taught in a different way than the professor would have taught it.

Some of the most memorable group presentations that I have seen while at Brock have been when a group is clearly passionate about their topic, because they got creative about how to present it, or included really interesting resources and examples.  If you are able to choose your own topic, pick something that everyone has a common interest in; or if you are assigned a topic, try to find a specific area of interest, or something you would like to continue researching.

For example, a group that was teaching the class about the evolution of technology in the everyday home talked about a “smart” litter box that connected to the owner’s phone to track their cat’s health.  Choosing such a unique and somewhat odd example kept me interested in listening to the entire presentation.  The presentation was also really helpful when I began working on my final assignment because I had learned a lot about their topic.  If everyone enjoys what they are working on, it will feel less like a tedious assignment and more like an enjoyable learning experience that the audience will immediately pick up on.

Overall, learning how to work in a group is not only an important skill for university, but it is essential to life after graduation.  In almost every career path there will be a need to work with other people, and being able to successfully work collaboratively to create quality work is incredibly valuable.  Hopefully with these tips you will be able to embrace and enjoy the opportunity to work with others and create something even better than what could have been done individually.

For other resources about group projects or other assignments check out Brock’s A-Z Learning Services

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