https://www1.villanova.edu/villanova/artsci/newsevents/20202024-03-13T16:35:46.483Z2020 NewsAdobe Experience ManagerDean Adele Lindenmeyr’s Book Recognized by National Endowment for the Humanities noemail@noemail.orgcreyher<div class="textimage parbase rightimage nostyle"> <div class="image pull-right" id="cq-textimage-jsp-/content/villanova/artsci/newsevents/2020/1203/jcr:content/pagecontent/textimage" style="max-width: 50%;"> <img src="https://www1.villanova.edu/content/villanova/artsci/newsevents/2020/1203/jcr%3acontent/pagecontent/textimage/image.img.jpg/1607019822845.jpg" alt="Dean Adele Lindenmeyr and the cover of her book &#34;Citizen Countess: Sofia Panina and the Fate of Revolutionary Russia&#34;" title="Dean Adele Lindenmeyr and the cover of her book &#34;Citizen Countess: Sofia Panina and the Fate of Revolutionary Russia&#34;" class="cq-dd-image" ><br> </div> <p><i>VILLANOVA, Pa.</i>&nbsp;– <i>Citizen Countess: Sofia Panina and the Fate of Revolutionary Russia</i>&nbsp;(University of Wisconsin Press, 2019), by Adele Lindenmeyr, PhD, Dean of Villanova University College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowships Open Book Award.</p> <p>NEH’s Fellowships Open Book Program, administered by the agency’s Division of Research Programs and Office of Digital Humanities, is a special initiative for scholarly presses to make recent NEH-supported books and monographs freely available for scholars, students and the public. The program was launched in June 2020 in recognition of the fact that the global pandemic has heightened the need for scholars to be able to conduct serious research remotely.</p> <p>Based on Dr. Lindenmeyr’s 20 years of detailed research in numerous archival collections,<i> <a href="https://www.sofiapanina.com/"x-cq-linkchecker='valid'>Citizen Countess</a> </i>is the first-ever biography of Countess Sofia Panina. Dubbed “Russia’s Jane Addams” for her passion for improving the lives of urban workers, she was the first woman in world history to hold a cabinet position and the first political prisoner to face the Bolsheviks’ terrifying revolutionary tribunal. Panina became an astute eyewitness to and passionate participant in the historical events that shaped her life.</p> <p>&nbsp;“Lindenmeyr’s biography has brought Panina’s sun out from the clouds of historical obscurity but has also shone its light on numerous other impressive figures who inhabited Panina’s world and deserve further historical study in their own right,” notes the <i>Russian Review.</i></p> <p>All Open Book Program awardees will receive $5,500 per book to support digitization, marketing, and a stipend for the author.</p> <p>“I am very grateful to both the University of Wisconsin Press and the NEH,” said Dr. Lindenmeyr. “This grant ensures that my story of one of the 20<sup>th</sup> century’s most remarkable women will reach a wider readership.”</p> <p>An expert in Russian history, Dr. Lindenmeyr is the author of&nbsp;<i>Poverty is not a Vice: Charity, Society and the State in Imperial Russia</i>&nbsp;(Princeton University Press, 1996) and coeditor of&nbsp;<i>Russia’s Home Front in War and Revolution, 1914–1922</i>&nbsp;(Slavica Publications, 2018). She has presented her research at several international conferences, including the annual Convention of the Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies, (ASEEES), the Woodrow Wilson Center’s Kennan Institute Seminar on the 1917 Russian Revolution and the University of Notre Dame Workshop on the Russian Revolution of 1917.&nbsp;She received her doctorate in History from Princeton University.</p> <p><b><i>About Villanova University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences:</i></b><i>&nbsp;Since its founding in 1842, Villanova University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has cultivated knowledge, understanding and intellectual courage for a purposeful life in a challenging&nbsp;and changing world. With more than 40 majors across the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences, it is the oldest and largest of Villanova’s colleges, serving more than 4,500 undergraduate and graduate students each year. The College is committed to a teacher-scholar model, offering outstanding undergraduate and graduate research opportunities and a rigorous core curriculum that prepares students to become critical thinkers, strong communicators and ethical leaders with a truly global perspective.</i></p> <p><b><i>About Villanova University:</i></b><i>&nbsp;Since 1842, Villanova University’s Augustinian Catholic intellectual tradition has been the cornerstone of an academic community in which students learn to think critically, act compassionately and succeed while serving others. There are more than 10,000 undergraduate, graduate and law students in the University's six colleges—the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Villanova School of Business, the College of Engineering, the M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing, the College of Professional Studies and the Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law. Ranked among the nation’s top universities, Villanova supports its students’ intellectual growth and prepares them to become ethical leaders who create positive change everywhere life takes them. For more, visit&nbsp;</i><a href="http://www.villanova.edu/"x-cq-linkchecker='valid'><b><i>www.villanova.edu</i></b></a><i>.</i></p> <div class="clear"></div> <script src="https://www1.villanova.edu/etc/designs/villanova/clientlibs/textimage.min.js"></script> </div>Adele Lindenmeyr, PhD, Dean of Villanova University College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowships Open Book Award.https://www1.villanova.edu/villanova/artsci/newsevents/2020/12032020-12-03T18:23:42.848Z2020-12-03T18:23:42.848ZSteven F. McGuire, PhD, Appointed Director of Villanova University’s Matthew J. Ryan Center noemail@noemail.orgcreyher<div class="textimage parbase rightimage nostyle"> <div class="image pull-right" id="cq-textimage-jsp-/content/villanova/artsci/newsevents/2020/1102/jcr:content/pagecontent/textimage" style="max-width: 50%;"> <img src="https://www1.villanova.edu/content/villanova/artsci/newsevents/2020/1102/jcr%3acontent/pagecontent/textimage/image.img.jpg/1604350542917.jpg" alt="Steve McGuire, PhD" title="Steve McGuire, PhD" class="cq-dd-image" ><br> </div> <p><i>Villanova, PA</i>—Steven F. McGuire, PhD, assistant teaching professor in Villanova University’s Augustine and Culture Seminar Program, has been appointed director of the Matthew J. Ryan Center for the Study of Free Institutions and the Public Good.</p> <p>Housed in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Ryan Center promotes inquiry into the principles and processes of free government and seeks to advance understanding of the responsibilities of statesmen and stateswomen and citizens of constitutional democratic societies.&nbsp;</p> <p>In conjunction with his appointment, Dr. McGuire has launched and is hosting a new Ryan Center podcast, “Political Animals,” which covers politics and political philosophy. The podcast is supported by a recent grant of $10,000 from the Jack Miller Center, a nonprofit organization which supports the scholarship, teaching and study of the central ideas and themes of American history and the broader traditions of Western Civilization.</p> <p>The Ryan Center is one of nine Centers of Excellence in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The Centers represent the College’s deep commitment to research, intellectual curiosity, academic rigor and the teacher-scholar model in disciplines across the liberal arts and sciences. The Ryan Center sponsors public lectures and major conferences and collaborates with other institutions, organizations and centers to address issues of civic responsibility. It offers a Ryan Fellows program, which supports Villanova students who are interested in thoughtful civic engagement. &nbsp;</p> <p>A scholar of intellectual history and political thought, Dr. McGuire has served as the Ryan Center’s acting director since June 2019. He first joined the Ryan Center in 2016 as the Thomas W. Smith Postdoctoral Fellow. He is co-author of <i>Concepts of Nature: Ancient and Modern</i> (Rowman &amp; Littlefield, 2016); <i>Subjectivity: Ancient and Modern </i>(Lexington Books 2016) and <i>Eric Voegelin and the Continental Tradition: Explorations in Modern Political Thought </i>(University of Missouri, 2011).</p> <p>“Dr. McGuire has contributed his many intellectual and administrative talents to the Ryan Center for the past four years. I am very pleased and excited to have a scholar of his caliber in this leadership role, and I am confident the Center will continue to thrive under his direction,” said Adele Lindenmeyr, PhD, Dean, Villanova University College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.&nbsp;</p> <p>Dr. McGuire received his PhD in Politics from the Catholic University of America.</p> <p><b><i>About Villanova University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences</i></b><i>: Since its founding in 1842, Villanova University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has cultivated knowledge, understanding and intellectual courage for a purposeful life in a challenging and changing world. With more than 40 majors across the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences, it is the oldest and largest of Villanova’s colleges, serving more than 4,500 undergraduate and graduate students each year. The College is committed to a teacher-scholar model, offering outstanding undergraduate and graduate research opportunities and a rigorous core curriculum that prepares students to become critical thinkers, strong communicators and ethical leaders with a truly global perspective.</i></p> <div class="clear"></div> </div>Steven F. McGuire, PhD, assistant teaching professor in Villanova University’s Augustine and Culture Seminar Program, has been appointed director of the Matthew J. Ryan Center for the Study of Free Institutions and the Public Good in Villanova's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.https://www1.villanova.edu/villanova/artsci/newsevents/2020/11022024-01-19T17:28:50.649Z2024-01-19T17:28:50.649ZVillanova University Awarded $377,595 NSF Grant for Mass Spectrometer to Enhance Chemistry Research and Education noemail@noemail.orgcreyher<div class="text parbase"> <p><i>Villanova, PA – </i>The National Science Foundation has awarded $377,595 to Villanova University for the acquisition of a liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometer to enhance undergraduate research and teaching in Chemistry in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.&nbsp;</p> <p>Mass spectrometry is one of the key analytical methods used to identify and characterize small quantities of chemical species in complex samples.&nbsp;An instrument with a liquid chromatograph can separate mixtures of compounds before they reach the mass spectrometer. The NSF award supports the acquisition of a quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometer equipped with a liquid chromatograph to support the research and education of Chemistry faculty and students, as well as those in Chemical and Biological Engineering.</p> <p>The new instrument will be housed in Mendel Science Center and will have an immediate impact on the work of grant principal investigator Anthony Lagalante, PhD, professor of Chemistry, and co-principal investigators Aimee Eggler, PhD, associate professor of Chemistry, Biochemistry; Jacob Elmer, PhD, associate professor and Dicianni Endowed Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering; Daniel Kraut, PhD, associate professor of Chemistry; and Kevin Minbiole, PhD, professor and chair of Chemistry, as well as other faculty members. &nbsp;<i></i></p> <p>“It’s the last ‘piece of the puzzle’ for our instrumentation suite, which now benefits from three NSF grants,” said Dr. Minbiole. “Altogether, it’s a state-of-the-art suite for molecular characterization, supporting a vibrant department with 10 active NSF grants, plus other groups on- and off-campus.”</p> <p>The mass spectrometer especially impacts developing methods of paint pigment analysis for art conservation, the testing of the effectiveness of the insecticide imidacloprid and its metabolites on the hemlock woolly adelgid, and the impact of these compounds on native pollinators. The instrument will also be used for understanding the process of protein degradation, as well as for elucidating host cell response to gene therapy.</p> <p>Villanova University offers undergraduate degrees in both Chemistry and Biochemistry, as well as a combined five-year BS/MS in Chemistry, and a MS in Chemistry.</p> <p><b><i>About Villanova University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences</i></b><i>: Since its founding in 1842, Villanova University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has cultivated knowledge, understanding and intellectual courage for a purposeful life in a challenging and changing world. With more than 40 majors across the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences, it is the oldest and largest of Villanova’s colleges, serving more than 4,500 undergraduate and graduate students each year. The College is committed to a teacher-scholar model, offering outstanding undergraduate and graduate research opportunities and a rigorous core curriculum that prepares students to become critical thinkers, strong communicators and ethical leaders with a truly global perspective.</i></p> </div>The National Science Foundation has awarded $377,595 to Villanova University for the acquisition of a liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometer to enhance undergraduate research and teaching in Chemistry in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.https://www1.villanova.edu/villanova/artsci/newsevents/2020/10142020-10-14T18:53:05.843Z2020-10-14T18:53:05.843ZMichael A. Posner, PhD, Named Co-PI on $600,000 NSF Grant to Support Statistics and Data Science Education in the USnoemail@noemail.orgcreyher<div class="textimage parbase rightimage nostyle"> <div class="image pull-right" id="cq-textimage-jsp-/content/villanova/artsci/newsevents/2020/1007/jcr:content/pagecontent/textimage" style="max-width: 50%;"> <img src="https://www1.villanova.edu/content/villanova/artsci/newsevents/2020/1007/jcr%3acontent/pagecontent/textimage/image.img.jpg/1602078778451.jpg" alt="Michael A. Posner is an associate professor of Mathematics and Statistics, and director of the Center for Statistics Education." title="Michael A. Posner is an associate professor of Mathematics and Statistics, and director of the Center for Statistics Education." class="cq-dd-image" ><br> </div> <p><i>Villanova, Pa</i>—Statistics and data science are two of the fastest growing fields in the world today. Michael A. Posner, PhD, PStat®, associate professor of Mathematics and Statistics, and director of the Center for Statistics Education in Villanova University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, has been named a co-principal investigator and director for research on a $600,000, three-year National Science Foundation grant supporting the project, “Motivational Attitudes in Statistics and Data Science Education Research” (MASDER).</p> <p>In today’s era of big data, a competitive workforce requires skills to extract information from vast quantities of data. Developing effective, evidence-based pedagogies in these areas is vital. Student attitudes are an important component in their learning, measuring and understanding of statistics and data science, and Dr. Posner’s research is crucial helping students thrive amidst the data deluge.</p> <p>This project will create instruments in both statistics and data science that are grounded in learning theory and measure the complete spectrum of teaching and learning by collecting data about students, instructors and the learning environment. This will be one of the first instruments in the budding field of data science education research.</p> <p>This project will employ nine undergraduate students to work on sampling, survey validation, reports and website design across the collaborative institutions on the grant—California State University at Monterey Bay, Winona State University, Monmouth College and Mt. Saint Vincent University (Canada). Use of the MASDER instruments will lead to better instruction and improved student attitudes towards statistics and data science as well as evidence-based training and professional development material. The instruments and datasets will be freely available for other researchers and teachers to use.</p> <p>“Our goal for the project is it will eventually impact some of the millions of students across the US who are taught statistics and/or data science annually, and lead to improved data literacy and a more competitive workforce with the skills needed to engage with data in its many forms,” Dr. Posner says.</p> <p>During his time at Villanova, Dr. Posner has helped solidify Villanova’s growing reputation as a national leader in statistics education. Villanova’s Center for Statistics Education, which he founded in 2013, has created new learning opportunities and enhanced the statistics curricula for Villanova students and provided much-needed resources for many teachers in the Greater Philadelphia area. Dr. Posner’s research, including a focus on student attitudes toward statistics, has been published in both the <i>Statistics Education Research Journal</i><span> and the </span><i>Journal for Statistics Education</i><span> (now the </span><i>Journal for Statistics and Data Science Education</i>)—the two flagship journals in the field.</p> <p>This is Dr. Posner’s third NSF grant in the past six years. In 2014 he received two NSF grants in support of his work—one in the amount of $571,000 for his project “Training a New Generation of Statistics Educators (TANGO Stat Ed),” and the second in the amount of $235,000 to create material for an introductory data science course, in collaboration with colleagues from Villanova’s Department of Computing Sciences, professor Lillian “Boots” Cassel, PhD and associate professor (now emeritus) Don Goelman, PhD.</p> <p>Dr. Posner received his doctorate in Biostatistics from Boston University.</p> <p><i><b>About Villanova University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences</b>: Since its founding in 1842, Villanova University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has cultivated knowledge, understanding and intellectual courage for a purposeful life in a challenging and changing world. With more than 40 majors across the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences, it is the oldest and largest of Villanova’s colleges, serving more than 4,500 undergraduate and graduate students each year. The College is committed to a teacher-scholar model, offering outstanding undergraduate and graduate research opportunities and a rigorous core curriculum that prepares students to become critical thinkers, strong communicators and ethical leaders with a truly global perspective.</i></p> <div class="clear"></div> </div>Michael A. Posner, PhD, PStat®, associate professor of Mathematics and Statistics, and director of the Center for Statistics Education, has been named a co-principal investigator and director for research on a $600,000, three-year National Science Foundation grant.https://www1.villanova.edu/villanova/artsci/newsevents/2020/10072020-10-12T21:32:37.377Z2020-10-12T21:32:37.377ZVillanova University to Host 45th International Patristic, Medieval, and Renaissance Conferencenoemail@noemail.orgcreyher<div class="text parbase"> <p>VILLANOVA, PA – Leading scholars from across the globe will come together virtually on October 16-18, 2020 for Villanova University’s 45<sup>th</sup> International Patristic, Medieval and Renaissance Conference. The event is hosted by the Department of Theology and Religious Studies in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. &nbsp;</p> <p>The theme of this year’s conference is “Thought and Prayer” and will feature plenary speakers Emmanuel Falque, PhD, faculté, Insitut Catholique de Paris, and Natalie Carnes, PhD, associate professor of Theology, Baylor University. Centered in philosophy and theology but extending to embrace a wide variety of disciplines in the field, the three-day virtual event will focus on the relationship—both historical and contemporary—between thought and prayer.</p> <p>The event will include panels on all aspects of the premodern Mediterranean and European cultures of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Topics will include Augustine’s <i>Confessions</i>, Faith and Life in Byzantine Christianity, Early Modern History, Theology and Culture, Women Mystics of the Beguinage and Helfta, Patristic Theology, Augustine and Prayer, the Theology of Thomas Aquinas, and The Time and Shape of Prayer and Thought.</p> <p>The conference brings together more than three dozen distinguished humanities scholars from universities all over the world, including Villanova University; Katholieke Universiteit Leuven; Duke University; the University of Notre Dame; Boston College; Princeton Theological Seminary; Brown University; Durham University; the Catholic University of America; Baylor University; Temple University and the Institut Catholique de Paris.</p> <p>The conference organizer is Kevin L. Hughes, PhD, professor of Theology. He served as Villanova’s chair of Villanova’s Department of Humanities from 2008-2016 and under his leadership the department developed an international reputation with Catholic institutions around the world. In 2018, Dr. Hughes was recognized by Pope Francis with the Cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice for contributions to Catholic Higher Education.</p> <p><b style="letter-spacing: 0.01em;"><i>About Villanova University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences</i></b><i style="letter-spacing: 0.01em;">: Since its founding in 1842, Villanova University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has cultivated knowledge, understanding and intellectual courage for a purposeful life in a challenging and changing world. With more than 40 majors across the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences, it is the oldest and largest of Villanova’s colleges, serving more than 4,500 undergraduate and graduate students each year. The College is committed to a teacher-scholar model, offering outstanding undergraduate and graduate research opportunities and a rigorous core curriculum that prepares students to become critical thinkers, strong communicators and ethical leaders with a truly global perspective.</i><br> </p> </div>Leading scholars from across the globe will come together virtually on October 16-18, 2020 for Villanova University’s 45th International Patristic, Medieval and Renaissance Conference. The event is hosted by the Department of Theology and Religious Studies in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. https://www1.villanova.edu/villanova/artsci/newsevents/2020/10052024-01-19T18:35:16.935Z2024-01-19T18:35:16.935ZVillanova Communication Professor Wins Prestigious Award for Research Program in Rhetoric and Public Address from the National Communication Associationnoemail@noemail.orgcreyher<div class="textimage parbase rightimage nostyle"> <div class="image pull-right" id="cq-textimage-jsp-/content/villanova/artsci/newsevents/2020/0915/jcr:content/pagecontent/textimage" style="max-width: 50%;"> <img src="https://www1.villanova.edu/content/villanova/artsci/newsevents/2020/0915/jcr%3acontent/pagecontent/textimage/image.img.jpg/1600185336833.jpg" alt="Raka Shome, PhD" title="Raka Shome, PhD" class="cq-dd-image" ><br> </div> <p>VILLANOVA, Pa. — Raka Shome, PhD, professor and the Harron Family Endowed Chair in Communication at Villanova University, has received the 2020 Douglas W. Ehninger Distinguished Rhetorical Scholar Award from the National Communication Association, the largest association for the study of communication. The award is given annually to honor scholars who have executed research programs in rhetorical theory, rhetorical criticism, and/or public address studies. It will be presented virtually on November 21, 2020 at the NCA 106th Annual Convention.</p> <p>As one of the first postcolonial scholars in the discipline, Dr. Shome has produced an important body of work that untangles colonial rhetorical and media practices. </p> <p>Dr. Shome’s work has offered critical and political perspectives with which to engage neocolonialism and racism in both the US and abroad. She has modeled an innovative attention to reading coloniality not only for its oppressive capacity, but also the often-overlooked opportunities created by marginalized communities to claim space and voice.  </p> <p>“The recognition Dr. Shome continues to receive for her important scholarship is well-deserved and truly inspiring,” said Adele Lindenmeyr, PhD, Dean, Villanova University College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. “We are thrilled that she has received this prestigious award.”</p> <p>Dr. Shome has published widely in the areas of media cultures, post-coloniality, transnational articulations of gender, media and nationalism, and race. She is the author of Diana and Beyond: White Femininity, National Identity, and Contemporary Media Culture (University of Illinois Press, 2014). She is currently working on a book on the Clean India Movement and Contemporary Hindu Nationalism.  </p> <p>Prior to arriving at Villanova, Dr. Shome was a faculty member at the London School of Economics, the University of Washington, Arizona State University and served as Senior Fellow at National University Singapore. She was also an invited scholar at the Advanced Institute of Cultural Studies in Sweden. She received her doctorate from the University of Georgia.</p> <p>About Villanova University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences:  Since its founding in 1842, Villanova University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has cultivated knowledge, understanding and intellectual courage for a purposeful life in a challenging and changing world. With more than 40 majors across the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences, it is the oldest and largest of Villanova’s colleges, serving more than 4,500 undergraduate and graduate students each year. The College is committed to a teacher-scholar model, offering outstanding undergraduate and graduate research opportunities and a rigorous core curriculum that prepares students to become critical thinkers, strong communicators and ethical leaders with a truly global perspective.</p> <div class="clear"></div> </div>Raka Shome, PhD, professor and the Harron Family Endowed Chair in Communication at Villanova University, has received the 2020 Douglas W. Ehninger Distinguished Rhetorical Scholar Award from the National Communication Association.https://www1.villanova.edu/villanova/artsci/newsevents/2020/09152020-09-15T15:55:36.837Z2020-09-15T15:55:36.837ZHistory Professor Judith Giesberg, PhD, Appointed Robert M. Birmingham Chair in the Humanitiesnoemail@noemail.orgcreyher<div class="textimage parbase rightimage nostyle"> <div class="image pull-right" id="cq-textimage-jsp-/content/villanova/artsci/newsevents/2020/0909/jcr:content/pagecontent/textimage" style="max-width: 50%;"> <img src="https://www1.villanova.edu/content/villanova/artsci/newsevents/2020/0909/jcr%3acontent/pagecontent/textimage/image.img.jpg/1599680345759.jpg" alt="Judith Giesberg, PhD" title="Judith Giesberg, PhD" class="cq-dd-image" ><br> </div> <p>Acclaimed historian Judith Giesberg, PhD, has been appointed the Robert M. Birmingham Chair in the Humanities in Villanova University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, in recognition of her path-breaking research, national reputation, and commitment to the humanities. “The humanities lie at the heart of a university education,” Dr. Giesberg believes; “they produce nimble, creative thinkers who are capable of informing the current, overlapping crises we are facing.”</p> <p>A professor of American History at Villanova, Dr. Giesberg focuses her research on the experiences of civilians in the Civil War-Era North, exploring how poor families survived the war and how survivors recovered and moved on, not only from the war but also from the violence and destruction of chattel slavery. Her work has attracted broad public interest, and she has been featured in national media outlets including <i>CBS Evening News</i>, <i>The Washington Post</i> and <i>NPR</i>.</p> <p>A leader and innovator in the field of digital humanities, Dr. Giesberg has undertaken projects that exemplify the importance of digital humanities for both fellow historians and the general public. Launched in 2017, her project “Last Seen: Finding Family after Slavery” is producing valuable resources for teachers, scholars, museum professionals, and genealogists by digitizing the information from &quot;Information Wanted&quot; advertisements placed in newspapers by African Americans looking for family members lost during slavery. Dr. Giesberg recently received a $100,000 grant from the National Archives and Records Administration’s Historical Publications and Records Commission to support the project.</p> <p>Dr. Giesberg’s other digital research projects include “The Memorable Days Project,” which produced a transcribed and digitized version of Emilie Davis’s Civil War diary—a rare diary kept by a free Black woman—and “A Great Thing for our People,” which tells the history of antebellum Philadelphia’s premier school for African American youth, including the early civil rights activist Octavius Catto. Fall 2020 marks the beginning of “The Rooted Project,” which will take a new look at the history of Villanova, beginning with the recovery of the story of William Moulden, an early Black benefactor of the University.</p> <p>“With an exceptional record of engaging students and community members in her research,” says Adele Lindenmeyr, PhD, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, “Dr. Giesberg exemplifies the University’s teacher-scholar model. Her appointment also underscores the central importance of the humanities at Villanova University.”</p> <p>Dr. Giesberg is the author of four books on America in the era of the Civil War: <i>Civil War Sisterhood: The United States Sanitary Commission and Women's Politics in Transition</i> (2000); <i>&quot;Army at Home&quot;: Women and the Civil War on the Northern Home Front</i> (2009); <i>Keystone State in Crisis: Pennsylvania in the Civil War</i> (2013); and <i>Sex and the Civil War: Soldiers, Pornography, and the Making of American Morality</i> (2017). In addition, Dr. Giesberg edited <i>Emilie Davis's Civil War: The Diaries of a Free Black Woman in Philadelphia, 1863–1865</i> (2014) and coedited, with Randall Miller, <i>Women and the American Civil War: North-South Counterpoints</i> (2018). Until 2019 she was the editor of <i>Journal of the Civil War Era</i>.</p> <p>In addition to her recent grant from the National Archives, Dr. Giesberg has received grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Pennsylvania Abolition Society, the American Philosophical Society and the Huntington Library. She has been a member of the Villanova faculty since 2002. She received her doctorate in History from Boston College.</p> <p><b>About the Robert M. Birmingham Endowed Chair in Humanities</b></p> <p>Robert M. Birmingham ’66 CLAS was a former chairman of the University’s Board of Trustees and served on the steering committee of Transforming Minds and Hearts: The Campaign for Villanova, which began in 2005 and concluded in 2007. To recognize the Birmingham family’s many accomplishments and significant commitment to Villanova, the Endowed Chair in Humanities was established in Robert’s name in 1998.</p> <p><b><i>About Villanova University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences</i></b><i>: Since its founding in 1842, Villanova University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has cultivated knowledge, understanding and intellectual courage for a purposeful life in a challenged and changing world. With 39 majors across the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences, it is the oldest and largest of Villanova’s colleges, serving more than 4,500 undergraduate and graduate students each year. The College is committed to a teacher-scholar model, offering outstanding undergraduate and graduate research opportunities and a rigorous core curriculum that prepares students to become critical thinkers, strong communicators and ethical leaders with a truly global perspective.</i></p> <div class="clear"></div> </div>Acclaimed historian Judith Giesberg, PhD, has been appointed the Robert M. Birmingham Chair in the Humanities in Villanova University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, in recognition of her path-breaking research, national reputation, and commitment to the humanities. https://www1.villanova.edu/villanova/artsci/newsevents/2020/09092020-09-09T19:39:05.763Z2020-09-09T19:39:05.763ZIrish Triad: Villanova’s Center for Irish Studies Partners with Monaco’s Princess Grace Irish Library and Philadelphia’s Kelly Housenoemail@noemail.orgcreyher<div class="textimage parbase rightimage nostyle"> <div class="image pull-right" id="cq-textimage-jsp-/content/villanova/artsci/newsevents/2020/0826/jcr:content/pagecontent/textimage" style="max-width: 50%;"> <img src="https://www1.villanova.edu/content/villanova/artsci/newsevents/2020/0826/jcr%3acontent/pagecontent/textimage/image.img.jpg/1598474331381.jpg" alt="A photo of Princess Grace of Monaco sitting in her library in the Kelly House in East Falls, Philadelphia." title="A photo of Princess Grace of Monaco sitting in her library in the Kelly House in East Falls, Philadelphia." class="cq-dd-image" ><br> <small>© Howell Conant. Collection: Monaco’s Palace.</small> </div> <p><i>VILLANOVA, PA</i> – The late Princess Grace of Monaco took great pride in her Irish heritage and in her hometown of Philadelphia. She was an avid collector of Irish literature—including rare volumes of James Joyce, Samuel Becket, Flannery O’Brien, John M. Synge and George Bernard Shaw. In 1984, her collection formally became the Princess Grace Irish Library of Monaco, under the aegis of Fondation Princesse Grace. Now, Villanova University’s Center for Irish Studies is helping to carry on the princess’ love of Irish literature and culture by forming an academic partnership with the Princess Grace Irish Library and the Kelly House in Philadelphia’s East Falls neighborhood. This partnership was made possible through support from the Connelly Foundation.</p> <p>In the spirit of Princess Grace’s collaborative nature and her dreams of a collection that could be enjoyed and studied by all, the Princess Grace Irish Library—founded by her widower, Rainier III, Prince of Monaco—is a place of vital scholarship. It was founded not only to house her collection of 9,000 books but also to create a place for new scholarship in Irish Letters with residencies, lecture series and a children’s room, according to the Princess’ niece, Susan Kelly vonMedicus, who teaches in the Center for Irish Studies and the Department of Theatre and Studio Art at Villanova. The library also houses Princess Grace’s vast collection of Irish American music scores dating from 1840 to 1970.</p> <p>“It is one of the Irish literary world’s treasures, one not known well enough,” notes Joseph Lennon, PhD, the Emily C. Riley Director of the Center for Irish Studies and associate dean of International and Interdisciplinary Initiatives at Villanova.</p> <p>Villanova’s Center for Irish Studies will host a symposium at the Princess Grace Irish Library focused on Ireland and the arts. The first symposium will take place in Oct. 2021, with Irish scholars from around the world expected to attend. Dr. Lennon and vonMedicus will serve as co-directors of the symposium. The two-day symposium will examine the history, impact and support of the arts in Ireland and the diaspora. The symposium will include keynote addresses, discussions and panels with ten scholars from a range of disciplines from Ireland and the United States.</p> <p>The Library’s Board of Trustees writes: “To be asked to join forces with the highly-distinguished Villanova Center for Irish Studies and the Kelly House is such an honor for the Princess Grace Irish Library—the perfect opportunity to develop transatlantic activities. We are truly grateful for this new opening and look forward to exciting new projects.&quot;<br /> </p> <p>That same spirit of pride in Irish literature and culture is found at the Kelly House in the East Falls section of Philadelphia. Built by family patriarch John B. Kelly, a three-time Olympic gold medalist and founder of the family’s bricklaying enterprise, it is the home where Princess Grace and her siblings—including Philadelphia civic leader John B. Kelly Jr., for whom Philadelphia’s Kelly Drive is named—grew up. Now, thanks to support from her son Albert II, Prince of Monaco, it is a gathering place for Irish poets and musicians who share their work with enchanted audiences.</p> <p>Villanova will also sponsor annual academic events at the Kelly House as part of the new partnership and, in fact, has already hosted several programs there. In April 2018, the University hosted an Opening Celebration for the Kelly House, with poetry readings by two of Villanova’s Heimbold Chairs in Irish Studies, Vona Groarke and Colette Bryce.</p> <p>“It is especially apt and touching, as the only performing that Princess Grace undertook after her marriage was poetry reading,” said vonMedicus.</p> <p>Over the past year, the University sponsored two other events at the Kelly House, including “Mick Maloney and Friends: Princess Grace Kelly’s Irish Sheet Music” and “Memoirs and Irish-America Roundtable and Readings.”<br /> </p> <p><b><i>About Villanova University’s Center for Irish Studies: </i></b><i>The Center for Irish Studies at Villanova University has been a leader for four decades in interdisciplinary teaching and scholarship on Ireland in a global framework. The Center connects students to local community organizations while also preparing them to become citizens equipped to take on the world’s most pressing challenges. Through liberal arts-focused academics, multi-disciplinary scholarship and key partnerships, the Center provides students with research, study abroad, and employment opportunities.</i><br /> </p> <p><b><i>About Villanova University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences:  </i></b><i>Since its founding in 1842, Villanova University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has cultivated knowledge, understanding and intellectual courage for a purposeful life in a challenging and changing world. With more than 40 majors across the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences, it is the oldest and largest of Villanova’s colleges, serving more than 4,500 undergraduate and graduate students each year. The College is committed to a teacher-scholar model, offering outstanding undergraduate and graduate research opportunities and a rigorous core curriculum that prepares students to become critical thinkers, strong communicators and ethical leaders with a truly global perspective.</i></p> <p><b><i>About Villanova University: </i></b><i>Since 1842, Villanova University’s Augustinian Catholic intellectual tradition has been the cornerstone of an academic community in which students learn to think critically, act compassionately and succeed while serving others. There are more than 10,000 undergraduate, graduate and law students in the University's six colleges—the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Villanova School of Business, the College of Engineering, the M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing, the College of Professional Studies and the Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law. Ranked among the nation’s top universities, Villanova supports its students’ intellectual growth and prepares them to become ethical leaders who create positive change everywhere life takes them. For more, visit </i><a href="http://www.villanova.edu"x-cq-linkchecker='valid'>www.villanova.edu</a><i>.</i><b><i></i></b></p> <div class="clear"></div> </div>Villanova University’s Center for Irish Studies is helping to carry on the late Princess Grace of Monaco's love of Irish literature and culture by forming an academic partnership with the Princess Grace Irish Library and the Kelly House in Philadelphia’s East Falls neighborhood. https://www1.villanova.edu/villanova/artsci/newsevents/2020/08262020-08-26T20:38:51.385Z2020-08-26T20:38:51.385ZVillanova Theology Professor’s New Book Illuminates the Power of Mimetic Theorynoemail@noemail.orgcreyher<div class="textimage parbase rightimage nostyle"> <div class="image pull-right" id="cq-textimage-jsp-/content/villanova/artsci/newsevents/2020/0820/jcr:content/pagecontent/textimage" style="max-width: 50%;"> <img src="https://www1.villanova.edu/content/villanova/artsci/newsevents/2020/0820/jcr%3acontent/pagecontent/textimage/image.img.jpg/1597938573731.jpg" alt="John P. Edwards, pictured left, and the cover of his new book, pictured right." title="John P. Edwards, pictured left, and the cover of his new book, pictured right." class="cq-dd-image" ><br> </div> <p><i>VILLANOVA, Pa</i>. <i>– </i>Often present in discussions regarding human behavior, mimetic theory uses anthropological, sociological and neurological evidence to demonstrate the extent to which human behavior is shaped by imitation. Conceptualized by social theorist René Girard, mimetic theory illuminates the mechanism of scapegoating within human history and helps us to understand the violence depicted in the bible, particularly at the cross.</p> <p>In his new book,&nbsp;<i>James Alison and a Girardian Theology: Conversion, Theological Reflection, and Induction </i>(T&amp;T Clark, 2020), John P. Edwards ’02 CLAS, ’06 MA, PhD, director of the Center for Pastoral Ministry Education and affiliate faculty member in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, uses mimetic theory to understand the process of conversion, the nature of theological reflection, and the inherent nonviolence of Christian faith.</p> <p>James Alison, PhD, is a Catholic theologian, priest and author known for first making Girard’s work accessible to the wider public. Dr. Edwards extrapolates on Father Alison’s work and demonstrates the reciprocal relationship between conversion and theological reflection. By doing so, he makes more visible the inherently nonviolent character of the God that Jesus called ‘Father’ and of authentic Christian faith.</p> <p>“John P. Edwards has written a superb treatment of James Alison's and René Girard's contributions to the terrain of fundamental theology” says reviewer Julia Robinson Moore, PhD, associate professor of Theology, University of North Carolina-Charlotte. “His analysis is brilliant, thought-provoking, and a must-read for proficients and novices who seek to understand the intricate connections between mimetic theory and Christian theology.”&nbsp;</p> <p>Dr. Edwards’ book is the first monograph on Alison’s work and it includes a foreword by Alison. He directs Campus Ministry’s graduate residential ministry program and his areas of teaching and research include the theology of ministry, practical and contextual theologies, theology and mimetic theory, and theological anthropology. He is a board member of Theology &amp; Peace. Dr. Edwards received his bachelors and masters from Villanova University and his doctorate from Boston College.</p> <p><b><i>About Villanova University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences</i></b><i>: Since its founding in 1842, Villanova University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has cultivated knowledge, understanding and intellectual courage for a purposeful life in a challenging and changing world. With more than 40 majors across the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences, it is the oldest and largest of Villanova’s colleges, serving more than 4,500 undergraduate and graduate students each year. The College is committed to a teacher-scholar model, offering outstanding undergraduate and graduate research opportunities and a rigorous core curriculum that prepares students to become critical thinkers, strong communicators and ethical leaders with a truly global perspective.</i></p> <div class="clear"></div> </div>In his new book, John P. Edwards, director of the Center for Pastoral Ministry Education and affiliate faculty member in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies, uses mimetic theory to understand the process of conversion, the nature of theological reflection, and the inherent nonviolence of Christian faith.https://www1.villanova.edu/villanova/artsci/newsevents/2020/08202020-08-20T15:49:33.735Z2020-08-20T15:49:33.735ZDisruptive or Productive: New Book Explores User Comments Impact on Digital Journalismnoemail@noemail.orgcreyher<div class="text parbase"> <p><span class="introduction">Communication professor Thomas Ksiazek, PhD, addresses this timely debate in his new book<i> User Comments and Moderation in Digital Journalism: Disruptive Engagement<b></b></i></span></p> </div> <div class="textimage parbase rightimage nostyle"> <div class="image pull-right" id="cq-textimage-jsp-/content/villanova/artsci/newsevents/2020/0819/jcr:content/pagecontent/textimage" style="max-width: 50%;"> <img src="https://www1.villanova.edu/content/villanova/artsci/newsevents/2020/0819/jcr%3acontent/pagecontent/textimage/image.img.jpg/1597844901752.jpg" alt="From left, Thomas Ksiazek, PhD, and the cover of his new book, &#34;User Comments and Moderation in Digital Journalism: Disruptive Engagement.&#34;" title="From left, Thomas Ksiazek, PhD, and the cover of his new book, &#34;User Comments and Moderation in Digital Journalism: Disruptive Engagement.&#34;" class="cq-dd-image" ><br> </div> <p>In a 24-hour news cycle with rapidly evolving technologies, there’s no denying the disruptions happening in the field of journalism—including those that user comments have had and continue to have on digital journalism. Thomas Ksiazek, PhD, associate professor of Communications in Villanova University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, explores this in his new book,<i> User Comments and Moderation in Digital Journalism: Disruptive Engagement </i>(Routledge, 2020).</p> <p>User comments and moderation are described as “disruptive” because they have disturbed the previously accepted means of creating value in news and often invoke a reactionary response. Since they can interfere with news delivery, a growing number of news organizations have abandoned commenting features altogether. At the same time, news organizations’ moderation practices can be disruptive to free speech in user discussions. Dr. Ksiazek asserts comment features must be reexamined to achieve the desired level of productivity for which they were originally designed.</p> <p>In his book, Dr. Ksiazek proposes an Integrated Comment Moderation Model to mitigate disruptions through collaborative moderation—combining user-driven moderation support, organizational policies and procedures, and innovative automated solutions.</p> <p>“By employing more complex and multifaceted moderation, news organizations can work to reduce incivility and encourage more productive commentary,” says Dr. Ksiazek. “Integrating users as partners can work to break down the power structures that are imposed on users through more traditional organizationally driven moderation techniques, and in doing so, an integrated model offers hope for realizing the ideals of truly participatory journalism models.&quot;</p> <p>In the book, he evaluates how comment sections could provide an outlet for engagement in a digital, public sphere by conceptualizing virtual engagement as a manifestation of public deliberation—thus supporting the notion that organizations could create room for productive conversation in digital journalism.</p> <p>Dr. Ksiazek holds a doctorate from Northwestern University. His latest research includes new forms of user engagement with the news, implications of audience behavior for society and the field of journalism, patterns of cross-platform media use, and the application of network analysis on the consumption and production of media.</p> <p><b><i>About Villanova University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences</i></b><i>: Since its founding in 1842, Villanova University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has cultivated knowledge, understanding and intellectual courage for a purposeful life in a challenging and changing world. With more than 40 majors across the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences, it is the oldest and largest of Villanova’s colleges, serving more than 4,500 undergraduate and graduate students each year. The College is committed to a teacher-scholar model, offering outstanding undergraduate and graduate research opportunities and a rigorous core curriculum that prepares students to become critical thinkers, strong communicators and ethical leaders with a truly global perspective.</i></p> <div class="clear"></div> </div>Communication professor Thomas Ksiazek, PhD, addresses this timely debate in his new book User Comments and Moderation in Digital Journalism: Disruptive Engagementhttps://www1.villanova.edu/villanova/artsci/newsevents/2020/08192020-08-19T13:48:21.756Z2020-08-19T13:48:21.756Z