University of Richmond students present research projects on modern day slavery, producing opera, the ocean's impact and more
Each spring, students in the University of Richmond’s Sophomore Scholars in Residence program present their research and group projects to the community. These students are part of a year-long living-learning community that combines traditional academic coursework with community based learning activities. The students also live in the same residence hall.
2017-18 presentations include:
Producing Opera: Staging the Human Condition
April 6, 6 p.m., North Court, Perkinson Recital Hall
Details: Students studied the history of opera and what it takes to design and produce a piece of musical theatre. Students will perform a 30-minute opera they produced.
Faculty: Jennifer Cable, professor of music, and Johann Stegmeir, associate professor of theatre. Cable is an expert in Baroque vocal music and 18th century English song. Stegmeir is an expert in costume and makeup design.
A Life Worth Living
April 12, 4:30 p.m., Westhampton Deanery Living Room.
Details: Students studied how fictional characters can cause a reader to reflect on their own lives. Students will present a public reading of “Uncle Vanya,” followed by a Q & A.
Faculty: Joe Troncale, associate professor of Russian. Troncale is an expert in Russian literature and art.
The System
April 18, 4:30 p.m., Tyler Haynes Commons, Room 305.
Details: This course focused on analyzing how systems, such as the economic market or the media, shape and influence human lives.
Faculty: Glyn Hughes, director, Common Ground. Hughes is an expert on issues of racial justice, sexuality and gender.
Out of the Sea
April 19, 6 p.m., Tyler Haynes Commons, Room 321.
Details: Students studied how oceans have fundamentally shaped human life. Final projects focus on how the ocean effects humans today and may in the future.
Faculty: Biology professors April Hill and Malcolm Hill. April Hill is an expert in evolutionary biology and genome mapping. Malcolm Hill is an expert in evolutionary ecology.
Longevity and Happiness
April 20, 1 p.m., Jepson Alumni Center, Robins Pavilion
Details: This class researched factors that impact longevity and why some countries have unusually high numbers of centenarians, people who live to be 100 or more.
Faculty: Jane Berry, professor of psychology. Berry is an expert on cognitive aging.
Arts in Action: Arts, Philanthropy and Community
April 20, 1:30 p.m., Weinstein Hall, Brown-Alley Room.
Details: Students studied nonprofit arts management and developed grant proposals for a community arts project.
Faculty: Shannon Hooker, assistant director, Modlin Center for the Arts.
Human Rights and Modern-Day Slavery
April 24, 6 p.m., Jepson Hall, Jepson Faculty Lounge.
Details: This class studied various ways that slavery still exists today. Students will present their research on specific types of modern slavery.
Faculty: Monti Datta, associate professor of political science. Datta is an expert in human trafficking.
Crusades and Holy Wars: Then and Now
April 26, 6 p.m., Westhampton Deanery Living Room.
Details: Students studied the reasons for religious warfare and researched the religious importance of locations.
Faculty: Martin Sulzer-Reichel, director, Arabic Language program. Sulzer-Reichel is an expert in Arabic language and culture.
The Great War, Modernity and Memory
April 26, 8 p.m., Westhampton Deanery Living Room.
Details: This course examined how World War I changed how Americans fundamentally understood themselves and the world. Students researched the lives of individuals who either fought in the war or contributed in other ways.
Faculty: Eric Yellin, associate professor of history and American Studies. Yellin is an expert in US political and social history.
These events are free and open to the public.
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