by Whitney Hale

University of Kentucky Opera Theatre presents "Brundibár," a children's opera staged in a concentration camp during the Holocaust. The opera performed for children by children will also feature an appearance by one of the production's original performers, Holocaust survivor Ela Weissberger. "Brundibár" will take the stage March 11 and 13, at the Singletary Center for the Arts Concert Hall.

Performed during the Holocaust at Theresienstadt Camp in Terezín, "Brundibár" was used by the Nazi regime as a propaganda tool to show the world how "happy and productive" the Jewish detainees were at the camps. The piece, was staged more than 50 times at the camp between 1943 and 1944, including

Whitney Turientine

International Studies, Sophomore 

by Joy Gonsalves

International Studies is as promising a program as sophomore Whitney Turientine, is a young scholar. “I always wanted to be an International Studies major,” Turientine began. “I’ve taken Spanish since second grade. I was the one in our family who was always watching travel shows on TV, but I’ve had questions about the world, politically, that no one’s been able to answer.”

Not surprisingly, soon after hearing the International Studies program had been added to the College of Arts & Sciences, Whitney decided to change her Political Science major to a minor and keep Spanish as a second major. The newness of the IS program didn’t deter her: “It’s growing and flexible,” she said, citing its strong recruitment potential as a major broad in scope. She also looks

by Saraya Brewer
photos by Lee Thomas

Leave it to a graduate student in film studies to hammer out aspects of horror from one of America’s most beloved family Christmas classics. “It’s Christmas film noir,” said Colleen Glenn about "It’s a Wonderful Life." “It’s an extremely dark film.” "It’s a Wonderful Life" is just one of the handful of Jimmy Stewart films that Glenn, a University of Kentucky English Ph.D. candidate with a specialty in film studies, has watched (and re-watched, analyzed, paused, rewound, and watched again) for her dissertation, in which Stewart and other great actors of the mid 20th century –– including Paul Newman, Frank Sinatra, and John Wayne –– will each get their own chapter.

“I grew up watching old classic movies on PBS with my family, so I really have my parents to thank for my original interest in film,” Glenn said. “I

Linguistics Undergraduate Student

Jessica Holman

"The Place Where Language and People Cross"

by Jessica Fisher
photos by Shaun Ring

If you think that linguistics is just about learning a bunch of different languages then, frankly, you have been misinformed. But don’t take it to heart—most people share this common misconception. Luckily, one of UK’s finest linguistics students, Jessica Holman, is able to clarify what the major really entails and why she is so proud of her eastern Kentucky roots, accent and all.

Born in London, Ky., right in the foothills of Appalachia, Holman developed a love for language at an early age—her native Appalachian English, unique in its own right. After all there is Standard English, which Holman said, “we all need to learn so everyone can understand each other,” but which she also

by Rebekah Tilley
photos by Richie Wireman

For many of us, our freshman year of college is the first transitional step into experiencing the world. As a freshly minted high school graduate, doctoral student Leah Bayens instead spent that first year in the woods reading.

“There is something about that experience that forged in me what was already a deep-seated understanding of the importance of those kinds of rural communities, the importance of not developing everything into suburban enclaves,” explained the Louisville native. “It was a foundational experience for me because of that. It was also my first real foray into understanding farm culture.”

Since that time Bayens has grafted herself into the land, the culture and the nature that surrounds it all. It permeates her graduate research, how she lives her life, and who she is at her core.

University of Kentucky Hispanic Studies professor Susan Larson specializes in 20th century Spanish literature and film. She's currently engaged in research on questions of modernity and the social and cultural implications of urban planning. 
 
"I'm interested in how discourses of science and technology work their way into film, literature and culture in general," she said.
 
Larson spends a great deal of her time within this sub-discipline of a sub-discipline, as is the case for many university professors.
 
Participation in conferences and symposia is very important to Larson's research. But current budget restraints are keeping Larson and her colleagues throughout campus from taking advantage of these much-needed travel

Inside the Spring 2011 issue of the Wildcat Wrap:

UK Anthropology professor Scott R Hutson was recently awarded two grants to continue his research in the state of Yucatan in Mexico: the Maya Area Cultural Heritage Initiative (MACHI) Grant and a National Science Fund (NSF) Grant, both supporting his work with the Ucí-Cansahcab Regional Integration Project.

“This project has broader impact than what can be learned about the ancient Maya,” Hutson said. His collaborative work with professors from George Mason University and Brigham Young University is focused on both archaeological discovery and promoting the preservation of cultural heritage.

The MACHI funding – the result of

Now more than ever, in the context of a globalizing world and internationalizing curriculum, place matters. And the University of Kentucky has always responded to the need to serve Kentucky through analyzing the connections between the local and the global. 
 
"Place Matters," a four-part lecture series exploring the importance of place in research, pedagogy and citizenship will continue the global conversation, according to UK sociology professor and series organizer Dwight Billings.
 
"We aim to focus on how place matters in Appalachian Studies, but also, how our concerns — the role of place in scholarship, teaching and citizenship — are shared across many disciplines and programs at UK," Billings explained. "While the theme of connectivity can be found throughout 30 years of

The ripening and ever-changing democratic movements in the Middle East have taken the world by storm with their speed and resilience. 
 
This rapid change in areas such as Egypt and Tunisia have raised questions throughout the University of Kentucky campus: Who are the protesters and what are their grievances? Why are different segments of the population coming together? What are the economic impacts on individuals and the society?

UK faculty, staff, students and community members will come together to discuss these issues, in a thought-provoking forum, entitled "Democracy in the Middle East: Focus on Egypt and Tunisia" from 4-5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 16 in the Student Center Theater on UK's campus.
 
A panel of faculty and students

Among the six University of Kentucky professors receiving the 2011Great Teacher Award for their excellence in the classroom by the UK Alumni Association is Assistant Professor of Anthropology Erin Koch.

>>Watch the video highlighting all the honorees

Started in 1961, the Great Teacher Award is the oldest continuous award that recognizes teaching at UK. The nominations are made by students. Selection of the award recipients is made by the UK Alumni Association Great Teacher Award Committee, in cooperation with the student organization Omicron Delta Kappa. Great Teacher Award recipients each receive a citation

Last week, the UK Army ROTC program hosted its 2nd Annual Mentorship Breakfast. The inaugural event celebrated the launch of a new mentorship program within the battalion. The purpose of the program is threefold: ensure academic success for all cadets, develop the future leaders of the United States Army, and improve retention within the corps of cadets. With over 150 in attendance, the breakfast provides a unique opportunity to reach out to UK faculty, community leaders, ROTC alumni, and UK students in order to share leadership experiences, encourage professional discussion, and foster a commitment to life-long learning. This year we were fortunate to have Mr. Bob McDonald, President and CEO of Procter and Gamble, as our keynote speaker. Mr. McDonald delivered a challenging presentation entitled “Values-Based Leadership,”

The health issues found in South Africa and Appalachia are as distinctive as each region's history, culture and tradition. But according to City University of New York (CUNY) anthropology professor Ida Susser, public health is universal -- affecting the lives of millions daily.

Susser and other will participate in a symposium examining public health issues from both areas.  The University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences "Kentucky and South Africa: Different Lands, Common Ground" initiative will lead the Commonwealth in a global conversation Friday, Jan. 28, with

by Stephanie Lang

On the evening news, it is not uncommon to see polls charting public opinion on a variety of topics. The number of polls tends to spike around presidential elections, especially with topics surrounding approval ratings, national issues, and the economy. The degree of voter anger, angst, or contentment prominently posted in the polls is often a barometer of the larger political climate. And as you can imagine, those polls and resulting nightly news conversations can spark heated, informative, and oddly entertaining debates on the state of national politics.

But what trends can be found in poll numbers gathered in an increasingly media-saturated world? How do these poll numbers and nightly news conversations, for example, impact the way voters respond in presidential elections and how do voters react to pressing issues such as

by Erin Holaday

University of Kentucky history professor Jeremy Popkin is passionate when it comes to educating his students about Haiti. This same fervor can be found throughout the pages of his latest work, according to author Brendan Simms' recent Wall Street Journal review of Popkin's book.

Popkin's "You Are All Free," released by Cambridge University Press in September, provides a gripping historical account of the Haitian Revolution and the abolition of slavery in the now disaster-torn country.
 
Popkin, a renowned French Revolution scholar, tells a dramatic story, employing a wide range of sources, affording him the opportunity to capture Haiti's complex history with unexpected details and

by Erin Holaday

A pioneer of women's history and feminist scholar will discuss the state's involvement in the constructs of love this week at the University of Kentucky.
 
Nancy Cott, Jonathan Trumbull Professor of American History and Director of the Schlesinger Library and Charles Warren Center at Harvard University, will present, "Marriage on Trial," a talk based on her renowned book, "Public Vows: A History of Marriage and the Nation" at 4 p.m. on Dec. 2 in the President's Room of the Singletary Center for the Arts.
 
Cott's talk, part of the Department of Gender and Women’s Studies 2010-2011 Speaker Series on "States of Love," will explore some of the legal questions surrounding same sex marriage that

Ph.D. Student By Rebekah Tilley
Photos by Mark Cornelison

Culture expresses itself in a myriad of familiar ways – our music, fashion, entertainment, literature. Perhaps less noted is the way that culture impacts our bodies including the very manner we are brought into the world and the food that nourishes us during gout first year of life.

As a graduate student in geography, Rebecca Lane turned to social theory to provide a more in depth understanding of the theoretical structures within her own discipline that inform her research on medical and feminist geography while benefitting from the perspectives of other graduate students and instructors outside her own discipline.

“I needed this type of knowledge,” said Lane when asked how social theory impacted her research portfolio. “Social theory gives you frameworks with

Ph.D. Student

By Rebekah Tilley
Photos by Richie Wireman

Who’s afraid of a little theory? Unfortunately, many of us would rather clean our bathrooms than painfully work through the writings of Derrida and Foucault. Geography doctoral candidate and social theory student James Looney found that for many graduate students, the UK Social Theory Program takes the edge off gaining a solid theoretical foundation in their own academic disciplines.

“Theoretical training tends to be two things in many graduate programs – woefully lacking and threatening,” said Looney. “The Social Theory Program allows a place where one can access and learn about theory. It takes care of the unfamiliarity and the inaccessibility of theory.”

Looney is a cultural and social geographer who focuses his research on cultural landscapes, and much of his work is developed

PhD Student

By Leah Bayens
Photos by Mark Cornelison

Philosophy doctoral candidate Christa Hodapp is sorting out an issue most people superficially acknowledge before returning to business as usual: humans are animals.

“The traditional, neo-Lockean claim is that you’re fundamentally a person, which is a rational, thinking being, and you happen to be related to an animal in some way,” Hodapp explained. Thus, many people imagine that personhood separates us from the likes of dogs, horses, and ants. In the process, they also tend to place humans on a higher rung than our nonhuman counterparts.

Hodapp, however, refuses to split nature and mind in this way. Instead, her dissertation, Personal Identity and the Biological View of Human Persistence, foregrounds the notion that human beings are not simply related

Cadet Spotlight by Jason Kazee

Keep moving forward. Words such as these can get you through daily challenges, lifelong struggles, or even just around the next corner. Though these words are not found in the United States Army Code of Conduct, soldiers and civilians alike can rely on them. Cadet Battalion Commander Brennan Parker depends on them to carry him through whatever may lie ahead.

Parker recently took part in a 12-cadet relay that carried the game ball from Joker Phillips’ hands in Commonwealth Stadium and delivered it to a team from the University of Louisville’s ROTC program. The team ran 46-miles to a town located mid-way between Lexington and Louisville, Kentucky. The cadets from the University of Louisville took over from mile 46 and delivered the football to Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium. Capped off by Brennan delivering the ball