Tag: Halmos College of Arts and Sciences

Halmos Faculty Member Publishes Chapter on Game ‘Monsters’

Melissa Bianchi, Ph.D.

Melissa Bianchi, Ph.D., associate professor in NSU’s Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts, has written “A Field Guide to Monsters: Practices of Wildlife Watching in Video Games,” a chapter appearing in the recently published “Ecogames: Playful Perspectives on the Climate Crisis.”

The collection from Amsterdam University Press brings together established and emerging voices in the scholarly conversation about how video games increasingly participate in the production, circulation and interrogation of environmental assumptions.

In her chapter, Bianchi connects video game analyses to the beliefs and practices that determine how we reproduce animals in visual media. Touching on a variety of games, including “New Pokémon Snap,” “Monster Hunter Rise” and “NUTS,” the chapter demonstrates how gameplay can exemplify troubling aspects of the human-animal divide and support critical perspectives on human ecological agency and responsibility toward animals.

“I am honored to be a part of this valuable resource for scholars, designers and players who see the critical potential of games and are acutely aware of pressing environmental challenges,” Bianchi said.

Learn more about the M.A. in Composition, Rhetoric and Digital Media here.

Posted 02/04/24

WCC Faculty Coordinators Featured on Podcast

From left, Kelly Concannon, Ph.D., and Janine Morris, Ph.D.

Janine Morris, Ph.D., and Kelly Concannon, Ph.D., talked about their collaboration on “Emotions and Affect in Writing Centers” on WLN: A Writing Center Journal’s Slow Agency podcast. Their penchant for collaboration also has been discussed on NSU’s Writer’s Edge podcast.

“Emotions and Affect in Writing Centers” contains 15 chapters that explore how emotions affect function in writing centers from the perspectives of writing center tutors and administrators. The collection has interest for anyone working with students in supportive roles, including administrators and staff in tutoring centers, writing centers and academic support services. The collection was nominated for a 2023 Conference on College Composition and Communication Outstanding Book Award.

Morris and Concannon co-edited “Emotions and Affect in Writing Centers,” published by Parlor Press. Morris is an associate professor and Concannon is a professor in the Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts in the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences. The two also are faculty coordinators at the NSU Writing and Communication Center (WCC).

“The editorial process was incredibly collaborative,” Morris said. “It was exciting to see the collection grow from the work we do here in the WCC.”

‘Emotions and Affect in Writing Centers’ is available via Parlor Press at https://parlorpress.com/products/emotions-and-affect-in-writing-centers

To learn more about the WCC, visit https://www.nova.edu/wcc/

Posted 02/04/24

‘Identity’ Exhibit Focuses on Graphic Design, Studio Art

The Halmos College of Arts and Science’s Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts and the B.A. in Art + Design program present “Identity,” its 13th exhibit highlighting work by senior Art + Design majors who focus on graphic design and studio art.

The opening reception will be Thursday, Feb. 15, at 5 p.m. in Gallery 217 on the second floor of the Don Taft University Center.

The free exhibit will be on display through March 15. Gallery hours are Tuesday and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

For more information, contact Gallery manager L’nique Noel at ln507@nova.edu

Posted 02/04/24

Theatre Major to Perform in Comedy at Broward Center

Spencer Carlisle on stage

B.A. in Theatre major Spencer Carlisle is taking his talents to the Broward Center for the Performing Arts with his upcoming role as Johnny Nunzio in the off-Broadway comedy “Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding,” which debuts on Valentine’s Day.

A theater major in the Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts in the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences, Carlisle has appeared in productions such as “Maltese Falcon,” “The Mousetrap,” “And the World Goes Round” and “Zombie Prom.”

“Spencer is an incredibly dedicated student who works hard to bring his best to whatever he takes on,” said Bill J. Adams, D.M.A., professor and program director for the B.A. in Music and B.A. in Theatre programs. “It is always a pleasure to work with him.”

“Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding” is New York’s longest-running off-Broadway comedy and runs Feb. 14-25 at the Broward Center’s Abdo New River Room. The audience can participate in Tony and Tina’s wedding with a full-course Italian dinner and dancing. View showtimes and ticket prices here.

Learn more about the B.A. in Theatre program here.

Posted 02/04/24

Hip Hop Panel and Workshop Planned for Feb. 7

The B.A. in Dance and B.A. in Art + Design programs in the Halmos College of Arts and Science’s Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts present “Hip Hop Revolution,” a panel discussion and dance workshop on 50 years of hip hop and its influence on art and culture on Wednesday, Feb. 7, at the Performance Theatre in the Don Taft University Center.

Featured panelists include dancer/choreographer and Associate Professor Elana Lanczi, visual artist and Associate Professor Kandy Lopez-Moreno and multidisciplinary artist/dancer and Adjunct Professor Alonzo Octavias Williams.

There will be light refreshments from 5 to 5:30 p.m., with the panel discussion following and a hip hop dance workshop from 6:15 to 7 p.m.

For more information, contact Elana Lanczi at lanczi@nova.edu

Posted 02/04/24

Halmos Faculty Present at ACR Conference

McKay

Judith McKay, J.D., Ph.D., faculty in the Department of Conflict Resolution Studies (DCRS) and Charles Zelden, Ph.D., faculty in the Department of Humanities and Politics (DHP), presented at the 2023 Association for Conflict Resolution Annual Conference held in Arlington, Virginia and virtually.

The theme of the conference was “Conflict Resolution: Collaboration the New Normal?” Their presentation was titled, Dialogues in Local Democracy: Creating Connected and Socially Just Communities.  Zelden and McKay are the co-directors of the Council for Dialogue and Democracy housed in HCAS. The Dialogues in Local Democracy project was funded by Florida Humanities and NSU.

Zelden

McKay’s areas of teaching and research interests include strategic community planning, conflict coaching, violence prevention and intervention, and organizational conflict.

Zelen’s areas of teaching and research interests include American legal history, civil rights, voting rights, election law, and constitutional history.

 

Posted 01/14/24

Halmos Faculty’s Book Assesses Seafloor Biodiversity

Jose V. Lopez, Ph.D.

Assessing the biological diversity that lives on the seabed across more than 70% of the planet’s surface, also known as the “benthos,” provides a challenge and task that will endure well into the future. Jose V. Lopez, Ph.D., and professor in the Department of Biological Sciences in the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences and Guy Harvey Oceanographic Research Center (HCAS) decided to take up the call by writing a comprehensive reference book called Assessments and Conservation of Biological Diversity from Coral Reefs to the Deep Sea: Uncovering Buried Treasures and the Value of the Benthos(Academic Press Publishers). This decision was based on his past collective research experiences and resulted in the publication 2023.

The benthos encompasses all the organisms at the seafloor. Although daunting, Lopez was assisted by the realization that many communities of benthic organisms remain a black box.  Many benthic descriptions and conservation activities understandably occur and concentrate near coastlines, which allow easier and less expensive access for researchers.  For example, many studies appropriately focus on shallow coral reefs because they are considered to hold the lion’s share of biodiversity or species (estimated at ~25%) on the planet.  This may be true, and many researchers and decades of study have yielded fascinating facts about reefs, such as the phenomenon of singled celled green algae and stony coral hosts living in an obligatesymbiosis (distinct organisms united to compose a whole organism) as the crucial basis for the ecosystem’s structure.  Nonetheless, the very deep ocean benthic zones that lie below 800 to 4000m (bathyal zone) and 4000 to 6500 (abyssal zone), represent the largest surface habitats on the planet and have been understudied.  These zones have extreme living conditions (4oC average temperature and high hydrostatic pressures). However, deep sea expeditions require much planning and can be expensive.  In the book, Lopez describes how more often remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) or sonar must be applied to obtain useful views of the deep seabed.

These understudied seabed habitats will undoubtedly yield many biological surprises –   what may live there and how they survive. The new Assessments… book connects various topics (genomics and cryptic taxa) related to biodiversity via data, review articles, anecdotes, public policy and even art.  For example, besides sporadic mining operations, or the search for sunken treasures (or wrecks such as the RMS Titanic), the deep seabed has not been accurately mapped.   This may change over the next few decades. Overall, Lopez recounts that “we know the surface of the moon better than we do what lies on the bottom of the ocean, even though the latter is closer”.  His laboratory research on the microbial communities of marine sediments and reading the whole genomes of benthic invertebrates attempts to add to the scientific knowledge of the benthos. For information about the book, see https://shop.elsevier.com/books/assessments-and-conservation-of-biological-diversity-from-coral-reefs-to-the-deep-sea/lopez/978-0-12-824112-7 

Posted 01/14/24

Halmos Hosts Spanish Film Festival on Jan. 16-Feb. 11

The Department of Humanities and Politics (DHP) in the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences and the Guy Harvey Oceanographic Research Center (HCAS) is pleased to announce that the first film of their upcoming Spanish//Latin American/Latino Film Series will be In the Heights (USA, 2021, director Jon M. Chu) on Tuesday, Jan. 16, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. in the Mailman Auditorium. The film is in English and Spanish with English subtitles. Following the film, the audience will engage in a discussion led by Yair Solan, Ph.D., assistant professor of literature and film in the Department of Humanities and Politics. Light refreshments will be provided.

Below are the dates, film titles, and locations. We expect to have talkbacks after the films hosted by DHP faculty.

  • In the Heights(USA, 2021): Tuesday, Jan 16, 6-8:30 p.m. in the Mailman Auditorium
  • The Future Perfect (Argentina, 2016): Tuesday, Jan. 23, 6-8 p.m. in the Mailman Auditorium
  • Everybody Leaves(Cuba-Colombia, 2015): Thursday, Feb. 1, 6-8 p.m. in the Mailman Auditorium
  • Memories of My Father (Colombia 2020): Sunday, Feb. 4, 2-4:30 p.m. in the Alvin Sherman Library Room 4009
  • Parallel Mothers (Spain, 2021): Sunday, Feb. 11, a2-4 p.m. in the Alvin Sherman Library Room 4009

Co-sponsors of the Film Festival on campus include the Alvin Sherman Library, the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences, NSU’s Alpha Alpha Zeta Chapter of Alpha Mu Gamma, the Spanish Club, and Fin Films. The Spanish Film Club series was made possible with the support of Pragda, SPAIN arts & culture, and the Secretary of State for Culture of Spain.  The series is free and open to all in the NSU community and everyone in the South Florida area.

Any questions should be directed to Yair Solan, Ph.D. at ysolan@nova.edu or Yvette Fuentes, Ph.D., at yf60@nova.edu.

Posted 01/12/24

NSU Receives Approval by Top University Accrediting Body

Dr. Belle Wheelan, President of SACSCOC with NSU President and CEO George L. Hanbury II

Nova Southeastern University received notification from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) that our Fifth-Year Interim Report has been successfully accepted with no additional reporting requested.

SACSCOC is the body for the accreditation of degree-granting higher education institutions in the Southern states. It serves as the common denominator of shared values and practices primarily among the diverse institutions in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Latin America and certain other international sites approved by the SACSCOC Board of Trustees that award associate, baccalaureate, master’s, or doctoral degrees.

The Commission also accepts applications for membership from domestic institutions in the other 39 states, as well as international institutions of higher education around the world.

Congratulations to all for this recognition of NSU as a preeminent university of quality and distinction!

Posted 12/05/23

Halmos Faculty, Student Participate in International Conference

What is “cold, clammy and wet all over?” Answer: most marine invertebrates.  Apart from corals, which build reefs, many marine invertebrates are often overlooked because they are not so “warm and fuzzy” like their charismatic, terrestrial counterparts.  As a group, invertebrates number in the thousands.  Although generally classified by not having backbones (vertebrate spines), most invertebrates still have complex body parts, including neurons and sensory systems. Indeed, several invertebrate species appear to be highly intelligent – e.g.  octopus and cuttlefish show the capacity to learn and appear to have sophisticated neural structures.

To illuminate more about the life and hereditary material (genomes) of these vital marine animals, the non-profit organization GIGA (for the Global invertebrate Genomics Alliance) was formed in 2013.  HCAS professor Jose V. Lopez, Ph.D., along with many academic colleagues from around world, co-founded the organization.  Lopez said, “a primary goal of GIGA is to promote invertebrate research and also expand training and education in the complex fields of bioinformatics and genomics.” Lopez served as a panel chair and gave a presentation titled, “Characterizing Whole Genomes from Photosymbiotic Organisms and Sponges: Updates from the Aquatic Symbiosis Genome (ASG) Project.”

In this context, the fifth GIGA conference was held in Cartagena, Colombia Oct 31 – Nov 3, 2023, held true to many of the core goals of the society.  The conference was held at the scenic oceanside Intercontinental Hotel along with an optional dive excursion to the nearby Rosario Islands, possessing extensive coral reefs.  By obtaining sponsorships from various quarters such as the Moore Foundation, the American Genetics Association, the UK’s Sanger Institute, and PacBio Inc, GIGA provided travel sponsorships to at least a dozen Global South students from Colombia, Brazil, Chile, and Peru. Students and early career researchers had several opportunities to present their research through lightning talks and a poster session. For example, NSU Department of Biological Sciences MS student Rachel Bacaner working in Dr. Lopez’s laboratory presented a poster on Caribbean octocoral Antillogorgia americana cell cultures.  Major themes of the sessions included marine symbiosis (coral and algae) and characterizing biodiversity at the molecular level and professional development.

Over 65 students, faculty and researchers composed the GIGA V attendees representing eight different countries. The list of talks spanned detailed descriptions of individual species genomes from giant clams to golden mussels, technical talks on how to best analyze volumes of Big Sequence Data and the effects of climate change.  Attendees also heard unique talks describing JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) within the genomics sciences and the future of scientific publishing in the era of open access and artificial intelligence by Laurie Goodman (Giga Science).  Determining the whole genome sequences of non-model organisms, such as many invertebrates, contributes to their conservation and a better understanding of their evolution and ecosystem health.

For more information please see: http://www.gigacos.org/index.php/meetings/giga_v/

Posted 12/10/23

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