athenaeum heading




Collette Hyman presenting at the Athenaeum

The Athenaeum hosts events that explore and enhance the intellectual life of the University and the region through lectures, readings, performances, discussions, and other events.

By bringing together scholars, performers, students, and community members for intellectual discussion and the sharing of cultural experiences, the Athenaeum reflects the importance the University places on the humanities, the arts, and the sciences.

All Athenaeum events begin at 1:00 PM and are held on the south end of the Library's second floor, unless otherwise noted.




30 January 2013
06 February 2013
13 February 2013
20 February 2013
27 February 2013
06 March 2013
13 March 2013
27 March 2013
03 April 2013
10 April 2013



30 January 2013

What Do We Mean By "Liberal Arts"?

Ralph Townsend, Dean, College of Liberal Arts

There are widely divergent concepts of what a “liberal arts” degree should mean, and, in particular, how a liberal arts degree should be structured in the first two years of education. (Note that the broad concept of "liberal arts", which includes the sciences and math, is implied here.) For WSU, the general education requirements for liberal arts majors are exactly the same as any other major. By comparison, private liberal arts colleges often have much elaborate distribution requirements and the expectations on writing are notably greater. This presentation discusses the nature of the differences in the definition of “liberal arts” and what are some of the drivers of these differences. It also discusses the question of whether WSU can or should aspire to a different definition of “liberal arts education.”


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6 February 2013

Integrating Tablets into Teaching and Learning – A Panel Discussion

Ken Graetz, Director of Teaching, Learning, and Technology Services
Norb Thomes, TLT Learning Systems and Services Coordinator
Jim Reineke, Associate Professor, Education
Jim Bowey, Assistant Professor, Mass Communication
Linda Smith, Assistant Professor, Nursing
Toby Dogwiler, Professor, Geoscience
Chun Lok Mah, Assistant Professor, Art
Tim Gegg-Harrison, Professor, Computer Science
Nicole Anderson, Assistant Professor, Computer Science

Join us for a panel discussion with the instructors involved in the 2012 Fall iPad pilot at WSU. These instructors taught courses in which all of their students were provided with an iPad and course-specific apps for the entire semester. The instructors will discuss how they integrated the tablets into their courses, selected apps, and leveraged the tablet device to support teaching and learning. TLT staff will discuss how these instructors were supported, the results of data collected during the fall, and progress on the spring pilot projects. 


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13 February 2013

Building and Supporting a Diverse WSU

Connie Gores, Vice President, Student Life & Development
Tamara Berg, Associate Professor, WAGS, Director of Women's Studies Program
Joan Francioni, Professor, Computer Science
Barbara Oertel, Director, Warrior Success Center
Josh Brandon, Student

Winona State held its first all-university Diversity Summit in October 2012. Over 200 students, staff, and faculty members attended the event and participated in discussions on to build and support a more diverse community at WSU.

The consensus from the Summit was that building and supporting a more diverse population and environment at WSU is important and beneficial to the university and the entire community.

Panelists will present the findings of the Diversity Summit, report on actions that have since been taken to address some diversity concerns, and discuss a number of strategies proposed for going forward. This will be an interactive session with time allotted for open discussion.


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20 February 2013

The Flipped WSU Classroom

Amy Hermodson, Associate Professor, Communication Studies
Chad Kjorlien, Faculty Development Coordinator, TLT

This presentation/flipped experience is designed to use the flipped instructional strategy during the Athenaeum time. A video presentation will be sent out as an introduction to the experience. The approximately fifty minute video presentation will describe in detail the flipped classroom strategy and different ways it can be used within the classroom curriculum.  

The designated Athenaeum time will be spent applying and using the strategies presented in the video to further the audience understanding and knowledge of  the flipped classroom experience. Participants in this experience will self-select into different interactive learning experiences that are designed to model the role a student would play in the flipped classroom. These experiences will then be captured and summarized so that they can be shared with the larger group.

In order to receive the video presentation prior to the Athenaeum presentation and so that the presenters candesign the activities according to the number of audience members, the presenters request that attendees R.S.V.P. Please find the R.S.V.P. form here.


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27 February 2013

The Exploitation of Disability in Dramatic Works: From Shakespeare to Seinfeld

Daniel S. Skoglund, Graduate Student, English

The topic of Disability Studies has garnered recent attention from numerous academic fields. In the study of English literature, with a particular focus on dramatic works, critics have attempted to assess the way in which dramatists have employed disability within these texts. Generally, disability is only utilized as a character-making trope that is intended to elicit humor, pity, and fear. This discussion attempts to assess how such works manage to induce these emotions as well as trace their presence from the medieval and early modern dramatic works of writers like Shakespeare, to their presence in postmodern works like Seinfeld.



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6 March 2013

Introduction to Tai Chi and Chi Gong

Brice Wilkinson, Retired Professor, Winona State University

An experiential introduction to the science of Tai Chi. It has preventive medicine, every day you give yourself a self administered acupuncture treatment. It is a dance to many, a weapon system to some, they way of enlightenment for a few. If you can walk you can play Tai Chi. Oh yes, it reverses the laws of aging.



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WSU flame logo

13 March 2013

Assessment in the History Department: Outcomes for History Majors and GEPS Students

Matthew Lungerhausen, Associate Professor, History
Matt Lindaman, Associate Professor, History
Michelle Kuhl, Associate Professor, History, University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh

The panel will discuss the methods used by WSU’s history department to assess student learning among both majors and General Education (GEPS) students. Professor Lungerhausen will address the main focus of the Department’s assessment for majors, the senior thesis project. Professors Lindaman and Kuhl will discuss the way they have used Document Based Questions to assess historical thinking skills in GEPS students from Professor Lindaman’s Western Civilizations classes.


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27 March 2013

A Space for the Mind: Evolution of Campus Environment as a Metaphor for the Meaning of Higher Education

Juan C. Fernandez, Associate Professor, Global Studies and World Languages

The presentation will discuss how the evolution of higher education has brought about a parallel evolution of educational and personal spaces throughout campus. Professor Fernandez will discuss former and current buildings on (mostly) WSU campus as a metaphor to illustrate the significance of those changes.



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3 April 2013

Soundings and Seasonings: Poems for April

Emilio DeGrazia, Professor Emeritus, Winona State University

This presentation will be a reading/discussion from Professor DeGrazia's book of poems, "Seasonings," along with new work from a book to be entitled "Soundings."

 


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10 April 2013

Advanced Poetry Writing Student Reading

James Armstrong, Professor, English

WSU English Writing Majors

Students from Professor Armstrong's advanced poetry class will read their original poetry to showcase their year-long education in the art of writing poems.


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The Athenaeum is located on the second floor of the Darrell W. Krueger Library, on the south side, overlooking the bluffs.

Directions to the Darrell W. Krueger Library




Tom Bremer
Colette Hyman
Cindy Killion
Kendall Larson
Vernon Leighton
Deanne Mohr
Greg Neidhart
Tammi Owens
Allison Quam



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