The following is a list of events taking place on the Kean University Campus. For more information, please see the sponsoring group listed with each event.
Women’s History
Month 2010 at Kean University
In celebration of Women’s
History Month, a series of informative, thought-provoking, inspirational and
entertaining events are scheduled. For a full listing of events, click
here.
The Kean University Writing Project
Accepting Applications
Kean University Writing Project is a community of teachers working together to improve our craft. Crossing grade levels (K-16) and subject areas, we join with the National Writing Project as "teachers nurturing teachers." Through the four-week Summer Institute participants gain opportunities to dig into some of the challenges that can feel too scary or too hard when taken on alone. Institute staff provide extensive grounding in theory; best practices for teaching writing; protocols for designing, presenting, and reflecting on classroom lessons; models for building and working with collaborative teams; and personalized coaching and one-on-one mentoring. Through writing, talking, sharing, and writing some more, we work to transform the toughest challenges from our classrooms into our best ideas for pedagogical practice. Admission to the Institute is through application only; necessary forms and other documentation are available at www.kuwp.org. Prospective participants should contact Dr. Linda Best, 908-737-0377, for additional information.
The Big Read Upcoming Events
Wednesday, March 10, at 10 a.m., Elizabeth Public Library
Vietnam War Film Series:Viewing of Rescue Dawn.
Saturday, March 13, at 2 p.m., Elizabeth Public Library The
Women’s Perspective on the Vietnam War: A discussion of A Piece of My Heart by
Keith Walker
For more information on this event or to participate in the
program, please contact Dr. Mia Zamora at mzamora@kean.edu or visit the Kean homepage. For additional upcoming
events, click here.
Book Talk and Signing: Emma Goldman, Still Dangerous:
An Extreme Woman, An Extreme Answer?
Thursday, March 11, from 3:15 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the Carriage House
at Liberty Hall
As part of the Department of History New Faculty Lecture
Series and in conjunction with 2010 Women's History Month, Dr. C. Brid
Nicholson, assistant professor in the Department of History, will deliver a
talk about her new book, Emma
Goldman: Still Dangerous. Copies will be available for purchase and
signing. For further information, please contact Nicholson at 908-737-4260
Premiere Stages Spring Readings
Through Saturday, March 13, at 7:30 p.m. in the University Center Little Theatre.
Join Premiere Stages, the professional theatre at Kean, for three free Equity Readings of the 2010 Premiere Play Festival Finalists. These three plays were chosen out of more than 300 submissions, and two will go on to further development here on campus. A post-show discussion with the playwright follows each reading. The audience feedback will help Premiere Stages choose which play to produce at Kean in the fall. Be part of the process!
Spring Readings Schedule
The Morini Strad by Willy Holtzman
Friday, March 12, at 7:30 p.m. A craftsman hired to restore a priceless violin gets more than he bargained for when he makes a pact with the aging virtuosa who made it famous.
Wonderful Counselor by Kathryn Grant
Saturday March 13, at 7:30 p.m. A bright young public defender, hounded by his community and haunted by his past, struggles to defend two neglectful mothers – one his client, the other his own. For more information, please visit the Premiere Stages website or contact Premiere Stages at 908-737-4092.
Reading the Plays of Wendy Wasserstein
Monday, March 15, at 7 p.m. at Bluestockings Radical Books, located at 172 Allen Street in New York City.
Jan Balakian, associate professor in the Department of English, will read passages from her new book, Reading the Plays of Wendy Wasserstein. Published by Applause in early January, the book explores the plays of playwright Wendy Wasserstein through a series of essays. Balakian explains that, above all, Wasserstein is a social historian. Balancing drama and comedy to write about social class in Manhattan and about Jewish-American identity, she drew inspiration from Chekhov and the comedies of S. Behrman, Moss Hart, and Noel Coward. The ideas of Betty Friedan, Germaine Greer, Gloria Steinem, and Susan Faludi also inform Wasserstein s work, which chronicles the rise and the eventual collapse of both feminism and liberalism between the late 1960s and the earliest years of the 21st century.
From the first waves of feminism to the post-feminist generation, Balakian’s essays place Wasserstein’s seven major plays, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Heidi Chronicles, in a historical context, showing a connection between the evolution of the women’s movement in America and the conflicts within her plays.
Balakian's interviews with the playwright before her death in 2006, and conversations with Wasserstein’s close friends, playwright Chris Durang and director Dan Sullivan, all lend further insight into Wasserstein’s political concerns. Balakian’s access to handwritten pages from Wasserstein’s notebooks at the Wasserstein archives at Mount Holyoke also provides readers a window into the playwrights creative process.
This book features 50 black-and-white illustrations, including handwritten pages from Wendy Wasserstein’s notebooks. For further information, please contact Balakian at 908-737-0374 or jbalakia@kean.edu.
The Jackie McLean Concert Series
Monday, March 22, 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.
in the University Center Little Theatre.
In celebration of African
History Month, the Office of Africana Studies will host The Jackie
McLean Concert Series, featuring Kamara Kewulay and Bandeya, a
performance company of international musicians, dances and spoken word
artists from the African world inspired by Mandeng epic traditions of
West Africa. The event is free and open to the public. For more please call the Office of Africana Studies at 908-737-3915.
Black Americans in New Jersey in the Era of the American Revolution
Thursday, March 25, at 2 p.m. in the Liberty Hall Carriage House.
The panel is part of Kean University's celebration of Black History Month and will be chaired by Dr. Mark Lender, interim vice president for academic affairs. Professors Emily Blanck of Rowan University, Timothy Hack of Salem County College, Sue Kozel of Kean University and Jonathan Mercantini of Kean University, will present original research findings on the topic of slavery and freedom in New Jersey. For further information, please contact Mercantini at 908-737-4262 or jmercant@kean.edu.
SBDC at Kean Workshop: Becoming A Successful Consultant
Tuesday, March 30, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Scotch Plains Public Library, located at 1927 Bartle Avenue in Scotch Plains, N.J.
Herb Caesar, president of CED Solutions, LLC, in Englewood, N.J., will discuss a host of topics related to becoming a successful business consultant. For further information or to register, please contact Mira Kostak at 908-737-4220.
The Big Read: Reading and Talk by Author Tim O'Brien
Wednesday April 14th, Wilkins Theater, 12:30 PM
The Big Read is Kean’s semester-long participation in the national program of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and is designed to restore reading to the center of American culture. Kean University was awarded this national grant from the NEA to host The Big Read and is one of 268 communities nationwide participating in the initiative.
As host of The Big Read, Kean University will carry out an extensive community-based reading program. Participants will read The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien, and engage in various activities, including discussions, lectures, movie screenings and performing arts events. Complete schedule of events.
Kean to Host Thinking Creatively Design Conference
Friday, April 16 & Saturday, April 17
Held on Friday, April 16, 2010, and Saturday, April 17, 2010, at Kean University in Union, New Jersey, this year's "Thinking Creatively" Conference is a special edition. The Industrial Design Society of America (IDSA) will hold their annual, regional conference concurrently with the "Thinking Creatively" Conference. That means that all "Thinking Creatively" attendees will gain access to IDSA presentations, as well as benefit from IDSA members who will attend the main-stage events, breakout sessions, and networking activities organized by The Design Center at Kean University and the ADCNJ. It also means a significant increase in attendees expected this year.
Other highlights include the following offerings: Pantone is helping to support the networking event on Friday, and the Kean University Alumni Association is making arrangements for a Disney Imagineer to lead an event following the networking event. In addition, a panel discussion on the state of design will include reporters from Fast Company, Business Week, and Metropolis. "As always, Thinking Creatively hosts and provides world-class speakers and presentations, fun, goodies, and intellectual refreshment," said Rose Gonnella, ADCNJ Board Member and Professor at Kean University who has taken a leadership role in orchestrating this conference. "We believe it's important to provide affordable access to a major event for design professionals and students that is on par with other world-class conferences. We want to deliver an interactive, thoughtfully rich, and professionally focused conference to inspire us all."
To learn more and register for this "Thinking Creatively" Conference, visit www.thinkingcreatively.org or www.adcnj.org or call 201-997-1212. Come and explore the world of design at the "Thinking Creatively" Design Conference!