Sociologist Studies Sport

Brandon Lang (Sociology, Social Work and Criminal Justice) has been very busy over the last few months.  He edited a book entitled Sociology of Sports that is to be published in 2016 and has administered surveys at several professional sporting events, asking fans a series of questions relating to their degree of concern regarding the Washington Redskins team name. 

The twenty-three chapters of Sociology of Sports examine a number of issues that are central to the sociology of sports.  Here is the blurb from back cover of the book:

The Sociology of Sports explores the sociological significance of sports in the United States and around the world.  The anthology features diverse readings and perspectives that illustrate the important role of sports in the lives of millions of people.

The text is organized into six sections.  The first provides an overview of the main theories used to shed light on all social behavior and explains sports sociology.  The second examines how sports perpetuate race, class, gender and religious inequality.  Section Three explores the positive and negative effects of technology on sports.

Section Four includes descriptions and analyses of recent trends in youth and amateur sports, while Section Five considers changes in fan and player behavior over time.  The final section discusses how sports shape and are shaped by politics and the economy.

Accessible and interesting, The Sociology of Sports alerts readers to legitimate concerns about sports while also celebrating the positive role that sports play in health and community building.

As for Lang's research, he has become very interested in the growing social movement to pressure the Washington Redskins to change their team name.  His upcoming sabbatical in Spring 2016 will be spent analyzing survey data that was collected at 6 different NFL and MLB games, including ones in Washington and Cleveland.   He collected over 500 surveys and plans to examine why some groups of fans are more concerned than others regarding Native American team names and imagery in sports.



Lang is also collaborating with Dr. Todd Hoover in Education and Dr. Mohsen Shabahang, the Director of General Surgery at Geisinger, on two projects.  One project conducted focus group research to uncover the extent to which different learning styles among residents impact their capacity to progress through their respective programs; the second examines the importance of emotional intelligence in helping residents navigate the ups and downs of surgical training.

Huskies Perform at Collegiate Marching Band Festival

On Sunday, October 4, 2015, The Bloomsburg University Marching Band, under the direction of Dr. Gifford Howarth, performed at the 2015 Collegiate Marching Band Festival in Allentown, PA. 

Four thousand performers and six thousand spectators, most of them high school marching band members, were in attendance. 

This year's show features a clever medley of songs by Billy Joel, Elton John, and Paul Simon. If you haven't yet caught this season's show in person at a Huskies football game, you can see the Festival performance on Youtube.

Theatre Prof Directs, Reflects

The following post by David Miller of the Department of Music, Theatre, and Dance is reprinted with his permission from his personal blog, Projects and Ponderings. Check it out!

There so many times during my teaching that I think and often say out loud to my students, these are not just theatre skills – these are not only directing, acting, playwriting skills – these are life skills. 

Some of the skills that I teach are simple rules that apply to the course and to life: Don't ask your professor for stapler; Don't explain that you were confused by the guidelines when in reality you didn't read the guidelines (or you didn't read the guidelines closely enough); Don't use comic sans. But the bigger lessons are the ones that I find more fascinating. For example, how are directing skills life skills? I am interested in this question perhaps because I continue to learn the lesson myself. I know that my "director's toolkit" is available to me in my day-to-day life. I may not use it as often as I would like, but it is always available to me.

An visual and textual
approach to Neighborhood 3,
a directorial unifying tool.

A successful director unifies the group. They do so by balancing a strong vision with incredibly active listening. They honor the creative ideas around them and ultimately serve the project more than themselves. They are, in short, effective leaders. An effective leader/director asks lots of questions. The most important question is, "why?" This is a question asked of oneself as well as one's fellow artists. We make a choice on stage – an acting choice, a design choice, a blocking choice. How is that choice serving the intent of the playwright and the specific approach we are taking in this production? How does this integrate with the other choices that we are making? Are we excited about the choice or are we excited about the fact that got choice is right for this play and this production? An effective director must be a conscientious choice maker and lead others to be conscientious as well.

An effective director must integrate their heart into the work. Theatre practitioners are, after all, human. Directors are humans, leading other humans. As J. Donald Walters reminds us in The Art of Leadership, "Genuine leadership is of only one type: supportive. It leads people: It doesn't drive them. It involves them: It doesn't coerce them. It never loses sight of the most important principle governing any project involving human beings: namely, that people are more important than things."

We must be reminded that our stumblings as leaders are allowed and expected. We too are human. We too are concerned that we do well. But as a good director, and by extension, a good human, we concern ourselves with the fears and insecurities before our own.  "Assume that everyone is in a permanent state of catatonic terror." says Frank Hauser in Notes on Directing. This will help you approach the impossible state of infinite patience and benevolence that actors and others expect from you."  It's good to think of the other point of view. That's a directing skill. That's a life skill.

Haas Gallery hosts exhibition

Currently exhibiting her one person show at the Haas Gallery of Art is Margi Weir, a multimedia artist from Detroit, Michigan who teaches multiple disciplines of art media at Wayne State University.

The exhibition runs through October 8. Ms. Weir will present a gallery talk at 1:15 pm on that date, and  the closing reception will run from 11 to 2 pm. All are invited.

Ms. Weir's work is  complicated, big, boldly colorful, and deeply meaningful. She writes:

In my work I use a computer to repeat images that I stitch together visually in order to make an appealing pattern, often resulting in tapestry-like, spatially flattened compositions. Through decorative patterning, the work of art draws the viewer into a slowly unfurling narrative that invites a discussion about ecology and/or sociopolitical realities of the contemporary world around us. Meaning is implied by the juxtaposition of images. Conclusions are left to the viewer in the hope that a continued questioning will be inspired by the work of art. 

These images are exhibited in several formats. I frame the digital prints on rag paper. I enlarge the images and combine them with acrylic paint, vinyl, and resin on panel for large scale layered paintings or, for very large installation work, I apply vinyl directly on the walls, windows, or floors of a gallery space. 

Visit the Haas Gallery to learn more!

Queering Our World

In anticipation of the Annual Mid-Atlantic LGBTQA Conference that will be held on campus Nov 7 & 8, 2015, assistant professor Dave Kube, Graphic Design, has juried a show entitled Queering Our World.

The group show will be held at The Gallery at Greenly Center, 50 E Main St, Downtown Bloomsburg, from Tues, Oct 12 to Fri, Nov 6. There will be a reception on Nov 6, 6-8pm. Queering our World features 13 artists from various locations who explore and expose voices of the queer community, bringing visibility to the spaces, aesthetics, and challenges. Through the exploration of domestic spaces, simple objects, queer fairy tales, and other visual aesthetics, these artists work to carve out a space in which queer can find representation through varying degrees of visual language.

Music Prof to Perform during Papal Visit

Dr. Amelia Garbisch of the Department of Music, Theatre, and Dance is one of a small ensemble of professional singers who will perform at the Saturday evening concert during the Papal visit to Philadelphia. During the live, nationally broadcast concert Dr. Garbisch will be singing back-up for Aretha Franklin, Andrea Bocelli, and others. The Philadelphia Orchestra will also perform.

According to the Washington Post:

The following afternoon in Philadelphia, Mark Wahlberg will host the Festival of Families on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Aretha Franklin will perform for Pope Francis at the event, the archdiocese said, as will the Fray. Comedian Jim Gaffigan will headline a pre-show on the parkway before the festival begins.

Machines Bearing the Weight of Delicacy

The work of Chad Andrews of the Department of Art and Art History is currently on display at the Mattatuck Museum in Waterbury, CT (through October 25). The museum's website describes Mr. Andrews' work as follows.

Using silicone and a caulking gun, artist Chad Andrews creates wall drawings of trucks, tractors and implements taken from his life on a farm for Machines Bearing the Weight of Delicacy. The physicality of materials, process and assemblage play a vital role in his imagery. These ephemeral, one-time installations are destroyed at the end of the exhibition, and will never be displayed again. Catch them before they’re gone!