MCLA's primary focus for faculty is on teaching. But the 83 full-time faculty members who teach there are also publishing books and articles, conducting research, and heading unique, groundbreaking projects that combine academic disciplines.
In true liberal arts tradition, this academic work helps MCLA faculty members contribute to larger bodies of research, collaborate with other institutions, explore new ideas, and deepen their expertise. It also makes its way into the classroom, giving students opportunities to serve internships, co-author publications, and conduct experiments.
Just over a third of MCLA's faculty members joined the campus community in the past six years, bringing new perspective, connections, and academic opportunities to MCLA students.
For instance, the work of two MCLA English professors was recently highlighted in a special themed issue of the prestigious national magazine Art in America. Victoria Papa and Caren Beilin, both assistant professors of English and communications, overlap in areas of expertise—Papa studies the intersections between care, creative expression, and the survival of structural forms of trauma, while Beilin's recent book "Blackfishing the IUD" explores reproductive health and the IUD, gendered illness, medical gaslighting, and activism in the chronic illness community.
Papa co-directs CARE SYLLABUS, a program in partnership with MASS MoCA, which presents modules guest-curated by interdisciplinary artists and scholars who highlight artistic expression, activism, and thinking around the history of care and the way our societal attitudes around care are shifting. Beilin sits on its advisory collective, along with several other MCLA professors and museum professionals. CARE SYLLABUS has developed themed modules and in-person and virtual events since fall 2020, covering everything from the displacement of indigenous objects from their peoples to disability justice.
Professor of Philosophy Paul Nnodim's newest book, "Beyond Justice as Fairness: Rethinking Rawls from a Cross-Cultural Perspective," was recently named the American Library Association's CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title for 2021. The book, which continues Dr. Nnodim's studies of the works of the contemporary American philosopher John Rawls, was called "a brilliant achievement on several levels" by Dr. Nir Eisikovits of the University of Massachusetts, Boston, and "a tour de force" by Williams College Professor Brahim El Guabli. Nnodim, a longtime MCLA faculty member who has published extensively, shared his completed work with his students during a spring 2021 seminar on Rawls, with the book as supplemental reading. His students are also mentioned in the book's acknowledgments.
In the MCLA Feigenbaum Center for Science and Innovation, you might run into Professor of Physics Emily Maher, whose research in experimental particle physics has allowed her to collaborate with R1 institutions and conduct experiments at FermiLab, America's particle physics and accelerator laboratory. Maher's colleague, Associate Professor of Physics Kebra Ward, is currently in South Africa on a Fulbright Scholarship, conducting physics education
research at Nelson Mandela University. MCLA's physics professors tend to really get to know their students, and their guidance and work empowering MCLA's Society of Physics Students led to national recognition for the chapter and its students in 2021.
During the 2020 and 2021 school years, MCLA professors of anthropology, art, arts management, and English collaborated with MCLA Arts & Culture to delve into Hostile Terrain 94, a multisite, interactive installation that illustrates, in stark terms, the violence of United States border policies by memorializing the thousands of people who have perished seeking to cross the U.S.-Mexico border. Leading up to a full exhibition, students interacted with visiting
artists, helped create some of the work that was displayed, and created pieces that respond to questions posed within the context of Hostile Terrain's subject matter.
"It's been really fun to have these conversations across different disciplines, from English to Anthropology to Art and Arts Management, and see where the common threads are as educators, as scholars, and as people," said MCLA Assistant Professor of Anthropology Anna Jaysane-Darr said. "I feel like this kind of interdisciplinary work is at the foundation of what a liberal arts college does. For me, Hostile Terrain epitomizes what we're trying to accomplish here, but also what I hope to do with my teaching and all of my work."
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Weekend Outlook: Mother's Day & More
By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
Check out the events happening this weekend including fishing, plays, and more.
Final weekend to walk the grounds of Naumkeag and see the thousands of flowering bulbs. Timed tickets must be purchased in advance and will not be sold on-site.
'Big Fish'
Taconic High School, Pittsfield
May 8, 9, 14, 15,16. Times vary at 2 and 7 p.m.
The Taconic Theater department stages "Big Fish," a musical about son who goes on an adventure to find the truth about his father's wild and unbelievable stories.
'The Prom Musical'
Berkshire Community College
Showings Friday through Sunday
A small-town prom is getting too much attention when a student wants to bring her girlfriend as a date. A troupe of Broadway stars arrive in the conservative community out on a mission to help in this musical comedy.
Baby Animals
Hancock Shaker Village, Pittsfield
Time: 11 to 4, through May 10
A sure sign of spring is the arrival of baby animals at Hancock Shaker Village in Pittsfield. See lambs, piglets, calves, chicks and kids and enjoy events and activities throughout the Village, from daily talks about the farm and the Shakers to craft demonstrations to walks along the Farm & Forest Trail.
Admission is $8 to $20, free for children 12 and younger. More information here.
Friday
Night of Dreams Fundraising Gala: Berkshire Dream Center
Berkshire Hills Country Club, Pittsfield
Time: 6 to 9 p.m.
This annual gala is a major fundraiser for the nonprofit Berkshire Dream Center. Enjoy dinner, music, a silent auction, and more.
Mass Kids Lit Fest
Berkshire Athenaeum, Pittsfield
Time: 10:30 a.m.
Children's author Carol Munro will do a "Springtime Storks" storytime, based on a true story of resilience and love between two migrating birds. Children will have the chance to create their own stork hand puppets and learn more about storks.
Local historian and Historical Commission Chair Dustin Griffin will speak on the politics and leaders of Williamstown at the start of the Revolution. The museum is at 32 New Ashford Road.
Mount Greylock Regional School seventh-grader Scarlett Foley Sunday beat two opponents from Division 2 Longmeadow to capture the Western Mass Tennis Individuals Championship. click for more
Looking out at that scenery doesn't have to end when you go indoors with Marvin scenic doors, transforming any space by bringing the outdoors in.
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Waste treatment plan supervisor Brad Furlon warned the Finance Committee last week to expect a future 500 percent increase in sludge disposal.
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