February 27, 2015 “House of Cards: Shakespeare’s Influence and the Unreliable Narrator”

 

“House of Cards: Shakespeare’s Influence and the Unreliable Narrator”

 

Friday, February 27, 2015, Patrick O'Donnell and Jen Miller, Faculty in English will present  a colloquium showing influences of Shakespearian narrative on the contemporary blockbuster series "House of Cards." 

 

 

February 20, 2015 Innovators, Survivors, and Struggling Innovators: Using Project Based Learning and Cognitive Apprenticeship with Adult Learners

This Friday, February 20, 2015, from noon-12:50 p.m. in C-1018, Bradley Gangnon, Faculty in Communications, will present a colloquium on the following subject:

Innovators, Survivors, and Struggling Innovators:

Using Project Based Learning and Cognitive Apprenticeship with Adult Learners 

Three categories of learners emerged: innovators, survivors, and struggling innovators. The innovators are highly motivated by the opportunity to learn, prepared to achieve within formal education, and interested in merging the skills taught into a professional narrative. As learners, they are closer to self-actualized, ready for self-directed learning, and seeking to learn additional hard skills. The survivors tend to be self-reliant as makers and believe they cannot succeed in a formal education setting. The struggling innovators share two of the key characteristics with innovators: thinking and self-expression. Members of this group earned initial career success without completing a formal education.

February 13, 2015 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and His Legacy of Non-violence

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and His Legacy of Non-violence

Presenter--Kurt Burch, Faculty in Political Science 

The recent holiday celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr’s birthday reminds us of his legacy as a civil rights activist and as a spokesman for nonviolence.  What principles of nonviolence did MLK apply to the civil rights movement?  How did his notions of nonviolence differ from those of other advocates of nonviolence, such as Gandhi?  How is nonviolence a response not just to violence and injustice, but also to power in general? 

Kurt Burch, this week’s presenter, received training in nonviolence at the MLK, Jr. Center in Atlanta. 

February 6, 2015 The Battle of the Books 2015

 

Decisions, decisions!  Which one will it be?  The great debate continues in promotion of the candidates for the 2015-2016 NCC Common Book.  These are the current contenders.  Be a part of the selection process!

Brother, I’m Dying by Edwidge Danticat
(Battle of the Books presenter Brad Brothen)

In looking at a book to choose for Normandale Community College’s Common Book, we must choose a book that crosses disciplines and speaks to, and is accessible by, a multitude of staff and students. But the choice of a Common Book is much more than just that. “Common” is the root word in community, which is not only part of Normandale’s name but at the core of its excellence. No book would better fill its role as a Common Book than Edwidge Danticat’s Brother, I’m Dying, a powerful memoir about family—both immediate and extended—and the immigrant experience in America. It is accessible, educational, and ultimately, riveting. Although it was published before the devastating 2010 earthquake that leveled Haiti and killed an estimated 3 million people, it serves as a beautiful backdrop for why Haiti is both a part of our collective history and deserving of our attention and concern. The book opens with Danticat learning on the same day that she is pregnant and her father is dying. This juxtaposition is the framework for the reflective story that follows. It’s not, however, just a story of the author’s life. It is a story of an overlooked part of our hemisphere and a failed immigration system that needs immediate attention. Brother, I’m Dying is a must-read for all of Normandale’s community.

Wild Flower: The True Story of a Romanian Girl in Africa by Dr. Nina Smart 
(Battle of the Books presenter Kim Socha)

Wild Flower: The True Story of a Romanian Girl in Africa is an autobiographical account of a young woman’s journey from Romania, to Africa, to the United States. She is marginalized as a person of color in Romania and then taken to Africa to experience an extraordinary new culture, but one in which she is faced with, and tries to escape, the tradition of female genital mutilation (FGM). This amazing true story of courage, rebellion, and love was lived and penned by Dr. Nina Smart, who currently runs Servicing Wild Flowers (SWF) International, a non-governmental organization that seeks to end FGM in Sierra Leone. Dr. Smart is based in Los Angeles, CA now and travels the world to raise awareness of FGM. All proceeds from her book sales and talks fund her organization SWF International.

Into The Beautiful North by Luis Alberto Urrea
(Battle of the Books presenter Kris Bigalk)

Nineteen-year-old Nayeli works at a taco shop in her Mexican village and dreams about her father, who journeyed to the US to find work. Recently, it has dawned on her that he isn't the only man who has left town. In fact, there are almost no men in the village--they've all gone north. While watching The Magnificent Seven, Nayeli decides to go north herself and recruit seven men--her own "Siete Magnificos"--to repopulate her hometown and protect it from the bandidos who plan on taking it over. Filled with unforgettable characters and prose as radiant as the Sinaloan sun, INTO THE BEAUTIFUL NORTH is the story of an irresistible young woman's quest to find herself on both sides of the fence. (from Luis Urrea’s website).  INTO THE BEAUTIFUL NORTH is a part of the NEA Big Read, which means that there are lots of teaching materials, lesson plans, etc that are readily available to help teach the book.