Category Archives: Culture

Exile or Immigrant?

Chinese-American author speaks as part of visiting writers series

Acclaimed Chinese-American author Ha Jin came to the United States almost 30 years ago as neither immigrant nor exile, but he experienced elements of both as he struggled to establish a personal identity and carve out a place for himself in the literary world.

On Thursday, March 7, close to 300 people turned out to hear the award-winning writer share his perspective on the contemporary immigrant experience. The lecture was part of a visiting writers series, Transnational Encounters: World-Renowned Authors at the University of Delaware. (more…)

Read More

The Vikings: Yale Historian Looks at the Myths vs. the History

As a lead-up to the forthcoming History Channel series “Vikings,” Tom Ashbrook, host of NPR’s “On Point,” talked with a foremost authority on the subject — Yale’s Anders Winroth — to de-mystify the legendary raiders of the North.

Winroth is  professor and director of graduate studies in history. His most recently published book is “The Conversion of Scandinavia: Vikings, Merchants, and Missionaries in the Remaking of Northern Europe” (Yale University Press, 2011). His forthcoming volume, “A New History of the Viking Age,” will be published by Princeton University Press in 2014. YaleNews spoke with Winroth recently about some of the issues raised in his “On Point” interview. The following is an edited transcript. (more…)

Read More

Children’s Books

UD alumna, educator writes books to help children deal with challenges

After Stephanie Guzman graduated from the University of Delaware’s College of Education and Human Development in 2001 as an early childhood education major, her first position was as a second grade teacher at a Title I school.

While Title I schools are designed to improve the academic proficiency for children from disadvantaged areas, Guzman found her students had character issues that needed to be addressed as well.  (more…)

Read More

The Distance between a Mistake and a Lie

UA researcher Don Fallis has spent years studying the existence of lies and deception in social interactions and popular culture, developing a framework to better explain the difference between an honest mistake and an intentional lie

Don Fallis searches for disinformation, the process of intentionally disseminating misleading information, in political dialogue, books, television and film – and he finds examples most everywhere. (more…)

Read More

Poetic Extravaganza

Angelou encourages University community to be ‘a rainbow in the clouds’

Maya Angelou had a special message for the enthusiastic audience that came to hear the renowned Renaissance woman and civil rights activist speak during a sold-out event held Friday evening, Feb. 22, in the University of Delaware’s Bob Carpenter Center.

“I’m going to remind you that you have already been paid for,” Angelou said. “Whether you are white or black or of Asian or Spanish ancestry, gay or straight, you don’t have to apologize to history for anything.” (more…)

Read More

‘To the Mountaintop’: Journalist Discusses Social Justice Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

Award-winning journalist, activist, and author Charlayne Hunter-Gault told a packed audience at Yale that lessons learned from the civil rights movement still have relevance for current and future generations.

Hunter-Gault delivered a lecture titled “Social Justice, Equity, and Public Health” during a Branford College master’s tea on Feb. 5. (more…)

Read More

The Universe in the Middle of Nowhere

The UA’s Chris Impey has taught cosmology to Tibetan Buddhist monastics in remote parts of India each summer for the past five years. With a grant from the John Templeton Foundation, he detailed his experiences in a book, “Humble Before the Void,” which likely will publish in 2014

Chris Impey thinks back to the time he spent living on the edge of Tibetan Buddhist monasteries, teaching modern cosmology to Buddhist monastics in India: “On a typical day, they would be up at 5 a.m. and have prayed for a few hours or done meditation before you even see them. And their attention is just as good at the end of a long day as at the beginning.” (more…)

Read More

Positive Online Comments Can Help Blunt Cyberbullying

Want to stop cyberbullying on Facebook? Try using … Facebook.

A recently published study by a team of Michigan State University researchers found that one effective way of fighting cyberbullying is by using the medium where it tends to flourish. The key, said the researchers: Make your anti-cyberbullying messages positive in nature. (more…)

Read More