Creative & Critical Minds Film Series
The Film Series features six monthly film events held on the Oakland University campus throughout the 2012-2013 academic year. Each event is free and open to the public, showcases a film with relevance to the 2012-2013 College of Arts and Sciences theme, and includes an introduction and post-screening discussion moderated by Oakland University faculty. The six selected films (see below) highlight “creativity” and “critical thinking” in a variety of historical, cultural and artistic contexts. By so doing, attendees will encounter “creativity” as it applies to a variety of fields, as well as the degree to which “criticism” is integral to the creative arts.
Series Schedule: (dates/times and locations are confirmed; film selections are tentative as of 8/16/2012)
- September 28 (5-7:30 pm, 205 Varner) – Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007) [presented by Professor Hunter Vaughan]
- October 25 (5-7:30 pm, 205 Varner) – Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010) [presented by Professor Kyle Edwards]
- November 29 (5-7:30 pm, 205 Varner) – Lenny (1974) [presented by Professor Justin Remeselnik]
- January 31 (5-7:30 pm, 202 Dodge) – Pollock (2000) [presented by Professor Andrea Eis]
- February 28 (5-7:30 pm, 202 Dodge) – I'm Not There (2007) [presented by Professor Courtney Brannon-Donoghue]
- March 28 (5-7:30 pm, 202 Dodge) – Memories of Murder (2002) [presented by Professor Alison Hoffman-Han]
Thursday, September 27, 2012, 5pm, 205 Varner Hall
Cinema Studies presents a screening of the Academy Award-nominated film The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007). Introduction and post-film discussion will be with Professor Hunter Vaughan. This event is free and open to public (refreshments included).
October 9-30, 2012, Oakland Center
Explore an extraordinary visual legacy. Dan Eldon was among a group of five journalists attacked by an angry mob during the Somali famine of 1993. He and three others were stoned to death.
Opening Reception: Wednesday, October 10, noon, Lake Huron Room, OC
Screen the 44-minute version of "Dying to Tell the Story". Free food
"Dying to Tell the Story", Tuesday, October 9, 2012, 6:30pm, Gold Room A, OC
View full 90-minute version of film
Politics of Africa Panel Discussion, Wednesday, October 23, 2012, noon, Firesid Lounge, OC
Panel Discussion with OU Model U.N. Students and Political Science faculty.
Sunday, October 7, 2012, 2:00 pm, in the OU Art Gallery
In conjunction with the exhibition Remain Calm: The Art of Graem Whyte, September 8 - October 7, 2012, the OU Art Gallery Creative & Critical Minds program is a panel discussion entitled The Academy, the Student and the Artist to take place on Sunday, October 7 at 2PM. This will explore the autodidact (a self-trained person) versus the academy-trained artist, and the difference between teaching art to artists and non-artists in a university as opposed to art school environment. Graem Whyte is an autodidact. Specific panelists will be announced in the near future.
Communication via Comic Books
Wednesday, October 10, 2012, Noon in the Oakland Center, Oakland Room
Nick Sousanis from Teacher's College, Columbia University will present his work in comic books on the “Creative & Critical Minds” theme at noon in the Oakland Room of the OC (student center)
on Wednesday, October 10, 2012. Nick is a Detroiter now living in New York, co-founder of arts and culture web-mag
www.thedetroiter.com, founding director for the University of Michigan Work-Detroit gallery (on Woodward Ave), and biographer of legendary Detroit artist Charles McGee.
Nick is currently writing and drawing his dissertation at Teachers College entirely in comic book form -- the first of its kind. Anyone interested in the interaction of verbal and visual modes of communication -- or something akin to Scott McCloud's work in the now contemporary classic Understanding Comics -- will find this presentation of interest. Please see Nick's comics at
http://www.spinweaveandcut.blogspot.com/.
Sponsored by the CAS Theme committee and the Department of Writing and Rhetoric at Oakland University.
Contact Ben-Bennett-Carpenter (bennettc@oakland.edu | 248 854 8340)
Music, Technology & Education: Presentation & Workshop
Alex Ruthman studied performing arts technology at the University of Michigan before completing MM and PhD degrees at Oakland University in music education. He is Assistant Professor of Music Education a the University of Massachusetts Lowell where he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses at the intersection of music education, arts computing and research. He currently serves as President of the Association for Technology in Music Instruction, Chair of the Creativity special research interest group of the Society for Research in Music Education, and Co-Editor of the International Journal of Education & the Arts. His current research explores social/digital media musicianship and creativity, the development of technologies for music learning, and teaching and engagement for use in schools and community-based interdisciplinary arts+computing programs.
Thursday, October 11, 2012, 6:00 pm, in 231 Varner Hall
Social media musicianship: Practices and implications for music education
In this talk prepared for the general public, Alex Ruthmann will address three main themes: social media musicianship, harnessing DIY/Maker cultures and tangible media, and embracing 20th and 21st century musical roles such as audio engineer and producer. Ruthmann will share exemplars of inspiring practices and put forward a framework for a "relational pedagogy" where students, teachers, creativity, expression, and engagement are at the center, mediated by technology.
Saturday, October 13, 2012, 9:00 am - 4:30 pm (with lunch break), in 231 Varner Hall
Saturday Workshop: From STEM to STE(A)M
Alex Ruthmann will lead a hands-on exploration of social and computational media musicianship. The morning will be spent experiencing video-based social media musicianship projects integrating mathematical, computational, and musical thinking using iMovie. The afternoon will focus on computational media musicianship through hands-on projects using the Scratch visual programming environment to create and perform interactive music through video games
French Singer and Songwriter, Eric Vincent, visits OU for concert and workshop
Concert: Thursday, October 11, 2012, 7:00pm, Varner Hall
Eric Vincent, French singer and songwriter, will be performing in a concert that is free and open to the public. His songs,are a blend of folk, jazz, rock and ethnic rhythms. His music transcends the language barrier by his dazzling performance. He is a virtuoso guitarist as well as singer, and so this concert should be of interest to music lovers of all genres.
Workshop: Friday, October 12, 2012, 3:00pm, Varner Hall Lab Theatre
Eric Vincent will give a workshop at which he will discuss his creative process of composing music and writing lyrics, and he will provide insights into the sources of inspiration for his songs
Presentation by James Kaufman, Author of Creativity 101
Thursday, November 8, 2012, 1:00 pm, place TBA
Professor James Kaufman, Professor of Psychology at California State University, San Bernardino and author of the 2012-2013 OU Community Book, will be visiting our campus and will give a campus-wide talk on Thursday, Nov. 8 at 1:00 pm. Other sessions with students enrolled in specific classes are currently in the planning stages. Please come back to this site later for updates.