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Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Blithedale Romance,” a hypnotic tale of romantic intrigue and social reform, will take the stage at LSU’s HopKins Black Box Theatre, Nov. 12 - Nov. 16.
Performances will begin at 7:30 p.m., Nov. 12 - Nov. 15, and at 2:30 p.m., Nov. 16. A donation of $5 will be accepted at the door for all performances. The Black Box Theatre is located in Room 137 of Coates Hall.
Published in 1852, Hawthorne’s novel is loosely based on his experiences at Brook Farm, an agrarian socialist community of the period. Through the prying eye of his main character, Miles Coverdale, Hawthorne investigates the troublesome relationship between individual and social agendas. Mesmerism, or hypnosis, serves as a motif for the amorous ploys of the Blithedale characters, the illusion of reform, Coverdale’s detection practices and the voyeuristic tendencies in Hawthorne’s own craft.
“The production takes its own cue from Hawthorne’s concern regarding hypnotism in all its various guises,” said adapter-director Ruth Laurion Bowman.
“Marketed as a universal remedy for physical, spiritual and social ills, mesmerism excited great interest and controversy at the time. Hawthorne’s skepticism and intrigue arose from his inkling that in writing fiction he too drew on the hypnotic force of language.”
Bowman’s adaptation integrates imagery and materials on mesmerism into the production.
“We’re aiming to capture the diverse ways mesmerism was marketed to the U.S. public; a freaky fusion of science, religion, socialism, eroticism and magic,” Bowman said.
For more information, call 225-578-4172 or visit www.artsci.lsu.edu/spcm/black_box.
Nominations are being accepted for the following:
George H. Deer Distinguished Teaching Award, which is presented to a instructor, or assistant professor who regularly teach courses in which University College students are enrolled. Nominations should be restricted to persons having taught University College students in three of the past four regular semesters including the semester in which the award is made.
Alumni Association Teaching Assistant Award is given in recognition of outstanding teaching ability and service to students. At the freshman level teaching assistants make up a significant portion of the instructional program. The nominations are limited to graduate teaching assistants.
Criteria for both awards: Nominations should be made on the basis of excellence in teaching, genuine interest in students, outstanding relationships with colleagues, and demonstrated leadership in the promotion of improved instructional programs.
Advisor of the Year Award is based on the national criteria of the National Academic Advising Association-NACADA. The award is designed to honor individuals who are making significant contributions to the improvement of academic advising and to disseminate information about these contributions to other professionals in the field. Only one nominee will be selected. The nominee selected from the campus will become LSU’s Advisor of the Year and his/her name will be submitted as LSU’s representative for national competition as National Advisor of the Year. Any individual serving as an academic adviser and employed by LSU may be nominated. The nominee need not be a NACADA member.
Criteria: Nominations will be evaluated on the evidence of effective advising qualities and practices that distinguish the nominee as an outstanding academic adviser.
Nominations may be initiated by individual teaching assistants, faculty members, department chairs, staff members and any recognized organization within the University. The nomination packet should include the nominee’s resume, and letters of recommendation should include a letter from the applicant’s department head. The supporting data must include criteria by which the nominee’s competency and service to students are judged, and a statement from the nominee outlining his/her goals. An evaluation form, which should be used as a guide in preparing the nomination, is available by contacting the University College at 578-6822. This evaluation form is used by the selection committee in their deliberations.
Nominations for all awards should be submitted no later than Friday Dec. 5, to: Awards, c/o Debra Blacher, University College, 150 Allen Hall. One original and eight copies are required.
The LSU School of Veterinary Medicine began its Third Annual Stallion Service Auction on Oct. 15 and it will continue until Nov. 15.
The event is a multiple-breed, internet-based benefit auction for the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine’s Equine Health Studies Program. Money raised will go toward the expansion and renovation of the Hospital’s Equine Clinic, including the Equine Intensive Care Unit.
Through a Web site, http://equine.vetmed.lsu.edu, stallion owners donate a breeding session with their stud – either by live cover or by artificial insemination – to be bid on by mare owners locally, nationally and internationally for the upcoming 2004 breeding season. Auction bidding begins on the service at 50 percent of the standard stud fee so interested bidders have an opportunity for reduced-rate breeding.
“The Stallion Service Auction is one of the EHSP’s most successful fund-raising activities to date. One reason for its success is that these stallions, and the bidders, are not solely from Louisiana, but throughout the United States and Europe,” said Jill Blackmer, certified veterinary specialist in equine medicine and professor at the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine. “A bidder need only visit the Web site to receive a superb price on stud service.”
The event, now in its third year, has raised more than $50,000 toward the new intensive care unit. The school is still working to raise another $200,000 toward the project.
LSU’s Manship School of Mass Communication has announced a new Web site with information about existing online courses and degrees in journalism and mass communication. The site, www.lsu.edu/jmconline, includes information from 37 colleges and universities that currently offer online courses, bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
For the study, two of the school’s faculty members, Billy I. Ross and Nicole E. Smith, surveyed more than 500 journalism and mass communication programs in the United States.
Dean John M. Hamilton said the school plans to inventory all the schools annually and update the listings on the Web site. Findings from the study will include trends and growth of online education in journalism and mass communication.
The study is supported by funding from the Manship School’s Reilly Center for Media and Public Affairs.
LSU’s Department of Theatre will celebrate its 75th anniversary with a Diamond Jubilee Benefit Celebration, Saturday, Nov. 22, at 5:30 p.m. in the LSU Faculty Club.
The evening includes the party and a special 7:30 p.m. performance of Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town” at the Claude L. Shaver Theatre, located in the LSU Music and Dramatic Arts Building. Directed by Jane Brody, this production features former LSU Theatre department chairs Gresdna Doty and Bill Harbin.
Tickets to the Anniversary Benefit are $50 each and may be purchased by calling 578-3527. Discounts are available for students and LSU faculty/staff.
Three distinguished departmental alumni – Wil Calhoun, former executive producer of “Friends”; Chris Broneau, of the New York theatrical public relations firm Boneau/Bryan-Brown; and Amela Baksic, an accomplished costume designer – will serve as honorary co-chairs for the event.
Regular performances of “Our Town” run at 7:30 p.m., Nov. 19-23 and Dec. 4-6, and at 2 p.m., Nov. 23 and Dec. 7, in the Shaver Theatre. Tickets to the regular performances are $8.50 for students, $13.50 for seniors and LSU faculty/staff, and $15.50 for adults. Seating is general admission.