Big Water Creates Big Impact

Anticipating next year’s CE theme, “Deep Waters,” please see this call for submissions from CMU Libraries, in collaboration with the Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Libraries:

Submissions accepted March 22 through May 31, 2021

People of all ages may submit works of art or research that depicts the impact of recent big water events on the people who live in Michigan. This virtual exhibition will launch in September 2021.

Learn more and submit an application at library.cmich.edu/BigWaterExhibition.

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This exhibition is co-sponsored by Central Michigan University Libraries and the Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Libraries and is made possible by a grant from the American Library Association.

Art Spiegelman (February 18)→

Art Spiegelman

Join us for a virtual conversation with author and illustrator Art Spiegelman, who created the Pulitzer Prize winning Holocaust narrative Maus, portraying Jews as mice and Nazis as cats. The book weaves Spiegelman's account of his tortured relationship with his aging father into a retelling of one of history's most unspeakable tragedies. The book offers an unforgettable story of survival and a disarming look at the legacy of trauma. 

Art Spiegelman will share images from Maus and discuss how they relate to today’s context at home and around the world. Following the presentation, audience members are invited to participate in a Q&A session with the author. 

“An Evening with Wes Lowery” (January 23)→

Please join us on January 23 at 7:00 PM in the Bovee University Center Auditorium for “An Evening with Wes Lowery.” Wesley Lowery is a Pulitzer-Prize-winning journalist for The Washington Post, a CNN political contributor, the author of They Can't Kill Us All: Ferguson, Baltimore, and a New Era in America's Racial Justice Movement (2016), which describes his experiences while reporting on the 2016 Ferguson unrest and also chronicles the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement.

This event is free and open to the public and will also be available on our livestream starting a few minutes before 7:00 PM. Sponsored by the Department of Journalism, the College of Arts and Media, and Critical Engagements.

→ Open event flyer

“Open-Label Placebos and Self-Deception” (Brian Coleman, November 22)→

Join us on November 22 (2:00 PM, Anspach 167) for a Philosophy Lecture and Colloquium on “Open-Label Placebos and Self-Deception” led by Dr. James Brian Coleman (CMU).

The placebo effect has long been seen as a kind of “fake news” of the medical world: intentionally deceptive medicine that happens somehow to have real results. But could placebos in fact be a sort of fake news patients tell themselves?

Recent research on the placebo effect shows that there can be a positive therapeutic result even when the patient is fully informed of the placebo’s inert content. The medical literature refers to such placebos as “open-label placebos.” Traditionally, objections to placebo use center on the apparent requirement of some degree of deception in their application, which violates requirements on respect for patient autonomy. But do open-label placebos involve some form of deception? The question this paper pursues is whether open-label placebos imply self-deception. If so, is this ethically problematic? The paper concludes by speculating about the implications of the relation between self-deception and autonomy for clinical medicine in general.

 Free and open to the public.  Sponsored by the Department of Philosophy and Religion.

→ Open event page

“Facebook and Fake News: How Misinformation Is Spread and Why We Fall For It” (November 20)→

Please join us on November 20 (6:00–8:00 PM, Anspach 162) to learn more about the role of social media in spreading “fake news” and the psychology behind why we believe untrue messages. After a screening of the PBS special The Facebook Dilemma, CMU psychology faculty members Sarah Domoff, Kimberly O'Brien, Kyle Scherr, and experimental psychology graduate student Brian Kissell will lead a panel discussion. Sponsored by the Department of Psychology and Critical Engagements.

→ Open event flier (PDF)

“The Alternative University” (Robert Davies and David Staley, November 18)

Please join CMU President Dr. Robert O. Davies and Dr. David Staley on November 18 (5:30–6:30 PM, Opperman Auditorium, Park Library) for a conversation about innovative visions of higher education. 

Dr. Staley is director of the Humanities Institute and associate professor of history at The Ohio State University. His book, Alternative Universities: Speculative Design for Innovation in Higher Education, examines opportunities to re-envision the university. What do the universities of the future look like? What will the students of the future need? Will their universities have buildings, gen-ed, or traditional disciplines? 

→ Open event flier (PDF)

“The Intersection of Environmental Reporting and Fake News” (Tom Henry, November 14)→

Please join us on November 14 for a presentation by Tom Henry, former student reporter for CM Life and now an award-winning environmental-energy writer and reporter for the Toledo Blade, on “The Intersection of Environmental Reporting and Fake News.” Sponsored by the Clarke Historical Library and Critical Engagements.

“The Naked Sphere: Trolls, Fake News and Other Audience Shenanigans” (November 7)→

Join us on November 7 for a panel discussion on how CMU faculty are researching what happens in the public sphere; how consumers react to digital advertising; the impact of presidential rhetoric, “fake news,” and conspiracy on YouTube; and other matters. Panelists include Dr. Edward Hinck, Dr. Jinhee Lee, Dr. Shelly Hinck, and Dr. Zulfia Zaher. See the event page for full details.

→ Open event flier

“Fabricated History: The Ban on German Aircraft History after WWII” (Lutz Budrass, November 1)→

Join us on November 1, when Visiting Exchange Professor Lutz Budrass (University of Bochum) will review the whitewashing of national histories, including a discussion about how the history of the German aircraft industry has been manipulated to conceal the participation of aircraft industrialists in Nazi crimes. See the event page for full details.

“Using Wikipedia in the Age of Alternative Facts: Creating Student Expertise” (October 18)→

Join the CLASS Excellence in Teaching and Learning Committee (ETLC) on October 18 for an interactive workshop. This year, the ETLC is considering the president’s call to programs that display “rigor, relevance, and excellence,” particularly in light of the Critical Engagements theme “Fake News: What Do We Know and How Do We Know It?”

Our first workshop describes an assignment in Dr. Rachael Barron-Duncan’s African Art course which tackles the common internet conundrum: the most “relevant” and popular sources often lack rigor and excellence. Looking at the misinformation or complete dearth of information on English-language Wikipedia regarding African visual culture, Dr. Barron-Duncan’s students have set about to supply the expertise needed to curate those pages in an academically responsible way.

Join us to discuss an example of how discipline-based content assignments can build source-analysis and critical-thinking skills. Refreshments will be served.

Please RSVP by October 16 to class@cmich.edu.

“The Impeachment of President Trump: A Real Possibility or Just ‘Fake News’?” (October 15)→

Join Central Michigan University faculty members on October 15 for a seminar-style discussion about the impeachment inquiry into President Trump and whether it’s a real possibility. Department of Political Science and Public Administration faculty members Kyla Stepp and Jeremy Castle will facilitate the discussion. Coffee and cookies will be provided.

See the event page for details, links, and resources.

“D’oh! Pioneers: Unraveling Founding Myths with a Twitter Thread” (Andrew Wehrman, October 8)→

Please join us on October 8 for a presentation by Andrew Wehrman (Department of History, CMU), entitled “D’oh! Pioneers: Unraveling Founding Myths with a Twitter Thread.” With only a little help from Lisa Simpson, Dr. Wehrman will offer a historian’s perspective on truth, fiction, and the stories we tell about who we are and where we came from. Please see the event page for full details and more links.

“Vaccination: When ‘Fake News’ Has Lasting Consequences” (September 18)→

On September 18, 2019, faculty and community members from different disciplines will explore the history of vaccination, hesitancy to vaccinate, vaccination myths, the science behind vaccines, and its relation to autism. 6:00 PM, Anspach 162. Please see the event page for full details.

Fall 2019 Kickoff Event: CMU Faculty on Fake News and Post-Truth→

Please join us on September 19 for the Critical Engagements Fall 2019 kickoff event, an introduction and open discussion featuring CMU faculty and staff on fake news, post-truth, how we know what we know in our disciplines — and how we talk about it in our research, classrooms, and communities. 7:00 PM, Anspach 161.

Open Event Flier (PDF)