University of Arkansas at Little Rock

The UALR Music Department invites qualified students to audition for scholarship opportunities on Friday, February 27, 3 – 7 p.m. in Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall, Fine Arts Building. Students should complete a scholarship application (available at www.ualr.edu/mudept/aid.html) and submit it before Feb. 27. Students unable to attend the auditions may submit a recorded audition with the scholarship application. An audition is a required part of the application process for UALR music scholarships.

For more information, contact the UALR Music Department at 501-569-3294.

The UALR Theatre & Dance Department will hold scholarship interviews and dance technique placement auditions for the 2009-2010 academic year on Friday, Feb. 27, at the Center for the Performing Arts.

Dancers will participate in modern and ballet technique classes from 9 a.m. to 12:20 p.m., followed by individual interviews with faculty during the afternoon. Theatre scholarship interviews will be conducted from 3 to 5:30 p.m. Students must sign up for and schedule auditions and interviews before the 27th.

Interested students should prepare a letter of interest expressing educational goals, a brief resume of experience in theatre and/or dance, an official high school or college transcript, and one letter of recommendation.

To schedule an interview, contact Stacy Pendergraft, Department of Theatre and Dance, at 501-371-7619, smpendergraf@ualr.edu.

UALR will host a lecture titled “Towards a Pragmatist Politics,” by Robert Talisse, professor of philosophy and political science at Vanderbilt University, from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 26, at the Donaghey Student Center Room A.

The lecture, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by UALR’s Socratic Society, Phi Sigma Tau, and the Department of Political Science.

Author of A Pragmatist Philosophy of Democracy and Pragmatism: A Guide for the Perplexed, Talisse specializes in contemporary political philosophy with an emphasis on democratic theory and liberalism. His lecture at UALR will evaluate attempts to justify democracy on the grounds urged by the pragmatist John Dewey in the early 20th century.

“The lecture aims to encourage deeper reflection on why a democratic form of government might be preferred to other political arrangements,” said Andrew Eshleman, associate professor in the Department of Philosophy and Liberal Studies.

For more information, contact the UALR Philosophy and Liberal Studies Department at 501.569.3312.

The Art Department’s gallery exhibitions Input/Output (Dave Anderson) and Illuminated Lessons: New Work by Carey Roberson have been featured in the February 25 edition of Hot in Little Rock. Click here to read the article.

Hot in Little Rock is an e-newsletter that delivers “all the tips and trends happening in our cool city.” To sign up for this free service, visit Hot in Little Rock. Past issues are also available on their website.

UALR’s William G. Cooper Jr. Honors Program in English Lecture Series presents a lecture, “What’s Jewish About Jewish American Fiction?” by Ezra Cappell, author of the critically acclaimed book, American Talmud: The Cultural Work of Jewish American Fiction, at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 19.

The lecture in Room D of UALR’s Donaghey Student Center is free and open to the public. A reception will follow the lecture. For more information, contact Dr. Zabelle Stodola, director of the William G. Cooper, Jr., Honors Program in English at UALR, kzstodola@ualr.edu or (501) 569-3161.

In his book published by State University of New York Press in 2008, Cappell redefines the genre of Jewish American fiction and places it squarely within the larger context of American literature. Cappell departs from the conventional approach of defining Jewish American authors solely in terms of their ethnic origins; instead he contextualizes Jewish American fiction within the theological heritage of Jewish culture.

Questions to be considered in his presentation include: How do Jewish writers explore issues of ethnicity and religion in their work?  What makes one writer an ethnic writer as opposed to an American writer?  How do Jewish writers make sense of the conflicts between tradition and modernity?  How can a Jewish writer ethically represent the Holocaust in a work of fiction? Cappell will sign copies of his book after the presentation. 

Cappell, associate professor of English and director of the Inter-American Jewish Studies Program at the University of Texas at El Paso, has published numerous articles on American and Jewish American writing and is a frequent lecturer on Jewish American culture and Holocaust writing.