Issuu

SPRING 2021

IN THIS ISSUE 4-6 GAINES INSPIRES UK ALUM TO CONNECT WITH APPALACHIAN ROOTS, ADVOCATE FOR WORKERS 8-9 MINI GRANTS CREATE NEW PARTNERSHIPS 10 DONORS SUPPORT GAINES, HUMANITIES IN KY 12-13 EMILY ANDREASSON ON REFUGEE DISPLACEMENT 14-16 CELEBRATING OUR SENIORS 18-19 LAFAYETTE SEMINAR RECAP WITH IMANI PERRY 20-22 EXPLORING CITIZENSHIP WITH GUEST FACULTY 24-25 LUKE GLASER’S IMPACT ON EASTERN KY

At the corner of Third Street and Winchester Road, Lexingtonians will find the first park in the United States honoring the earliest African American professional athletes – the Thoroughbred jockey. Seen in the park here is a recreation of the cover of I Dedicate This Ride, a book of poetry and ode to Isaac Murphy, the little-known racing legend and one of the winningest jockeys of all time. Gaines was lucky enough to have the award-winning author of this book, Frank X Walker, as a guest faculty member during its Spring 2021 seminar. 2

Letter from the

GAINES DIRECTOR It seems like we might be living in the brighter days ahead we hoped for at the beginning the Covid outbreak. The university has announced that we will be back to normal operations in the fall and many staff who have been working remotely have already begun returning to their offices. The offices at the Gaines Center will be different as we return. Connie Duncan, our inimitable administrative support, retired at the end of the Spring semester. We celebrate Connie as she takes this step forward to spend more time with her family and do the things that bring her joy. We also understand the profound loss to our Gaines community with her departure. Connie worked at UK for 40 years, and we have benefited from the accumulation of her goodwill with other employees and faculty and knowledge of how to get things done. Chelsea Brislin and I feel like we know so many of you because of Connie’s recollections of your time at Gaines and her sincere love for the current and former fellows. Connie has assured us that she will take an occasional phone call, and we will continue to seek her wisdom and counsel as we work to meet the mission of the Gaines Center. All of programming and much of the teaching was done virtually this year. The Spring of 2020 demanded a steep learning curve as we attempted to live up to our role as a laboratory for imaginative and innovative humanities education and programming. We worked hard to master the technology and techniques of engaging in human and humane ways through screens. Our theme for the year was citizenship and it, as well as world events, led us to many varied and interesting conversations. The Gaines Center also sought to be good citizens of the university. It became clear early on that the financial constraints caused by the pandemic would hit the Humanities areas at the university hard, so we launched a mini-grant program. This program enriched the intellectual life of the university in a year when doing basic tasks seemed challenging and allowed for rich humanities engagement opportunities for faculty, students, and the community. Knowing that some units have not completely rebounded, we will offer this program again next year. Our individual and collaborative efforts led to the Gaines Center reaching over 5000 people through zoom, social media, and YouTube. The Gaines Center, like so many of you, is thinking deeply about how we will emerge from this period of quarantine and what this global event has taught us and cost us. I know that I am not the same. But this recognition of individual change does not speak to the collective questions of who we want to be as the world reopens. So in the coming year, we will begin seeking your input, in-person and through technology, to discuss the collective question of how we want the Gaines Center for the Humanities to emerge and further its mission in a post-pandemic world.

RAABIA WAZIR ADVOCATES FOR MINERS, FAMILIES IN FEDERAL BLACK LUNG CASES ‘06/’13

The Gaines Center recently caught up with Raabia Wazir, a UK alum and West Virginia native, who credits the Center for transforming her relationship with Appalachia. Can you let us know what you’ve been up to since graduating from UK? Where do you work now? After UK, I went to Washington, DC, where I worked and interned with different progressive Muslim organizations, including a non-profit media group and the Council on American-Islamic Relations. This was during the Bush era, and civil liberties work for our community felt urgent and important for me, however unpopular it was in political circles at the time. I was able to immerse myself in that world, getting hands-on experience with a wide array of non-profit advocacy and service strategies, from constituent lobbying and distributed organizing campaigns to community forums and media outreach. For a time, I worked under Yaser Tabbara, a Syrian international human rights attorney, and I was deeply inspired by his theory of change. I increasingly found myself drawn to the power of legal advocacy, and I eventually applied to law school. I distinctly remember being torn between pursuing international law, imagining myself working abroad at the International Criminal Court or some other high profile NGO, and returning to Kentucky where I felt grounded, understood, and, most importantly, needed. The latter impulse won out, and I was thrilled to be back on UK’s campus in 2010. After law school, I joined the firm of Gary C. Johnson, PSC, in Pikeville, Kentucky, where I practiced personal injury and mass tort litigation. I loved being part of the team that 4

represented clients in lawsuits against insurance companies, pharmaceutical giants, and medical device manufacturers. We were often the last line of defense for people wrongfully harmed by these enormous corporations after policy failed and prosecutors refused to act. These cases ranged from simple slip-and-fall accidents at the local Wal-Mart to medical device campaigns that involved thousands of potential plaintiffs across the country. In 2019, I joined the Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center, a non-profit law firm based in Whitesburg, Kentucky, where I represent coal miners and their families in claims for federal black lung benefits. I joined the organization just as we began to see a significant spike in complicated black lung, an especially deadly form of the disease, at rates that are far worse than at any other time in Kentucky’s history. In so many ways, we have yet to see the full extent to which the legacy costs of the coal industry have harmed our region and our people. We have so much work ahead of us still.

What does your day-to-day look like in your current role? Federal Black Lung Benefits claims are, on their face, fairly straightforward cases. It is my job to prove that our clients have been totally disabled due to coal workers’ pneumoconiosis as a result of their work in coal mines. A typical day involves reviewing medical records, answering discovery requests, interviewing clients, developing evidence through medical experts, preparing motions, and attending hearings. Because we are a small office, we tend to be very collaborative and there are a lot of opportunities to assist with projects and events led by other departments. That ranges from escorting a large group of coal miners from across Appalachia to lobby on Capitol Hill to promoting screenings for a documentary featuring my colleague Mary Cromer’s community lawyering in Martin County. It is a dynamic, interesting workplace that keeps me on my toes. Can you tell us about your experience in Gaines? What are some of your favorite memories? I stumbled into the Gaines Fellowship when I applied as a sophomore. I knew it was a prestigious and challenging exploration of the humanities, akin to an Honors program for the Honors Program, but I was in no way prepared for the warmth, intimacy, and, well, Fellowship that I would find there. For a program that attracted highly ambitious students, it was an unexpected joy to be in a rigorous academic environment in which we could still be open, curious, vulnerable and even silly. I recall one seminar where we studied the meaning and importance of ritual, then divided into groups to create and enact a ritual of our own. At the culmination of one piece, Dr. Rowland was hidden away in the library alcove of the Commonwealth House and, at the pivotal moment, jumped into the living room while wearing his bicycle helmet and, if memory serves, shaking maracas with unbridled enthusiasm. It is hard to narrow down a single favorite memory from my time as a fellow, and there isn’t a week that goes by in which a special moment 5

WAZIR CONT. or challenging concept or piece of art doesn’t come back to me. I might be sitting on the couch watching Star Trek, and I will hear Dr. Suketu Bhavsar explaining to us how our location in space is far less fixed than we ever imagined. A line from Gabriel Garcia Marquez might bring to mind Silvia Timmerding reading a poem swirling with magical realism about her grandmother, and Prof. Rebecca Howell raving about the joy emanating from the piece. The news of Lee Sexton’s passing reminded me of being treated to an impromptu fiddle performance from him while we sat on the front porch of the gathering house at the Hindman Settlement School for the Bingham Seminar on Appalachian music led by Dr. Ron Pen. These beautiful little moments are just always with me. How do you feel the Gaines Program helped you as you navigate the world? The Gaines Program was instrumental in broadening my perspective and forcing me to examine some of my most basic assumptions about narrative, monuments, memory, and time. As much as I struggled with, for example, discussions on the Bayeux Tapestry led by Dr. Broome-Price, those lessons still inform where I begin when examining a document – who made this, what were their motivations, who was silenced, and how might we hear their story as well? Even more profoundly, the Gaines Program also transformed my relationship with Kentucky and Appalachia. Prior to becoming a fellow, I saw my time in the state as just a brief stop before moving on to bigger and better things in large, cosmopolitan cities. But in countless ways, at the Gaines Center, the local was treated with the same seriousness, respectfulness, and fascination as the global. As a sometimes-apologetic West Virginian, it was a deeply surprising perspective for me. I recall prior to the Kentucky-themed Feast how the junior Fellows grappled with how to 6

celebrate the state, how to represent it in a holistic, meaningful way, how to acknowledge the darker aspects of its history, and doing all this without falling into kitschy references and clichés. I don’t think I would be where I am today if I hadn’t internalized discussions like that and learned to embrace the richness and complexity of our region. Do you have any advice for current Fellows in the program? Fellows are an ambitious and driven group of people, and their junior and senior years can feel like a frenzy of applications and interviews. I made the mistake of believing I had to have a clear career trajectory figured out by the time I left undergrad, and I turned into an absolute mess because I didn’t have a dominant and defining passion to guide me. I was a generalist, not a specialist, and that alone felt like a personal failing. For any Fellows who are experiencing similar anxieties, I would encourage them to grant themselves grace, allow themselves time to explore their interests, and learn to embrace failure. Be sure to take advantage of all that the Gaines Program has to offer, but trust that you will carve out your own path on your own schedule. Visit aclc.org to learn more about the Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center, based in Whitesburg, KY.

The UK Gaines Center for the Humanities is pleased to announce its theme for the 2021-2022 academic year: Mountains. Throughout the year, Gaines’ programming, seminars and curriculum will highlight the unique stories, struggles, and perseverance of global mountain regions. If you have a suggestion related to this theme and would like to collaborate on this effort, please reach out to Dr. Chelsea Brislin, Associate Director of the Gaines Center. 7

GAINES MINI-GRANTS PROMOTE HUMANITIES DESPITE COVID CHALLENGES

he past year brought tremendous challenges to the humanities community. To offset barriers and foster new relationships in a hyper-digital era, the Gaines Center launched a mini-grant fund for campus partners and their humanitiesrelated programming. Awards were made up to $500, with many partners matching those funds. Ultimately, Gaines co-sponsored nine virtual events with a variety of departments across the University. More than one thousand attendees tuned in to hear featured artists, scholars, and writers share their work.

Many of these events were recorded and can be viewed on the Gaines YouTube page. Mini-grant awardees included a variety of campus departments, such as Anthropology, African American and Africana Studies, the Cooperative for Humanities and Social Sciences, Retailing and Tourism Management, Gender and Women’s Studies, History, the School of Art and Visual Studies, Modern and Classical Languages, and the English Graduate Association.

Visit the Gaines Center on YouTube. 8

Justin Hosbey Race, Ecology, and the Legacies of the Plantation Economy in Louisiana

Jelena Subotic Yellow Star, Red Star: Holocaust Remembrance after Communism

Soryeda BeneditBegley The Human Cost of Fast Fashion

Wen Liu

Cathleen Cahill

Andrea Pippins

Emily Greenwood

Roderick Ferguson

Jennifer Sadler

#BlackLivesMatter to #MilkTeaAlliance: On Asian Americanist Critique and Radical Internationalism

Transplanting the Talented Tenth: Black Classicisms and H.K. Banda’s Kamuzu Academy

Recasting the Vote: How Women of Color Transformed the Suffrage Movement

The Bookshop of Black Queer Diaspora

Interconnected: A Design Lecture Series

Equitable Citation Practices

GAINES RECAP

52 $ 2K

INDIVIDUAL DONATIONS MATCH FROM DAN & WENDY ROWLAND

AWARDS TWO BONUS TOTALING $1,250 COMPETITIVE

14,200

TOTAL RAISED 10

for the

GAINES CENTER

SUPPORT GAINES If you would like to support the Gaines Center and humanities programming at UK, you may donate year-round by searching “Gaines Center” at uky.networkforgood.com

Claire Hilbrecht ‘21

Gaines Fellow / Natural Resources & Environmental Science

EMILY ANDREASSON USES “ELLIPSIS” TO DESCRIBE REFUGEE EXPERIENCES by Ben Jones, UK History, Classics + Gaines Alum‘12

he Gaines Center hosted its annual Edward T. Breathitt Undergraduate Lecture in the Humanities on the evening of April 1. This year’s talk was delivered UK senior Emily Andreasson. Andreasson, a double major in interiors and French, presented “Ellipsis: Creating Space for Expression and Healing Amidst the Liminal Experience of Displacement” to a (hey, speaking of “dis-placement”) packed Zoom-house. Established to honor former Kentucky governor (1963-1967) Edward T. Breathitt, an outstanding University of Kentucky alumnus and lover of the humanities, the lectureship is awarded to an undergraduate whose qualities of mind and spirit have been expressed eloquently on humanistic concerns. Andreasson, who described her unique academic niche as that of an “artist and designer with a passion for different languages and cultures,” delivered finely on the Breathitt vision

with her lecture, which fascinatingly explored the potential of architecture and design to promote spatial and cultural representation for displaced migrants in their host countries, namely France. An ellipsis, as a quick Google search will show, is in general terms “the omission from speech or writing of a word or words that are superfluous or able to be understood from contextual clues.” The key word in this definition, as Andreasson explained in the introduction of her lecture, is omission,which brought her to her thesis: Much like a grammatical ellipsis glosses over words, there exists an analogous societal ellipsis which diminishes and ignores the lives of refugees and displaced persons as they struggle in the context of mainstream society. This ellipsis manifests in part through media narratives, which native voices typically dominate and weaponize against foreign refugees and asylum-seekers. “As you can imagine, if you’re

surrounded by voices and media that are telling you that you are a criminal and you are problematic, you don’t have a lot of initiative to change that perception, and you may in fact fulfill that,” explained Andreasson. ”If you are being told that you have no agency, you’re helpless, you’re a victim of your own situation and your circumstances—you tend to fall into that role.” Such alienation, according to Andreasson, exacerbates existing linguistic and cultural barriers that displaced persons already must struggle to navigate in their host countries, further weakening their agency and visibility in the midst of the prevailing societal image. More concrete barriers arise, too, including material poverty, difficult bureaucracy, and the lived experience and effects of racism. And native forces, explained Andreasson, often intentionally place those obstacles in the paths of displaced persons and asylum-seekers. “Many refugees are unable to work, study, create, or do anything while they’re in the process of obtaining documentation to get settled in their host country. This has to do with laws that are in place prior to gaining refugee status—you really are not allowed to do very much,” she said. “People don’t have anywhere to go or anything to do.” In such situations, asylum seekers are both physically and psychologically deprived. To counteract the withering and alienating nature of this migrant experience, Andreasson has proposed a humanities-centered solution, a project titled Ellipsis. Ellipsis is a community arts initiative intended to provide space for the displaced migrant community of northern Paris,

France, to engage in expression, connection, and healing. “Art has been shown through numerous studies to stimulate healing across time and culture,” she said. This restorative power, according to her, stems from the universality of art, which can be understood independently of linguistic and cultural barriers. In practice, Andreasson focused on planning physical spaces for “studios, galleries, resources, and places of refuge” for the displaced migrant community. She visualized these goals by designing architectural schematics for hybrid structures that would at once provide gallery and performance spaces, lounge and dining areas, and offices for community outreach. By incorporating various psychological principles of architecture and interior design into her plans, she strove to provide for a balanced and inviting place for migrants to exercise and advocate for their identities. “Architecture and interiors reflect what our culture values and wants to create space for,” Andreasson said in closing. “In a world that is increasingly interconnected and faces challenges and issues of asylum-seekers and human migration, we need to consider how we are responding to them with our physical spaces and what that is reflecting about our society’s strengths and weaknesses.” Her project would prove a resounding response: a rejection of the societal ellipsis and, instead, a complete spatial statement advocating for migrant representation and expression.

We are incredibly proud of the 2020-2021 Gaines senior cohort. While they had to sacrifice many of the traditional senior-year experiences, we greatly appreciate their patience, diligence, and perseverance in crossing the finish line. We know the adversity they’ve overcome will serve them well, and we look forward to seeing what they accomplish next.

u Gaines Senior Thesis Title | a Favorite Gaines Memory

Aileen Tierney

English + Classics + Creative Writing from Louisville, KY u ”Lily” a “Definitely the Shaker Village trip our junior year. It was great being able to spend quality time with the other Fellows and getting to know them - all in a very picturesque setting.”

Josh Ehl

Natural Resources & Environmental Science from Lexington, KY u Social Ecology and its Origins a “The trip to Shaker Village and bonding with the other members of the cohort during the first year inside and outside of class.”

Nicole Blackstone

Political Science + Sociology + Criminology from Elizabethtown, KY

Hannah Thomas

year and Dr. Holden, our professor at the time, was shocked at our transformation and asked ‘What happened at Shaker Village?’ Previous to the trip, our cohort did not talk to each other and classes were typically quiet, but after bonding on our retreat,we became the talkative, supportive, closeknit group of friends we are now. So what happened at Shaker Village was that we became each other’s own village, and I am so thankful for that.”

Biology + Health, Society and Populations from Hendersonville, TN u Can’t We Just Talk: Exploring Patient Provider Communication in Varying Health Literacy Levels a “Spending the night at Shaker Village. Our cohort had so much fun getting to know each other and we made many memories that bonded us for the rest of our time together. I also loved the LGBTQ walking tour of Lexington that Dr. Stein took us on.”

Daniela Gamez Salgado

Megan Yadav

u How an Inaccurate Public Memory of

African-American History has enabled Racism to Persist

♥“When we came back from Shaker Village junior

International Studies + Business from Bardstown, KY u The Cuban Community of Louisville, KY: As I See It a “My favorite Gaines memories were the

small, everyday interactions that would brighten up my day and make large systematic ideas from every kind of discipline into easier-to-swallow moments. Celebrating birthdays, Secret Santa, car pools,collective thesis venting, class walks through downtown and other parts of Lexington, and writing multiple pieces of poetry for the first time outside of middle school!”

Psychology from Florence, KY u The Evolution of Mental Health: A Focus on College Campuses a “Shaker village retreat when we went as a group at the beginning of our junior year. We had so much fun spending time together and getting to know each other. That’s when we all truly bonded.”

Claire Hilbrecht

Carson Hardee

Eli O’Neal

Bria Northington

Natural Resources & Environmental Science + Geography from Louisville, KY u An Examination of Western Interactions with Entheogenic Plants a “All of the seminar! I miss laughing and chatting with my cohort at the beginning of class each week!”

English + Political Science Louisville, KY u Collective Memory: The War on Poverty in Eastern Kentucky a “I loved getting to know the other Fellows at Shaker Village!”

Marketing + Management, + Dance + International Business from Lexington, KY u More Than a Gay Best Friend: Unpacking Gay Male Representation in Visual Media a “Our trip to Shaker Village last year. We bonded so much in a short period of time, and we still talk about the amazing memories we made that weekend.”

Social Work + Inclusion, Diversity Initiatives from Louisville, KY u The Experience of Incarcerated Juveniles in America a “Shaker Village!”

GAINES INSTRUMENTAL IN NEW CORNERSTONE ART In 2020, the University of Kentucky opened “The Cornerstone” at the intersection of South Limestone and Winslow Street. In addition to 900 much-needed parking spaces, the building’s ground floor includes 23,000 square feet of mixed-use space including eateries, classrooms, shared community meeting spaces, and the Esports gaming lounge. On the building’s exterior is a multi-story media wall dedicated to University messaging and, now, local artwork. In early 2021, a University-appointed committee announced an inaugural call for local artwork focused on two themes: Black Lives in the Bluegrass - and Kentucky Confronting COVID-19. In total, 64 Kentucky artists submitted more than 70 pieces of artwork for consideration. A number of individuals with connections to Gaines, including Melody Flowers, Gaines alum and UK’s Executive Director for Strategic Analysis and Policy, have been instrumental in launching this initiative. This year’s chosen artwork can be seen on Tuesday and Thursdays through May 31 from 4:00 to 9:00 p.m. Visit cornerstone.uky.edu to learn more about this new, innovative space.

IMANI PERRY ON ANTHEMS by Ben Jones, UK History, Classics + Gaines Alum‘12

ften we may take anthems—evocative songs associated with causes and ideas—for granted. National anthems come to mind, of course, or perhaps even a pop song like Lady Gaga’s “BornThis Way.” Melodies like these are popular, ever-present through loudspeakers and YouTube ads and TV background noise; it can be easy to lose sight (or, rather, sound) of their meaning, purpose, and unique power. But when a nation experiences undeniable upheaval like the United States has in 2020 and 2021, we are called to contemplate and reevaluate our Anthem and our anthems, these passages of notes and lyrics meant to instruct us in our patriotism and identities. “When we made the decision to focus on Citizenship as the theme of the 2020-2021 school year, we did not know the names George Floyd, or Breonna Taylor. We did not know about the coronavirus or the summer protests that would parallel unrest of previous decades,” said Gaines Center Director Melynda Price. The momentous social and political events of the past year having come to pass, the investigation of the idea of citizenship and how we function together in society could not be more crucial. In keeping with this theme, on April 6 the Gaines Center was delighted to host Dr. Imani Perry, the Hughes-Rogers Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University, as the speaker for the annual Lafayette Seminar in Public Issues. Dr. Perry delivered to the virtual audience a riveting lecture that explored the nature anthems and their specific context in American

history, our present civic moment, and the future. Perry highlighted the traditional Black hymn “Lift Every Voice and Sing” as the key example for her analysis, due to the song’s racial-historical context and re-emerged public prominence in the wake of the events of the past year. Anthems, Perry explained, are central to the development of a feeling of “imagined community” that helps varied groups of people subscribe to a sense of belonging to a larger collective, such as the United States. However, “‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’ served a very different kind of function as an anthem, historically, and even in the present moment,” she said. Brothers James Weldon Johnson and J. Rosamond Johnson, sons of Bahamian immigrants to America, wrote the song in 1900 in the context of the unique and stark stresses of post-Reconstruction racial subjugation of Blacks. According to Perry, the ostracization of Black Americans from popular societal and civic discourse led to a period of intense organization and aspiration in the Black community in the late 1800s and early 1900s. While the promises of emancipation had fallen through, the principle remained inspirational: “Emancipation meant the possibility of writing oneself into history, of having a public institutional culture for the first time, and of telling one’s story for the first time. And that in large part is what ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’ did,” Perry said.

It came into use at graduations, professional meetings, and benedictions, and cemented itself as a key piece of Jim Crow-era Black American culture. The song waned in status in the Civil Rights Movement era of the 1950s and 1960s, reemerged in the Black Power era into the 1980s, and again has entered the public imagination in light of the racial suffering and tension of the past year.

Some, most notably Congressman James Clyburn of South Carolina in 2021, have called for “Lift Every Voice and Sing” to be institutionalized as an official national hymn, or even as the new national anthem for the United States. Dr. Perry, however, explained her opposition to such a motion: “It [the song] is a warning, is a prayer, is a reminder that people ought to stay the course toward freedom. And that is why, as beautiful a song as The Johnson brothers originally envisioned the it is, I have not been an advocate of making it the song as a celebration of the birthday of Abraham national anthem. Because the struggle continues, Lincoln, but eventually the composition took on an and I don’t think that the United States has yet entirely new significance as it spread organically earned the distinction of that song.” throughout the national Black community. “One of the most important features in its becoming an Dr. Perry’s conclusion leaves us with excellent, anthem is that it was not chosen as an anthem,” grave questions: Does our nation live up to said Perry. “It becomes an anthem because it the promises of our anthems? What can we resonates so deeply with communities much do as citizens to fulfill the potential that our more than someone dictating it as such.” foundational myths set out for us? “Lift Every Voice and Sing” truly attained its revered status through its organic adoption as a segregation-era school song used to teach Black children a sense of heritage and history as well as more practical lessons of music and reading.

To learn more about Dr. Perry’s work, follow her on Twitter.

@imaniperry 19

UK FACULTY TAKE GAINES ON AN EXPLORATION OF CITIZENSHIP Gaines relies heavily on faculty support to deliver its seminar courses, and the 2020 - 2021 academic year was certainly no exception. The Center is incredibly grateful to these University of Kentucky educators for lending their time and talents while taking Gaines Fellows on a unique, critical investigation of citizenship, an apropos theme for the 2020-2021 academic year.

Nikki Brown, History

Dr. Brown presented “Humans of Kentucky,” where Gaines Fellows discussed the role photography plays in affirming African American citizenship. Beginning with images of Frederick Douglass, students learned how photography became a tool of civil rights activism to proclaim African American belonging, at the same time as other visions competed to show African American inferiority and secondclass citizenship. The section ended with Fellows presenting self-portraits that declared their citizenship in the U.S. and their belonging in Kentucky.

Miriam Kienle, Art History

Dr. Kienle led Gaines Fellows on an exploration of citizenship through the U.S. postal service. Students discussed what it means to be a citizen of the U.S. Postal System, learned about its history and policies- including recent threats to its solvency. The students also created and examined “mail art” (also known as “correspondence art” or “postal art”). As students learned, this mail art is a form of creative practice that uses the postal system as an alternative means of producing,distributing, and receiving art.

Jeremy Popkin, History

Throughout history, a number of societal revolutions have influenced the way we think about rights and citizenship including the American, French, and Haitian Revolutions. From 1776 to today, Gaines Fellows explored historical debates on human rights and citizenship with Dr. Popkin.

Armando Prats, English

Dr. Prats led Fellows on an exploration of citizenship through the lens of Native American captivity and American identity. Students read a number of stories about historical figures such as Mary Rowlandson, Hannah Dustan, John Smith, Daniel Boone and others.

Scoobie Ryan, Journalism

Beginning with John Milton’s Areopagitica, a prose poem opposing censorship in England, Scoobie Ryan encouraged Gaines Fellows to explore the role of journalism as it relates to citizenship. From policy and consumption to technology and civic responsibility, students had critical discussions related to the evolution of journalism and democracy. Ultimately, students had to decide for themselves what constitutes a healthy media diet.

Mel Stein, Gender & Women Studies

Dr. Stein encouraged the Gaines Fellows to consider the ways in which citizenship is embodied - how certain bodies are imagined to be “natural” U.S. citizens, while others were excluded from the category of citizen by the constructed nature of their biology. In her unit, students learned how race, ethnicity, gender, class, and dis/ability intersect with the rights, resources, and access associated with full citizenship.

Frank X Walker, English + African American and Americana Studies What determines who is allowed to have full rights of citizenship? What complexities are tied to citizenship and suffrage? What is the value and effectiveness of art as a mode of critique? What aesthetic elements are used in the political image-making on the topic of citizenship? Gaines Fellows answered these questions, and many more, during Frank X Walker’s presentation of “Let America Be America Again: Poetry, Comics, Cartoons, and the Political Image of Citizenship.”

Eric Weber, Ed Policy + Philosophy

In Dr. Weber’s unit, students discussed the role of philosophical thinking as it relates to life and to public policy. This included examining the ways in which philosophical ideas can be put to work in public discourse.

STAY CONNECTED THROUGH THE SUMMER While campus may be quiet this summer, enthusiasts throughout the state have organized a number of arts and cultural events for all ages. Among the many options, on Tuesday, June 15, the Kentucky Humanities Council is hosting Out of Opulence: An Evening with Crystal Wilkinson, Wiley Cash and DaMaris Hill.

Also facilitated by Kentucky Humanities is the Carl West Award, an honor recognizing a living individual (journalist, educator, librarian, author, etc.) or institution (publishing house, university press, literary organization, etc.) who has made a significant impact on the literary culture and community of the Commonwealth.

Visit the Kentucky Humanities website for more Nominations must be received by July 1 and may details on this and other events. be submitted via the Kentucky Book Festival website.

The 2021 Kentucky Women Writers Conference will be held September 9 to 12 on the University of Kentucky campus. Registration is set to open on July 1. Visit womenwriters.as.uky.edu for more details. 23

GAINES ALUM CREATING BRIGHT FUTURE FOR EASTERN KY by Lindsey Piercy, UK Public Relations

uke Glaser was once a struggling math student. Academically, he often excelled. But learning polynomials, as well as quadratic equations and functions, just didn’t seem applicable to his life as a high school teenager. “I hated math, and I took AP classes to simply not have to take math in college.” But 10 years later, in one of life’s little ironies, Glaser finds himself at the head of the classroom teaching AP Calculus.

So, Glaser enrolled at the university, moved from his hometown of Louisville to Lexington, and took advantage of every opportunity that came knocking. “Like many college students, it took me a while to get my feet wet at college. But once I did, it quickly became home,” he said. “I tell my students to get involved with as many things as possible. It may be awkward at first, but opportunities, networks, and friends at college follow a pattern of exponential growth. The more things you do, the more all of these things increase.”

“The biggest challenge wasn’t going to be relearning integrals or derivatives, but convincing students that taking the hard classes are worth For Glaser, that sentiment held true. With every resume-building opportunity, he also expanded it.” his definition of community. “Most of my mentors As the AP instructor at Hazard High School, Glaser at UK I met through my experiences. Giving a understands his seniors are facing an exhilarating speech led to a professor recommending me but daunting decision — where to go to college. to work for the Kentucky Kernel. Joining the The choice is about more than the name of the College of Arts and Sciences Ambassadors led school etched on your diploma. Where you to a job with the College and a great relationship pursue higher education will touch numerous with my adviser, Jamie Wheeler. Interacting with aspects of your life — from academic studies professors outside of class led to friendships with to social activities and beyond. Many factors go many, including Jonathan Allison, Robert Rabel, into making that final decision, but for Glaser, and nearly all of my professors in the Gaines the moment he stepped foot on the University of Fellowship.” Kentucky campus, he just knew. And throughout his time at UK, those mentors“I toured a handful of colleges both in state and out of state. There was an energy at UK that is more felt than described, and I just remember getting a palpable sense of that energy on my tour,” he said. “It’s the flagship university of Kentucky. There were opportunities that I was unlikely to find elsewhere.” 24

turned-friends would help point Glaser toward his passion and purpose.

Most of us have no clue what we want to do with our lives — even after we finish school. Glaser was no exception. During his junior year, he wasn’t quite sure what his future would hold. But looking back, he’s able to pinpoint the exact moment his path became more clear.

As part of the Gaines Center for Humanities Fellowship, Glaser visited Whitesburg. Even though it was his first trip to Eastern Kentucky, he admitted to having preconceived notions about Appalachia and the people who call it home. “Growing up in Louisville, you knew two things about Eastern Kentucky: One, somewhere past the Red River Gorge everything became black and white, because all the photos from the area were black and white, and two, that’s the place where you go on mission trips to help build homes and schools, because they can’t do it themselves.” Glaser quickly learned: he was wrong.“There were brilliant people who were living in a beautiful part of the state and working to make it better,” he said. “So, I originally came to Hazard to explore that gap and find the things that we had in common. It has turned into a nearly decadelong experiment.” In 2013, Glaser graduated from UK with two degrees — one in English and one in Hispanic studies. Today, he continues to use the lessons he learned in the classroom to help his own students. “My experience with Arts and Sciences gave me the opportunity to tackle this formidable task — to attempt something more important than the math itself: the ability to make people care,” Glaser explained. “The skills I learned as an English major helped me create Calculus Creates Problem Solvers — a curriculum based around why AP classes are worthwhile and what opportunities they can unlock for students.” And it’s working. Last year, 27 students at Hazard High School passed the AP test — the highest passing number in school history. Additionally, they beat the Kentucky average and the national average score on the AP Calculus exam.“Before students take any test or quiz in my class, I say, ‘Every time you do this you are not just taking an exam. You are pushing back against anyone who has written you off.’” Glaser utters those words knowing that students in Appalachia have perceptions to overcome. “And I want my students to know that they are just as capable, just as intelligent and just as driven as any other student in any part of the country. So, when we sit for the AP exams, they mean more,”

he explained. “Students who receive college credit have a sense of accomplishment and are armed with the tools they will need for college. I’m proud to work with such men and women.” Glaser is also fighting for the Hazard community outside of the classroom in his role as a city commissioner. Since his election in 2018, he has been a crucial member of one of the most effective administrations in Hazard history. Glaser has helped to upgrade the area’s water policies to modernize one of the most important issues the city faces, and he created one of the most comprehensive civic internships in the state. Additionally, Glaser is on the boards of the Appalachia Arts Alliance, InVision Hazard, and Teach for America Appalachia.“I never stop learning, and I remain awestruck by the seemingly endless reservoirs of kindness, generosity, and creative spirit I find in the people I work with,” he said. “I consider myself an adopted son of Appalachia, and I am grateful they are willing to have me.” Glaser was once a struggling math student, but now, he’s developed his own formula for success. By being a bold leader with a bold vision, he hopes to achieve bold results for Kentucky and beyond. “I’m driven to continue to explore the chords of human connection that bind the Commonwealth together; to find the things that unite us in an era of seemingly omnipresent division,” Glaser said. “That work and mission will continue to drive me, regardless of future endeavors.”

LOOKING AHEAD NEW GAINES WEBSITE The Center plans to launch a new website during Summer 2021. In addition to a visual face lift, the new site will expand upon current resources and include more details on our students, faculty and stakeholders. Be on the lookout for requests to share your information and ideas. WELCOMING NEW GAINES FELLOWS This fall, we are thrilled to welcome one of the most diverse junior cohorts in Gaines’ history, including students from the Colleges of Agriculture, Food and Environment, Arts and Sciences, Communication and Information, Design, Education, Public Health, and the Gatton College of Business and Economics. We look forward to sharing more on these students and their stories in the coming months. NEW GAINES STAFF During the annual retreat at Shaker Village, Gaines staff and students celebrated Connie Duncan who recently retired after nine years with the Center and more than forty years at the University. The Center is currently reviewing applicants for a new administrative assistant and looks forward to introducing the successful applicant later this summer.

Photo of Mary Sherman, junior Fellow, at the Gaines Shaker Village Retreat on April 30. Photo Credit: Teja Sudhakar, Gaines junior Fellow 27

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