This week Minnesota Public Radio’s “The Daily Circuit” hosted UMBC political science professor Thomas F. Schaller for a show on the role of the South in U.S. politics. Schaller is the author of Whistling Past Dixie: How Democrats Can Win Without the South and appeared with David Woodard, professor of political science at Clemson University.

Schaller articulated the argument, central to his book, that the South is no longer required for Democrats to win a presidential election. He further suggested that the South — though it will, to an extent, always “remain distinct” culturally — is becoming increasingly like the rest of the United States. “In 30 years or 40 years,” Schaller said, “I don’t think we’ll see the kind of distinction between South and non-South that we see today and that we saw 100 years ago,” as new populations move into the region and younger, more secular voters in the South voice more liberal views on social issues.

For the full interview, including a debate between Schaller and Woodard on the role of race and class in Southern voting patterns, see the show recording (now online).

The Maryland Humanities Council featured the Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture’s current humanities project, For All the World to Hear: Stories from the Struggle for Civil Rights, organized by Sandra Abbott, CADVC, in collaboration with Harriet Lynn, in their blog this Monday.

The article gives an overview of the performance, and comments of the effective quality of the participants’ moving, emotional stories. Read the article at the Maryland Humanities Council’s website: “Marylanders at the Front Lines for Freedom”

For All the World to Hear, is a community outreach project that features approximately a dozen area seniors who speak, write, perform and digitally publish personal stories about their struggle for civil rights, that debuted at UMBC in the fall. A full program will return to campus Friday, February 15. Learn more about the project and other performance dates at foralltheworldtohear.org.

“Presuming he avoids over-reaching on assault weapons or immigration reform — or unless the president makes a major push on climate change, as he hinted in his inaugural address Monday — Mr. Obama’s second-term success or failure will be largely defined by how he handles these fiscal battles with Capitol Hill Republicans,” writes political science professor Thomas Schaller in his latest Baltimore Sun column.

And what can we expect those fiscal battles look like? Schaller suggests, “no matter how ugly the squabbling gets on Capitol Hill during the next two years, there’s almost no incentive for Republicans…to work with Mr. Obama during his second term.” But aside from “fiscal fighting interrupted by the occasional international episode,” Schaller anticipates the U.S. will see a “no drama Obama” in the next four years and a fairly uneventful second term.

On Wednesday, January 23, Claudia Galindo, assistant professor of language, literacy, and culture, spoke with NPR education correspondent Claudio Sanchez for an “All Things Considered” segment about a study showing that Latino children make up For academic shortcomings with strong social skills.

“We found that Latino kids bring to school strong emotional skills and strong social skills, which means they know how to share with their peers. They know how to follow instructions. They know how to listen. And one other thing that we found is that these kids are being raised in very supportive and warm family environments,” Galindo said.

The full segment can be heard here.

On December 7, Robert Provine, professor of psychology, discussed laughter and why tragedy sometimes makes us laugh on NPR’s “Science Friday.”  He was joined on the show by comedian Tig Notaro, who incorporated her breast cancer diagnosis into her stand-up routine.

“We humans, in many ways, are beasts of the herd.  We are not the rational, voluntary beings we fashion ourselves as,” Provine said.

“The essential ingredient for laughter is another person,” Provine said. “In Tig’s audience, you had a group of people, and they’re laughing when they hear other people laugh.  So laughter is contagious. Also, it was a comedy club, so they came with the expectation that they are going to get comedy, and so ‘I’ve got cancer’ ends up being comedy.

The full conversation can be heard here.

On Tuesday, January 22, Kimberly Moffitt, assistant professor of American studies, was a guest on the “Marc Steiner Show.”  The topic of the discussion was the Presidential Inauguration and Obama’s rhetoric at the start of his second term.  Moffitt was joined by E.R. Shipp, Journalist in Residence and Associate Professor of Journalism at Morgan State University, and Tyrone Keys, political analyst.

“I think that it’s more than appropriate to talk about the speech as celebratory, as ceremonial, and the focus is not about specific politics. Although there are areas of the speech where he is clearly making political statements, I think he was simply saying, as Americans, as all of us, as citizens, there is a place that we need to strive towards, and now is the time for that to happen,” Moffitt said.

The full conversation can be heard here.

On Tuesday, January 22, Jodi Kelber-Kaye, associate director of the honors college and former faculty member in gender and women’s studies, was a guest on the “Marc Steiner Show.”  Kelber-Kaye discussed the 40th Anniversary of the historic Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion throughout the United States.  She was joined by Meshelle, founder of Goaldiggers The Sankofa Project; Ruth Rosen, Professor Emerita of History at the University of California at Davis; Andrea Plaid, Associate Editor and Sexual Correspondent at Racialicious; and Maggie Little, Director of Georgetown’s Kennedy Institute of Ethics.

The guests discussed the fact that an entire generation of women have grown up while abortions have been legal.

“College students have grown up knowing that that was an option and not really knowing, until we talk about the history, what it was like to be a woman faced with a decision where she may die, she may not be able to have children in the future. That’s a crushing decision to have to make,” Kelber-Kaye said.

The full conversation can be heard here.

Rick Foster ’73, M.S., mathematics, will retire from his position as chief actuary at the Center for Medicare and Medicade Services next month, having spent nearly two decades influencing our nation’s healthcare at the top level.

The New York Times wrote about Foster’s career and retirement, saying he is known for “his fierce independence,” and that he has been “an influential voice on Medicare, Medicaid and the new health care law.”

Read the New York Times story here.

Healthcare-focused MedPage Today profiled Foster here.

Foster, who was named an Outstanding Alumnus of the Year by UMBC in 1997, has been voted one of the 100 most influential people in U.S. healthcare by readers of Modern Healthcare magazine from 2007 to 2011. Prior to his work with CMS, he served as Deputy Chief Actuary for the Social Security Administration for 13 years.

An interview with Maurice Berger, Chief Curator and Research Professor of the Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture, by Tom Hall of WYPR is scheduled to air this Monday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, on Maryland Morning. In the interview, Berger discusses the exhibition currently on display in the CADVC, For All the World to See: Visual Culture and the Struggle for Civil Rights (curated by Berger).

To listen, tune in to WYPR on Monday, January 21 at 9:45 a.m.

UPDATE: A podcast of the interview will be available online after the program airs through Maryland Morning’s archive. The interview, “Viewing the Civil Rights Movement through a New Lens,” is available online now, through Maryland Morning‘s website.

For All the World to See is on display until March 10.

Charm City Cakes, owned by UMBC alumnus Jeffrey “Duff” Goldman ’97, history, will bake the official cake for President Obama’s Monday inauguration, the Baltimore Sun reports.
Read the story here.
According to the story, the bakery will create a six-tier cake, with each layer representing a branch of the United States military. Tier flavors will include red velvet, lemon poppy seed, pineapple coconut, and pumpkin chocolate chip.
Goldman, former star of the Food Network’s “Ace of Cakes,” was named an Outstanding Alumnus of the Year by UMBC in 2009.
Read a UMBC Magazine article about Duff’s rise to fame.