By Guy Spriggs

In his dissertation research, Tim Vatovec frequently calls upon his background in geography, sociology and political science. This interdisciplinary approach – what Vatovec calls “borrowing” – makes him a natural fit for UK’s social theory program.

“Social theory has been an interest since I was an undergrad,” he said. “I’ve taken a lot from sociology and political theory and political science. That’s what geographers do, we take stuff from all over the social sciences.”

And in turn, UK’s Committee on Social Theory has borrowed a lot from the Geography

by Whitney Hale 

The Thomas D. Clark Foundation and the University Press of Kentucky will host a symposium to honor the life and literary legacy of James Still. The Thomas D. Clark Medallion Symposium, which is free and open to the public, will be held 5:30-7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 15, at the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning, located at 251 West Second St.

The symposium will celebrate Still’s posthumous collection of short stories, "The Hills Remember: The Complete Short Stories of James Still," winner of the Thomas D

Elizabeth came to the University of Kentucky in 2009 and completed her MA in Classics in May of 2011. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Florida in 2009, with majors in Classics and English. Although she had been studying Latin during much of her time at UF and had always been interested in the ancient world, she spent the first four years of her undergraduate education focusing predominately on English, planning, at the time, to become a medievalist. In spring 2008, while taking a course on Vergil’s Eclogues and Georgics, she decided to pursue Classics instead, ultimately finding that Latin allowed for deeper and more meaningful study of the literature she had always loved. She remained in the Classics department at UF for a fifth year, studying Greek over the summer and a heavy load of Latin and Greek during that year to prepare for a

This podcast was produced by Cheyenne Hohman.

The Department of History is excited to welcome professor Scott Taylor to its faculty!

Professor Taylor joins us this fall researching the history of early modern Europe, especially Spain. Currently, he is working on a book on the beginnings of modern addiction, examining how western Europeans experienced "soft drugs" like sugar, tobacco, chocolate, coffee, tea, distilled spirits, and opium.

This podcast is part of a series highlighting the new faculty members who joined the College of Arts and Sciences in the fall 2012 semester.

Produced by Stephen Gordinier.

By Sarah Geegan

The Conventiculum Dickinsoniense, an annual Latin immersion seminar hosted by Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa., spotlighted two of UK's most acclaimed professors this summer.

Professors Terence Tunberg and Milena Minkova of the Classics Division in the Department of Modern Classical Languages Literatures and Cultures, conducted the seminar, which aims to enrich high school teachers' preparation to teach Latin. The event also attracts professors and graduate students from disciplines that benefit from good knowledge of Latin.

Participants travel from across the globe to attend

By Sarah Geegan

Ten students from colleges across the country came to UK this summer for a competitive research opportunity, unique in multiple senses.

Through a National Science Foundation (NSF) program called Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU), the students, the first cohort among a total of three over the span of three summers, spent 10 weeks studying suburban ecology and invasive species at or nearby UK's Ecological Research Facility (ERF). The facility, adjacent to The UK/Lexmark Center for Innovation in Math and Science Education (formerly Lexington's Northside Library), offers a unique setting for the study of invasive species; ERF consists of 54 acres

Fast Track for Calculus is a residential academic preparation program for highly qualified students. Fast Track to Calculus is designed to prepare students for rigorous undergraduate mathematics classes. In this podcast, Dean of Arts & Sciences Mark Kornbluh and Mathematics Director of Undergraduate Studies David Royster discuss the goals of the program and how it will work.

This podcast was produced by Cheyenne Hohman.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Listen to this WUKY podcast with Lt. Col. Jason Cummins as he talks about the event.

By Gail Bennett, Sarah Geegan

WUKY 91.3 FM, the University of Kentucky's NPR station, is partnering with UK Army ROTC to present the Inaugural Kentucky National Guard Bluegrass Mud Run Saturday, Sept. 22, 2012. This 5K run will begin at UK's Commonwealth Stadium and proceed through obstacles designed by members of UK Army ROTC. The obstacle course will be challenging yet fun and will be made to get runners muddy. 

"This fun and exciting mud run is for the pro-athlete or the pro-couch potato!" said Gail Bennett, marketing director at WUKY." Everyone is encouraged to

Networked Humanities: From Within and Without the University

A Digital Humanities Symposium

February 15-16, 2013

The University of Kentucky

Writing, Rhetoric, and Digital Media Program

http://network.as.uky.edu

Keynote Speakers:

Kathleen Stewart, Professor of Anthropology, University of Texas

Malcolm McCullough, Professor of Architecture, University of Michigan

Of all the topics of interest to the digital humanities, the network has received little attention among digital humanities proponents. Yet, we live in a networked society: texts, sound, ideas, people, movements, consumerism, protest movements, politics, entertainment, academia, and other items circulate in networks that come together and break apart at various moments. While there

By Sarah Geegan

For the Central Kentucky Council for Peace and Justice, it was an opportunity to reorganize youth programs; for the nonprofit Seedleaf, it was a way to better connect with volunteers; and for students in geography Professor Matt Wilson's class, it was the chance to apply their skills to engage with the Lexington community.

Students in Wilson's 

Below is a Chinese newspaper article on Department of Biology professor Carol Baskin that originally ran in the Morning News and was written by Yankuang Su. There is also a letter attachment from Xinjiang Agricultural University inviting Baskin to give several guest lectures and congratulating her on her “Tianshan Award.”

Wearing a simple patterned shirt, light-colored pants and a pair of golden-colored glasses, this tall and scientific-looking woman is American professor Carol Baskin.

Carol Baskin is a professor at the University of Kentucky. In 2006, she and her husband Professor Jerry Baskin made their first academic visit to Xinjiang when they

By Mack McCormick, Amanda Osborne, Whitney Hale

Outwardly, it would appear that Arab and Jewish immigrants comprise two distinct groups with differing cultural backgrounds and an adversarial relationship. Often ignored, however, are the similar immigrant paths these two groups face in the United States, particularly in non-urban areas lacking established immigrant or ethnic populations. In regions like Kentucky, where Jewish and Arab populations are nearly invisible and established cultural or immigrant circles are not prevalent, both groups must negotiate complex identities and often find that their new locations illuminate more similarities between them than differences.

In "Arab and Jewish Women in Kentucky: Stories of Accommodation and Audacity,"

By Colleen Glenn

“Welcome to the first day of class everybody.  Let’s go over the syllabus so you know what to expect in this course.”

For UK students taking Statistics 210 this summer, these familiar words have taken on new meaning. Students meet their instructors not when they enter the classroom, but when they log onto their computers.

STA 210, or Introduction to Statistical Reasoning, is one of several online courses that the College of Arts & Sciences offers in the summertime. Citing greater flexibility and hectic schedules, more and more students are opting to take this UK Core requirement online.

“I chose to take the online course as opposed to the

In May 2012 Ron Pen joined a delegation of UK faculty and students that visited Shanghai University to participate in three days of academic discourse, conversation and presentations. Students from Shanghai University welcomed the summit program through a night of many traditional Chinese performances. Pen also performed Appalachian music such as; Frog Went a Courting, Moonlight, and Cool of The Day.

Pen kept a journal of his experiences during the trip, which you can read here.

By Whitney Hale

In celebration of the University of Kentucky's upcoming sesquicentennial in 2015, the 15th of 150 weekly installments on the university explores World War I's impact on the institution.

War has always had a great impact on campus culture and the day-to-day lives of students. World War I was no different at UK. The university quickly responded to the demands of war by offering more convenient terms for academic credits for those students whose education was interrupted by military service. In 1918, the university contracted with the government for the training of military personnel in technical skills.

Between May and November of 1918, three detachments went through the training courses. Barker Hall’s Buell Armory became a workshop for truck

When Robert Schneider isn't touring around the world with band, Apples In Stereo, he's often working on one of his other great passions - math! The recent UK mathematics alum has just released a new math strategy game. Check out the video to see how the game looks and works:

You can also read the full article from the A.V. Club here

By Whitney Hale, Amanda Osborne

Award-winning poets Kim Addonizio and Julia Johnson are among the featured presenters at this year's Kentucky Women Writers Conference being held Sept. 21-22, in Lexington. The literary festival will include sold out workshops with both poets, as well as readings and a craft talk that are open to all registrants.

One of the nation's most "provocative and edgy poets," Kim Addonizio is the California poet behind "Tell Me," a collection of poems that was a National Book Award Finalist. Her latest book "Lucifer at the Starlite" was a finalist for the Poets Prize and the Northern CA Book Award. Addonizio also wrote "Ordinary Genius: A Guide for the Poet Within," "Jimmy & Rita," "Little