Category: Faculty

Stories about UCCS LAS faculty.

LAS Faculty: Colin Wren, Department of Anthropology

LAS Faculty: Colin Wren, Department of Anthropology

Anthropogenic climate change is currently driving environmental transformation on a scale and at a pace that exceeds historical records. This represents an undeniably serious challenge to existing social, political, and economic systems. Humans have successfully faced similar challenges in the past, however. The archaeological record and Earth archives offer rare opportunities to observe the complex interaction between environmental and human systems under different climate regimes and at different spatial and temporal scales. The archaeology of climate change offers opportunities to identify the factors that promoted human resilience in the past and apply the knowledge gained to the present, contributing a much-needed, long-term perspective to climate research. One of the strengths of the archaeological record is the cultural diversity it encompasses, which offers alternatives to the solutions proposed from within the Western agro-industrial complex, which might not be viable cross-culturally. While contemporary climate discourse focuses on the importance of biodiversity, we highlight the importance of cultural diversity as a source of resilience.

The archaeology of climate change: The case for cultural diversity
https://www.pnas.org/content/118/30/e2108537118

How did we deal with past climate change events? Researchers are trying to find out
https://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/how-did-we-deal-with-past-climate-change-events-researchers-are-trying-to-find-out-1.5518245

‘Archaeology of climate change’ aims to help plan response to environmental emergency
How ancient human reactions to upheavals such as the end of the ice age, could inform our future and strategy

https://www.independent.co.uk/independentpremium/environmental-emergency-archaeology-climate-change-b1886583.html

LAS Faculty Receive CRCW Seed Grants

LAS faculty several natural and social science departments were recently awarded funding from the UCCS Committee on Research & Creative Works (CRCW):

Christine Biermann, Geography and Environmental Studies
& Emily Mooney, Biology
Tracking Change in the Mountains: Alpine Insects and Treeline Ecosystems as Indicators of Climatic Shifts

Justin Cole, Mathematics
Approximation of Topological Insulators in Photonic Lattices

Elizabeth Daniels, Psychology
Social Media and Sexualization among Adolescent Girls from Diverse Backgrounds

Dylan Harris, Geography and Environmental Studies
Seeing the Changing Climate in Changing Cultures in Georgia & Colorado

Karin Larkin, Anthropology
Chasing the Cure: Archaeology and Material Culture of the Navajo Era of Cragmor Sanatorium

Diana Selmeczy, Psychology
The Development of Adaptive Help-Seeking in Children

LAS Researchers Receive Prestigious NEH Grant

Professors Shulman and Kling

Jennifer Kling, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, and Max Shulman, Assistant Professor of Theatre and Dance, will co-direct a project recently funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). The title of the project is “To the Battlefield and Back Again: Conversations on War, Trauma and Life After Service.” Read more from the article in the Communique, written by Mark Belcher.

LAS Faculty Participate in Town Hall to Confront Anti-Asian Stereotypes and Violence

Stephen Cho Suh, Assistant Professor of Sociology and Women’s and Ethnic Studies, Sandy Ho, Assistant Dean & Director of Student Affairs, College of Education Assistant Professor attendant rank of Languages & Cultures, Yang Wei, Associate Professor of History, and George Bayuga, Instructor of Anthropology took part in the town hall. Learn more by reading the recent article in the Communique, written by Mark Belcher. You can also watch a recording of the town hall.

Faculty Research Spotlight: Dr. Escasa-Dorne of Anthropology

Michelle Escasa-Dorne

Dr. Michelle Escasa-Dorne, Associate Professor of Anthropology, was an author on the following recent publication: Swami, V., Escasa-Dorne, M. et al. (2020). The Breast Size Satisfaction Survey (BSSS): Breast Size Dissatisfaction and its Antecedents and Outcomes in Women from 40 Nations. Body Image, 32:199-217. Keep reading to learn more about this study.

Continue reading “Faculty Research Spotlight: Dr. Escasa-Dorne of Anthropology” →

LAS Alum Wins Film Award

Samone Roberts

Samone Roberts, a 2020 Communications B.A. graduate, recently won a Silver Telly Award for the short animated film she made as a student in the Digital Filmmaking Track of the Communication Department. Her film, The Gardener, was made with the assistance of an LAS Student-Faculty Research and Creative Works grant that was awarded to Samone and her mentor, David Nelson, Professor and Chair of Communication. The Gardener was one of only 20 films in the country that won a Silver Telly in the Student Category. Professor Nelson first met Samone when she was in his Freshman Seminar class “Storytelling: From Casablanca to Star Wars”.  She told him then that she would like to make an animated film someday.

Watch Samone’s short film, The Gardener.

LAS FACULTY IN THE COMMUNIQUE: CHRIS BELL’S NEW BOOK “Disney Channel Tween Programming”

Chris Bell

Dr. Chris Bell, Associate Professor of Communication, was interviewed by the Communique about his new book “Disney Channel Tween Programming: Essays on Shows from Lizzie McGuire to Andi Mack.” Anna Squires conducted the interview and authored the article: “7 Questions with Chris Bell, author of “Essays on Shows from Lizzie McGuire to Andi Mack.”

Research of Tara Cepon-Robins from Anthropology Featured in High Impact Outlets

Tara Cepon-Robins

The research of Dr. Tara Cepon-Robins, Associate Professor of Anthropology, was recently published in the prestigious Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), and also featured in the journal Science. Dr. Cepon-Robins’s scientific article in PNAS, “Pathogen disgust sensitivity protects against infection in a high pathogen environment,” was described for a broader audience in Science: “Disgusted by spoiled food? You may be protecting yourself from disease,” by Ann Gibbons. This research was also featured recently in the UCCS Communique in an article written by Anna Squires: “Cepon-Robins: A healthy sense of disgust can keep you from getting sick.”