Speakers

Keynote
More Than Meets the Eye: Close Reading
and a Career in Film Scholarship

Matthew Wannat
Ohio University

Thursday, March 28th, 2013
7:00 pm
Sodexo Ballroom, University Center

My own interest in film analysis began when I was young, maybe seven or eight, and increasingly aware that certain types of scenes were affecting me in certain ways. By the time I was an undergraduate, I knew I was interested not only in film analysis and scholarship, but also in close reading of specific visual and aural features of film. While I couldn't have foreseen it as a kid, I think the elements of cinema that attracted me when I was younger have continued to inform that ways that I have talked and written about film as a professor.

Film studies has been heavily theorized for several decades, with a tremendous amount of specialized language for discussing movies made up of theoretical concepts that sometimes overshadow attention to films themselves. Within this academic environment, I've found my contribution to be my attention to close reading of specific movies.

In my talk, I'd like to walk the audience through some of these strategies for discussing film, to consider together some of the benefits and complications of close analysis of film, and to present some of my thoughts about what it means to choose a professional path based on one's passions and skills.

About Matthew

Matt Wanat is an Assistant Professor of English at the Lancaster regional campus of Ohio University, where he teaches composition, film, literature, and literary and cultural theory. Wanat's scholarship examines intersections of narrative, genre, and culture in the areas of twentieth-century American literature and cinema studies, and his scholarly interests range from western American literature and film to Appalachian studies to localism and sustainability. Wanat has presented and/or published essays on Sam Peckinpah, Katherine Anne Porter, Wendell Berry, Jack Schaefer, Don Siegel, and Clint Eastwood. Recently, his interests have included coordination of campus sustainability curriculum and events, including a campus vegetable garden worked by students, the produce from which helps to feed the hungry in Fairfield County, Ohio.

Closing
Understanding the Psychology of Today’s College Students: Engaging a New Generation of Learners

Mary Wells and Elaine Isbell
Sinclair Community College

Friday, March 29th, 2013
11:00 am
Flohr Lecture Hall

Based on empirical evidence and research findings, we will examine personality traits, learning preferences, educational expectations and mental health issues of today’s college students, helping both students and faculty understand how millennials function.

About Mary

Prior to being hired as an Assistant Professor, Mary Wells was employed with the Psychology Department at Sinclair Community College as an annually contracted faculty member for eight years. She has been an active member of the psychology department, teaching a variety of traditional and online classes and participating in online course development.  Mary completed her graduate work in Clinical Psychology at Ohio University.  Prior to her career in teaching, she worked as a clinician specializing in the treatment of persons with severe and chronic mental illnesses.  In addition to her teaching duties, Mary currently serves as a Faculty Fellow for Sinclair’s Center for Teaching and Learning and Campus Co-lead for the Completion by Design Initiative.   In addition to her research interests in the psychology of millennial college students, Mary also is very interested in how to increase college completion rates and create contextualized program pathways for college students.

About Elaine

Elaine Isbell is presently a Professor of Psychology at Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio, where she develops and facilitates courses in psychology and stress management.  She has also worked as a clinical psychologist in the Dayton area and provided outpatient services in both individual and group therapy. She received her MA in Clinical Psychology from ST Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas and a BA in Psychology from ST Mary’s, graduating Summa Cum Laude.