2013 – 2014 Personally Speaking Series

Four UNC Charlotte College of Liberal Arts & Sciences scholars shared the stories of their books during the 2013-2014 Personally Speaking community lecture series, co-sponsored by the college and J. Murrey Atkins Library. The talks for the 2013-2014 season were:

  • Jonathan Marks, Why I Am Not a Scientist: Anthropology and Modern Knowledge, September 24, UNC Charlotte Center City.
  • Aimee Parkison, The Innocent Party, November 13. McKnight Lecture Hall, Cone University Center.
  • Allison Stedman, Rococo Fiction in France, 1600-1715: Seditious Frivolity, Rescheduled Date: February 27, 2014, J. Murrey Atkins Library.
  • Martha Kropf, Helping America Vote: The Limits of Election Reform, March 20, 2014, UNC Charlotte Center City.

“We invite the community to discover the stories behind these fascinating books,” said Nancy A. Gutierrez, dean of the college. “These talks further connect the community with the college’s faculty and their research in a way that invites conversation and exploration.”

Marks is a faculty member in the Department of Anthropology. His areas of interest include biological anthropology, human genetics, history of anthropological thought, and evolution and society. His lively and provocative book casts an anthropological eye on the field of science in a wide-ranging and innovative discussion that integrates philosophy, history, sociology, and auto-ethnography. His book was published by University of California Press; 1 edition (June 23, 2009.)

Parkison is a faculty member in the Department of English. She has received a Christopher Isherwood Fellowship, a Writers at Work Fellowship, and a Kurt Vonnegut Fiction Prize from North American Review. In her book, the characters struggle to understand what happens when the innocent party becomes the guilty party. With magical realist flair, secrets are aired with dirty laundry, but the stains never come clean. Her book was published by BOA Editions Ltd. (April 17, 2012.)

Stedman is a faculty member in the Department of Languages and Culture Studies. Her teaching interests are in early modern/ early enlightenment French literature, literature’s role in creating enlightenment culture, and experimental literature. Her book reconfigures the history of the “long eighteenth century” by revealing the rococo as a literary phenomenon that characterized a range of experimental texts from the end of the French Renaissance to the eve of the French Revolution. Her book was published by Bucknell University Press (November 16, 2012.)

Kropf is a faculty member in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration. Her areas of specialty include elections, voting behavior, public opinion, and survey methodology. Her book considers the implementation of the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 and the question of how effective election reforms have been. The book speaks to the conflict between values of access and integrity in U.S. election administration. It was published by Routledge; 1 edition (December 22, 2011.)