By Sarah Schuetze

Traveling on the winding roads through the mountains of West Virginia, six people quickly realize that the mountains and the mountain folk are their worst nightmare. This is the premise for the film Wrong Turn, which is an example of “hillbilly horror” and a derogatory portrayal of Appalachia in popular culture.

Images of Appalachia and Appalachians in popular media range from idyllic to horrifying, and this semester, students in Professor Carol Mason’s course, Gender, Film, and Appalachia will examine this range of representation. The class is offered for credit through both the American Studies Program and the

by: Lydia Whitman

(Feb. 2, 2015) — The University of Kentucky College of Arts and Science's Committee on Social Theory will host its 2015 lecture series, “Transnational Lives,” throughout the spring semester. This well-established series, organized around a different topic each year, gives the public access to lectures by four international scholars visiting the university campus to address a particular aspect of social theoretical thought from a variety of disciplinary perspectives. All lectures will be held on Fridays at 2 p.m. and are free to the public.

Committee director Marion Rust said these are among “the most exciting intellectual opportunities available to the UK community.”

by: Whitney Hale

(Feb. 2, 2015) — The University of Kentucky Special Collections and Research Center (SCRC) is presenting a new exhibition on LGBTQ members of the African-American community in the Commonwealth. "A Pictorial History of African American Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered, and Queer Persons in Kentucky," the 2015 Black History Month Exhibit, brings visibility to a history that has not been well represented within most special collections and archives. This exhibition is free and open to the public.

The exhibition's display of images comes from photo collections at UK SCRC and from generous loans by individuals and organizations in the general public. The earliest image is the text of the more than century old Kentucky Court of Appeals case, 

by Sarah Schuetze

Sitting at the front of the room at a seminar table crowded with more students than anyone imagined, professor Francie Chassen-Lopez said, “I always say I have one foot on either side of the border.”

Chassen-Lopez is one of the four instructors teaching Social Theory 600, a graduate seminar called “Transnational Lives.” The professors include Ana Liberato, Cristina Alcalde, and Steven Alvarez—each representing a different discipline and approach to the course. “What makes this so exciting,” Alcalde said, “is we’re all coming at this from different perspectives.”

In many ways,

by Gail Hairston

(Jan. 27, 2015) ‒ From Reverence to Resistance, a series of lectures about Appalachians on film, begins today with “Genre and Jessica Lynch” at 2 p.m. today in William T. Young Library Auditorium.

Stacy Takacs, author of “Terrorism TV,” will discuss how Hollywood can “spin” a war. Her lecture will answer the question “Was West Virginia soldier Jessica Lynch really a female Rambo, and did the military make her a damsel in distress who needed to be saved from Iraqis?”

The next lecture, Hillbilly Horror, is slated Feb. 24, presented by Emily Satterwhite, author of “Dear Appalachia.” The lecture will focus on Appalachian slasher films like “Wrong Turn,” a series of six movies about deformed cannibals hunting in West Virginia.

The last lecture in the series, Goodbye Gauley Mountain, takes place March 24, and welcomes filmmakers Beth

by Whitney Harder

(Nov. 17, 2014) — The University of Kentucky Appalachian Center will continue its Appalachian Forum with a screening of "Up the Ridge" at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 18. A discussion will follow with the film's co-producer Amelia Kirby, development director of the Appalachian Citizens Law Center and Melynda Price, director of the African American and Africana Studies Program and College of Law faculty member.

The event will be held in Room 213 of Kastle Hall and is

Hard work pays off! Faculty from the College of Arts and Sciences and families from around Kentucky gathered Friday, September 26, to celebrate students who excelled in their studies. Five GWS majors made the Dean’s List and were honored at a bountiful reception in the Ballroom of the Student Center. They were: Rebecca Moore; Alexandra Adams; Andrea Marie Stephenson; Destiny Simone Commodore; and Rockia Kiara Harris.

“We are so proud of our Dean’s List students,” said GWS director of undergraduate studies, Carol Mason, at the reception. “Our majors cultivate a truly interdisciplinary perspective and are encouraged to think through a variety of theoretical frameworks, different methodologies, and texts from both the humanities and social sciences. When they make the Dean’s List, they prove they are well-rounded thinkers.”

Alex Adams, a senior, said she attended

by Gail Hairston 

(Sept. 30, 2014) — More than an “s” has been added since the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Science was created in 1908 with only seven faculty members. In fact there was a College of Arts and Science even before the institution was named the University of Kentucky; the institution was called the State University, Lexington, Kentucky (previously Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky and State College) until 1916.

In those 106 years, several of today’s largest colleges were birthed from the original College of Arts and Science’s former programs, including today’s College of Education, College of Communication and Information, College of Social Work and College of Fine Arts.

The college grew quickly under the inspiration and commitment of President James Patterson, whose statue now graces the plaza next to

A position is available for an Assistant Professor of Gender & Women's Studies at the University of Kentucky:

The Department of Gender and Women’s Studies at the University of Kentucky seeks applications for a full-time, tenure track, assistant professorship to begin August 2015 with teaching and research interests such as but not limited to transnational feminisms, masculinities, and transgender studies. We seek candidates who can participate fully in the research, teaching, and service of the Department of Gender and Women’s Studies. We are searching for an innovative teacher who can teach a broad range of required core courses in our undergraduate and graduate curriculum including large-lecture introductory classes. Candidates are expected to have a Ph.D. in hand or by August 2015. A Ph.D. or a graduate certificate/concentration, in feminist studies/gender and women’s

by Gail Hairston

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 4, 2014) — The Office for Policy Studies on Violence Against Women (OPSVAW) in the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences recently announced that it will support the largest number of graduate and professional students within its relatively short history.  One of the top priorities of the OPSVAW is the support of students, and the 2014-2015 academic year will see the program support five individuals through graduate fellowships and research assistantships.

“It is an extraordinary opportunity to advance the careers of these young scholars while also teaching them that there are real women behind the work that they do,” said Carol Jordan executive director of OPSVAW. “I believe we help give real purpose and inspiration to their academic careers while

by Kathy Johnson, Jenny Wells

(July 8, 2014) — A book by two University of Kentucky professors was highlighted recently in a Huffington Post blog by author Janet Mason.

"A Positive View of LGBTQ: Embracing Identity and Cultivating Well-Being" by Sharon Rostosky, professor of counseling psychology in the UK College of Education and Ellen Riggle, professor of political science in the UK College of Arts and Sciences, is one of two books Mason focused on as exhibiting the importance of identity in the LGBTQ community.

Mason said the book "talks about the unique

by Benjamin Kandt, photo by Kiran Lannagadda

(June 13, 2014) - The University of Kentucky is proud to host a Confucius Institute (UKCI), a center dedicated to promoting awareness and appreciation of Chinese culture throughout the University of Kentucky and the Lexington community. UKCI’s offerings include Chinese language classes and cultural outreach events. It also serves as a bridge for the University of Kentucky to make connections with institutions

Interview with Carol Mason

by Cheyenne Hohman

The popular Netflix series “Orange is the New Black” tells the story of a woman in prison and her fellow inmates, at least one of whom gets pregnant. It’s also course material for Carol Mason’s new course, GWS 700/595: Pregnancy and Prisons in Literature and Law. The Fall 2014 course, also called “Knocked Up and Locked Up,” will examine the political, racial and social contexts that pregnant women in prison experience.

“What I like about this class is that it reflects a relatively new way of looking at such issues, casting the net wide to include concerns that are not usually thought about as ‘reproductive rights,’”

(May 15, 2014) — From the first day of their lives, most of us treat boys and girls differently. Those differences begin with a pink versus blue nursery, clothes with laces rather than ribbons, sports equipment or dance lessons, and on and on right through to “manly” careers versus “feminine” jobs.

Across the country, devoted parents routinely treat boys and girls differently because their parents, sundry child rearing experts and psychiatrists, and ultimately all of society has taught us to believe that boys and girls are fundamentally and radically different. But what if we are all wrong? What if treating boys like boys and girls like girls is not a good approach to bringing out the best in every child?

In “Parenting Beyond Pink and Blue: How to Raise Your Kids

by Whitney Hale, Allison Elliott-Shannon 

(April 28, 2014) — The 2014 issue of disClosure, an annual thematic publication dedicated to investigating and stimulating interest in new directions in contemporary social theory, is now available online through a collaboration between the University of Kentucky Committee on Social Theory (CST) and UK Libraries.

First published in 1992, the journal includes a variety of media including scholarly essays, poetry and visual art from a variety of disciplinary, geographical, and theoretical perspectives and genres. The journal aims to encourage work that employs innovative writing styles as well as formal

by Whitney Hale

(April 14, 2014) — University of Kentucky's Ryan Winstead, an English and gender and women's studies junior, has been awarded an English-Speaking Union (ESU) Scholarship presented by the English-Speaking Union Kentucky Branch. The scholarship will cover Winstead's expenses for summer study at the University of Oxford.

The Kentucky Branch of the English-Speaking Union awards a limited number of scholarships to qualified Kentucky college students for courses offered at institutions in the United Kingdom. Scholarship awards

by Whitney Hale

(April 8, 2014) — "Reel to Real: Special Collections at the Movies," the University of Kentucky Special Collections Library's film series, will close this year with a screening of "Our Day," at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 8, at Worsham Theater in the UK Student Center. The film series explores celebrated movies through a historically accurate perspective based on primary source materials found in Special Collections. The screening is free and open to the public.

“Our Day” is a short 1938 documentary about the Kelly family of Lebanon, Ky. Filmed by Wallace Kelly, the home movie looks at a day in the life of the family.

Movie

by Gail Hairston

(March 25, 2014) — An appearance by Ellen Goodman, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist, author, speaker and commentator, on March 27 kicks off the two-day Conference on Political and Economic Inequality, hosted by the University of Kentucky Department of History in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Ron Formisano, UK’s William T. Bryan Professor of History and organizer of the conference, said he was inspired to create the conference because “inequality is a major issue in the world today.

“But (inequality) is of particular

by Gail Hairston, Rob Theakston 

(March 25, 3014) -- The University of Kentucky Late Night Film Series hosts award-winning filmmaker, author and community activist dream hampton, who will be presenting an exclusive director's cut of her current documentary "Transparent" at 7 p.m. Friday, March 28, at the University of Kentucky Worsham Theater. Admission is free.

"Transparent" is the story of Shelly Hilliard, a 19-year-old transgender woman living in Detroit who was brutally murdered. "Transparent" follows Hilliard's family and friends as they struggle to search for closure and tell the story of her life. The project is in its final phases and the Late Night Film Series will present a rough cut followed by a question and answer session with hampton, who prefers her name appear in lower case letters. A reception at the Martin Luther King Jr. Cultural

by Gail Hairston

(March 14, 2014) ― The natural beauty of the Elkhorn City/Russell Fork region of Pike County, Ky., is undeniable. It is home to part of the Breaks Interstate Park, referred to by some as the 'Grand Canyon of the South.' And yet tourism, especially adventure tourism, is still a slowly developing factor in the local economy. Locals want to know why.

The Elkhorn City Heritage Council is trying to promote recreational and outdoor tourism in the area. University of Kentucky and Eastern Kentucky University students and faculty have been asked to assist in those efforts by gauging public opinion.

March 20-23, a group of UK students will go door-to-door surveying residents of Elkhorn City to find out more about their visions of the community's economic future and community