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Spring 2020 #7 March 9, 2020
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International Women's DaySunday March 8 was International Women's Day. Across the world, women celebrated one another and their achievement, while also recgonizing their ongoing challenges.
Quotes from women at MUDEC for International Women's Day:
1. How have women been represented, underrepresented, and misrepresented in art history?
Professor Claudine Bechet-Metz:
"In the ART 188L class, we take an overview of the history of art from the Renaissance to the present day – textbook: "Gardner's Art through the Ages".
The first works of art we analyze date from the 13th century. However, one has to wait until the 16th century to see appear the names of the first women artists considered “worthy” enough to figure in an art history textbook.
Indeed, for a long time women were not allowed to be trained in the same way than men. Still in the 19th century, their art had often not been accepted as real art. In 1864, Edouard Manet said of Berthe Morisot and her sister: They are charming. It is only a pity "that they are not men".
How is the situation today?
More and more books are studying this issue and I would be very interested, one day, in giving a course on the place of women in art history."
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Guerilla Girls. (1989). Do Women Have to be Naked to Get into the Met Museum. Retrieved from https://library-artstor-org.proxy.lib.miamioh.edu/asset/PC_29320_10318
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2. What does this day mean for you?
Professor Stephanie Shaheen:
Happy International Women’s Day! 2 of my favorite quotes:
“Don’t stop now. Keep going. The next time someone makes you feel though, winning as you are, perhaps you’re getting too big for your britches; say to them silently, “I haven’t even started yet.”-Marianne Williamson
“ A strong woman is a woman determined to do something others are determined not be done”-Marge Percy
3. What does this day mean for you?
Professor Wajd Ghazal:
"I hate the sentence: Happy International Women's Day!!!! How can it possibly be "happy"??There are women who are killed every second all over the world, just because they are women...There are girls who are being married at young ages....There are girls who are being raped every day....there is intimidation, bullying, objectification, sexual harassment.... I know that wishing a happy women's day to every woman is the least we can do ....but fighting and aiming for it to become actually happy is what we all should be doing!!!"
4. What does this day mean to you?
Dean Thierry Leterre:
"Back in the 90’s I was teaching in France what was then called “women’s rights”. It was fairly rare a topic of interest, and only a handful places would actually dedicate time to study and teach about the place of women in politics and society. Most of the time, half of humanity was just blindsided by social sciences.
When teaching this “women’s rights” slot, I would always start with definitions. I would use the dictionary I had received as a prize as I was finishing primary school. The dictionary (in French) proposed the following: “Man: a member of the most intelligent species on earth”. Then: “Woman: human being of the sex [that was the lingo] that carries children”. My dictionary was from the early 70’s. I thought that over two decades later, a young generation would grasp the irony, and most of my students did. Once, however, a student asked in class: “I do not see the problem. It’s true that it’s women who have children, right?” I was dumbfounded. You could be born in the mid-70’s and still define women by their womb. I had thought we had gone a long way since the 70’s and its prejudices. I realized there was still a long way to go. What often saddens me, is that there is, four decades after I received this dictionary, still a long way to go."
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MUDEC: With women and without women Special thanks to the MUDEC Spring 2017 class!
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-Study:
- Lecture Series Preview: Minister Carole Dieschbourg
- Student Faculty Council Profile-Shivangi Padhy
-Engage:
- SFC Event-Soccer Game Recap
- Discovery Tour Preview-Orval and Bouillon
- ART188-Field Trip Recap
- Luxembourg City Film Festival-Volunteer Recap
-Travel:
- The Travel Times
- Travel Misadventures
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Distinguished Lecture Series:Carole Dieschbourg, Minister for the Environment, Climate and Sustainable Development
MUDEC is thrilled to have Minister Carole Dieschbourg as our guest lecturer this week. For some background about this lecture, please see comments from Professor Roxanne Ornelas below.
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"When I applied to teach at the Miami University Dolibois European Center (MUDEC) for this semester, I knew that I wanted to teach GEO/WGS 436 Women, Gender, and the Environment in this 50th year anniversary of celebrating Earth Day. The design of my course includes an experiential learning project and class practicum. My class has been broken up into six teams with each one conducting research on an environmental topic of their choosing. The topics students have selected include the following: Food Production, Plastic Gyres, Cups, Going Vegetarian for the Environment, Environmental Disaster–Fukushima, and Interfaith.
The goal of the practicum is to present a public environmental education event for all of MUDEC in recognition of the Earth Day anniversary. Our March 10th event will include a visit by invited guest speaker, Her Excellency Carole Dieschbourg, Minister for the Environment, Climate and Sustainable Development for Luxembourg. Her public lecture will take place at 5:10pm in the Great Hall. The title of Minister Dieschbourg’s talk is Luxembourg’s role in implementing Agenda 2030. Agenda 2030 is a resolution that passed in the General Assembly of the United Nations in 2015, Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The resolution lays out an ambitious plan that includes 17 sustainable development goals: “They seek to realize the human rights of all and to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. They are integrated and indivisible and balance the three dimensions of sustainable development: the economic, social and environmental.”
The student teams will set up at tables outside of the Grand Hall before and after Minister Dieschbourg’s talk. I encourage all of MUDEC to stop by each table to learn about the project topics and to support the work of the students. Free Earth Day gifts will be available at the team tables while they last. We want to encourage everyone to celebrate Earth Day every day!"
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Student Faculty Council ProfileMeet Shivangi Padhy
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MUDEC sophomore Shivangi Padhy majors in Early Childhood Education. Padhy is from Naperville, Illinois.
1. Tell us a little bit about your position on the SFC.
My position is the Semester Legacy Project Coordinator. I am in charge of collecting all the pictures and making the yearbook for the semester. So make sure you add all your travel pictures in the shared google drive!!!
2. Why did you want to do this position?
I like to be creative, plan things and design yearbooks, posters, t-shirts, etc.
3. What are you looking forward to most as Semester Legacy Project Coordinator?
Seeing the final result of the yearbook.
4. SFC has an event next week that celebrates Holi. Can you tell us more about that and what students can expect?
Holi is an ancient Hindu festival, which later became popular among non-Hindu communities as well. Holi heralds the arrival of spring after winter. It signifies the victory of good over evil and is celebrated as a day of spreading happiness and love. It also brings people from all different backgrounds together which is why the festival is played with colored powders. The colors signify the diversity in our world and how it brings us together as one. The students can expect to have a lot of color all over them. If you are not a colorful human by the end you didn’t celebrate the festival properly!
5. Why did you choose to study abroad with MUDEC?
I chose to study abroad in Luxembourg because of the independent study program offered to Education majors. I really loved the education system in Europe when I researched it last year and when I heard about the opportunity I wanted to come to Luxembourg. I also heard a lot of positive things from other Education majors about the MUDEC program and they all suggested I go to Luxembourg and work in the schools.
6. What is a fun fact that most people don't know about you?
I got a bachelor’s degree in Indian Classical Music when I was 16.
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SFC Event-FC Differdange Soccer Game: Recap
On Wednesday March 4, MUDEC students enjoyed an evening out, not only with their classmates, but with their fellow Luxembourgers at a FC Differdange soccer game. Students indulged in traditional sausages and refreshments while watching the game. Despite the rain and the cold, students stayed energetic as they cheered FC Differdange on to victory.
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Discovery Tour Preview: Orval and Bouillon
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On Friday March 13, MUDEC students will embark to Belgium for their second Discovery Tour of the semester. Just over the border in Belgium is Luxembourg Province, originally part of the Grand Duchy until the 1830s. On this Discovery Tour, students will visit two of the gems of Luxembourg Province, Orval and Bouillon. Orval is home to Orval Abbey, a famous Cistercian monastery, founded in 1132. Completely destroyed during the French revolution, it was only rebuilt during the first part of the 20th century. In order to raise funds for the reconstruction, a brewery was created inside the abbey and Orval now produces one of the most renowned Trappist beers. In addition, a very distinctive cheese is also produced. Students will visit the ruins of the medieval abbey and the museum followed by lunch before the short drive over to Bouillon.
Bouillon is home to a castle originally built in the 8th century, which was home to Godfrey of Bouillon, leader of the First Crusade in 1096. Attendees will also attend the falconry show at the castle, featuring buzzards, eagles, owls and vultures.
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On Wednesday March 4, MUDEC students in ART188 went to the Waassertuerm gallery in Dudelange, Luxembourg in lieu of class, and explored an exhibit called The Bitter Years. This is the last exhibit curated by the famous Luxembourg photographer Edward Steichen when he was Director of Photography for the MoMA in New York, and contains photographs of people and life during The Great Depression.
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MUDEC student Megan Harris at The Bitter Years Exhibit
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Bronze statues depicting The Great Depression
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Luxembourg City Film Festival: Volunteer Recap
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MUDEC student Natalie Davis volunteered at the Luxembourg City Film Festival over the weekend. Here is her experience:
"I decided to volunteer for the film festival because not only do I absolutely love movies, but I also wanted to meet new people with mutual interests and get more involved within this community. I love taking film classes at Miami and they have sparked a huge interest in film and the filmmaking industry in me! When I saw this opportunity to volunteer I jumped at the bit.
During the past few days, I have been volunteering at the Virtual Reality Pavillon of the festival- which is especially interesting to me because I’ve never experienced virtual reality before. Not only have I learned more about virtual reality itself, but I have also been able to talk to a lot of people from all different backgrounds- both those who are coming to see the exhibitions and those who are working them!
By volunteering in this festival I have gained more experience with different film mediums, learned more about the technology behind filmmaking, and of course met lots of new, incredible people I wouldn’t have been able to meet otherwise."
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Volunteer in a costume at the Film Festival
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| MUDEC student Laura Kelly also volunteered at the Luxembourg City Film Festival over the weekend. Here is her experience:
"So this weekend I volunteered at the Film Festival. On Friday night I helped out at a party for the directors and actors as well as permanent staff members of the festival, and I ended up meeting a few directors while I was there. It was a really cool party at a really cool venue called Mesa Verde.
Saturday I was helping out at the VR pavilion, where there’s at least 12 different VR experiences and a couple experiences that involve new technologies. My favorite experience was the Algorithmic Perfumery, where visitors complete an online questionnaire and receive a custom made perfume based on their answers and personality. I am so excited to receive mine and I hope it smells exactly like what I imagine it to. This coming week I will be volunteering at a few cinemas, and will have the chance to maybe see a few films. On why I decided to volunteer at the festival- I thought that it would be a good chance to be involved in the Luxembourg community, and to get to know some Luxembourgish people."
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Travel TimesWelcome to the Travel Times, a new section in the MUDEC Méinden that features students independent travel throughout the semester. This week, we will be traveling to France, Spain and Switzerland!
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Travel MisadventuresAfter students' first few weekends of independent travel, a few epic blunders are bound to happen. Although never expected and never wanted, we welcome them here. Next up, and continuing the tradition, is a group of MUDEC ladies who embarked to Scotland for the first time after arriving in Europe and encountered a surprising flight or lack thereof.
Plaid and bag pipes and... missing airlines?
These MUDEC girls headed to Scotland after classes ended on Thursday evening and were excited to see this country for the first time. All was well until an airline suddenly ran out of money.
Meet this group of MUDECers and join them for this week's episode of:
Airlines are just like buses: unreliable
So on Thursday during lunch only two out of the five of us got emails saying our flight had been cancelled due to the Flybe airline going bankrupt. We had to reschedule our way home and ended up having to fly to Paris and then train to Luxembourg because direct flights were around 400 dollars. A few hours after we booked our flight we got an email saying that we could get reduced rates from other airlines because of the cancellation, but we had already made other arrangements. Basically it was just a big headache and not all of us even got information about the flight being cancelled!
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These MUDEC girls finally made it to Scotland.
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Monday: Classes
Tuesday: ClassesDistinguished Lecture Series-Carole Dieschbourg, Minister of the Environment 5:10 p.m. in the Grand Hall
Wednesday: Classes5:30 p.m. Holi on the back porch of the Château
Thursday: Classes
Friday: Discovery Tour to Orval and Bouillon, depart from Château at 8:30 a.m.
Staff Absences: Raymond Manes (all week), Joseph Vari (Friday p.m.)
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| Château HoursMonday-Thursday: 8:00-22:00
Friday: 8:00-17:00Saturday-Sunday: Closed
Administrative Hours
Monday-Friday: 8:00-12:00 and 13:00-17:00
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