Skip to main content

Past News

NEWS FROM CLASS | CLASS EVENT CALENDAR | CLASS IN THE MEDIA

News from CLASS

CLASS Event Calendar

March 15: Last day to see Anton Ginzburg: Terra Corpus and Tears and Politics: Works by Phil Collins and Christian Jankowski exhibits at the Blaffer Art Museum.

March 27 — 30: "Nineteenth-Century Energies" — The Interdisciplinary 19th Century Studies Conference at Hotel Zaza. Go to incs2014.org for more information.

March 28 — 30: UH Ensemble Dance Works 7:30 p.m.performances at Wortham Theatre on campus. School of Theatre & Dance ticket office: 713-743-2929.

March 31: Center for Public History Lecture: “Garbage, the Civilized Dark Side” by Song Tian, Ph.D., a Fulbright Visiting Scholar in the Department of History of Science at Harvard University and Professor in the College of Philosophy and Sociology at Beijing Normal Unviersity. 10 a.m. in Room 317 of McElhinney Hall. For more information, call 713-743-3039.

For more events, check the CLASS calendar.

CLASS Students in the Media

Andrew Joseph Pegoda is currently completing his Ph.D. in history. His article, Teaching Writing Intensive Courses, was recently featured in Inside Higher Ed.

Creative Writing PhD candidate David Tomas Martinez was featured in the article, Saving lives with words: Celebrity poet preaches the power of prose at Houston's Writers Ball, which appeared in CultureMap Houston.

The research of doctoral candidate Markie McBrayer and Political Science Assistant Professor Ling Zhu was cited in two recent news articles. They found that that Texas and California, two large, racially and ethnically diverse states with high rates of uninsured residents, are headed in opposite directions in health insurance enrollments because of politics. Their findings appeared in the Houston Chronicle article, Politics affects California, Texas health insurance enrollments, research finds and The Daily Beast's article, Texas: Where Crazy Gets Elected.

A series of paintings by undergraduate painting majors were recently installed in the frozen food section of a local Fiesta grocery store. The collection was highlighted in two Glasstire articles: Menil/Fiesta: Paintings by University of Houston Painting Majors and UH Art Students Hit the Big Time: The Frozen Food Aisle!

Gulf Coast, the literary journal published by CLASS creative writing graduate students, was mentioned in .Behold, someone has written poetry about Tim Riggins. which appeared in the The Philadelphia Inquirer. The publication was also mentioned in. Give In to Tim Riggins–Inspired Poetry. which appeared in Vulture.

“UH Goes to the Barn”, a dance recital choreographed, produced, and performed by School of Theatre & Dance students, was recently held at The Barn Theatre. Students Lauren Burke, Bryan Peck, and Katrina Woods were participants in the event according to the article, University Dance Theatre presents UH Goes to the Barn., in the Guidry News Service.

The Paper article, Hermann Park Celebrates 100 with Art in the Park., includes information about ReFRAME x FRAME, a collaboration between the UH Graduate Design/Build Studio in the College of Architecture, the Graphic Communications Program in the School of Art and the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts. The semi-permanent, open-air micro pavilion demonstrates the principles of sustainable design and construction using Allsteel System frames and incorporates lighting and a motion-activated sound installation by Houston-based artist Abinadi Meza.

The Houston Press featured the School of Theatre & Dance’s production of “Our Country’s Good” in the article, Actors Play Convicts Playing Actors in Our Country's Good at UH.

CLASS Faculty in the Media

History professors Robert Palmer and Catherine Patterson offer 10 things to know about Magna Carta and its Houston appearance in the Houston Chronicle article, 10 things to know about Magna Carta. See it in Houston!

The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education recently ran an article about the racial and ethnic makeup of UH faculty. James Conyers, director of African American Studies, is quoted in the article, An Examination of Faculty Diversity at the University of Houston.

Professor of English, Mat Johnson, was recently part of a Twitter exchange which was featured in the article #yonoveljokes: The Texas tie to the funniest literary hashtag on Twitter in The Dallas Morning News.

NewsFix recently ran a story about the way people move in and out of Houston titled, Census data on people that leave Harris county. Luis Salinas, professor of sociology, commented in the piece.

Garth Jowett, professor of communications, was interviewed on KHOU-CBS Channel 11’s Great Day Houston in a segment titled, Origin of Valentine’s Day.

Assistant Professor of Health and Human Performance, Daphne Hernandez was quoted in the NewsFix article, Big Drop in obesity among preschoolers.

The Santeria faith is featured in the Houston Chronicle article, An often misunderstood faith, Santeria community thrives here. Keith McNeal, assistant professor of Comparative Cultural Studies, is quoted in the piece.

A bilingual mystery series that features a kid detective is published by Arte Público Press. The series was featured in Dromgoole: Bilingual mystery series features kid detective by the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.

Christine Leveaux, assistant professor of political science, commented about the issues discussed during the President’s recent State of the Union address that affect Texas and Houston during the Houston Matters program, What Are the Implications for Houston & Texas in State of the Union Address?

According to the Houston Chronicle, the Mayor recently released audit letters detailing weaknesses in the city’s financial accounting. Steven Craig, Associate Dean of Faculty and Research, commented on the letters in the article, Mayor releases audit letters that controller kept secret.

Craig also commented in the NEWSFix article, Should the dollar be replaced by a global currency?

Shayne Lee, associate professor of sociology, appeared on KTRK’s Crossroads, to discuss his recent book which is about Bishop T.D. Jakes and the role of the church in a post-civil rights era.

Arturo Hernandez, associate professor of psychology, appeared in a number of media outlets recently:

He is featured in the Texas Medical Center News article, Study May Change the Way Foreign Languages are Taught.

He was also interviewed for KUHF’s story, How A UH Professor Maps Brain Activity While A Bilingual And Monolinguals Process Words.

Hernandez also authored an article for the OUPblog titled, Why nobody dreams of being a professor.

WNYU also featured Hernandez in the program, The Doppler Effect.

Offcite, recently ran an article titled, Holding Ground: A Look at University of Houston’s “Environmental Past” Exhibit. Teresa Tomkins-Walsh, Director of Houston History Archives, was mentioned in the piece.

Political Science professor, Richard Murray, was quoted in a story about political campaign’s advertising during the Olympic games in the Houston Chronicle article, Candidates hope to capture some Olympic glory.

Ed Hirs, a lecturer in Economics, appeared in the Texas Monthly article, The Generation Gap. The article discusses whether Texas is producing sufficient electricity to meet our needs.

Political Science professor, Richard Murray, appeared in several media outlets recently:
In the Houston Chronicle’s article, Dem primary: Ogg on campaign trail, Oliver on the couch, Murray commented on the Democratic nomination for Harris County District Attorney.

He was quoted in the Austin American Statesman about the rapidly changing demographics of Houston – and the United States – in the article, The face of Houston is changing.

Murray commented in the Guns & Patriots article, Texas GOP poll: Cornyn 43% leads Stockman 28%; Failure to garner 50% triggers run off.

The Texas Tribune quoted Murray in the article, A Small Subset of Voters Holds a Lot of Sway.

Friends of Women’s Studies recently hosted the 17th Table Talk luncheon. The event was announced in the Houston Business Journal article, Meet the speakers: 17th UH Table Talk luncheon to honor 50 women.

Associate professor of political science, Brandon Rottinghaus, was quoted in the article, Feeling pressure from the left, Obama backs off of Social Security cuts, for now, in the Washington Times.

Rottinghaus also commented in the Politico article, The Clinton library's secret files.

The Master of Public Administration program recently hosted their annual Public Official of the Year event. The Pasadena Citizen announced the honorees in the article, UH MPA program announces honorees for public service.

Demetrius Pearson, Professor of Health & Human Performance, was the featured guest on KTRK’s Crossroad’s program. The topic was African American cowboys.

The Houston Press announced a photography competition in the article, Are You Houston's Best Music Photographer? Richard Carson, lecturer in the Jack J. Valenti School of Communication, will be a screener for the contest.

Robert Zaretsky, professor of history, appeared in several media outlets recently:
He wrote a piece for The Jewish Daily Forward titled, Martin Heidegger's Black Notebooks Reignite Charges of Anti-Semitism.

Zaretsky authored The Great French Gender-Bending Panic of 2014 in Real Clear World.

Times Higher Education featured his article, Turbocharge teaching with a team of rivals.
Franz Anton Krager, director of the Orchestra of the Moores School of Music, was quoted in the Bellaire-River Oaks-West University Examiner article, Treble Choir preparing for trip to Carnegie Hall.

The Guidry News recently announced that Jeronimo Cortina, assistant professor of political science, will be the keynote speaker at the College of the Mainland Symposium. The article, Call for papers at second COM symposium, details the event.

Nicolás Kanellos, professor of Hispanic studies, was quoted in the San Antonio Express News article, Telling Latino stories 'way too long untold'. The article details the need for the history of Latinos in the U.S. to be better documented and preserved.

A recent study from the Hobby Center for Public Policy examines the factors that contribute to foreclosures in Houston. Jim Granato, Chair of the Center, recently appeared on Houston Matters in the show titled, Despite a Strong Housing Market, Foreclosures Are Still a Problem in Houston, to discuss the issue.

Professor and Director of the Center for Forensic Psychology, John Vincent, was recently quoted in the Time Warner Cable News story, Understanding the legal definition of 'bullying'.

The Alley theatre will be moving to UH’s Wortham Theatre for the 2014-2015 season while their buildings are being renovated.
KTRK-TV detailed the move in the story, Alley Theatre plans major building renovation, forcing relocation for season.

The Houston Business Journal also announced the move in the article, Alley Theatre relocates 2014-15 performances to begin renovation work.

The move was featured in KHOU’s story, Alley Theatre moving shows to UH during renovation.

The Houston Chronicle mentioned the move in This week's ups and downs.

Broadway World also mentioned the move in the article, Alley Theatre Announces Renovation Plans.

The Daily Cougar covered the move in Prestigious theatre shines spotlight on UH.

CLASS Alums in the Media

Christine Ha
Christine Ha, who earned a master’s degree in creative writing last May, was featured in the Houston Chronicle article, Blind chef Christine Ha guest of Lunar New Year event. Ha, who won the third season of the television reality series MasterChef, recently teamed with Boheme Cafe and Wine Bar chef Rishi Singh on a tasting menu for the Asia Society Texas Center Young Professionals' Lunar New Year celebration.
Photo by: Marie D. De Jesus / Houston Chronicle
   
David Stuart MacLean
In 2002, David Stuart MacLean woke up on a train platform in India with no idea of who or where he was. The CLASS writing program graduate was suffering from amnesia. His journey of figuring out where he belonged is detailed in his book, The Answer to the Riddle is Me, according to the Houston Press article, David Stuart MacLean and The Answer to the Riddle Is Me, A Memoir of Amnesia.
Photo by: Heather Eidson Photography
   
Bao-Long Chu
Bao-Long Chu, a Houston poet and author, wrote the text for "Bound," an opera that premiered by Houston Grand Opera. Chu graduated from CLASS’s creative writing program. According to the Houston Chronicle article, Family is at the heart of 'Bound', the production is based on the story of Diane Tran, a straight-A student at Willis High School who was working two jobs to help support her family. Tran missed so many days of classes a judge jailed her for truancy.
Photo by: Karen Warren / Houston Chronicle
   
Jim Parsons
Former theatre student, and current star of The Big Bang Theory, Jim Parsons recently hosted Saturday Night Live. His appearance was featured in the The Loop article, ‘Big Bang Theory’ star headed to ‘SNL’. A story about his SNL appearance also ran in CultureMap Houston in the article, Houston humble: Jim Parsons insists he doesn't deserve to host Saturday Night Live.
SNL Promo/YouTube