News from CLASS

Swept Up in Emotion: Italian Researcher Reflects on the Flooding in Venice

The images of extreme flooding in St. Mark's Basilica and other historic Venice landmarks have appalled many around the world. The damage hits particularly close to home for Alessandro Carrera, Ph.D., University of Houston Moores Professor in the Department of Modern and Classical Languages and director of Italian Studies. A native of Italy, Carrera has conducted research in Venice and knows the city intimately.

Outstanding Dissertation Earns Hispanic Studies Alumna First Book Contract

Laura Gasca Jiménez, a former doctoral student in the Department of Hispanic Studies, received the prestigious 2019 ASELE-Routledge international award for best dissertation and book contract. Gasca Jiménez completed her Ph.D. in Spanish linguistics in 2018.

Undergraduate Literary Magazine Begins 12th Year of Publication

Glass Mountain, UH's undergraduate literary magazine, enjoyed its 12th year of publication this fall. For the last ten years, the Glass Mountain team has run the Boldface Conference for Emerging Writers each spring at the M.D. Anderson Library, welcoming new community writers and undergraduates from other programs across the country.

Chinese Studies Minor Wins Speech Competition

Sunkyung Nguon, an undergraduate student minoring in Chinese language, won the 18th Annual Greater Houston Chinese Speech Contest on November 10. Nguon took first prize in the Non-Chinese Background group.

Creative Writer Awarded Worldwide Residencies to Complete New Book

Natalia Trigo, a Ph.D. student in Spanish with a concentration in creative writing, has won the 2019 International Aura Estrada Prize in Literature. On the merits of a literary work that achieved its political and artistic goals, Trigo received a $10,000 stipend, four artistic residencies located around the world, and a book contract with Almadía Press.

UH Introduces New Scholarship for Nutrition Excellence

A new scholarship will honor the legacy of dedicated CLASS alumna and nutritionist Maris M. Coggin. The Maris M. Coggin Endowed Scholarship for Nutrition Excellence was created by Coggin's husband Clyde in order to continue her commitment to keeping people in the nutrition profession.

NYC Research Center Hosts Cultural Studies Professor for Fellowship

Assistant Professor of Cultural Studies Rachel Afi Quinn received $4,000 as part of a New York Public Library short-term fellowship. During her month-long fellowship, Quinn studied at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.

Study Offers Insight on Mentoring Programs for STEMM Students

Professor of Psychology Christiane Spitzmueller served as a committee member on a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) study involving mentoring in STEMM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and manufacturing). The study examined research on the mentoring of undergraduate and graduate students in STEMM fields, with a focus on individuals from underrepresented backgrounds.

Professor Studies Intersections of Race, Culture, and Dementia

Assistant Professor of Psychology Luis Medina is a 2019 grant recipient of the Alzheimer’s Association Research Fellowship to Promote Diversity. Medina’s research addresses how race, ethnicity and culture combine to influence the cognitive effects of aging and dementia.

Students and Faculty Provide Speech, Language and Hearing Services in Belize

A team of 17 students and four faculty members in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders (COMD) recently traveled to Belize to provide speech, language and hearing services to underserved individuals.

Debunking Common Misperceptions of Asian Community Health

Asian Americans have higher or faster-growing rates of cancer of various kinds — including breast cancer and cervical cancer — than any other ethnic group, yet often don’t receive the necessary medical treatment. Common misperceptions about Asian health issues contribute to a lack of health awareness and a reluctance to seek care, according to research published in Public Relations Review.

Childhood Chores Not Related to Self-Control Development

Although assigning household chores is considered an essential component of child-rearing, it turns out they might not help improve children’s self-control, a coveted personality trait that allows people to suppress inappropriate impulses, focus their attention and perform an action when there is strong tendency to avoid it. That’s the finding of a new study published in the Journal of Research in Personality by University of Houston assistant professor of psychology, Rodica Damian in collaboration with Olivia Atherton, Katherine Lawson and Richard Robins from the University of California, Davis.

Daylight Saving Time: A Bright Idea or Not?

If you are feeling a little more rested today, you may think Daylight Saving Time had something to do with it. The practice of advancing clocks by one hour in the spring and “falling back” during autumn may have given us an additional hour of sleep; but Candice A. Alfano, professor of psychology and director of the UH Sleep and Anxiety Center of Houston, says our circadian rhythms – also known as our sleep/wake cycle – aren’t fooled by the change of time.

McGovern Lecture to Feature Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author, Historian, and Public Health expert David M. Oshinsky

The University of Houston College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS) is pleased to announce that Pulitzer Prize-winning author, historian, and public health expert David M. Oshinsky, Ph.D., will deliver the 2019 John P. McGovern Award Lecture in Family, Health and Human Values. Oshinsky is the director of the Division of Medical Humanities at NYU Langone Health and a professor in NYU’s Department of History. In a lecture titled “The Frayed Safety Net: The Future of America’s Public Hospitals,” Oshinsky will outline a path toward a brighter future for the rapidly disappearing medical institutions that serve the nation’s poor and underserved communities. The lecture will take place Thursday, November 7 at 6:30 PM at the University Center South Theater. 

CLASS Media Mentions

• Inside Higher Ed

  Creating New Connections and Conversations in the Classroom

  Andrew Joseph Pegoda, WGSS