Oscar Night 2021 was quite a bit different from previous years for Charles Dickerson, supervisor of Special Ensembles in the CSUDH Music Department and executive director and conductor of the Inner City Los Angeles Youth Orchestra (ICYOLA). That’s because this year, “If Anything Happens I Love You,” a short featuring the music of Dickerson and the ICYOLA, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. Dickerson attended a small dinner party at the home of one of the film’s producers, where they all watched the broadcast together. “Man, when it was announced that we won, we screamed at the top of our lungs,” says Dickerson. The animated film focuses on parents’ grief ... Read More
College of Arts and Humanities
Just Transitions Listening Project Seeks Solutions for Fossil Fuel Employees
Alternative energy industries are booming, driven by the growing corporate, consumer, and government awareness of the impacts of climate change. As growth continues, how will the tens of thousands of unemployed fossil fuel workers find “just transitions” to good-paying jobs they will need to support their families? With that question in mind, CSUDH Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies Vivian Price joined a team of five researchers from universities across the country to launch the Just Transition Listening Project (JTLP) in the spring of 2020, led by the Labor Network for Sustainability. Their goal was to learn from workers, and environmental justice and Indigenous activists about ... Read More
CSUDH Musical Comedy ‘Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play’ Livestreams May 6-8
(Carson, CA.) California State University, Dominguez Hills’ (CSUDH) Department of Theatre and Dance will present its production of the musical comedy “Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play.” The livestream will take place May 6, 7, and 8 at 7 p.m. in the University Theatre. Written by Anne Washburn, with music by Michael Friedman and lyrics by Anne Washburn, “Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play,” tells the story of a group of post-apocalyptic survivors recalling and retelling "Cape Feare,” an episode of the television show “The Simpsons.” The livestream of “Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play” takes place May 6, 7, and 8 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 per performance. To reserve a ticket, visit ... Read More
Cristina Rose (Smith) Named 2021 Catherine H. Jacobs Outstanding Faculty Lecturer
When Cristina Rose (Smith) is teaching, she doesn’t just lecture while students jot down notes. Rather, Rose acts as an active and engaging facilitator of conversation – letting students take the lead in their own discoveries. Rose, who has taught in the CSUDH Women’s Studies program since 2014, describes herself as relational and feminist in her teaching approach. Her pedagogy is “less about having the answers, and more about asking the questions that will bring us into fuller lives,” she says. “I share my life and who I am with students. It feels like I am actively part of this community. I think from here, I am from here, and this is my home.” That passion for connection has ... Read More
Kirstin Ellsworth Named the 2021 Lyle E. Gibson Distinguished Teacher
Being a conscientious learner isn’t enough for Associate Professor of Art History Kirstin Ellsworth. She also wants her students to be “knowledge makers.” “This comes from what is called the social construction of knowledge,” says Ellsworth. “For assignments like research papers, I like to have students choose what they want to write about, develop an argument, and follow the argument through. The students present their arguments verbally or in their writing, and it typically becomes part of the class conversation.” Ellsworth refers to this inclusive teaching style as self-selected topics that are guided by a thesis. “It really draws out their creativity,” she adds. “So much so that ... Read More
