Our faculty members participate in conferences around the world, conduct groundbreaking research, and publish books and articles that expand their knowledge and expertise. Here are a few recent highlights.
Nancy Erbe, professor of negotiation, conflict resolution and peace building (NCRP) served on a panel of experts at the annual conference of the Association for Conflict Resolution (ACR) in San Diego in October. Along with colleagues from Fresno State and Wayne State, and CSU Dominguez Hills NCRP lecturer Greg Dern, she discussed “Beyond ‘The Fourth R’- Generating a Library of Best Practice in Conflict Resolution Education.” Erbe focused on her expertise on culturally sensitive curriculum and preventing and addressing violence in schools. NCRP alumna Jody Jones also presented at this conference.
Erbe has published articles on mediation’s impact on reducing violent behavior and the role of compassionate mentoring in ACR’s education newsletter, The Fourth R. Her new book, “Negotiation Alchemy: Global Skills Inspiring and Transforming Diverging Worlds” was published in August by Institute of Governmental Studies Press at the University of California-Berkeley. She recently co-presented “Addressing Critical Issues in Teaching: Social Justice Pedagogy Across Disciplines” at the annual meeting of the Council of Social Work Education in Atlanta, Oct. 27-30. Erbe and her colleagues Candida Madrigal and Jocelyn Hermoso from San Francisco State and Joe Grimes from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo were supported in their presentation as a CSU-wide faculty research team with funding from the CSU Office of the Chancellor.
Emeritus professor of history Donald Hata served as a panelist at a community-wide symposium on “Cast in Bronze: Terminology and Memory of the Japanese American WWII Incarceration Experience,” held on Oct. 22 at the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California in San Francisco. His talk recalled the struggle to recognize the former concentration camps at Manzanar and Tule Lake, California in the 1970s, and highlights the need to replace the wartime euphemism of Japanese American “internment” with more accurate terms to describe the unconstitutional imprisonment of American citizens.
Hata will speak at a workshop on Nikkei and WWII for teachers of kindergarten through high school in Palo Alto and introduce the fourth edition of his book, “Japanese Americans and World War II: Mass Removal, Imprisonment, and Redress” (with Nadine Ishitani Hata) on November 17; the event is hosted by the Inter-University Center for Japanese Studies at Stanford University. He will also give a talk on Nov. 29 on the exhibition, “Building Evidence: Japanese Americans in Southern California During Mid-Century. 40 Years of Collecting,” which is currently on view in the Archives and Special Collections of the University Library at CSU Dominguez Hills.
Professor of art Gilah Yelin Hirsch is featured in an exhibition, “Jüdische Frauen in der Bildenden Kunst” (Jewish Women in the Visual Arts), which is currently on view at Inselgalerie in Berlin. Her solo exhibition continues in its third year, at Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion, Los Angeles. Her recent publications include “Artist as Shaman – Conjuring Healing: Imagery, Bio-theology, Health & Right Action,” which was translated into Chinese for “Collections of Foreign Studies on Shamanism,” published by Dalian Nationalities University in Liaoning, China; and “Biotheology, Imagery, & Healing,” which appeared in the Journal of Subtle Energies and Energy Medicine.
In June, Hirsch was also invited to deliver a presentation on her work, titled “The Mystery of the White Spheres” at the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow. Her talk examined the confluence of her work in science and art. Hirsch also delivered a keynote address on, “Artist as Shaman” at the biennial conference of the International Society for Shamanic Research, which took place Oct. 5-9 in Warsaw, Poland at the State Ethnographic Museum. Her work will be featured in the upcoming “The World in Their Eyes,” an exhibition of faculty artists at CSU Dominguez Hills, opening on Nov. 9.
Professor of biology Thomas Landefeld served as keynote speaker at the 2011 STEM Kick-Off Event at Fayetteville State University in September. He was invited by the university’s Minority Biomedical Research Support (MBRS) program to speak on “Preparing for Graduate School.” He was also a panelist at the 3rd Annual John H. Hopps Research Scholars Program (HOPPS) Training Symposium and Recruitment Fair held at Morehouse College in September. The HOPPS program is funded by the Department of Defense and is named the renowned physicist and former Morehouse provost.
Landefeld was also a panelist in a session on “Demystifying the Admissions Process” at UCLA in September, when he spoke on the importance of a well-written personal statement. The session was part of the annual conference of the National Association of Medical Minority Educators.
Ericka Verba, associate professor of history, had her article, “Sewing Resistance” published in the anthology, “Mapping Latin America: A Cartographic Reader” (ed. Jordana Dym, Karl Offen). Verba’s article focuses on arpilleras, testimonial tapestries that were originally created by Chilean women during the Pinochet regime of the 1970s.
