By TYLER ELLYSON
UNK Communications
KEARNEY – The University of Nebraska at Kearney College of Arts and Sciences is hosting a book festival to showcase faculty’s scholarly and creative work.
The event, scheduled for 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday (Nov. 6) in the Nebraskan Student Union Ponderosa Room E, will feature more than 60 publications written by faculty representing numerous departments within the college. Admission is free and open to the public.
“It’s a celebratory event,” said UNK English professor Marguerite Tassi, who served on the organizing committee along with English professor Susan Honeyman and political science professor William Aviles. “We wanted to find a way to celebrate the merging of the two colleges.”
UNK’s College of Arts and Sciences, which merged the former colleges of Fine Arts and Humanities and Natural and Social Sciences, was formally launched in August to promote increased collaboration among faculty and students at UNK and across the University of Nebraska system.
Tassi said the book festival allows attendees to learn more about the work produced by UNK faculty while promoting these publications.
“The event will give a lot of recognition to faculty,” she said, adding that it’s also an opportunity for community members and students to broaden their horizons and discover new areas of interest.
The festival includes books published over the past 20 years, ensuring a variety of topics are covered. In addition to the scholarly publications, there are also creative works such as short story collections, poetry and dramatic monologues.
“We wanted to make sure we were as inclusive as possible,” Tassi said.
A number of authors will be on hand to discuss and sign their books, and some selections will be available for purchase.
UNK faculty authors will also take part in interdisciplinary panel discussions on “Armed Forces and Military Conquests” and “Historically Marginalized Communities and Social Struggles in the U.S.”
A roundtable discussion on how to prepare scholarly books for publication will be followed by the keynote address from Alisa Plant, editor-in-chief of the University of Nebraska Press, who will discuss the state of academic publishing in the humanities and social sciences.
University of Nebraska Press products and publishing information will be available, as well.
UNK COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES BOOK FESTIVAL
Tuesday (Nov. 6), Nebraskan Student Union Ponderosa Room E
11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. – Opening reception with welcome address from College of Arts and Sciences interim Dean Peter Longo.
12:30-1:45 p.m. – “Armed Forces and Military Conquests” panel featuring UNK faculty authors Mary Beth Ailes, Pradeep Barua, William Aviles and Tim Johnson with moderator Jonathan Dettman.
2-3:15 p.m. – “Historically Marginalized Communities and Social Struggles in the U.S.” panel featuring UNK faculty authors Linda Van Ingen, Kurt Borchard, Tasha Dunn and Brad Modlin with moderator Jessica Hollander.
3:30-4:30 p.m. – Roundtable discussion on publishing scholarly books featuring UNK faculty authors Lorna Bracewell, Megan Hartman and David Vail with moderator Marguerite Tassi.
5-6 p.m. – “On the State of Academic Publishing in the Humanities and Social Sciences” featuring keynote speaker Alisa Plant, editor-in-chief of the University of Nebraska Press.
