PRESS RELEASE
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL ARKANSAS
COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS AND COMMUNICATION
September 18, 2012
CONTACT: Dr. Jim Hikins, (501) 450-3202, jhikins@uca.edu
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS POLITICAL SCHOLAR
TO BE IN RESIDENCE AT UCA
By Zachary O’Neal
College of Fine Arts and Communication Media Office
CONWAY — Dr. Roderick P. Hart, dean of the College of Communication and professor of government at the University of Texas, Austin will visit the University of Central Arkansas as Scholar-in-Residence for Civic Engagement Oct. 10-11.
Hart will give a free public lecture, “Campaign 2012: Political Cynicism When We Need it the Least,” at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 11, at 7:30 p.m. in the College of Business Auditorium (107). Hart specializes in politics and the mass media. He has written 12 books, including his latest, “Political Keywords: Using Language That Uses Us.”
This event is a cooperative enterprise among the College of Fine Arts and Communication (Department of Communication), College of Liberal Arts (Department of Political Science) and UCA residence halls (Norris Taylor UCA Residential Colleges Fund).
“We’re attempting to make this an annual cooperative affair among those entities,” Dr. Jim Hikins, chair of the Department of Communication, said. “The purpose is to bring someone in who is a scholar whose work transcends one particular discipline.”
Hikins described the event as trans-disciplinary, meaning one is an expert in one discipline yet has experience in others, rather than interdisciplinary, where one brings just a single, “siloed” disciplinary focus to a subject.
“I think it’s a landmark event for UCA because of its trans-disciplinary nature,” Hikins said.
As part of the residency, Hart will also visit classes and meet with students.
The Artist in Residence program is funded by UCA’s arts fee and is administered by the College of Fine Arts and Communication. For more information, call the Office of the Dean, College of Fine Arts and Communication, at (501) 450-3293 or e-mail jdmiller@uca.edu.
For more information about Dr. Hart’s visit, contact Hikins at (501) 450-3202 or jhikins@uca.edu.
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