Speaking of ... College of Charleston
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Produced by the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina, “Speaking of... College of Charleston” features conversations with faculty, students, staff, alumni and supporters who bring prestige and positive recognition to the university across a wide array of academic endeavors, professional interests and creative passions.
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Top 10 Speaking of ... College of Charleston Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Speaking of ... College of Charleston episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Speaking of ... College of Charleston for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Speaking of ... College of Charleston episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
Say Yes with Abstract Artist and CofC alum Brian Rutenberg
Speaking of ... College of Charleston
01/10/24 • 33 min
In this episode we talk to Brian Rutenberg, College of Charleston alumnus and one of the great American painters of the past 30 years.
"My entire experience here at the College of Charleston can be summarized in a single word. The word is yes. For the entire four years I was here 1983 to 1987. I never heard the word no, not even once. The answer to my every question was yes. And that made all the difference."
On this episode of Speaking Of...College of Charleston podcast, we talk to Brian Rutenberg ’87, College of Charleston alumnus and one of the great American painters of the past 30 years. CofC is a home away from home for Rutenberg who is one of 5 family members that attended the College, including his son and daughter who are currently enrolled in the Honors College. He has stayed actively engaged with the College over the years and generously donated his painting “Sandspur” (2017, 62x80 in., oil on linen), which will be hung in the recently renovated Simons Center for the Arts. Rutenberg grew up in Myrtle Beach, SC and lives and works in New York City.
“Myrtle Beach, as you all know, is a resort town full of spastic neon blinking lights and arcades and amusement parks, surrounded by some of the most ravishing landscapes on the East Coast. And I paid attention,” says Rutenberg. “So, what I saw was miraculous, I saw two landscapes, one artificial and one natural, colliding head on at 200 miles an hour right in front of my eyes, and colliding so violently, that they seem to fuse into a third thing. And that elusive third thing has been the subject matter of my work for four decades. It’s a pulsating energy. It’s a visual propulsion that I couldn't articulate, but even as a kid back then knew that I had to do something with it, so that's what sort of set the tone for me to become a visual artist.”
Rutenberg is nothing if not generous with his time and sharing lessons he’s learned with the next generation of art students. “I feel like if I can do anything, to be of service to younger artists, or less experienced artists, then I feel like it makes me a better painter. (...) Working as an artist can be isolating so the reason I make the videos is to remind artists around the world that they are not alone. (...) By doing this, I hope to bring people into my studio, and not just show them technical stuff, which can be as boring as Novocain in a dental chair, I try to show them what an artist’s life is like. I talk a little philosophy, a little personal anecdote, and then I mix some technical and art historical references in as well.”
Resources from this Episode:
- Rutenberg’s first painting class at the College was William Halsey’s last before retiring. He credits Halsey as one of his major influences.
- https://vimeo.com/280620313
- To learn more about Rutenberg’s time at the College and his artistic process:
https://today.cofc.edu/2016/01/20/southern-landscape-painter-rutenberg/
A few of Rutenberg’s favorite quotes:
“If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.” – Albert Einstein
“Don’t think. Thinking is the enemy of creativity. It’s self-conscious, and anything self-conscious is lousy. You can’t try to do things. You simply must do things.”— Ray Bradbury
“The essence of all beautiful art, all great art, is gratitude. ”― Friedrich Nietzsche
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Navigating AI in Higher Ed: Balancing Innovation and Integrity
Speaking of ... College of Charleston
01/22/25 • 45 min
On this episode of Speaking Of...College of Charleston, we speak to Ian O’Byrne, associate professor of literacy education at the College about AI in higher education. His work centers on teaching, learning and technology and is incredibly prolific, publishing newsletters, blog posts and videos on digital literacy. O’Byrne is innovative in the classroom and always seeking new ways to keep students engaged.
O’Byrne discusses how higher education can integrate AI to support learning while maintaining academic integrity. He addresses concerns about cheating and fostering creativity and critical thinking. O’Byrne also highlights the need for authentic assessment and broader ethical considerations, advocating for more inclusive discussions involving students, faculty and alumni.
Most importantly, he encourages educators to have more dialogue about what these things mean for the classroom.
- Resources from this episode:
- O’Byrne’s Blog
- Digital Garden
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Telling Stories of the Traumatic Afterlife of Lynching
Speaking of ... College of Charleston
05/31/23 • 38 min
Mari Crabtree, associate professor of African American Studies at the College, joins us on this episode of Speaking Of... to talk about her latest publication, My Soul Is a Witness: The Traumatic Afterlife of Lynching.
The book, which was published by Yale University Press, provides an intimate look at the aftermath of lynching as seen through the personal accounts of Black victims and survivors who lived through and overcame the trauma. Crabtree speaks with Matthew J. Cressler, associate professor of religious studies at the College, about her research.
“I wanted my book, to be kind of resting on the foundation of that work (from the Equal Justice Initiative), and focus on stories of individual people, because those lives are the reason the numbers matter, ultimately and that was something I didn’t want to lose,” says Crabtree. “So that’s why I wanted to invite the reader into these particular communities, and kind of weave these communities, these stories, these families into the book. (...) I wanted people to feel the full weight, or as much of the weight as they could carry, of the personal side of these of these lynchings.”
Featured on this Episode:
Mari N. Crabtree is a writer and an associate professor of African American Studies at the College of Charleston. Her research seeks to excavate Black life beyond the binary of suffering or resistance by exploring how culture provides a lens for understanding the struggle for Black liberation but also Black ingenuity, joy, and love. Her book, My Soul Is a Witness: The Traumatic Afterlife of Lynching, was published in 2022 by Yale University Press as part of the New Directions in Narrative History series. She also has published essays in Raritan: A Quarterly Review, Rethinking History, Contemporaries, Chronicle of Higher Education, and elsewhere.
Matthew J. Cressler is associate professor of religious studies at the College of Charleston. He is the author of Authentically Black and Truly Catholic: The Rise of Black Catholicism in the Great Migrations (NYU Press, 2017) and has written for America, The Atlantic, National Catholic Reporter, Religion News Service, The Revealer, Slate, U.S. Catholic, andZocalo Public Square. He is a member of the Charleston Area Justice Ministry, a grassroots coalition of more than thirty congregations coming together to make the Lowcountry a place that is just and equitable for all.
Resources:
My Soul Is a Witness: The Traumatic Afterlife of Lynching (Yale University Press, 2022)
Review in The New Republic of My Soul Is a Witness:
James Baldwin’s collected essays, The Price of the Ticket
Best-Selling Author Bret Lott on Food and Hope in the Holy Land
Speaking of ... College of Charleston
10/18/24 • 27 min
On this episode of Speaking Of...College of Charleston, we talk to Bret Lott, professor of English and New York Times Best-Selling author, about his latest book, his upcoming retirement after decades of teaching at the College and the importance of maintaining hope. Jesse Kunze, our sound engineer, is stepping into the host’s seat today because he is a former student of Lott’s and because the two spent a lot of time together in this very studio recording the audio version of Lott’s latest book, Gather the Olives, On Food and Hope and the Holy Land.
Featured on this episode:
Bret Lott is the bestselling author of eight novels, three story collections and three nonfiction books; his fifteenth book, a nonfiction collection titled Cherries on the Golan, Olives in Jerusalem, will be out in 2023. His first novel, The Man Who Owned Vermont, was read in nationwide broadcasts on public radio. and his novel Jewel was both an Oprah Book Club selection and made into a film. His work has been translated into eight languages. He received his MFA in fiction from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, in 1984, studying under Jay Neugeboren and James Baldwin.
He has spoken on Flannery O'Connor at the White House, and served as Fulbright Senior American Scholar to Bar-llan University in Tel Aviv, Israel. From 2006 to 2013 he served as a member of the National Council on the Arts, and from 2010 to 2022 he directed the Spoleto Summer Study Abroad program in English at the College.
If you enjoyed this episode with Bret Lott, listen to an earlier episode where he shares why he loves teaching.
Resources from this episode:
In the Name of Love: All the Best Romantic Movies
Speaking of ... College of Charleston
02/12/25 • 29 min
On this episode of the Speaking of ... College of Charleston podcast, in honor of Valentine’s Day, we ask Colleen Glenn, associate professor and director of the College's Film Studies Program, to weigh in on her favorite romantic movies.
We discuss some of the classes she teaches at the College, including Dreams and Movies and The Myth of the Road in American Cinema. As we shift to the upcoming holiday, she highlights her favorite romantic dramas, including Casablanca, An Affair to Remember, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, as well as romantic comedies like The Shop Around the Corner and Moonstruck.
Glenn also talks about how rom-coms have evolved and now include a wider variety of perspectives.
“Films have become more diverse in terms of representation,” says Glenn. “We have better representation of people of color – of different races and ethnicities – on screen today, and we also see different gender orientations and sexual orientations. So, the classic rom-com formula of 'boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy wins girl back' might now be 'boy meets boy' or 'girl-meets-girl.'"
Glenn encourages moviegoers to watch movies in the theater instead of on their devices to get the full experience. She says romantic movies are just one of the many cultural systems that facilitate the “happily ever after” myth of love – and, if we’re going to blame rom-coms, we have to throw music, theater and poetry into the mix.
What’s your favorite romantic movie to watch on Valentine’s Day? Text us your favorite romantic movie on the Apple Podcasts or comment your favorites on Spotify.
Resources From This episode:
- Romantic Dramas:
- Casablanca (1942)
- An Affair to Remember (1957)
- Cold Mountain (2003)
- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
- Romantic Comedies:
- It Happened One Night (1934)
- The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
- The Philadelphia Story (1940)
- Some Like it Hot (1957)
- The Apartment (1960)
- Moonstruck (1987)
- The Princess Bride (1987)
- When Harry Met Sally (1989)
- Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)
- Film Noir/Thrillers:
- Double Indemnity (1944)
- The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)
- Fatal Attraction (1987)
- Body Heat (1981)
- Oscar Nominees
- CinemaScope
- Great Local Theater: The Terrace
Essential Tips for New Students: An Interview with Student Orientation Leader Hayden Cohen
Speaking of ... College of Charleston
08/08/24 • 25 min
On this episode of Speaking of...College of Charleston, George Johnson, Executive Director of Strategic Communications, interviews Hayden Cohen, a junior theater major and student orientation leader.
Hayden’s Tips for Incoming Students:
- Less is more when it comes to packing
- Speak up for yourself, ask for help when you’re feeling homesick
- Participate in Weeks of Welcome to meet people on campus
Featured on this Episode:
Hayden Cohen is a Junior at the College of Charleston majoring in Theatre, with a concentration in Youth Theatre, and is currently on track for a master's program at the college (M.A.T. in Performing Arts). She’s a former CofC Bridge program participant, Leadership Council Member, and Peer Mentor. She’s a second year Orientation Intern who started the Photography Club, is currently the Vice President of HSAB (Halsey Student Advisory Board), and is a member of CofC Hillel!
Resources from this Episode:
- Campus Housing: https://charleston.edu/housing/move-in-move-out/what-to-bring.php
- Campus Housing – Move in information: https://charleston.edu/housing/move-in-move-out/move-in.php
- Weeks of Welcome: https://charleston.edu/admission/admitted-students/next-steps/welcome-week.php
- Hillel: https://cofchillel.org
- Cougar Connect: https://cougarconnect.cofc.edu/
- Cougar Free store: Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sustaincofc/
- Technology checklist out for students who are looking for a new laptop: https://help.charleston.edu/technology-resources/
- Student Wellness: https://charleston.edu/wellness/index.php
A Year in Review with President Hsu
Speaking of ... College of Charleston
05/09/23 • 21 min
On this episode of Speaking of ... College of Charleston, President Hsu sat down with Ron Menchaca, vice president of marketing and communications, to share some highlights from the past 2022-23 academic year.
“I'm very proud of what the college has achieved during the last four years, and proud of the progress we’re making on our strategic plan,” says Hsu, who celebrates his fourth anniversary as president of the College in May 2023. “We have assembled an all-star team of higher education leaders during the past four years and now the college is making significant gains in many areas including student success, faculty success, diversity and more. It’s very gratifying to see the positive momentum of this great institution.”
Year in Review Highlights:
•A record number of applications for 2023/2024
•Avery Research Center Awarded $2 Million Grant From Mellon Foundation
•Men’s Basketball Claims CAA Title, Clinches Spot at NCAA Tourney
•The Committee on Commemoration and Landscapes (CCL) rededicated the Septima Clark Auditorium in the education center. This is one of the first – of many projects – to tell a more complete story of our campus and our city. CofC Celebrates Life of Activist Septima Clark With New Exhibit, Mural
•First annual Food Security Summit, College of Charleston to Host Nationally Recognized Experts for Inaugural Food Security Summit
President Hsu talked about the 10-year strategic plan, Tradition and Transformation, and what has been accomplished in the past year. He shared updates on the following cross-cutting themes; Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Innovation and Partnerships.
CofC Prepares to Kickoff Strategic Plan
Pilar one: Student Experience and Success
Pilar two: Academic Distinction
Pilar three: Employee Experience and Success
President Hsu was pleased to report the hiring of three new deans under the leadership of Suzanne Austin, Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost. These deans include Wes Dudgeon, dean of the brand new School of Health Sciences, Paul Schwager, dean of School of Business, and Amiee Arias, who will join the team later this summer as dean of the School of Languages, Cultures, and World Affairs. New additions to the president’s cabinet include Dan Frezza, who joined the College as the new chief advancement officer, and Jimmy Foster, vice president of the Division of Enrollment Management. Chuck Baker is the interim General Council.
"What really moves a university to a new level of excellence is the leadership team, and without a strong leadership team, we would not be able to effect the changes that we're trying to make. I'm very proud to say that if I were in a professional basketball program, then I would say I now have an all-star Dream Team on this campus.”
Kathleen Parker Discusses Cannabis Legislation in South Carolina with Experts
Speaking of ... College of Charleston
08/31/23 • 61 min
This episode of Speaking Of...College of Charleston is a special edition about cannabis legislation in South Carolina. The program is hosted by Washington Post columnist Kathleen Parker. Guest panelists include South Carolina State Senator Tom Davis, Gary Hess, the founder and executive director of the veterans alliance for holistic alternatives and Pawleys Island attorney Margaret Ann “Muffy” Kneece.
Featured on this Episode:
Kathleen Parker writes a weekly column on politics and culture. In 2010, she received the Pulitzer Prize for Distinguished Commentary "for her perceptive, often witty columns on an array of political and moral issues. gracefully sharing the experiences and values that lead her to unpredictable conclusions.” A Florida native, Parker started her column in 1987 when she was a staff writer for the Orlando Sentinel. She joined the Washington Post Writers Group in 2006. She is the author of Save the Males: Why Men Matter, Why Women Should Care (2008).
“Parker writes with grace, wit and style and is always prescient, prophetic, ahead of the curve.” Doug Marlette, Political cartoonist & author (1949-2007)
HONORS & AWARDS
Ernie Pyle Lifetime Achievement Award
South Carolina Academy of Authors
2010 Pulitzer Prize for Commentary
1993 H.L. Mencken Writing Award
Parker divides her time between Washington, DC, and South Carolina —and points beyond. When she isn‘t immersed in writing, she enjoys interior design, an array of fur and winged friends, and long pauses with nature.
Senator Tom Davis has lived in Beaufort, South Carolina, since 1985, practicing law at the firm of Harvey & Battey, P.A. He is the managing partner in the firm’s real estate department. Sen. Davis obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from Furman University in 1982, obtained a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Maryland School of Law in 1985. He served in Gov. Mark Sanford’s administration as senior policy advisor, co-chief of staff, deputy chief of staff and chief of staff from 2003 to 2007. In November 2008, he was elected State Senator for South Carolina Senate District 46 and was re-elected to second and third four-year terms in 2012 and 2016.
Gary Hess is the founder and Executive Director of the Veterans Alliance for Holistic Alternatives (VAHA), CEO of Teleleaf, and Partner of Dynamic Growth Solutions – organizations he founded to help destigmatize and provide access to medical cannabis.
Gary served in the Marine Corps for 11 years, both enlisted and as an Infantry Officer. After serving during the heaviest levels of fighting in Irag, Gary experienced the challenges of living with PTSD, traumatic brain injury, chronic pain, and pharmaceutical dependency first-hand. He used cannabis not only to manage his conditions safely on his path to recovery, but also to catalyze and expedite Post-Traumatic Growth. He is now an advocate and activist for the use of medical cannabis in post-traumatic recovery – both for veterans and trauma survivors.
In 1992 Muffy received a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of South Carolina, with a major in History. She received her Juris Doctor from The University of South Carolina School of Law in 1995. After law school Muffy was employed with the Fifth Circuit Solicitor’s Office.
Muffy initially worked in the Family Court Division and was the Chief Prosecuting Attorney for the Fifteenth Circuit Family Court when she returned to her true passion as a General Sessions Assistant Solicitor for Georgetown County. It wa
ChatGPT Explained: A Conversation with Computer Science Professors About Conversational A.I.
Speaking of ... College of Charleston
04/19/23 • 33 min
In this episode of Speaking Of... Tom Cunneff, College of Charleston Magazine editor talks to Navid Hashemi and Sarah Schoemann, computer science professors about Artificial Intelligence (AI) and ChatGPT and what this means to higher education.
"It's revolutionary," says Hashemi who compares the development in technology to the Industrial Revolution. "In the industrial revolution, we tried to replace our muscles with robots or tools. But here, the systems are trying to help our brain to make better decisions and somehow make our life easier. If the paradigm shift is exponential in the next in the next few years, I believe that we are going to see a lot of new advancements in many different fields, in drug discovery, in music, in art, in robots, social living, driving and self driving."
One of the biggest questions and hottest debates is how these large language models will change higher education and whether educators should embrace or ban AI from classrooms. "I think it's a technology that you really need a nuanced approach to," says Schoemann. "Ultimately, the idea of banning it outright will fail because students are savvy, and trying to ban any technology from students is never really the right move. But I'm not sure that it needs to become the center of the classroom."
Featured on this Episode:
Sarah Schoemann is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science, she received her PhD from GA Tech in 2021. At College of Charleston she is the director of the Critical Art and Technology Lab or CATLab. She primarily teaches courses in the CS department's Computing in the Arts or "CITA" program, which combines the study of the arts with computation. Trained as both a fine artist and a researcher in the field of Human Computer Interaction and Game Studies she is focused on the design and evaluation of new technologies such as games and interactive experiences with a focus on how creativity, and playfulness can have real-world impacts. She is particularly interest in the implications of technologies for critically engaging with broader social questions regarding justice, equity and inclusion.
Navid Hashemi is the director of the graduate program in Data Science and Analytics at the College of Charleston. He joined the Computer Science department in 2020 as an assistant professor and founded the Data Mining and Connectivity (DMC) research lab. He is an active researcher in spatiotemporal data mining, machine learning, Internet of Things (IoT) analytics, and crowd-sensing. Hashemi holds a doctorate in computer science from the University of Georgia, and prior to joining the college, he held a visiting faculty position at Emory University.
Resources from this Episode:
AI expert Timnit Gebru talks to 60 minutes about bias in large language models like ChatGPT
Article about Getty Images lawsuit against Stable Diffusion for copyright infringement
Refik Anadol, artist who uses AI to create wall-sized generative art, using only “ethically sourced data” as training data.
Official chatGPT/GPT-4 webpages:
Stories of "Scandalous Charleston," and the Truth Behind the Myths
Speaking of ... College of Charleston
11/11/22 • 24 min
It may not come as a surprise that what we know about Charleston’s history is not necessarily the truth. Many of the stories recorded in the history books were written with biased perspectives, ignoring marginalized voices.
In this episode we talk to author and professional tour guide Leigh Handal '81 who says the true history of Charleston, SC doesn't need embellishment. Gathering evidence from trial transcripts and archival newspaper clippings to record the past she says, “The truth is interesting enough.”
In her latest book Storied & Scandalous Charleston, a History of Piracy and Prohibition, Rebellion and Revolution, she reveals well documented, captivating events like the time the infamous Reverend Jenkins Orchestra band had a command performance for King George in England and the time convicted inmate John Fisher stayed at the Old City Jail with his wife Lavinia to die instead of taking his chance at freedom.
Handal is the perfect guide for those who want to dive deeper into the history of Charleston, and says she loves brining visitors to graveyards.
“I could spend most of my day hanging out in graveyards. I like dead people and I like to find out about them because everybody has a story to tell.”
Featured on this Episode:
Leigh Jones Handal ’81 has been an avid student of Charleston’s history since she was a Brownie Scout. Handal has been a licensed tour guide for more than twenty years and owns her own tour company, Charleston Raconteurs. She also serves as Chief Advancement Officer at the American College of Building Arts, where she once had an office at the Charleston District Jail, just down the hall from where Lavinia Fisher awaited her execution.
Resources on this Episode:
Storied & Scandalous Charleston, a History of Piracy and Prohibition, Rebellion and Revolution
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FAQ
How many episodes does Speaking of ... College of Charleston have?
Speaking of ... College of Charleston currently has 56 episodes available.
What topics does Speaking of ... College of Charleston cover?
The podcast is about Society & Culture, Podcasts, Education and Higher Ed.
What is the most popular episode on Speaking of ... College of Charleston?
The episode title 'Say Yes with Abstract Artist and CofC alum Brian Rutenberg' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Speaking of ... College of Charleston?
The average episode length on Speaking of ... College of Charleston is 25 minutes.
How often are episodes of Speaking of ... College of Charleston released?
Episodes of Speaking of ... College of Charleston are typically released every 18 days, 19 hours.
When was the first episode of Speaking of ... College of Charleston?
The first episode of Speaking of ... College of Charleston was released on Nov 12, 2021.
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