Identify the title, setting, and date of the lecture/performance. Describe the experience and what it was like for you. What did it make you think about? Skip a line between paragraphs. (minimum 250 words)
The lecture I went to was called, Indigenous Languages & People in the Siberian Arctic. The speaker’s name was Lenore Grenoble. The lecture was Monday, February 4, starting at 4:30, and it was in the Kreindler Conference Hall at Dartmouth. I went to the lecture with my mom and Emilia. I wanted to go to this specific lecture because Grenoble was talking about lots of things that I am very interested in. Grenoble has been doing field work in Greenland and parts of Russia. She speaks fluent Russian because she specializes in Slavic languages and Arctic indigenous languages. I was really interested in learning more about linguistics, learning about indigenous languages, and I was especially excited because she knows Russian! The talk was about the research she has been doing on language shift and the study of language endangerment. She talked specifically about a couple languages, such as Even, Evenki and Chukchi. ( I had never heard about any of those languages until now!)
At first I was nervous because I had never been to any sort of formal lecture like this. I felt a little more comfortable being with my mom since she works at Dartmouth and being with a friend. The room we were in was new and there were rows of seats and desk around a stage. There was a big screen, where she showed information and photos from her studies. There weren’t too many people, but there were enough that I didn’t feel like I was the center of attention. It was mostly Dartmouth students and faculty, but there were some people from the public. Because the lecture was for the public, it was pretty easy to understand what Grenoble was talking about. Luckily, I was able to understand some of the linguistic terms she used, because she made sure to explain it in a simple way, as well as the more formal way. While she was talking about Russian names, to me at least, it seemed like she had a very good Russian accent. I definitely admired her and wished I was fluent in Russian too. I definitely thought about the Russian camp I went to over the summer. Some of the Russian cities she talked were familiar to me because I had heard them at camp. Grenoble also showed some Russian words and I was proud to know what they meant and how to pronounce them.
The lecture was really interesting and she was a good speaker. She was funny and even talked about how she bought a goose at a Russian auction. I was not bored at all and I wrote down a lot about her presentation because it was so intriguing. One thing that I thought was cool was that she conducted a lot of experiments in various location and even had a whole team of people helping her. I also like that she talked about identity and how people perceive their identity so differently. After Grenoble’s lecture, I was in awe and I wanted to know more. I also realized that the work she is doing would definitely be something that I would like to do in the future. When the lecture was over people asked some questions, but I was to shy to ask any. I think that this was the perfect lecture for me to go to. This lecture was amazing and i’m glad that I was able to go!
On Monday, February 4, at 4:30, I went to a lecture called Indigenous Languages & People in the Siberian Arctic, held by Lenore Grenoble. It was held in the Kreindler Conference Hall at Dartmouth, and I attended this lecture with Zia and her mom. Though I’m not interested in going into linguistics as a future profession, and I didn’t know anything about this going into the lecture, it was extremely interesting to hear about the work that the speaker has done, and her experiences in different places such as Greenland and Russia. Her knowledge of different languages, such as Chukchi, Evenki, Even, and Russian, was extremely impressive, and it was interesting to see how she pronounced things, such as the names of the towns she visited, because I have no prior knowledge of any of these languages, and oftentimes, words were pronounced completely different from what I expected. The lecture focused on how these indigenous languages are being phased out, and some of the factors they believe to be causing this, such as urbanization, and self identification, etcetera.
The atmosphere of the lecture made it very easy to be comfortable, and not overly self conscious or nervous. Going in to it, I was very nervous, as I have little experience with Dartmouth, and no experience with lectures. It helped that Zia and her mom were there, and were more familiar with the setting. The room was arranged in a way where everyone could see the presentation on the screen, and could hear the speaker, without feeling to cramped, or far away. There was a good number of people there, and a fairly large range of people, some adults who work at Dartmouth, some students at Dartmouth, and others, like us, who were from the public, as the lecture was open to the public. It was an extremely engaging lecture, and it was interesting to hear of some of the experiments she conducted, and of other people on her team, as well as some of the people who she met through her research, that were from the places that she visited. It was also interesting to hear of some of the trips she has planned for the future to continue her studies. I enjoyed going to a lecture about a topic that I had no prior knowledge of, but that was still interesting, and inspired me to look further into this topic. There was an opportunity to follow up with the speaker and ask questions, which we did not attend, but I was able to hear a few questions at the end, which was interesting to me, as it allowed me to see some of the different ways other people perceived the information that was presented.
I felt that the speaker did a phenomenal job explaining her research and the topic of the lecture, while remaining rather easy to understand and, at times, humorous. I appreciated the fact that I was able to understand the majority of the content, and I felt very grateful that I was able to attend a lecture where I was able to do so. It was extremely interesting to hear of the topic and see pictures, videos, and data from her research. This lecture allowed me to be introduced to linguistics, and I am now interested in learning a little bit more about this topic. It was a fun experience overall, and I am very grateful to have had the chance to go to this lecture.
On the evening of March 27, 2019, my mom and I walked into the Norwich Bookstore with the book, “Black Is The Body: Stories from My Grandmother’s Time, My Mother’s Time, and Mine” in hand, the subject of this event. We moved to the back room where someone ushered us to our name-tagged seats. As more people showed up, it became evident that I was the youngest in the audience, maybe by ten years. By the end of the event, it also became evident that I was one of the few in the audience who had not yet read the book being discussed.
It started out by one of the employees of the Bookstore advertising their event schedule and then introducing the presenter and author of this book, Emily Bernard. It was then Emily’s turn to talk. Emily started off, after adjusting the microphone at the podium, by thanking the audience for coming. She then explained the sequence in which the night would proceed. It would start out with her reading certain excerpts from the book, and would be followed by a Q&A session.
Emily was a patient speaker with a rhythmic reading style which enhanced her words as she (almost) recited them. She started at the beginning of her book in a section entitled, “Beginnings”–– a fitting name. In this section and her analysis of it, she talked about having to turn to art after she could no longer trust science. It is unclear exactly what she means by art in these circumstances, but I think art and god correlate in some way, based on the way she worded her description.
She spoke with clarity and made intense direct eye contact making a listener feel the impact of her words. She inspired me through the way she discussed life knowingly as if she could do no more than expect life to throw curveballs. But while explaining the struggles of life, she was reassuring in that she knew everyone has the strength to deal with them. She talked about memories and how when you share them, you no longer have total ownership of that memory. The memories she shares in her book now belong to so many people and she doesn’t have control of what they do with them.
I enjoyed listening to the stories of her bold daughters taking ownership in their blackness and how they had “dual citizenship in America and African America.” She explained what it was like to have a white husband and to explore the world with a white man by her side.
In reply to an audience member’s question, she explained that growing up, she found solace in reading literature. She told us that when writing this book, she questioned who she was writing to and who she was writing for. She said, “I wrote for the girl who needed to hear these stories.” That line spoke to me the most.
I really like your description of the author and how she spoke to all of you almost individually. When I went to a lecture it was much different and it was as personalized as the one that you went to. I also like the idea of not having ownership of your memories after you share them. I had never thought of memories like that before and it is interesting to think about. I think it was also interesting how the author touched on what it was like to go on these adventures with her husband who was white and how that effected her travels. This book sounds really intriguing and I would be interested to read it now!
Glacial Change and Receding in Uganda’s Rwenzori Mountains Thesis Presentation by Laura Hutchinson Advised by Meredith Kelly Department of Earth Science Dartmouth College May 28, 2019
This lecture was a thesis presentation by Laura Hutchinson about the Glacial recedance in a particular chain of mountains in Africa. These mountains include Mt. Kilimanjaro and a few other fairly large mountains that have developed major glaciers over time. Sadly, as climate change has been becoming worse, these have been receding faster and faster like the rest of the glaciers around most of the globe. Laura, while actually traveling there and seeing the mountains in person, she based her work off of satellite imagery called NDSI. While this would, in the perfect scenario, show the glaciers in the best form, the method had its challenges. She was able to use over 37 years of footage of the mountains, but was only able to use 4 pictures. This was because of either clouds being over the mountains, snow being on the glacier and her not being able to see the actual glacial extent, and other variables that she didn’t specifically mention. Out of that 37 years of data, there were only 15 pictures with clear skies as well. The satellite imagery program she used (NDSI), allowed her to visualize the glacier even further than just the naked-eye view. She was able to see heat signatures and even show the outline of where the glaciers used to be and compare them to that original outline as they receded. Interestingly enough, there were two other studies made on the exact same thesis that Laura was researching, however, they were both very different and, upon further investigation, wrong. They had somehow made the recedances much more drastic than what the actual occurrence was. Possibly by using the photos wherein there was snow on the glacier and making it harder to tell where the actual glacier was. Despite this, her data showed a still very steady downward trend, her data showed that the glaciers had receded to be about 16% of the land they used to overtake. In turn, she stated that the glaciers in the Rwenzori Mountains could be gone by 2025 at the rate they are receding. This lecture, only further proved and lengthened my beliefs of global climate change and the tolls they are taking on our world. The Rwenzori glaciers, while not crucial to the water supply of the locals, like some regions are having problems with, tourism is the main source of income for the local population. Without the glaciers, tourism would most likely lower fairly quickly and cost the population immensely economy-wise. Climate change, whether you believe in it or think it is a complete hoax, its happening, fast.
The lecture I went to was called, Indigenous Languages & People in the Siberian Arctic. The speaker’s name was Lenore Grenoble. The lecture was Monday, February 4, starting at 4:30, and it was in the Kreindler Conference Hall at Dartmouth. I went to the lecture with my mom and Emilia. I wanted to go to this specific lecture because Grenoble was talking about lots of things that I am very interested in. Grenoble has been doing field work in Greenland and parts of Russia. She speaks fluent Russian because she specializes in Slavic languages and Arctic indigenous languages. I was really interested in learning more about linguistics, learning about indigenous languages, and I was especially excited because she knows Russian! The talk was about the research she has been doing on language shift and the study of language endangerment. She talked specifically about a couple languages, such as Even, Evenki and Chukchi. ( I had never heard about any of those languages until now!)
ReplyDeleteAt first I was nervous because I had never been to any sort of formal lecture like this. I felt a little more comfortable being with my mom since she works at Dartmouth and being with a friend. The room we were in was new and there were rows of seats and desk around a stage. There was a big screen, where she showed information and photos from her studies. There weren’t too many people, but there were enough that I didn’t feel like I was the center of attention. It was mostly Dartmouth students and faculty, but there were some people from the public. Because the lecture was for the public, it was pretty easy to understand what Grenoble was talking about. Luckily, I was able to understand some of the linguistic terms she used, because she made sure to explain it in a simple way, as well as the more formal way. While she was talking about Russian names, to me at least, it seemed like she had a very good Russian accent. I definitely admired her and wished I was fluent in Russian too. I definitely thought about the Russian camp I went to over the summer. Some of the Russian cities she talked were familiar to me because I had heard them at camp. Grenoble also showed some Russian words and I was proud to know what they meant and how to pronounce them.
The lecture was really interesting and she was a good speaker. She was funny and even talked about how she bought a goose at a Russian auction. I was not bored at all and I wrote down a lot about her presentation because it was so intriguing. One thing that I thought was cool was that she conducted a lot of experiments in various location and even had a whole team of people helping her. I also like that she talked about identity and how people perceive their identity so differently. After Grenoble’s lecture, I was in awe and I wanted to know more. I also realized that the work she is doing would definitely be something that I would like to do in the future. When the lecture was over people asked some questions, but I was to shy to ask any. I think that this was the perfect lecture for me to go to. This lecture was amazing and i’m glad that I was able to go!
On Monday, February 4, at 4:30, I went to a lecture called Indigenous Languages & People in the Siberian Arctic, held by Lenore Grenoble. It was held in the Kreindler Conference Hall at Dartmouth, and I attended this lecture with Zia and her mom. Though I’m not interested in going into linguistics as a future profession, and I didn’t know anything about this going into the lecture, it was extremely interesting to hear about the work that the speaker has done, and her experiences in different places such as Greenland and Russia. Her knowledge of different languages, such as Chukchi, Evenki, Even, and Russian, was extremely impressive, and it was interesting to see how she pronounced things, such as the names of the towns she visited, because I have no prior knowledge of any of these languages, and oftentimes, words were pronounced completely different from what I expected. The lecture focused on how these indigenous languages are being phased out, and some of the factors they believe to be causing this, such as urbanization, and self identification, etcetera.
ReplyDeleteThe atmosphere of the lecture made it very easy to be comfortable, and not overly self conscious or nervous. Going in to it, I was very nervous, as I have little experience with Dartmouth, and no experience with lectures. It helped that Zia and her mom were there, and were more familiar with the setting. The room was arranged in a way where everyone could see the presentation on the screen, and could hear the speaker, without feeling to cramped, or far away. There was a good number of people there, and a fairly large range of people, some adults who work at Dartmouth, some students at Dartmouth, and others, like us, who were from the public, as the lecture was open to the public. It was an extremely engaging lecture, and it was interesting to hear of some of the experiments she conducted, and of other people on her team, as well as some of the people who she met through her research, that were from the places that she visited. It was also interesting to hear of some of the trips she has planned for the future to continue her studies. I enjoyed going to a lecture about a topic that I had no prior knowledge of, but that was still interesting, and inspired me to look further into this topic. There was an opportunity to follow up with the speaker and ask questions, which we did not attend, but I was able to hear a few questions at the end, which was interesting to me, as it allowed me to see some of the different ways other people perceived the information that was presented.
I felt that the speaker did a phenomenal job explaining her research and the topic of the lecture, while remaining rather easy to understand and, at times, humorous. I appreciated the fact that I was able to understand the majority of the content, and I felt very grateful that I was able to attend a lecture where I was able to do so. It was extremely interesting to hear of the topic and see pictures, videos, and data from her research. This lecture allowed me to be introduced to linguistics, and I am now interested in learning a little bit more about this topic. It was a fun experience overall, and I am very grateful to have had the chance to go to this lecture.
On the evening of March 27, 2019, my mom and I walked into the Norwich Bookstore with the book, “Black Is The Body: Stories from My Grandmother’s Time, My Mother’s Time, and Mine” in hand, the subject of this event. We moved to the back room where someone ushered us to our name-tagged seats. As more people showed up, it became evident that I was the youngest in the audience, maybe by ten years. By the end of the event, it also became evident that I was one of the few in the audience who had not yet read the book being discussed.
ReplyDeleteIt started out by one of the employees of the Bookstore advertising their event schedule and then introducing the presenter and author of this book, Emily Bernard. It was then Emily’s turn to talk. Emily started off, after adjusting the microphone at the podium, by thanking the audience for coming. She then explained the sequence in which the night would proceed. It would start out with her reading certain excerpts from the book, and would be followed by a Q&A session.
Emily was a patient speaker with a rhythmic reading style which enhanced her words as she (almost) recited them. She started at the beginning of her book in a section entitled, “Beginnings”–– a fitting name. In this section and her analysis of it, she talked about having to turn to art after she could no longer trust science. It is unclear exactly what she means by art in these circumstances, but I think art and god correlate in some way, based on the way she worded her description.
She spoke with clarity and made intense direct eye contact making a listener feel the impact of her words. She inspired me through the way she discussed life knowingly as if she could do no more than expect life to throw curveballs. But while explaining the struggles of life, she was reassuring in that she knew everyone has the strength to deal with them. She talked about memories and how when you share them, you no longer have total ownership of that memory. The memories she shares in her book now belong to so many people and she doesn’t have control of what they do with them.
I enjoyed listening to the stories of her bold daughters taking ownership in their blackness and how they had “dual citizenship in America and African America.” She explained what it was like to have a white husband and to explore the world with a white man by her side.
In reply to an audience member’s question, she explained that growing up, she found solace in reading literature. She told us that when writing this book, she questioned who she was writing to and who she was writing for. She said, “I wrote for the girl who needed to hear these stories.” That line spoke to me the most.
I really like your description of the author and how she spoke to all of you almost individually. When I went to a lecture it was much different and it was as personalized as the one that you went to. I also like the idea of not having ownership of your memories after you share them. I had never thought of memories like that before and it is interesting to think about. I think it was also interesting how the author touched on what it was like to go on these adventures with her husband who was white and how that effected her travels. This book sounds really intriguing and I would be interested to read it now!
ReplyDeleteGlacial Change and Receding in Uganda’s Rwenzori Mountains
ReplyDeleteThesis Presentation by Laura Hutchinson
Advised by Meredith Kelly
Department of Earth Science
Dartmouth College
May 28, 2019
This lecture was a thesis presentation by Laura Hutchinson about the Glacial recedance in a particular chain of mountains in Africa. These mountains include Mt. Kilimanjaro and a few other fairly large mountains that have developed major glaciers over time. Sadly, as climate change has been becoming worse, these have been receding faster and faster like the rest of the glaciers around most of the globe. Laura, while actually traveling there and seeing the mountains in person, she based her work off of satellite imagery called NDSI. While this would, in the perfect scenario, show the glaciers in the best form, the method had its challenges. She was able to use over 37 years of footage of the mountains, but was only able to use 4 pictures. This was because of either clouds being over the mountains, snow being on the glacier and her not being able to see the actual glacial extent, and other variables that she didn’t specifically mention. Out of that 37 years of data, there were only 15 pictures with clear skies as well. The satellite imagery program she used (NDSI), allowed her to visualize the glacier even further than just the naked-eye view. She was able to see heat signatures and even show the outline of where the glaciers used to be and compare them to that original outline as they receded. Interestingly enough, there were two other studies made on the exact same thesis that Laura was researching, however, they were both very different and, upon further investigation, wrong. They had somehow made the recedances much more drastic than what the actual occurrence was. Possibly by using the photos wherein there was snow on the glacier and making it harder to tell where the actual glacier was. Despite this, her data showed a still very steady downward trend, her data showed that the glaciers had receded to be about 16% of the land they used to overtake. In turn, she stated that the glaciers in the Rwenzori Mountains could be gone by 2025 at the rate they are receding. This lecture, only further proved and lengthened my beliefs of global climate change and the tolls they are taking on our world. The Rwenzori glaciers, while not crucial to the water supply of the locals, like some regions are having problems with, tourism is the main source of income for the local population. Without the glaciers, tourism would most likely lower fairly quickly and cost the population immensely economy-wise. Climate change, whether you believe in it or think it is a complete hoax, its happening, fast.