At Pitt, war or not, Russian and Ukrainian cultures share a bond; PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, February 26, 2022

BILL SCHACKNER,  PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE; At Pitt, war or not, Russian and Ukrainian cultures share a bond

Immigrants who helped build the 'Steel city' are part of famed Nationality Rooms

[Kip Currier: An uplifting, poignant article, amidst the wrenching scenes emanating from an under-siege Ukraine.

The Nationality Rooms (more aptly, Classrooms) are one of the United States' truly singular treasures -- at the nexus of cultures and education -- and are my favorite place to take visitors, having had the privilege of serving as a Quo Vadis student organization volunteer tour guide for these architectural marvels during my undergraduate years at Pitt.]

"The Russian room, dedicated in 1938, and the Ukrainian room, dating to 1990, are historical treasures. But just as important, they are functioning classrooms at the University of Pittsburgh — part of the Cathedral of Learning's 31 famed Nationality Rooms.

Built on ethnic pride and donations, the rooms honor immigrants whose labor in the steel mills helped make Pittsburgh what it is today. In that, the two Eastern European communities share a deep bond.

Only now, Russia has invaded Ukraine and the countries are at war. Pitt undergraduates who routinely sit in these rooms taking classes that have nothing to do with geopolitics find themselves surrounded by trappings of cultures now locked in bloody conflict.

Time will tell if Pitt can turn all that into a teachable moment.

The rooms, like the people whose contributions built them, have always been about advancing understanding globally across cultures, said Kati Csoman, director of Pitt’s Nationality Rooms.

"They are intended to be spaces of, really, timelessness and cultural values," she said. "These are volunteers who have worked hard to raise funds for scholarships."

The Nationality Rooms are located on the first and third floors of the Cathedral, one of the world’s tallest classroom buildings, 42 stories high, its summit visible for miles beyond the sprawling Oakland campus. The massive Indiana limestone structure was opened in 1936 after a decade of construction.

Then-Chancellor John Bowman wanted to harness the enthusiasm of immigrant mill workers by establishing classrooms that would honor their traditions and inspire their children to seek a college education. That idea became the Nationality Rooms."

How a treaty signed in Marrakesh made the Library of Congress more accessible; The Washington Post, February 15, 2022

 Danny Freedman, The Washington Post ; How a treaty signed in Marrakesh made the Library of Congress more accessible

"U.S. law already allowed the NLS and authorized nonprofits to create accessible books without permission from the copyright holder. But the treaty extends that to music and scripts, and creates the crucial ability to pool resources with the world. For the NLS to produce its own version of a Nietzsche book in Spanish might’ve taken six months to professionally narrate, edit and build in the descriptive and navigational features that differentiate accessible audio from commercial audiobooks and those made with text-to-speech software. Instead, Corlett-Rivera was able to pluck a recording from a participating library in Spain."

Opinion: I witnessed brutal censorship in Iran. We should all take U.S. book bans as a warning.; The Washington Post; February 14, 2022

 Azar Nafisi, The Washington Post; Opinion: I witnessed brutal censorship in Iran. We should all take U.S. book bans as a warning.

"Azar Nafisi is the author of “Reading Lolita in Tehran.” Her new book, “Read Dangerously: The Subversive Power of Literature in Troubled Times,” comes out in March.

First they burn books, then they kill people!”

That line often came to mind when I was living in the Islamic Republic of Iran, every time the regime closed a bookstore or a publishing house, every time it censored, banned, jailed or even killed authors. It never occurred to me that one day I would repeat the same sentiment in a democracy, in my new home, the United States of America...

It is alarming to think that American communities in 2022 are actively seeking to deprive people of the reading experiences for which my students in Iran paid such a heavy price. For I can tell you: Book bans are canaries in coal mines — indicators of the direction in which a society is moving.

In recent years, we have seen how truth is replaced by lies, and how dangerous a cultivated ignorance can be, especially when it is embraced by our political leaders and our loudest media commentators, those with the largest bullhorns. Book-banning is a form of silencing, and it is the next step along a continuum — one that I worry even in the United States presages a further slide toward totalitarianism."

‘Dangerous and Cruel’: YA Authors Say Unprecedented Book Bans Hurt Kids Most; Rolling Stone, February 4, 2022

ANDREA MARKS, Rolling Stone; ‘Dangerous and Cruel’: YA Authors Say Unprecedented Book Bans Hurt Kids Most

"YA fantasy novelist Kalynn Bayron, who is Black and queer and who writes Black and queer characters, says the fervor over book banning worries her about her ability to reach readers — whether they relate to the characters or not. “It’s important for young readers who share the marginalized identities of my characters. I want them to know that I see them, and their life experience counts, that it matters, and it means something,” she says. “But I think it’s equally important for young readers whose identities have historically been represented to see these stories, as well. It lets them have a window into someone else’s existence.” 

To author Brendan Halpin, winding up on Krause’s list felt like a badge of honor, at least at first. Halpin co-write Notes from the Blender (2011) with Trish Cook, about a girl whose parents are getting divorced and whose father is marrying another man. “So that’s the dangerously gay part, I guess,” he says. “I was thrilled, at first. I was like, ‘This is fantastic. If somebody like this doesn’t want people to read my book then I’ve done something worthwhile.’” As he’s seen the ire surrounding these books intensify, however, he worries about kids seeing LGBTQ stories being de-legitimized by institutions. “Your school library can’t have these books; your existing can’t be seen to be officially acceptable.”

Others push back on the glorification of being on a banned list like Krause’s. Pérez points out that while being on a banned list can boost sales for some established authors, she’s heard from some people whose first published book is on that list. For them, getting passed over by libraries can have devastating consequences, which Pérez says creates a chilling effect on the proliferation of authors from marginalized communities, something the YA book world has been pushing for in recent years."

Systemwide Interventions to Reduce Stress Among LGBTAQI+ Individuals; Duquesne University, Free Webinar Open to All: Tuesday, February 16, 2022 Noon - 2 PM EST via Zoom

Duquesne University; Systemwide Interventions to Reduce Stress Among LGBTAQI+ Individuals

The upcoming Père Jacques Laval C.S.Sp., Global Public Health Speaker Series event will offer an overview of the minority stress model, focusing on its use in designing systemwide interventions in health care and education to reduce negative stress among LGBTAQI+ people.

The online event will be held Tuesday, Feb. 16, from noon to 2 p.m. via Zoom. It will feature keynote speaker Associate Pharmacy Professor Dr. Kyle Wilby from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.  

Wilby's educational research focuses on program evaluation, diversity and inclusion within education systems, assessor cognition, strategic planning and optimizing students' learning environments. He also is an active researcher in LGBTQ2+ health and cultural safety training for health care professionals.  

RSVP online by Monday, Feb. 15. The event is free and open to the public. A Zoom link will be emailed to registrants the morning of the event.  

For more information, call 412.396.2651 or email the Center for African Studies.  

The Père Jacques Laval C.S.Sp., Global Public Health Speaker Series is co-sponsored by the Center for African Studies, the Bayer School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, the School of Nursing, the proposed College of Osteopathic Medicine, the School of Pharmacy and the John G. Rangos School of Health Sciences.