Fall 2007 Peace Studies and Fine Arts Conference

Peace and the Arts

A conference exploring peace and the many avenues of the fine arts.

20th Annual Peace Studies Conference

Monday, September 17, 2007

CSB Campus - most events in the BAC (Benedicta Arts Center)

Events will take place throughout the day on Monday, September 17.

10:00am Student Art Exhibit opens in the Art Wing of the BAC, available throughout the day

10:00am Short Student Films shown throughout the campus, available throughout the day

12:20-12:50 Drifting: This 27 minute film examines the tensions between two friends, a gay student and a straight student. Directed by Ernest Vang. BAC A108

12:30-12:45 Botticelli, a Short Play by Terrance McNally in the BAC Courtyard

1:00-1:15 Opening and Conference Welcome, BAC Gorecki Family Theater

Ron Pagnucco, Chair, Peace Studies Department: Introduction and Rita Knuesel, Provost for Academic Affairs: Welcome and introduction of Vocalist

"Bleuet" and "Priez Pourpaix" by Francis Poulenc sung by Ms. Judith Kniss and "Noel des Enfant" by Claude Debussy sung by JohnMark Freilmayer. Both vocalists are students in the SJU School of Theology with a concentration in Liturgical Music.

1:15 Kaarin Johnston, Conference Coordinator: Brief Overview of the Day's Activities. "The Siege of Tripoli: An Historical Naval Sonata for the Pianoforte" composed by Benjamin Carr (1768-1831). Performed by Edward Turley, Professor of Music; Narrated by Caroly Finely, Professor of Music.

1:30-2:10 Concurrent Session #1

Option 1: Images of Peace in Roman Catholic Art, BAC A-108, Presenter: Father Nathanael Hauser, OSB

Option 2: Professional Drama Therapy; Healing the Mind, BAC A-106, Presented by Drama Therapist Sarah Egbers-Paper (CSB Alum).

2:20-2:35 Botticelli, a Short Play by Terrance McNally: BAC Garden

2:40-3:50 Concurrent Session #2

Option 1: "Haunting Images: How I Cope with War Memory in my Art", Gorecki Center Room 204C, Presenter and Film-maker: Simon-Hoa Phan, OSB. Born in Vietnam in the midst of conflict between the North and South and immigrated to the USA at the age of ten, Simon-Hoa has been celebrating his heritage and addressing topics that result from the Vietnam conflict in his paintings and films. An Art faculty member at CSB/SJU he is also a monastic member of Saint John's Abbey.

Option 2: The Wall: a one-act play set at the Vietnam Memorial Wall, Performed by the Troupe Theater, BAC Gorecki Family Theater.

4:10-5:15 Concurrent Session #3

Option 1: Poetry Reading by Sarah Fox, Darnall Outdoor Amphitheater. Sarah Fox is the publisher of Fuori Editions and teaches poetry and creative writing in schools and literary centers throughout Minnesota. She has received a Minnesota State Arts Board grant and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Bush Foundation. Her book Because Why was published by Coffee House Press in 2006.

Option 2: "Im Silberwald" Orchestra Rehearsal Room, Lower Level, BAC. Performer: Brian Campbell (Trombone) and Charles McCarron (Glass Harmonica). Im Siberwald (In the Silver Forest) originates in the tranquility of a beautiful forest that surrounded our place of residence in Stuttgart in the fall of 1982. The German forest represents not only nature, but a vast sense of history and myth. It is the forest of the Freischutz and the Wagnerian legends, and the scene of cruel battles and atrocities only a few decades ago. The forest is now in the process of slow death by air pollution. Im Silberwald is a meditation on the dying forest, its magical aura and disturbing beauty. --Yehuda Yannay

5:15-5:30 Botticelli, a Short Play by Terrance McNally: BAC Garden

5:30-7:00 Break

7:00-7:20 "Reflection and Meditation Using the Arts" presented by CSB Campus Ministry, Haehn Campus Center, Alumnae Hall

7:30-7:40 "The Siege of Tripoli: A Historical Naval Sonata for the Pianoforte" composed by Benjamin Carr (1786-1831) and performed by Edward Turley, Professor of Music; Narrated by Carolyn Finely, Professor of Music. Haehn Campus Center Lobby.

8:00 Keynote Presentation -- BAC Petters Auditorium

Welcome. "Peace Song Medley" performed by Carolyn Finley, Ph.D. and Matt Haider on piano.

Keynote Presentation by Nancy Giles, a journalist, actor (film, stage, television, radio), and comedian. BAC Petters Auditorium, CSB. The presentation will focus on how the Arts serve as a force for social change with a specific emphasis on gender & diversity, question and answer session will follow the presentation. (See below for a short bio.)

CONFERENCE CO-SPONSORS - with much appreciation to the following for their support of the 20th Annual Conference: CSB SJU Intercultural Directions Center, Music Department, Peace Studies Department, Theater Department, Fine Arts Division, Social Science Division, and Fine Arts Programming.

CONFERENCE COORDINATOR: Kaarin Johnston, kjohnston@csbsju.edu. Much appreciation to Kaarin for her hard work and countless hours spent on coordinating this conference!

NANCY GILES - Keynote Speaker (information from a website)

Whether she’s delighting TV audiences with her social commentaries on CBS Sunday Morning or theater fans with her solo pieces, Nancy Giles is a funny, perceptive and provocative observer of today’s world.

She is the writer and performer of the one-woman shows, Notes of a Negro Neurotic and Black Comedy: The Wacky Side of Racism, which the Village Voice called “smart and unforgiving.” A self-described “six-foot, one-inch black woman who’s not model-thin,” Giles has made her mark dismantling misconceptions about race, feminism and sexism. “White people,” she jokes, “have nothing to fear.”

Her acclaimed work on CBS Sunday Morning has provided the largest audience yet for her unique blend of laugh-out-loud humor and common sense wisdom. Whether she's recalling the first rapper she ever heard (Robert Preston doing "Trouble" in The Music Man), celebrating Black History Month (as a schoolgirl she only had "Negro History Week," and her mother, "Colored People Hour") or decrying America's obsession with Botox and plastic surgery ("when I stop having visible signs of aging, that'll mean that I'm dead,") Giles brings vibrant energy and a hip, alternative feel that helps distinguish the program from others.

Born in Queens, New York, she graduated from Oberlin College and spent three years with Chicago’s esteemed Second City improv troupe, an experience she describes as “freeing and horrifying.” Winner of the Theater World Award for the off-Broadway musical, Mayor, Giles appeared for three seasons as Frankie in the TV drama, China Beach, and played Connie the waitress in the sitcom Delta. She has guest starred on such programs as Spin City, Law & Order and Fresh Prince. Her movie credits include New York Stories, Big and Working Girl.

When Giles realized that black actresses were mostly limited to playing “crack addicts, social workers and boring judges,” and, at her height, “if I’m lucky, I will go up against Ru Paul for the callback,” she decided to strike out as a writer/performer on her own.

The results have been, to put it mildly, encouraging. She served as Jay Thomas’ sidekick on The Jay Thomas Morning Show on New York radio, co-hosted Giles & Moriarity on Philadelphia radio (winning two Gracie Awards for Best Talk Show/Radio from American Women in Radio and Television) and was announcer and co-host of the cult favorite Fox After Breakfast. She also can be heard on TV and radio, pitching, as she puts it, “everything from plus-size fashions to True Value Hardware.”

“I want to make people laugh and I want to entertain them, but I also want to provoke thought and discussion,” says Giles. On topics ranging from popular culture and body image to creativity and racial bias, Giles is a commanding presence -- someone with something witty and compassionate to say to all of us.