Thursday, April 10, 2014

SMU hosts interdisciplinary undergraduate conference


On April 25-26, Saint Mary’s will host an interdisciplinary undergraduate conference titled Undergraduates, Inc., that will bring students from North Dakota State, Iowa State, and other regional universities to present their work in academic panels along with Saint Mary’s students. The conference rotates among the North Dakota State campus, Iowa State, and Saint Mary’s.

Students from several disciplines, including English, history, women’s and gender studies, and communication will present at the conference, which will include a plenary speaker presentation that is free and open to the public, Friday, April 25. Dr. Dometa Brothers, assistant professor of English at Iowa State University, will present “Romantic Math and Science: How Literature Influenced Nineteenth Century Thought.”

The event continues Saturday, April 26, with student presentations in interdisciplinary panels, and a lunch buffet with a keynote presentation at noon by Dr. Hiromi Mizuno, associate professor of history at the University of Minnesota. Her talk is titled “The Divine Emperor’s Children and Popular Science Culture in Wartime Japan.”

The cost of attending the Saturday conference (panels and/or keynote/lunch buffet) is $30, and those who intend to attend may contact Dr. Erin Mae Clark (eclark@smumn.edu or Ext. 6643) or Dr. Tycho de Boer (tdeboer@smumn.edu or  Ext. 6995).