{"id":4488,"date":"2020-07-09T11:20:36","date_gmt":"2020-07-09T15:20:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/?p=4488"},"modified":"2020-07-28T09:06:47","modified_gmt":"2020-07-28T13:06:47","slug":"watch-listen-and-read-like-a-professor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/issues\/summer-2020\/watch-listen-and-read-like-a-professor\/","title":{"rendered":"Watch, Listen, and Read Like a Professor"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In this summer of social distancing\u2014distinguished by, among other things, a lack of live entertainment, such as theater, live music, and movies\u2014that perennial pastime, summer reading, has a newly energized appeal. Podcasts, virtual exhibits, music, and streaming films and theater productions are equally in demand. Here, 911±¬ΑΟ professors share their tips for what to read, listen to, and watch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Marybeth Reilly-McGreen<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Holly Dunsworth, Associate Professor of Anthropology<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

READ<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating<\/em> by Elisabeth Tova Bailey<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Last summer we moved, leaving my garden\u2019s colony of hundreds of snails behind. I miss \u201cmy snails\u201d dearly\u2014especially now, as I\u2019d have days upon days to stare at them. I discovered so much about them by painting a dot on each snail\u2019s shell, specific to the year\u2014some snails had four different colored dots! The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating is a perfect lockdown science read. It\u2019s the biography of a woman with a mysterious disease that keeps her bedridden; she becomes enthralled with a snail that her caregiver adds to a pot of wildflowers at her bedside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Travis D. Williams, Associate Professor of English<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

READ<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Alchemist<\/em> by Ben Jonson
The Decameron<\/em> by Giovanni Boccaccio<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For wit, scathing insults, physical comedy, and brilliant plot construction, Ben Jonson\u2019s play, The Alchemist<\/em>, is unsurpassed. Amid the humor, it tells a story about social class and how privilege dictates safety in a public health crisis. And The Decameron<\/em> is a collection of stories about 10 wealthy young Florentines who “self-isolate” in the countryside during a plague outbreak. They entertain themselves by telling 100 short stories\u2014from farce to tragedy and from sexual to sublime. Each story is short, so consider enjoying a few each day\u2014as delicious morsels before bed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

David Howard, Professor of Costume Design<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

LISTEN<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Dressed: The History of Fashion<\/em> (podcast)
American Duchess<\/em> (podcast)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

READ<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor<\/em> by Hank Green<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dressed: The History of Fashion<\/em> explores (mostly) under-discussed elements in the field, including a fascinating episode about the Battle of Versailles and one about Fashion Week. And don\u2019t miss American Duchess<\/em>\u2014my favorite episode is \u201cEnslaved People\u2019s Dress in the 18th and 19th Century, with Cheyney McKnight.\u201d And A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor<\/em> is a must-read adventure\/mystery sequel to Green\u2019s last book, An Absolutely Remarkable Thing<\/em>, about the mysterious appearance all over the world of statues that do not “come in peace.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Rachel Walshe, Assistant Professor of Acting and Playwriting<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

WATCH<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"A<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Shakespeare\u2019s plays from the Globe
Broadway shows on PBS
Greta Gerwig’s Little Women<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Globe Theatre in London is offering many plays free online. My favorites are As You Like It<\/em> and Measure for Measure<\/em>. PBS just made several Broadway shows available free online, too, including In the Heights and Buried Child. And Greta Gerwig\u2019s Little Women<\/em> inspired me to reread Alcott’s book, which I enjoyed even more as an adult\u2014and you can see 911±¬ΑΟ theater instructor Tony Estrella \u201993 as the March family\u2019s doctor!<\/p>\n\n\n

\u201cMy all-time favorites are As You Like It<\/em> and Measure for Measure<\/em>.\u201d<\/blockquote>Rachel Walshe<\/cite><\/div><\/section>\n\n\n

J. Jennifer Jones, Associate Professor of English<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

WATCH<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Koyaanisqatsi<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Philip Glass composed the music for this American experimental film in 1982, the same year he composed the New York Metropolitan Opera\u2019s Akhnaten<\/em>, and you can feel the connection. You\u2019ll be mesmerized by the dance between Glass\u2019s musical composition and the images that evoke the relationship among humans, the Earth, and technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Sarah Eron, Associate Professor of English<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

VIRTUAL VISIT<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"The<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHarry Potter: A History of Magic\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

READ<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Books Books<\/strong> Books Books<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHarry Potter: A History of Magic<\/a>\u201d from the British Library will delight Harry Potter fanatics. There are even some modern lessons in “muggle magic.” But even though it\u2019s strangely easy these days to listen to the symphony or “visit” a museum online from home, we’re all getting a bit too much screen time. So, consider reading paper books this summer\u2014outside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Emmett Goods, Lecturer, Department of Music<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

LISTEN<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"LL
LL Cool J is one of the artists Emmett Goods is listening to this summer. Of LL Cool J’s generation of rap artists, Goods says, “We often forget how political their music was before their stardom.” Photo: Larry Philpot www.soundstagephotography.com<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Otherside of America\u201d
Meek Mill<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFTP\u201d
YG<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey Don\u2019t\u201d
Nasty C featuring T.I.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI Can\u2019t Breathe\u201d
H.E.R<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Bigger Picture\u201d
Lil Baby<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWalking in the Snow\u201d
Run the Jewels<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Freestyle on Black Lives Matter
(on YouTube)
LL Cool <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve been listening to response music to the racial tension in America. LL Cool J was my wife\u2019s favorite rapper (and crush), so I include him here in her memory. But also because, in the late 1980s, LL wrote a song about being racially profiled and pulled over by the police. Many artists of his generation made the shift from \u201crap artist\u201d to \u201cpop star\u201d and we often forget how political their music was before their stardom. All of these tracks and artists provide unique perspectives on social and political issues, including race and policing. South African rapper Nasty C shows that America isn\u2019t the only country dealing with racial inequality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Martha Elena Rojas, Associate Professor of English<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

READ<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

White Fragility: Why It\u2019s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism<\/em> by Robin DiAngelo
How to Be an Antiracist<\/em> by Ibram X. Kendi
Love in the Time of Cholera<\/em> by Gabriel Garc\u00eda M\u00e1rquez
There There<\/em> by Tommy Orange
On Earth We\u2019re Briefly Gorgeous<\/em> by Ocean Vuong
Know My Name: A Memoir<\/em> by Chanel Miller
Postcolonial Love Poem<\/em> by Natalie Diaz
Citizen: An American Lyric<\/em> by Claudia Rankine<\/p>\n\n\n\n

White Fragility<\/em> gave me better conceptual language for how to talk about structural racism and our own complicity with upholding white supremacy. Follow up with Ibram X. Kendi\u2019s How to Be an Antiracist<\/em>. Then keep reading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Justin Wyatt, Associate Professor of Communication Studies and Film\/Media<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

WATCH<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman: The Complete Series
Ingmar Bergman\u2019s Cinema<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The complete Mary Hartman series on DVD offers 135 hours of soap opera satire from the mid-1970s and a skewed world view that is memorable, disturbing, and amusing. Ingmar Bergman\u2019s Cinema<\/em>, from the Criterion Collection, includes all 39 of the great Swedish director\u2019s films. Start with black-and-white classics like The Seventh Seal<\/em>, Wild Strawberries<\/em>, and Persona<\/em>\u2014questioning identity, existence, and the meaning of life, then move to the serious version of Mary Hartman, Scenes from a Marriage<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Ingmar
Ingmar Bergman (left) and Victor Sj\u00f6str\u00f6m in 1957, during production of Wild Strawberries in the studios in Solna, Sweden.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

Brian Caccioppoli, Marine Research Specialist, Graduate School of Oceanograpy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

READ<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life<\/em> by William Finnegan<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LISTEN<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

StarTalk <\/em>(podcast)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Barbarian Days<\/em> is the ultimate coming-of-age surf adventure\/wanderlust story. It\u2019s a great read while we are confined to our homes. And StarTalk<\/em>, hosted by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, blends science and pop culture, examining everyday scientific principles in a light, comedic way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Bryan Dewsbury, Assistant Professor of Biology<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

READ<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Tales of Two Americas: Stories of Inequality in a Divided Nation<\/em> edited by John Freeman
Savage Inequalities: Children in America’s Schools<\/em> by Jonathan Kozol<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tales of Two Americas<\/em> is a collection of nonfiction and poetry from some of America’s best writers reflecting on their experiences of inequality in major U.S. cities. A welcome addition to understanding inequity through personal narrative. Savage Inequalities<\/em> is a bit dated, but the lesson on how social contexts yield inequitable social outcomes is still powerful. \u2022<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photos: Larry Philpot, soundstagephotography.com; Creative Commons.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

911±¬ΑΟ professors share their tips on books, podcasts, virtual exhibits, music, and streaming video. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":4779,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[195],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-summer-2020","architecture-takeaway"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4488"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4488\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5014,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4488\/revisions\/5014"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4779"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}