Center for Liberal Arts 2006-2006 Calendar Archive
Scholar-in-Residence for 2006-2007
In September 2006, BCC welcomed its fifth international scholar-in-residence. Fahad Al-Balushi is a teacher of English
from Oman. A graduate of Sultan Qaboos University, he comes to BCC as a Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant and will offer
students a full-year’s program in Arabic language and culture. Not only is this a first-time course offering for the college, it is the first
time the U.S. Fulbright Program has included community colleges in this award category.
Diane Douglas, executive director of BCC’s Center for Liberal Arts, comments: “BCC is very proud to be breaking ground with this Fulbright award. We believe that knowledge of world languages and cultures has never been more important to our students. Cultural pluralism and globalization are critical topics in defining a strong liberal arts education today. This opportunity represents a vital step in our efforts to enhance international studies at the college.”
In addition to teaching his own courses, Mr. Al-Balushi intends to study information technology and international relations at BCC. This course work will further his goal to pursue a master’s degree and research in applied linguistics and eventually become a professor of English at an Omani university.
Mr. Al-Balushi was recently featured in the Chronicle of Higher Education in an article titled: The Challenge of Teaching Arabic. To read the entire article, please click on the following link: The Challenge of Teaching Arabic.
Presentations, Fall 2006-Spring 2007:
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Hands On Democracy: Programs on War and Peace 2006 Fall Quarter Events Thursday, September 21, 7:00 - 8:30 p.m., R Courtyard Wednesday, September 27, 2006, 2:00-5:00 p.m., N-201 |
Thursday, October 5, 10:30-11:30 a.m., N-201
The Evangelical Phenomenon: What Is It? How Should the Rest of Us Respond?
Seattle psychotherapist and author, Dr. Valerie Tarico calls upon her scientific training, professional
experience and background as a born-again Evangelical to examine crucial questions about faith, facts
and compassion.
Friday, October 6, 7:00-9:00 p.m., Carlson Theatre
Film Screening and Discussion - First Battle: The Battle for Equality in Wartime Hawaii. Featuring
Tom Coffman, documentary filmmaker, author and journalist
Tom Coffman's 2006 PBS documentary is an American story about how a multi-racial community worked with
a vulnerable minority in time of great crisis. It focuses on the Council for Inter-Racial Unity, formed
in 1939 to support Hawaii's Japanese-American population. After Pearl Harbor, this group prevented the
mass internment of Hawaii's 160,000 people of Japanese ancestry.
Tuesday, October 17, 4:30-6:00 p.m., R-102
Film Screening and Discussion - The Fog of War
Hosted by Scott Bessho, Instructor of English and American Studies and BCC
Reads Chair
This 2003 film by Errol Morris is about Robert S. McNamara, veteran of WWII
and Secretary of Defense under John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson during the
Vietnam War. McNamara reflects on various difficult lessons he learned about
the nature and conduct of modern war.
Tuesday, November 14, Time and Location To Be Announced
Journey from the Land of No: A Discussion with Roya Hakakian
Author and journalist Roya Hakakian discusses her memoir of growing up as a Jewish teenager in
post-revolutionary Iran. A founding member of the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, Hakakian
serves on the board of Refugees International and speaks internationally on the subject of the Middle
East and human rights.
Wednesday, November 15, 3:30 - 6:00 p.m., R-102
Film Screening and Discussion - Platoon
Hosted by Scott Bessho, Instructor of English and American Studies and BCC Reads Chair
Oliver Stone's 1986 film depicts a young recruit in Vietnam who faces a moral crisis when confronted
with the horrors of war and the duality of man.
Winter 2007 Hands on Democracy Programs
Wednesday, January 24, 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., Carlson Theatre
For God and Country: Faith and Patriotism Under Fire
James Yee, a Muslim Chaplain, was posted in Guantanamo Bay, in 2002, but
less than a year after serving there, he was accused of espionage by the
military and faced charges so severe, that he was threatened with the death
penalty. Yee was locked away in a Navy prison in Charleston, South Carolina,
spent 76 days in solitary confinement and was subject to abusive treatment.
In 2004, the government dropped all charges against him. Captain Yee will
speak about his experiences.
Tuesday, January 30, 10:30 a.m. – 12:20 p.m., B-102
Film Screening and Discussion – Sir, No Sir
David Ziegler’s 2005 documentary seeks to return to the historical record
the pivotal story of the GI anti-war movement during the Vietnam War. Learning
that their reality was far different from the one being presented to the
American public, many G.I.s began contributing to underground newspapers,
planning demonstrations and refusing to continue in battle. Toward the end
of the conflict, some even turned on their own officers, tossing grenades
into their tents as they slept. Hosted by Scott Bessho, Instructor of English
and American Studies and BCC Reads Chair.
Wednesday, February 7, 10:30 – Noon, D-106
Sovereignty and the Responsibility to Protect
When does the world have the responsibility and the right to intervene against
a sovereign nation in the interests of protecting innocent people? What
role should the United Nations place? Dr. James Maynard, Center for Liberal
Arts Fellow and Co-President of the Seattle Chapter of the USA-United Nations
Association, will examine the claims of humanitarian intervention in the
face of international terror and genocide, including the situation in Darfur.
Click here to view a bibliography of Library Media Center Materials related to Dr. Maynard's talk.
Wednesday, March 14, 10:30 a.m. – 12:20 p.m., B-102
Film Screening and Discussion – Coming Home
This 1978 film was the first Vietnam War movie that dealt with the soldier’s
plight sympathetically. A woman whose husband is fighting in Vietnam falls
in love with another man who suffered a paralyzing combat injury there.
Hosted by Scott Bessho, Instructor of English and American Studies and BCC
Reads Chair.
BCC International Film Festival
May 29-30, 2007
Bellevue Community College, Room N-201
Not Just Bollywood: Art Cinema in India
2:30-4:30 p.m. Alternative Indian Cinema: Screening of "Nishant"
The film's director, Shyam Benegal, will be introducing, 'Nishant' (Night's End, 1975) is a
classic Indian art film exposing the power of the rural elite and the sexual exploitation of women.
The screening will be followed by a discussion.
7:00-8:30 p.m. Alternative Indian Cinema: Gender, Justice, and Dissent
Film clips and panel discussion of Mr. Benegal's cinematic themes of gender,
marginalization, and oppression. The panel will be led by Mr. Benegal himself
and members of Tasveer, which is a South Asian Independent Film organization
based in Seattle. Open to students, staff, and the public.
United Nations Association Film Festival: Traveling Festival Bellevue
UNAFF Website: http://www.unaff.org/
Sponsors: UN Association Seattle, Phi Theta Kappa, Student Programs, and Center for Liberal Arts
| 10:30 a.m. | Oil on Ice | USA | Dale Djerassi, Bo Boudart |
Vivid documentary connecting the fate of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to decisions America
makes about energy policy, transportation choices and development of wilderness areas. Indian residents
of Arctic Village fear their community's caribou hunting will be severely impacted by oil development
in the Refuge. Oil extraction from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge brings into sharp focus the
environmental debate.
| 12:30 p.m. | Farming the Seas | Canada/Japan/Thailand/UK/US | Steve Cowan, Barry Schienberg |
Human consumption of seafood now far exceeds the ocean's ability to produce it and the imbalance
is increasing rapidly. Fish farming or aquaculture is considered to be the wave of the future, but
there are serious risks. As the aquaculture industry explodes across the globe, a growing number of
communities and fisheries experts are engaged in an intense debate over its environmental,
socio-economic, and health and food safety consequences.
| 2:30 p.m. | Mardi Gras: Made in China | China/USA | David Redmon |
A story of globalization told through humor and sadness, hope and violence by various characters
including the owner of a bead factory in China, the largest Mardi Gras bead distributor in the world;
Carnival revelers who exchange beads during Mardi Gras and four teenage workers in China who make
Mardi Gras beads.
| 5:30 p.m. | A Great Wonder: Lost Children of Sudan | Ethiopia/Kenya/Sudan/USA | Kim Shelton, Leigh Kimball |
More than 2 million Sudanese have died in the longest uninterrupted civil war in the world, now in its 20th year. Another 5
million civilians have fled their homes to escape the fighting. A Great Wonder: Lost Children of Sudan traces the extraordinary
journey of three young Sudanese orphans, a fraction of the 17,000 so-called "Lost Boys" of Sudan, who have spent the majority of
their lives either in flight from war or in refugee camps in Ethiopia and Northern Kenya. Having navigated the hazards of warfare,
disease and starvation, their arrival and resettlement in Seattle, WA, is not your average immigration story. Over the course of
18 months, these youths have recorded their own experiences through their own eyes and in their own words using digital video cameras.
The resulting "diaries" serve as a personal thread throughout the film, incorporating first-hand accounts of their experiences in war
with their radically different lives as immigrants in America. A story of survival in its most elemental form, A Great Wonder: Lost
Children of Sudan explores the concepts of loss, faith, community and freedom as it bears witness to the spirit that drives these
young people to rebuild their lives.
| 7:30 p.m. | Paradise Lost | Israel | Ebtisam Mara'ana, Duki Dror |
Arab Israeli filmmaker Ebtisam Mara'ana grew up in Paradise (Fureidis in Arabic), one of the few
Arab communities remaining after the 1948 war. Paradise became culturally and politically isolated as
Jewish settlements sprung up around it, and today it is a place defined by silence and repression.
Offers valuable insight into the contradictions and complexities of modern womanhood and national
identity in the Middle East.
This year’s Hands On Democracy programs address war and peace. Designed to support and expand the campus investigation of Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried, these lectures and workshops are co-sponsored by the Campus Activities Board, Library Media Center and Center for Liberal Arts. Following is a schedule of upcoming events. Classes and the public are welcome. Please contact the Center for more information.
Wednesday, April 11, 11:30-12:20 p.m., N-201Larry Gossett on Social Activism: What is Your Role?
King County Council Chair Gossett talks about his experience co-founding the Black Student Union and promoting the first Black Studies Program at the University of Washington, as well as his lifelong commitment to social activism in his many civic and community roles. Spronsored by the BCC Diversity Caucus, Center for Liberal Arts and Campus Activities Board.
Tuesday, April 24th, 9:30-10:20 am, L-126
Why April 24th?
Aida Kouyoumjian, an Armenian raised in Iraq, will tell her compelling life story and give an historical recount of the “first genocide of the 20th Century” in Gabriella Bedoyan’s Speech class. Ms. Kouyoumjian calls herself an AAA person: Armenian by ethnic heritage, Arab by education, American citizen by choice. Using photographs from family albums, Ms. Kouyoumjian will cover the flight of 2 million Armenians during World War I in a little-known tragedy.
May 7-19, All Day, BCC Gallery D-271
Legacies of War Exhibit
Nationally traveling exhibition depicting the aftermath of U.S. bombing in Laos during the Vietnam War as well as display of BCC Raads Scholarship winning entries.
Wednesday, May 16, All Day, BCC Courtyard
Arlington Northwest Memorial
This non-partisan traveling memorial is a dramatic representation of the costs of war, with grave markers representing each U.S. service member who has died in the Iraq War.
Wednesday, May 16, 6:00 - 7:15 p.m., BCC Gallery D-271
BCC Reads Reception
View the exhibition, congratulate scholarship winners, meet Tim O'Brien, author of The Things they Carried, and enjoy refreshments.
Wednesday, May 16, 7:30-9:00 p.m., Carlson Theater
Tim O'Brien Lecture
An evening with author Tim O'Brien, Vietnam veteran, former reporter, and currently visiting professor of creative writing at Southwest Texas State University.
Tuesday, May 22, 1:30-3:00 p.m., N-201
Still Life: One Act Play
BCC drama department production of Emily Mann's one-act play about the Vietnam War.
Wednesday, May 30, All Day, N-201
United Nations Association Film Festival
International films from Sudan, Palestine, and more will be shown throughout the day and evening.
Friday, June 1, 9:00-3:30 p.m., N-201
UN Symposium: Repairing UN-US Relations in the 21st Century
Statewide conference on issues of global importance, including keynote speaker, presentation of student papers, and panel discussions.
Curriculum for the Bioregion
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BCC is participating in a new state-wide initiative led by the Washington
Center for Improving the Quality of Undergraduate Education. Curriculum
for the Bioregion aims to prepare undergraduates and all of us to
live in a world where the complex issues of environmental quality, environmental
justice, and sustainability are paramount.
For more information on statewide activities, see the Curriculum for the Bioregion website. Faculty, staff and students interested in discussing curriculum development and programming to support this initiative at BCC should contact Rob Viens at x3158 or rviens@bellevuecollege.edu or Star Rush at x2550 or srush@bellevuecollege.edu. |
Globalizing the Curriculum
In 2004 BCC won the Senator Paul Simon Award for Campus Internationalization due to the quality of its International Studies department, scholar-in-residence program and international student programs. Building on this strong foundation, a task force has formed to expand the study of world languages and cultures. One proposal is for a new Center for Global Studies to help coordinate the process and to promote visibility and innovation for international education at BCC. The goal is to prepare students as future global citizens and workers. If you would like to participate in this discussion, please contact Tim Heinrichs at theinric@bellevuecollege.edu or x2114 or Star Rush at srush@bellevuecollege.edu or x2550 |
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BCC Reads! Activities
BCC/Bellevue Reads Book
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As part of the culminating programming for this year's BCC Reads! program, Tim O'Brien, author of the featured novel The Things they Carried, will deliver a free public lecture on May 16th at 7:30 p.m. in BCC's Carlson Theatre. No reservations are required. |
A volunteer committee of BCC faculty joined by staff from community partner, King County Library System, met for four months to select the 2006-07 BCC/Bellevue Reads book. Their choice, Tim O'Brien's 1990 novel The Things They Carried will be debuted in Fall 2006 in BCC class syllabi and county-wide book group discussions. Related public lectures, arts programs, a student scholarship contest and other cultural events will follow to expand the community-wide learning around this saga of soldiers' experience during the Vietnam War.
Scott Bessho, BCC English and American studies instructor and BCC Reads co-chair explains the relevance of the selection: "The idea of revisiting events and places, the act of remembering and replaying moments and emotions and images reflects in some way our national re-examination of the trauma, the history and the issues of the Vietnam war through the lens of the war that we find ourselves immersed in today."
Connie Younkin, King County Library System librarian and a member of the selection committee adds, "I think that The Things They Carried is an excellent selection for the whole community as well as for the college. One of my favorite parts of the BCC Reads program is hearing how people from different generations respond to the book. By transforming his own Vietnam War experience into a fictional work, Tim O'Brien makes his stories more universal and somehow easier for us to relate to in a personal way. I hope that everyone who is looking for a good book to read will read this one and then share his own life experience as it relates to wartime, from the World War II era through Vietnam and up to today. Tim O'Brien's narrator says, 'What stories can do, I guess, is make things present.' We can do that with our own stories, too, as we read and talk about The Things They Carried."
Selection committee members included: Nicole Longpre, chair; Akemi Matsumoto; Carolyn Gates; Constance Younkin; Deborah Kilgren; Elizabeth Dills; Ewan Magie; Francis Hatstat; Humaira Jackson; James Torrence; Lee Buxton; Scott Bessho; Trevor McMorris Tate; Wendy Pickering; Diane Douglas.
BCC Art Gallery hosts “Legacies of War"
As part of the War and Peace program, the BCC Art Gallery will host “Legacies of War,” a multimedia exhibit depicting the legacy of the U.S. bombing of Laos during the Vietnam War. This traveling museum exhibit features recently recovered illustrations drawn 30-years ago by survivors of the secret U.S. bombings in Laos. The exhibit documents survivors’ lives, the impact on the Laotian diaspora and Laotian immigrant and refugee experience from the past to the present.
| Dates: | May 7-19 |
| Location: | BCC Gallery D271 |
| Hours: | Monday, Tuesday, Saturday 12-4 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday 2-6 p.m. |
A public exhibit reception will be held on May 16 from 6-7:15 in the Gallery, at which time BCC Reads Scholarship winners and author in residence Tim O’Brien will also be recognized.
BCC Reads Scholarship Winners Announced
The Center for Liberal Arts is pleased to announce the following 5 student winners in the 2007 BCC Reads scholarship contest.
Colby Clark, Untitled, paintingJennifer Lina, Backpack, mixed media sculpture and performance
Katrina Peterson, The Life of a Nineteen-Year-Old Girl and the Lives of Nineteen-Year-Old Soldiers, essay
Iksan W. Rosli, Brave, essay
Mayo Takiguchi, War, essay
Developed to stimulate student creativity, critical thinking and interdisciplinary learning, the contest awards full tuition for one academic quarter to students who create outstanding original work inspired by a featured book. This year’s book is Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried. Submissions included a diverse and thoughtful array of responses in a variety of formats—digital media, visual art, essays and poetry. Faculty judges for the contest included: Gordon Leighton, chair, Christopher Shelley, Eva Norling, Daniel Knight, Jennie Mayer, James Torrence, Lee Buxton and Wendy Pickering.
An exhibition of the award winners’ work will be featured in the new BCC Art Gallery from May 7th – 19th with an awards reception scheduled from 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. on May 16th co-sponsored by the Center for Liberal Arts and the Office of Student Programs.
Installation Art by Timea Tihanyi
Installation art by Timea Tihanyi was featured March 2 – April 5 at BCC’s new Gallery Space
“Casualties of Peace and War” and “I’m a Uniter, Not a Divider” – both large-scale installation works by artist and University of Washington lecturer Timea Tihanyi -- went on display March 2 as Bellevue Community College celebrated the opening of its new gallery exhibition area, “Gallery Space.”
Constructed of synthetic felt, thread and pins, “Casualties of Peace and War” is based on an etching by 18th century English artist William Hogarth entitled, “The Reward of Cruelty.” The exhibition relates closely to this year’s Hands On Democracy focus on issues of war and peace as well as the BCC Reads program feature book, The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien.
The Tihanyi exhibit ran through April 5, although the gallery was closed from March 22 through April 1 for the college’s spring break. The artist was present at the gallery to discuss her work at 12:30 p.m. on Thurs., March 8. The event was free and open to the public.
Gallery hours are noon to 4 p.m. on Saturdays, Mondays and Tuesdays, and 2 to 6 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays. It is closed Fridays and Sundays. The Gallery Space is located in room 271 of the D Building on BCC’s main campus (3000 Landerholm Circle S.E. in Bellevue, at the intersection of S.E. 28th St. and 148th Ave. S.E.).
Collecting Stories of War and Peace
A BCC Reads! Project
As part of this year's BCC Reads! program, we invite you to help us collect the wisdom of our community's experiences of war and peace-making. Our plan is to build a publicly accessible, internet-based anthology of personal stories that will be used for teaching and learning, sharing and reflection. With authors' permission, selected stories will also be published in community newspapers and broadcast on community radio programs.
Write about your own or others' personal experiences with war, war's effects or peace-making. We welcome provocative, engaging content, but please refrain from submitting material that incites hate, contains threats, calls for violence or is a statement of political partisanship.
To publish your story or if you have any questions, please contact BCC Story Curator, Nancy Eichner: neichner@bellevuecollege.edu or phone (425) 564-4185, select #4. Send mail to Nancy Eichner, R-230, Bellevue Community College, 3000 Landerholm Circle, Bellevue, WA 98007-6484.
This project is co-sponsored by a network of community partners-Bellevue Community College Center for Liberal Arts, King County Library System, Voices in Wartime, KBCS-91.3 FM Radio and Northwest News.
BCC Reads! program funders and partners include the National Endowment for the Humanities, Seattle Public Library, King County Library.
Copyright © 2002-2008, Center for Liberal Arts & Bellevue
Community College
3000 Landerholm Circle SE • Bellevue, WA 98007-6484
Tel: 425.564.2550 • E-mail: srush@bellevuecollege.edu