News2011September

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CCT News

CCT News26 September 2011
See also previous news, alum news and exchanges, items for the upcoming news, and CCT calendar.
Inform cct@umb.edu if you have news OR want to be emailed when there's a new news compilation (no more than once/month) OR want to be removed from such mailings.

Contents: Student matters, CCT community, CCT events, alums, other events, opportunities, resources, food for thought, humor

Student Matters

The CCT Writing Support Group resumes for the fall and will run on Tuesdays from 5:00pm-6:00pm in the program office, W-2-157. First session is September 27th. For any students seeking a supportive environment as they make progress on written work ranging from the CCT Synthesis to projects for other courses. Remote participation possible by Skype if you RSVP ahead of a session to cct@umb.edu.

For all admissions and advising inquiries, email cctcoordinator@umb.edu. While Peter Taylor and Arthur Millman are on sabbatical (during the fall), emails to this address will be answered by the Assistant Coordinator of the Program, Jeremy Szteiter.

CCT Community
Congratulations to additional August '11 CCT graduates:

Welcome newly matriculated students: Faheem Syed Abbas, Andrea Burgess, Matthew Cawley, Rebecca Cornwell, Carol Hardick, Peter Palingo, Cassie Tighe-Hansen, Mike Wienke.
Welcome back to John Mollica, David Rudewick

Africana Studies Research Forum and Colloquium Series: Denise Patmon, Ph.D.
Event Date: September 27, 2011 - 12:00pm
Location: Campus Center, Third Floor, Room 3540

CCT Events
CCT Graduate Program Open House
Monday, October 3, 2011; 6:45pm-9:00pm
Location: Healey Library, 11th floor, room A. (note that this Open House will NOT be held in the Wheatley 4th floor lounge, our usual space)
Email cct@umb.edu to RSVP and for additional details.
Theme: CCT and Youth-full Inspriration: An exploration of critical and creative thinking of, and inspired by, children and young people that we encounter in our work and homes.
Open to all, including prospective students and guests from outside the university. Refreshments provided. Skype participation possible for those at a distance - details available when you RSVP to the email address above.

Other fall CCT open houses will take place on the evenings of November 7th and December 5th. Additional details will be announced as they develop. Theme for November 7: "CCT in Service" - the role of critical and creative thinking in community service, volunteerism, activism, and civic engagement.

Alum and CCT associates Notes
Renessa Ciampa Brewer has accepted an adjunct position at Massasoit community college teaching a graphic design course.

Any CCT alums or associates should submit items for inclusion in future news announcements - feel free to include information on upcoming events of interest to the CCT community, personal notes, and reflections on your critical and creative thinking experiences, both during and since your work in the CCT program.

Events
IDEAS Boston
October 20, 2011 - 8:00am,
at UMass Boston in the Campus Center Ballroom

IDEAS Boston is an annual conference that showcases some of the most cutting-edge thinkers in the region from every conceivable discipline. Moderated by NPR’s Tom Ashbrook, the event will feature 16 innovators from medicine, finance, the arts, science, education, business and more.
For more information and registration: http://www.ideasboston.com

Opportunities
Reminder: CCT M.A. students may be interested in Professional Development Grants, offered through the Graduate Student Assembly: see the website for details about application and restrictions around these funds, which may be available to students seeking support to attend conferences or present work: http://gsaumb.wordpress.com/programs-and-grants/professional-development-grant-pdg/

Upcoming workshops of interest to music educators:
Saturday, October 29, 2011, 1:00pm-4:00pm: 16th Annual Choral Symposium
Saturday, November 19, 2011, 1:00pm-4:00pm: Middle Eastern Music For Classroom & Choir
Saturday, January 14, 2012, 1:00pm-4:00pm: Ballads and Play Parties
sponsored by BAKE - Boston Area Kodaly Educators. For more information and to register, see:
http://www.bostonareakodaly.org/
Email for more info: bmafera@gmail.com
Flyer: BAKE_flyer.pdf


Resources
Hackerspaces, DIYers, and Make spaces are growing as places to enliven the learning of science and technology through hands on application. These spaces are community-operated physical places, where people can meet and work on their projects. Find out more out: http://hackerspaces.org/wiki/Hackerspaces.

Food for Thought
From Science News: Why We Crave Creativity but Reject Creative Ideas

Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu sings Wiyathul:

Museum of Obsolete Objects online, and a
Rain-catching rain jacket

The Chronicle: What Kind of Higher-Education System Does China Need?

The Chronicle: Speechless in the Face of Massacre

NewScientist: Unshakeable stereotypes of science

"Reason Seen More as Weapon Than Path to Truth"

A Store Where Everything is Free

Think You're An Auditory Or Visual Learner? Scientists Say It's Unlikely

from The Real Frank Zappa Book (p.203):
"It is not necessary to imagine the world ending in either fire or ice. There are two other possibilities. One is paperwork, the other is nostalgia."

“It is quite true what Philosophy says: that Life must be understood backwards. But that makes one forget the other saying: that it must be lived forwards. The more one ponders this, the more it comes to mean that life in the temporal existence never becomes quite intelligible, precisely because at no moment can I find complete quiet to take the backward-looking position.”
Soren Kierkegaard quotes (Danish Philosopher and Theologian, 1813-1855)

Building a Universe online activity:

Humor

10 Buildings Shaped Like What They Sell

Oops: Most embarrassing mistakes on school signs