Education – CSUN Today https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu California State University, Northridge Thu, 28 Mar 2024 16:52:29 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.4.30 CSUN Partners with Fernandeño Tataviam Band to Build Urban Forests in Disadvantaged Communities https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/education/csun-partners-with-fernandeno-tataviam-band-to-build-urban-forests-in-disadvantaged-communities/ Tue, 26 Mar 2024 17:07:15 +0000 https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/?p=55471

Aerial view of North Hollywood and Burbank in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles, California.

CSUN is partnering with the Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians and the Tataviam Land Conservancy to battle the impact of climate change in disadvantaged communities throughout the San Fernando Valley by establishing “urban forests.” Photo by trekandshoot, iStock.


California State University, Northridge is partnering with the Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians and the Tataviam Land Conservancy to battle the impact of climate change in disadvantaged communities throughout the San Fernando Valley by establishing “urban forests.”

With the support of a $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Urban and Community Forestry Program, university officials and tribal leaders plan to tap into the tribe’s traditional ecological knowledge to establish tribal nurseries and workforce development programs that focus on growing and planting culturally significant native trees in low-income communities that are disproportionately burdened by multiple sources of pollution.

“As the caretakers of our native land in the San Fernando and Antelope Valleys, this grant will enable us to use our traditional ecological knowledge, in tune with current climate data, to bring back the forest and breathe new life into our communities,” said tribal president, Rudy Ortega, Jr. “We will do this by engaging with our Elders, tribal citizens and other stakeholders to ensure that the trees that we plant are sustainable and resilient.”

Crist Khachikian, a professor of civil engineering and construction management at CSUN and one of the project’s leads, elaborated on the project’s objectives.

“Our efforts are geared towards enhancing the urban tree canopy,” Khachikian said. “Which is essential for cooling our cities and mitigating the effects of climate change in vulnerable communities.”

Khachikian stressed the importance of an inclusive approach.

“Centering traditional ecological knowledge in our project allows us to pursue goals of equity, sustainability, and the creation of meaningful workforce development opportunities for marginalized youth,” he said. “Through urban forestry, we are not just addressing the pressing need for climate mitigation but are also nurturing a sense of cultural pride and environmental stewardship among the next generation.”

While CSUN is taking the lead in the project, in close collaboration with the Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians, communication studies professor Daisy Lemus emphasized that the project is designed to be collaborative — drawing not only on the skills and knowledge of tribal members and faculty, students and staff in disciplines across the university, but also on the talents of members of local governmental agencies and nonprofit organizations.

“This deliberate cooperation among the parties involved is a direct result of CSUN’s sense of stewardship of place and strong alliances with key partners such as the Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians,” Lemus said. “We all coexist in a large urban region that is their ancestral home and encompasses CSUN’s campus, a region that is also particularly susceptible to urban heat island effects, while also presenting sizable urban reforestation opportunities.”

The Tribal Nursery and Tree Planting Project’s goals include establishing a tribal nursery of culturally appropriate and sustainable species; developing a regional network with partnerships that promote the benefits of native trees in the region; planting 750 trees in disadvantaged communities while engaging the community members in tree planting and maintenance education; and creating and implementing a nursery training program that includes academic workshops and symposia that focus on workforce development. The project’s organizers also hope to leverage the created partnerships to promote knowledge sharing to increase workforce awareness and skills in urban forestry.

“What’s exciting is that we’re breaking down silos, not just on campus but in the region, in a collaborative effort to deal with the impact of climate change today and environmentally plan for the future,” Khachikian said.

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carmen
Aspiring Creatives Hear from Black Professionals Who Bring Music to TV and Film https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/arts-and-culture/aspiring-creatives-hear-from-black-professionals-who-bring-music-to-tv-and-film/ Tue, 19 Mar 2024 00:00:18 +0000 https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/?p=55369

On Feb. 15, a panel of Black creative professionals who work at the intersection of music and film and television shared their experiences and passion for the industry with the CSUN students working to become the next generation of creative voices. 

The panelists, who have won awards for their work as they collaborated with some of the biggest names in entertainment, also discussed why it’s important to include a diverse group of voices. 

“It makes projects better, it makes art better, because diverse people and voices naturally enhances whatever story you are telling, because at the end of the day, we as humans, we all have fear, hopes and dreams,” said KAVOS, who has worked with Taylor Swift and TV creator Seth MacFarlane.

The panel, called “Harmony in Diversity: Celebrating Black Voices in Film and Television Scores,” featured accomplished musicians such as Keith Wilson, Taura Stinson and panel moderator DeMarco White. Cinema and Television Arts department (CTVA) majors from a wide range of interests — including producers, directors and composers — came to the Armer Theater to learn about possible career paths from an accomplished group of industry professionals.

Each of the panelists discussed their experiences entering the film and music industries as well as the obstacles they faced when starting their careers.

Keith Wilson, director of music creative production at Netflix, stated how his passion for music drove him to success in the industry regardless of the challenges he faced along the way. “I enjoy music, I enjoy being in the studio,” he said. 

Taura Stinson, who wrote songs for television shows and movies such as “Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur” and “Carmen,” discussed how her passion continued to inspire her to pursue her dream of having a music career and talked about her passion for making music for movies and television. 

“Score speaks to me like a story, the feeling it gives you, that’s part of the story. Having your story drives you as a creator,” she said.

The panelists also discussed diversity in their industries and the importance of adding different perspectives and experiences into stories. 

“We can’t truly be united in the world if we aren’t sharing our stories through different perspectives,” said White, client services manager for the Recording Academy, an academy for musicians, producers and other musical professionals, most known for the Grammys,   “There are different perspectives of each story. So not one person or one group should have the jurisdiction to tell a story in a certain way.”

Nate Thomas, the CTVA professor and head of the film production option, said it is important to highlight the need for diversity in the music and film industry.  

“For the last hundred years, this industry has not matched the diversity of this country,” Thomas said. “In all aspects of the job market, the workplace and of society, you have to respect the people, and we are a diverse nation.”

Jaylin Young, a freshman CTVA student pursuing a career in production, expressed his desire to tell stories and his appreciation for diversity in the music and film industry. 

“It helps us to see other types of stories, between different households and cultures,” he said.

The event was organized by California State University Entertainment Alliance and CSUN’s CTVA department, and was sponsored by Starz.

 

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Tyler Yamauchi
CSUN Receives $1M Grant to Bridge the Divide Between Those Who Work with Young Children with Disabilities https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/education/csun-receives-1m-grant-to-bridge-the-divide-between-those-who-work-with-young-children-with-disabilities/ Wed, 13 Mar 2024 17:59:34 +0000 https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/?p=55345

An aerial view of CSUN University Library is photographed on California State University, Northridge in Los Angeles, California, Wednesday, January 10, 2024. (Photo by Ringo Chiu / CSUN)

CSUN has received a $1.25 million federal grant to develop an interdisciplinary program to bridge the divide between those who work with young children with disabilities — educators, behavior interventionists and speech-language pathologists. Photo by Ringo Chiu.


California State University, Northridge has received a $1.25 million federal grant to develop an interdisciplinary program to bridge the divide between those who work with young children with disabilities — educators, behavior interventionists and speech-language pathologists.

The end goal, said psychology professor Debra Berry Malmberg, is to ensure that children, including those from traditionally underrepresented communities, get the best services by the three areas working together collaboratively.

“Educators, behavior interventionists, and speech-language pathologists are all professionals who make up the teams working to ensure that children succeed, but they don’t always work together as well as they could”, Malmberg said. “Each field has its own language and its own approach. We are hoping to build a bridge, a common language, among those professionals so that the children they are working with can succeed to their fullest.”

“One of our goals,” said special education professor Zhen Chai, another lead on the project, “is to address the critical shortage of highly qualified early childhood special educators, behavior analysts and speech-language pathologists who are prepared to collaboratively serve infant, toddlers and young children with disabilities and their families, and to do so while being culturally sensitive to the needs of the people they are working with.”

The grant from the Office of Special Education Programs in the U.S. Department of Education will fund “The Bridge Project: Transdisciplinary Preparation of Culturally Responsive Early Childhood Special Educators, Behavior Interventionists, and Speech-Language Pathologists to Serve Young Children with Disabilities.” The project is a collaboration between CSUN’s Department of Psychology in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, the Department of Special Education in the Michael D. Eisner College of Education and the Department of Communication Disorders and Sciences in the College of Health and Human Development.

A select cohort of master’s degree candidates from all three departments will be invited to take part in the project that will incorporate “culturally responsive, high-leverage, evidence-based practices in all facets of the program,” said co-principle investigator Vickie Yu, a professor of communication disorders and sciences.

Those accepted into the program, which starts this fall, will receive up to $27,000 to help them cover the costs of attending college, including tuition and living expenses, as well as funding to attend professional conferences in all three disciplines.

The students will take part in shared coursework and joint fieldwork experiences, all with the goal of building an understanding among the three disciplines to encourage stronger collaboration once they are professionals working with children.

To ensure their success, Malmberg said, the scholars will receive ongoing support and mentoring not only from project faculty, but community members.

“We’re training professionals who are going to go into the field with an understanding of what the other professionals they work with do and who can collaborate effectively as a team to best serve the children and families they are working with,” Malmberg said.

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Meet Maple Hall: CSUN’s First New Academic Classroom Building in 15 Years https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/university-news/meet-maple-hall-csuns-first-new-academic-classroom-building-in-15-years/ Wed, 13 Mar 2024 17:00:15 +0000 https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/?p=55339

Ah, that new classroom smell.

CSUN students and faculty will have a long-awaited treat when they return to campus after Spring Break. The recently completed, 62,474-square-foot Maple Hall will open its doors to classes and campus life on March 25. The sparkling new building is located south of Sierra Hall, adjacent to Manzanita Hall and West University Drive. It’s the campus’ first new academic classroom building since Chaparral Hall, home to the Department of Biology, opened in 2009, according to Division of Academic Affairs leadership.

The new building adds much-needed classrooms and lecture halls — including a 2,980-square-foot lecture hall, two smaller lecture halls and two seminar rooms — with flexible seating, the latest audiovisual (AV) equipment and energy-efficient design to the west side of campus, one of the university’s busiest areas. The $49.9-million project is financed by CSU state funds and took about two years to complete.

CSUN Today got a sneak-peek tour on March 11, with Callie Juarez, of CSUN’s academic resources and planning department, as well as a “hardhat tour” during construction in fall 2023 with Noah Rubin, campus architect and director of design and construction. Here’s the scoop:

What can students most look forward to inside Maple Hall?

Maple Hall’s best feature is the huge three-story atrium and common space filled with natural light, Rubin said. The brand-new, modern building features cutting-edge lecture halls and classrooms. It boasts some of the most (if not the most) air-conditioned student hangout spaces on campus, plus plenty of comfortable furniture, group study rooms and collaborative spaces — and a huge, multi-stall gender-inclusive restroom. There’s even a lactation room upstairs.

When will students be able to start using Maple Hall?

Juarez and team are working on the massive task of moving 433 classes from the 1960s-era Sierra Hall into Maple Hall. Students can enjoy Maple Hall’s many indoor and outdoor study and hangout spaces as soon as Monday, March 25, when classes begin there. More details about a grand opening or celebration in 2024 are still TBD.

What’s our favorite part of the new Maple Hall?

Rubin and our editorial team agreed: the three-story atrium, which features entrances from three sides of the building.

“We paid particular attention to building in student collaboration spaces into the lobby, the corridors, the waiting areas — we built in seating, so students aren’t sitting on the floor,” said Ken Rosenthal, associate vice president of facilities development and operations, when CSUN broke ground on the building. “These are inspirational rooms. They’re daylit, they’re flexible, they have the latest AV.”

Sustainability facts:

Maple Hall employs a “heat recovery chiller,” technology that’s fairly new to CSUN (this is the second building to use it, after Monterey Hall), Rubin said. A heat recovery chiller takes excess heat (that would otherwise be wasted) from the campus’ central chilled water system and uses it to provide the building with free heating, saving energy.

The building also takes advantage of natural light, LED lighting and drought-tolerant, native plant landscaping around its exterior.

What’s next?

Maple Hall’s opening clears the way for the renovation of its older counterpart, Sierra Hall — as classes there are shifted to the new building — but approval and funding for Sierra renovation is still pending, Rosenthal said. “As a building with general-purpose classrooms, all colleges may use the new rooms [in Maple Hall],” he said. “It takes all the [Sierra Hall] classrooms and frees them up to be used as ‘swing space.’ … We will be studying options for Sierra Hall renovations. Faculty offices, laboratories and administrative offices will remain in Sierra Hall.”

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CSUN ‘Fotografía Social’ to Celebrate Work of Photographer Maria Varela https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/university-news/csun-fotografia-social-to-celebrate-work-of-photographer-maria-varela/ Wed, 06 Mar 2024 22:18:01 +0000 https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/?p=55300

Image of community organizer, writer and photographer Maria Varela.

Image of community organizer, writer and photographer Maria Varela.

Community organizer, writer and photographer Maria Varela will talk about her work documenting the efforts of African Americans in the South and Chicanos in the Southwest to take charge of their own communities and bring about social change during an event on Tuesday, March 26, in the University Library at California State University, Northridge. 

“Time to Get Read: Fotografía Social with Maria Varela” is scheduled to take place from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. in the Ferman Presentation Room of the University Library. 

Varela was a staff member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), from 1963-1967 working primarily in Alabama and Mississippi. The lack of images of Black people taking leadership to change their communities forced her to learn photography to document people’s leadership while in the South.  

“Maria Varela became a photographer out of necessity,” said journalism professor José Luis Benavides, director of CSUN’s Tom & Ethel Bradley Center, which collects, preserves and disseminates the visual history of the region with an emphasis on ethnic minority communities and photographers.  “She couldn’t find images that mirrored the life experiences of African Americans in the Deep South, so she was forced to create these images herself.  In that process, she discovered what photographer Matt Herron called ‘photography wider lineage’”. 

Varela became the only woman and the only Chicana among a SNCC photographic staff exclusively formed by men. The March 26 event will celebrate her accomplishments and openness to explore uncharted territory, said Benavides, who noted that Varela was also involved in the documentation of the 1968 Poor People’s Campaign, the first Chicano Youth Conference and the 1960s and 1970s Chicano movement, as well as the lifestyles of Nuevo Mexicano villages.    

“Maria Varela’s photographic work cannot be dissociated from her work as a community organizer both in the South and the Southwest,” he said. “Her photography is rooted in community knowledge and empowerment. It is meant to create images that affirm people’s rights to civic engagement and the creation of new forms of collective leadership.” 

For more than 50 years, Varela organized rural communities in New Mexico and the Southwest to create culturally sustainable economic enterprises to help reduce poverty and loss of ancestral lands and waters. In 1990, she was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship for this work. In 2005 she was among the 1,000 women nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. 

 For the last five decades, her photographs have been included in dozens of books and photo exhibitions across the country. Varela serves on the Board of Directors of the SNCC Legacy Project, which documents the work of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in the 1960s and mentors today’s young activists. 

The March 26 event is sponsored by CSUN’s University Library, Distinguished Visiting Speakers Program, The College of Humanities, the Departments of Journalism and Chicana/o Studies, as well as the Tom and Ethel Bradley Center. To reserve your spot for the event, RSVP here: https://library.csun.edu/events/maria-varela?type=event 

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Kaley Block
CSUN ‘Fotografía Social’ celebra el trabajo de la fotógrafa María Varela https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/university-news/csun-fotografia-social-celebra-el-trabajo-de-la-fotografa-maria-varela/ Wed, 06 Mar 2024 22:17:42 +0000 https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/?p=55303

Image of community organizer, writer and photographer Maria Varela.

Imagen de la organizadora comunitaria, escritora y fotógrafa María Varela.

La organizadora comunitaria, escritora y fotógrafa María Varela hablará sobre su trabajo documentando los esfuerzos de los afroamericanos en el sur y los chicanos en el suroeste para hacerse cargo de sus propias comunidades y lograr un cambio social durante un evento el martes 26 de marzo en la Biblioteca Universitaria de la Universidad del Estado de California en Northridge. 

“Time to Get Read: Fotografía Social with Maria Varela” se llevará a cabo de 12:30 p.m. a 2 p.m. en la Sala de Presentaciones Ferman de la biblioteca de la Universidad. 

Varela fue miembro del personal del Comité Coordinador Estudiantil No Violento (SNCC), de 1963 a 1967, trabajando principalmente en Alabama y Mississippi. La falta de imágenes de personas negras asumiendo el liderazgo para cambiar sus comunidades la obligó a aprender fotografía para documentar el liderazgo de la gente mientras estaba en el sur.  

“María Varela se convirtió en fotógrafa por necesidad”, dijo el profesor de periodismo José Luis Benavides, director del Centro Tom & Ethel Bradley de CSUN, que recopila, preserva y difunde la historia visual de la región con énfasis en las comunidades y los fotógrafos de minorías étnicas.  “Ella no pudo encontrar imágenes que reflejaran las experiencias de vida de los afroamericanos en el sur profundo, por lo la obligó a crear estas imágenes ella misma.  En ese proceso, descubrió lo que el fotógrafo Matt Herron llamó ‘un linaje más amplio de la fotografía'”. 

Varela se convirtió en la única mujer y la única chicana entre un equipo fotográfico del SNCC formado exclusivamente por hombres. El evento del 26 de marzo celebrará sus logros y su disposición a explorar un territorio inexplorado, dijo Benavides, quien señaló que Varela también participó en documentar la Campaña de los Pobres de 1968, la primera Conferencia de la Juventud Chicana y el movimiento chicano de las décadas de 1960 y 1970, así como los estilos de vida de los pueblos de Nuevo México. 

“El trabajo fotográfico de María Varela no puede disociarse de su trabajo como organizadora comunitaria tanto en el sur como en el suroeste”, dijo. “Su fotografía se basa en el conocimiento y el empoderamiento de la comunidad. Su objetivo es crear imágenes que afirmen los derechos de las personas al compromiso cívico y a la creación de nuevas formas de liderazgo colectivo”. 

Durante más de 50 años, Varela organizó comunidades rurales en Nuevo México y el suroeste para crear empresas económicas culturalmente sostenibles para ayudar a reducir la pobreza y la pérdida de tierras y aguas ancestrales. En 1990, fue galardonada con una beca MacArthur por este trabajo. En 2005 estuvo entre mil mujeres nominadas al Premio Nobel de la Paz. 

 Durante las últimas cinco décadas, sus fotografías han sido incluidas en docenas de libros y exposiciones fotográficas en todo el país. Varela es miembro de la Junta Directiva del Proyecto de Legado del SNCC, que documenta el trabajo del Comité Coordinador Estudiantil No Violento en la década de 1960 y asesora a los jóvenes activistas de hoy. 

El evento del 26 de marzo está patrocinado por la Biblioteca Universitaria de CSUN, el Programa de Oradores Visitantes Distinguidos, la Facultad de Humanidades, los Departamentos de Periodismo y Estudios Chicanos, así como el Centro Tom y Ethel Bradley. Para reservar su lugar para el evento, confirme su asistencia aquí: https://library.csun.edu/events/maria-varela?type=event 

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Amado Lecture Explores What Ancient Jewish World Can Teach About Contemporary Trans Politics https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/education/amado-lecture-explores-what-ancient-jewish-world-can-teach-about-contemporary-trans-politics/ Mon, 04 Mar 2024 19:27:12 +0000 https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/?p=55259

As political rhetoric that attempts to dehumanize the LGBTQIA+ community continues to rise, California State University, Northridge’s 11th Annual Maurice Amado Foundation Lecture in Jewish Ethics later this month will explore what lessons for contemporary queer politics can be found in ancient Jewish texts.

Max Strassfeld

Max Strassfeld

Max Strassfeld, an associate professor of religious studies at the University of Arizona who specializes in rabbinic literature, including the Talmud and other works, will discuss how ancient Jewish texts describe a variety of sex and gender categories that profoundly shaped Jewish ideas about law and gender beyond the simple binary.

“Many people today assume that there is a coherent ‘Judeo-Christian’ tradition with straightforward views about gender and sex,” said Jennifer Thompson, Maurice Amado Professor of Applied Jewish Ethics and Civic Engagement and director of CSUN’s Jewish Studies Program. “By introducing us to how rabbis in the Ancient Near East thought about gender and sex, Professor Strassfeld will help us recognize that Jewish thought evolved quite differently from the Christian traditions that undergird much of American culture and law, and that our ideas about sex and gender are not as natural as we may think they are.”

The Amado Lecture, “Androgynes and Eunuchs: What the Ancient Jewish Past Teaches About Contemporary Trans Politics,” is scheduled to take place from 12:30 to 1:45 p.m. on Wednesday, March 13, in the Ferman Presentation Room of the University Library, located in heart of the CSUN campus at 18111 Nordhoff Street in Northridge. The lecture is also available via Zoom for those wishing to attend from off campus. To register for the Zoom presentation, click here.

Strassfeld’s academic expertise includes Rabbinic literature, transgender studies and Jewish studies. His book, “Trans Talmud: Androgynes and Eunuchs in Rabbinic Literature,” won the 2023 American Academy of Religion Award for Excellence in the Study of Religion-Textual Studies.

During his lecture, Strassfeld will examine how the flexible thinking about gender and sex in ancient Jewish texts provides people an opportunity to reassess their preconceived narratives about the relationship between religion, gender and the law today.

The Amado Lecture is part of the mission of the CSUN Jewish Studies Program’s endowed professorship, created to promote teaching and scholarship that draw on Sephardic, Ashkenazi and other Jewish traditions.

CSUN offers a major and minor in Jewish Studies in the College of Humanities. The program explores the rich heritage of the Jewish people. Using methods of different academic disciplines, it examines the experience of Jewish people in the many lands in which they have lived over the past 4,000 years, as well as contemporary Jewish life in Israel, Europe, Asia and the Americas.

For more information regarding this year’s lecture or to make a seat reservation contact the Jewish Studies Program staff at (818) 677-6762.

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carmen
CSUN Launches the First CSU Disability Studies Minor Program https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/uncategorized/csun-launches-the-first-csu-disability-studies-minor-program/ Wed, 28 Feb 2024 21:36:34 +0000 https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/?p=55233

A promotion poster titled 'Breaking Boundaries' developed for the Disability Studies Minor program with LGBTQ and disability rights activist, Annie Elainey, wearing a shirt that reads "The future is accessible." Poster provided by CSUN Disability Studies.

A promotion poster titled ‘Breaking Boundaries’ developed for the Disability Studies Minor program with LGBTQ and disability rights activist, Annie Elainey, wearing a shirt that reads “The future is accessible.” Poster provided by CSUN Disability Studies.


California State University, Northridge has launched the first disability studies minor in the CSU system, with the first students being admitted to the program in fall 2024.

 “CSUN has the largest population of self-identifying disabled students in the system,” said Jeffrey Reeder, dean in CSUN’s College of Humanities, where the program will be housed. “Additionally, our university is known for a strong tradition of advocacy and scholarly inquiry research into identity, standing as fourth in the nation in the number of bachelor’s degrees awarded in fields of ethnic studies, cultural studies, identity studies and gender studies.” 

The newly developed minor in disability studies is an 18-unit program made up of three core classes and three electives drawn from more than 20 departments across the university. Many of the courses available to the students will also count for general education credit.  

“Part of the work of the minor and, perhaps this is the earliest work that we must do, is to educate our students, faculty, and administration on the sociocultural history and multiplicity of meanings bound up in the disability identity,” said CSUN English professor Leilani Hall, director of the new program. “Disability Studies examines the social, cultural, historical, and political structures that inform disability. From a humanities perspective, of course, this means that we are interested in the lived experience of individuals with disabilities — studying disability as a social construct rather than a confining medical diagnosis.  

“Furthermore, because disability is an identity which one may acquire at any point in life — whether at birth or later by disease, accident, or advanced age — it is the largest minority in the world, an identity which intersects with any other identity marker, such as race, gender, sexuality, or class,” she continued. “This is what makes disability studies so very necessary to the academy. We need to prepare graduates who are excited to build a more inclusive world.” 

Reeder said the program, as a minor, serves as a “well-suited” supplementary program to a variety of major programs the university has to offer.  

“I expect it to touch every and all aspects of campus,” he said. “We would love for a student to come to CSUN for whatever they’re interested in – for example, the construction management degree program – and then if they have an interest in making the most of their degree and having a big impact on the world in the future – to also minor in disability studies. Then taking their knowledge and applying it to their work in a way that could be meaningful.” 

Hall said that she hopes students who minor in disability studies will leave the university with the knowledge and tools to effect change in the workplace and their communities.  

“I’m talking about the benefits of an interdisciplinary minor that is built on personal interests and personal career choices,” she said. “But I’m also talking about the very real benefit of changing how we understand and treat those with a disability in the workplace and community. This is the kind of change that needs to happen everywhere. Inclusion is for everyone. “ 

Hall acknowledged the work of several CSUN professors who contributed to the development of the program, including retired special education professor Beth Lasky; philosophy professor Johnathan Flowers; English professor Charles Hatfield, who teaches a course on disability in literature and culture; special education professor Ellen Stohl and communication studies professor Kelly Opdycke, who both teach “Introduction to Disability Studies.” 

To learn more about the minor and the CSUN program visit, https://www.csun.edu/humanities/disability-studies.

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Kaley Block
CSUN Vocal Jazz Director Captures Grammy Award https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/university-news/csun-vocal-jazz-director-captures-grammy-award/ Mon, 19 Feb 2024 21:48:51 +0000 https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/?p=55156

California State University, Northridge Vocal Jazz Director Erin Bentlage reached a huge milestone in her career when she took home a Grammy Award at the 66th annual show in Los Angeles on Feb. 4.

CSUN Vocal Jazz Director Erin Bentlage won her first Grammy on Feb. 4 2024. Credit: Erin Bentlage/ Instagram

CSUN Vocal Jazz Director Erin Bentlage won her first Grammy on Feb. 4 2024. Credit: Erin Bentlage/ Instagram

The accolade, under the category of “Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals,” was given to Bentlage for her part in the song “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning.” The award-winning piece is a part of the debut album of her all-female vocal super-group, säje, formed in collaboration with Sara Gazarek, Amanda Taylor, and Johnaye Kendrick.

“Grateful beyond measure to these people and tiny slivers of time for everything they’ve taught me, grateful for the opportunity to pause and reflect on our dreams coming true in the music that we are lucky enough to make and the life that we are lucky enough to pour into that music,” Bentlage said in a social media post. “I take none of it for granted, no matter how courageously joyful or sickeningly devastating the moment and might not be able to digest one bit of it without music…”

The Grammy victory isn’t her first brush with recognition. In 2020, Bentlage was nominated in the same category for the debut original song “Desert Song” by her group.

“The music department is very proud of Erin Bentlage for the fantastic work she has done with her group säje, and especially for her well-deserved Grammy win in collaboration with Jacob Collier,” said CSUN music department chair John Roscigno. “Erin joined our faculty just two years ago to re-vamp our jazz vocal program and has been a fabulous addition to our faculty.”

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CSUN Prof’s Research Finds Evidence Homo Sapiens Were in Northwest Europe More Than 45,000 Years Ago, Years Before Neanderthals Disappeared https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/education/csun-profs-research-finds-evidence-homo-sapiens-were-in-northwest-europe-more-than-45000-years-ago-years-before-neanderthals-disappeared/ Wed, 14 Feb 2024 17:34:53 +0000 https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/?p=55113

A re-examination by CSUN anthropologist Hélène Rougier of bones first excavated in the cave site Ilsenhöhle beneath the castle of Ranis, Germany by archaeologists in the 1930s has contributed to the discovery that modern humans reached northwest Europe more than 45,000 years ago, thousands of years before Neanderthals disappeared.The cave site Ilsenhöhle beneath the castle of Ranis. Photo © Tim Schüler TLDA, License: CC-BY-ND 4.0.

A re-examination by CSUN anthropologist Hélène Rougier of bones first excavated in the cave site Ilsenhöhle beneath the castle of Ranis, Germany by archaeologists in the 1930s has contributed to the discovery that modern humans reached northwest Europe more than 45,000 years ago, thousands of years before Neanderthals disappeared.The cave site Ilsenhöhle beneath the castle of Ranis. Photo © Tim Schüler TLDA, License: CC-BY-ND 4.0.


Sometimes it pays to go back to the beginning. In this case, a re-examination by California State University, Northridge anthropologist Hélène Rougier of bones first excavated by archaeologists in Germany in the 1930s has contributed to the discovery that modern humans reached northwest Europe more than 45,000 years ago, thousands of years before Neanderthals disappeared.

Hélène Rougier examining bone fragments. Photo courtesy of Hélène Rougier.

Hélène Rougier examining bone fragments. Photo courtesy of Hélène Rougier.

Rougier is part of an international team of researchers who have been able to document the earliest known Homo sapiens, or modern humans, fossils in central and northwest Europe. Their research reveals for the first time that those fossils were accompanied by markers — namely long blades made into points — for the Upper Paleolithic era known as Lincombian-Ranisian-Jerzmanowician (LRJ), which existed more than 45,0000 years ago.

Those same markers have been discovered at locations across Europe, from Moravia and eastern Poland to the British Isles, and can now be linked to an early arrival of small groups of modern humans in northwest Europe, several thousand years before Neanderthals disappeared in southwest Europe.

“Early modern humans were much more advanced than we typically give them credit for,” Rougier said, noting the discovery that Homo sapiens traveled as far as Germany in small groups indicates that they were sophisticated enough to be curious about what was beyond their usual territory and left the comfort of their “home” to see what was “out there.”

“We tend to think of them as ‘cavemen,’ primitive,” she said. “Yet, they used natural features, such as the overhang of a cave, to get protection from the elements; they lived in organized groups; and they understood their environment enough to get the foods they needed. They were sophisticated enough to choose some things over others, and they passed on tradition, like making tools in a certain way. So, yeah, they were a little more complex than we give them credit for.”

The results of the researchers’ discovery were recently published in three articles: “Homo sapiens reached the higher latitudes of Europe by 45,000 years ago,” in the journal Nature and “The ecology, subsistence and diet of ~45,000-year-old Homo sapiens at Ilsenhöhle in Ranis, Germany” and “Stable isotopes show Homo sapiens dispersed into cold steppes ~45,000 years ago at Ilsenhöhle in Ranis, Germany” in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution.

Stone tools from the LRJ at Ranis. 1) partial bifacial blade point characteristic of the LRJ; 2) at Ranis the LRJ also contains finely made bifacial leaf points. © Josephine Schubert, Museum Burg Ranis, License: CC-BY-ND 4.0.

Stone tools from the LRJ at Ranis. 1) partial bifacial blade point characteristic of the LRJ; 2) at Ranis the LRJ also contains finely made bifacial leaf points. © Josephine Schubert, Museum Burg Ranis, License: CC-BY-ND 4.0.

Rougier, who teaches in CSUN’s College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, is one of 125 researchers from around the world working together for more than a decade to explore prehistoric life in Europe, hoping to gain perspective on what human life was like before recorded history. Their disciplines span the spectrum, from biological anthropology and archaeology to biochemistry and genetics. The interdisciplinary approach provides an opportunity to bring new perspectives and raise questions that individuals in a particular specialty may not consider or be able to resolve.

The team’s latest efforts involve the cave Ilsenhöhle, located beneath the castle of Ranis in Germany. The researchers re-excavated the Ranis site to locate the remains of an earlier excavation that took place in the 1930s. They also wanted to clarify the stratigraphy and chronology of the site and to identify the makers of the LRJ points.

“One of the things that made this site so interesting in the first place was the fact that when it was first excavated, tools (the blades made into points as well as some finely made leaf points) were found,” Rougier said. “People didn’t really know how to characterize them. They didn’t know if it was the late Neanderthals who made them, or our early ancestors who arrived in Europe. Lots of people in different places in Europe have been trying to figure out who made those things. We were trying to figure out the answers to their questions.”

When Rougier’s colleagues got to the bottom of the original excavation, more than 26 feet below the surface, they found about five-and-a-half feet of rock their predecessors could not get past. After carefully removing the rock by hand, they found the LRJ layer and thousands of fragmented bones, including pieces that belonged to modern humans.

Rougier led a new analysis of bone fragments originally collected in the 1930s. Each fragment was examined individually in an effort to identify human remains.

Once 13 human skeletal remains from both the old and new excavations were identified, DNA was extracted and analyzed. Researchers were able to confirm that the fragments belonged to Homo sapiens. They also found that some of the fragments from both excavations belonged to the same individual or were maternal relatives.

“We were able to get DNA from the bones — we only have part of the DNA for now and are working on the rest — but there is one bone from the new excavation that has the same mitochondrial DNA as several of the bones originally found in the 1930s,” Rougier said. “It clearly shows the connection between the old and new excavations, and that those modern humans, with at least one person who was closely related to another, visited the cave on different occasions.”

Excavating the LRJ layers 8 metres deep at Ranis was a logistical challenge and required elaborate scaffolding to support the trench. © Marcel Weiss, License: CC-BY-ND 4.0.

Excavating the LRJ layers 8 metres deep at Ranis was a logistical challenge and required elaborate scaffolding to support the trench. © Marcel Weiss, License: CC-BY-ND 4.0.

By using radiocarbon dating, the researchers discovered that Homo sapiens sporadically occupied the cave as early as 47,500 years ago, thousands of years before Neanderthals disappeared from Europe.

An analysis of the stable isotopes of animal teeth and bones found alongside the human fragments offered insight into the climate conditions and environments that the pioneering groups of Homo sapiens encountered around Ranis. Those early modern humans had to deal with a very cold continental climate and open, unforested, grassy landscape, similar to what is found in Siberia or northern Scandinavia today.

  “We’ve been able to show that our ancestors were really like explorers — they were mobile, they adapted to their environment, and they moved when the climate changed,” Rougier said. “We have to understand that when these Homo sapiens ancestors visited north central Europe, it was a very cold environment. They were originally from southern Europe, where the temperatures were much warmer, and the environment was much more hospitable. Yet, they still made the trip.

“As we examine those movements, I think it’s important to reflect on the fact that climate has always affected us,” she said. “Today, we’re trying to counter some of its impact using our technology, but we are still animals in the natural world — though, we’re advanced, technological animals. Climate is still around us and we are still dependent on nature. I think what we’ve learned so far about early modern humans can put things into perspective.”

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