College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

Jessica Johnson from the University of Washington will be the plenary speaker for the third annual conference “Sex and Religion,” scheduled for Saturday, March 16, at UNC Charlotte Center City.

The conference, which is organized by graduate students of the UNC Charlotte Religious Studies Department, is an opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students nationwide to share their research concerning religion and its intersections with sexuality, gender, the body and other areas.

Yesika Sorto Andino, a junior from Charlotte, North Carolina, is among the 262 students selected for Campus Compact’s 2019-20 cohort of Newman Civic Fellows.

Campus Compact is a Boston-based nonprofit organization that is working to advance the public purposes of higher education. The Newman Civic Fellowship is a one-year experience that emphasizes personal, professional and civic growth for student leaders who demonstrate an interest in solving public problems.

Wendy Wilson, adult education coordinator for the UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens, will lead a workshop on cell phone macrophotography from 1 to 3 p.m., Saturday, March 16, in the McMillan Greenhouse.

The workshop will start in the classroom as attendees will attach a macro lens to their smartphones. After practicing with the lenses, members will search for the perfect image in the Botanical Gardens. Upon returning to the classroom, participants will learn about creative photo editing.

English professor Bryn Chancellor’s award-winning novel “Sycamore” is the focus of the upcoming Personally Speaking event scheduled for Tuesday, March 26.

Several members of UNC Charlotte’s Sigma Tau Delta, the English honor society, will present creative pieces and participate in a special discussion during the 2019 Sigma Tau Delta International Convention, scheduled for March 27-30 in St. Louis, Missouri.

The University chapter is crowdfunding to raise $3,000 to pay for the registration, travel and accommodations for eight members to attend the convention. This year’s theme is “Work In Progress.”

As a triple major in French, German and international studies, UNC Charlotte senior Maria Garcia dreams of working as an interpreter helping people travel the world.

Martha Escobar from California State University, Northridge, will present “The Social Death of ‘Doing Life’: Experiences of Latinx (Im)migrant Lifers in California Prisons” at 2:30 p.m., Monday, March 11, in the Cone University Center, Room 210.

Antarctica’s unique climate enticed UNC Charlotte earth sciences researcher Martha Cary Eppes and research colleagues to spend weeks camping in a tent in sub-zero temperatures to literally monitor and listen to rocks as they fractured.

Marina Levina, an associate professor in the Department of Communication and Film at the University of Memphis, will present “Body Disruptions: Biohacking and the Politics of Memory” at 11:30 a.m., Thursday, Feb. 28, in Cone University Center, Room 111.

Levina’s current research interests are focused on cultural studies of monstrosity; critical rhetoric of science, medicine and technology; critical surveillance studies; and affect theory. Her most recent publications include an edited collection, “Biocitizenship: The Politics of Bodies, Governance and Power.”

Noted author and scholar Timothy Tyson, winner of the Best Book of 2017 from both the Los Angeles Times and National Public Radio for “The Blood of Emmett Till,” will deliver UNC Charlotte’s 2019 Levine Lecture on Thursday, March 14.