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Houston high schoolers investigate artificial intelligence, urban farming and the humanities

ms85 — Wed, 30 May 2018 21:40:29 +0000

This spring's Civic Humanist Program offered a total of 8 events featuring topics about the Medical Humanities and Cultural Heritage. These events included three campus field trips and five off-campus lectures for local Houston high school students.

Our two Civic Humanist fellows this year did an outstanding job. Hannah Biggs, PhD in the English Department at Rice, was Medical Humanities fellow. She offered deeply informed lectures on recognizing and building connections between urban farming, sustainability, and the humanities, as well as fostering best practices in major metropolitan centers like Houston. Biggs also took field trip students on tours of Rice’s community gardens and art exhibits.

*Dr. Biggs in action! Presenting to Yes Prep High School!

Erin Prophet, PhD in the Department of Religion at Rice, was our Cultural Heritage fellow. Prophet’s interactive lectures were both imagination-expanding and super-practical journeys into the nature of artificial intelligence at the crossroads of the humanities and medical practices. With a master's degree in public health (epidemiology), Prophet generously offered her tips and insights into this highly debated topic.

*One of many fantastic slides from Erin Prophet's interactive lecture on artificial intelligence and the medical humanities

Both lectures were full of useful and eye-opening information for students! After their lectures, Prophet and Biggs took students on a tour of Rice campus, showing them relevant sites, such as public art and local gardens on campus, including Jaume Plensa’s ‘Mirror’ sculpture and the James Turrell Twilight Epiphany skyspace. Click here to view information about the skyspace.

Each field trip concluded with a creative writing prompt assigned by Biggs and Prophet respectively, which students started while having lunch near the beautiful courtyard in front of the old Rice Art Gallery linked to Sewel Hall. Overall, students seemed to really enjoy their field trip experience, learning about many facets of artificial intelligence, medicine, and urban farming.

The 2018 Medical Humanities series led by Erin Prophet held the following spring events: Strake Jesuit College Preparatory College High School visited on March 26^th; Furr High School took its first field trip to Rice on April 25^th. Additionally, Prophet gave a wonderful lecture at North Houston Early College High School on February 8^th and one at Yates High School on March 9^th.

The 2018 Cultural Heritage series led by Hannah Biggs held the following spring events: Sharpstown High School visited Rice for a field trip and lecture on March 8^th. Biggs gave extralectures at: DeBakey High School for Health Professionals on October 11th; North Houston Early College High School on October 18th; and Reagan High School on November 3rd.

More field trips and lectures are in store for the 2018-2019 school year. Stay tuned for additional news on the Medical Humanities and Cultural Heritage events with the HRC's Civic Humanist Program!

High school students explore artificial intelligence and urban farming with Rice's Civic Humanist Fellows

ms85 — Mon, 08 Jan 2018 21:49:49 +0000

The Civic Humanist Program launched its 2017 Medical Humanities and Cultural Heritage events this fall, delivering a total of 10 events, which included: five campus field trips and five off-campus lectures for local Houston high school groups.

This year's Civic Humanist program was led by two talented Civic Humanist fellows. Hannah Biggs, a PhD Candidate in the English Department, was Medical Humanities fellow. Biggs offered creative, interactive lectures on urban farming, sustainability, agriculture and the humanities, opening students' eyes to how they can better appreciate and engage in topics such as "food-to-table" eating, hydroponics, and rooftop gardening. In addition to her lectures, Biggs took students on tours of Rice community gardens, while also informing them about examples and best practices in major metropolitan centers like Houston.

Erin Prophet, a PhD Candidate in the Department of Religion at Rice, was our Cultural Heritage fellow. Prophet took students on an imagination-expanding yet super-practical journey into the nature of artificial intelligence at the crossroads of the humanities and medicine. With a master's degree in public health (epidemiology), Prophet generously offered her tips and insights into this highly debated topic. Both lectures were full of useful and eye-opening information for students!

*Erin Prophet speaking with students at Debakey High School for Health Professionals during a lecture in October 2017.

After their lectures, Prophet and Biggs took students on a tour of Rice campus, showing them relevant sites, such as public art and local gardens on campus, including Jaume Plensa’s ‘Mirror’ sculpture and the James Turrell Twilight Epiphany skyspace. Click here to view information about the skyspace.

Rice undergraduate Yves Ye, assisted a field trip for the Cultural Heritage program. Sierra Cowan, the 2017-2018 President of Rice Medical Humanities (a student-run organization) attended Prophet's lecture at Debakey High School for Health Professionals. She movingly shared about her own passion for the medical humanities, which noticably inspired students in attendance.

Overall, students seemed to really enjoy their field trip experience, learning about many facets of artificial intelligence, medicine, and urban farming.

*Group picture of Northside High School students during their visit to Rice on November 30.

The 2017 Medical Humanities series led by Erin Prophet held the following events: Hauke Alternative High School visited on October 5th for a Medical Humanities Field; Yes Prep High School took its first field trip to Rice on October 13th; and Alief Elsik High School came on October 24th. Additionally, Prophet gave a wonderful lecture at DeBakey High School for Health Professionals on October 11th and one at Sharpstown High School on November 2nd.

The 2017 Cultural Heritage series led by Hannah Biggs held the following events: Westbury High school visited Rice for a field trip and lecture on November 14th; and Davis Northside HS visited Rice for a field trip and lecture on November 30th. Biggs also gave spectacular lectures at: DeBakey High School for Health Professionals on October 11th; North Houston Early College High School on October 18th; and Reagan High School on November 3rd.

More field trips and lectures are in store for the spring 2018. Stay tuned for additional news on the Medical Humanities and Cultural Heritage events with the HRC's Civic Humanist Program!

The Cultural Heritage initiative kicks off its fall semester Civic Humanist Program!

ms85 — Fri, 16 Dec 2016 22:43:51 +0000

The Civic Humanist Program kicked off its 2016 Cultural Heritage fall initiative, which proved to be an exciting semester of learning and insights for everyone involved. Fellow Mark DeYoung, a PhD student in the Department of Religion, teamed up with local Houston artist Robert Hodge to give a series of five events for Houston high school student groups, including: three dynamic field trips at Rice University campus and two lectures at Yates High School and the High School for Performing & Visual Arts (PVA) respectively.

Together, DeYoung and Hodge explored the role of art in culture and society, giving nuanced attention to issues of race, culture and the humanities as portrayed through art and media. DeYoung delivered informative lectures for each field trip, introducing students to core concepts of critical theory and relating these to current events and questions of identity and social justice. DeYoung also analyzed pieces of film and media involving themes of zombies and exposing dynamics of racism in these materials that continue to impact our lives. Hodge presented in the second part of each lecture, sharing his own personal journey of becoming an artist, and then guiding students through a virtual tour of his professional artwork. Hodge explored with students how art can be a constructive medium to foster positive civic engagement and career development.

*Chaperone and HSPVA teacher Isela Aguirre pictured here with her students - absorbed in the talk by Mark DeYoung and Rober Hodge.

After offering a diverse and stimulating lecture, DeYoung and Hodge took students on a mini-tour of Rice’s campus, showing them relevant sites and public art, including Jaume Plensa’s ‘Mirror’ sculpture and also spending time inside the James Turrell Twilight Epiphany skyspace. Click here to view information about the skyspace.

*Rice undergraduate Yves Ye, who assisted with the Cultural Heritage Program, pictured here with high school students visiting Jonathan Schipper's Cubicle installation.

The following high schools brought groups to Rice for the fall 2016 Cultural Heritage event series: the High School for Performing & Visual Arts experienced a double-header with the Civic Humanist program, bringing a morning group to Rice for the field trip, while DeYoung and Hodge lectured at PVA in the afternoon - all taking place on October 28th; Davis Northside High School visited Rice on October 31; Reagan High School came to campus on November 18th. Additionally, DeYoung gave a lecture at Yates High School on October 18th.

More field trips and lectures will occur this upcoming spring semester in 2017. Stay tuned for more news and updates on Cultural Heritage with the HRC's Civic Humanist Program!

Civic Humanist Program launches Medical Humanities event series

ms85 — Thu, 15 Dec 2016 22:08:44 +0000

The Civic Humanist Program launched a successful 2016 Medical Humanities event series this fall, hosting three field trips for local Houston high schools at Rice and one lecture at Sharpstown High School.

Fellow Rachel Bracken, a PhD Candidate in the English Department, led the series of fall events, offering interactive lectures on the topic of phrenology in the late 19^th century in America. Along with exploring the historical prevalence of phrenology in mainstream culture and medical diagnostics, Bracken also raised compelling questions about the relationship between ethics, medical knowledge and history, thus challenging students to think differently about the nature of disease and health in society.

Philip Montgomery and Sandra Yates from the Texas Medical Center joined the Civic Humanist team, setting up an artifact display room in Fondren Library with the help of Rebecca Carleson and Amanda Focke from the Woodson Research Center. Together they collaborated and presented fascinating objects and documents to students, which related to Bracken’s lecture on phrenology.

*Amanda Focke with students from North Houston Early College High School during a trip on October 14.

Each field trip concluded with a creative writing prompt assigned by Bracken, which they started while having a nice lunch near the courtyard in front of the beautiful Rice Art Gallery. The student-run organization, Rice Medical Humanities, kindly offered its support for each field trip. Rice undergraduates Sierra Cowen, Zoe Tao, Astha Mittal, and Danielle Shewmake each assisted with respective field trips, answering questions and exploring the meaning of the medical humanities with visiting high school students.

Overall, students seemed to really enjoy their field trip experience, learning about many facets of the medical humanites and its relevance to both contemporary society and the recent historical record.

*Group picture of Hauke Alternative High School students during their visit to Rice on October 26.

The following high schools brought groups to Rice for the fall 2016 Medical Humanities event series: North Houston Early College High School visited on October 14th; Hauke Alternative High School came for the first time to Rice on October 26th; and DeBakey High School for Health Professionals took its second field trip to Rice on November 14th. Additionally, Bracken gave a wonderful lecture at Sharpstown High School on December 12.

More field trips and lectures are in store for the spring 2017, including one already planned with Strake Jesuit College Prepatory High School on January 17th, as well as a lecture at Booker T. Washington High School. Stay tuned for more news on the Medical Humanities with the HRC's Civic Humanist Program!

Civic Humanists welcome DeBakey High School for Health Professions to Rice Campus!

ms85 — Tue, 08 Dec 2015 18:08:19 +0000

On November 16, HRC team members welcomed DeBakey High School to Rice for the school's first ever Civic Humanist field trip to campus. The theme of the event was on the Medical Humanities, where we explored the history of Houston's medical practices, and how laboratory methods and specialized medical knowledge circulate in contemporary culture and have impact on the human community.

Abby Good, PhD Candidate at Rice and Civic Humanist Fellow, kicked off the field trip with another striking lecture that seemed to land really well with DeBakey students.

Abby Good speaks with DeBakey students about outbreak narratives and other themes on the Medical Humanities in contemporary culture

There was another fantastic "Artifact Display Room" set up in Fondren Library’s Collaboration Space, thanks to Amanda Focke of the Woodson Research Center, and Philip Montogomery of the Texas Medical Center library archives. Students were beholden to various texts, illustrations and objects, each from different moments of Houston’s past, particularly of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Montogomery engaged students in a rich discussion about the Medical Humanities and Houston's history. Click here to view the TMC's digital collections.

Anatomical sketch of the human body circa mid-to-late 1800s (compliments TMC)

The DeBakey group went on to have scrumptious lunch sandwiches delivered to Rice by local food venue, Which Which. Before concluding the field trip, students began a writing assignment facilitated by Abby Good, which can be viewed here.

We want to extend a warm thank you to DeBakey High School for Medical Professions for taking the time to visit Rice and be part of our Public Humanities intiative at Rice's Humanities Research Center. We look forward to working with DeBakey again in the near future!

Another fine day at Rice with Scarborough High School and the HRC's Civic Humanist Program

ms85 — Mon, 07 Dec 2015 18:29:00 +0000

On a beautiful sunny autumn day, a cohort of students from Scarborough High School came to Rice for the HRC’s sixth Civic Humanists field trip of the 2015 fall semester at Rice. It was a wonderful occasion for Scarborough students and HRC fellows alike! The trip started off with a warm welcome fom Amanda Focke to Fondren Library, followed by another informative and stimulating talk by HRC Fellow Jessica Davenport and local artist Whitney Sparks in Fondren’s Collaboration Space.

*Jessica Davenport commenting on the Intersections exhibit at Rice's Art Gallery

Students proceeded to an art tour guided by Whiteny and Jessica to see some of Rice’s beautiful public pieces. This included a visit to Jaume Plensa’s ‘Mirror’ sculpture and James Turrell's Twilight Epiphany skyspace. Click here to view information on this amazing skyspace. Students also got to experience the Anila Quayyum Agha Intersections exhibit at Rice’s Art Gallery, an installation reflecting the artist's own exploration and struggle with her identity and religious and cultural background of “her childhood in Lahore, Pakistan where culture dictated that women were excluded from the mosque, a place of creativity and community, and instead prayed at home.” Click here to read about Intersections.

Students wrapped up their field trip with some lunch and got into groups to work on a creative writing assignment. You can view some of these here. Rice undergraduate Hai-Uyen Nguyen along with HRC Fellow Mark Schmanko were also in attendance for this awesome field trip experience.

*HRC Fellow Mark Schmanko (foreground) and Rice undergraduate Hai-Uyen Nguyen (background) causing a bit of 'selfie mischief' during Scarborough's student tour of the Intersections exhibit

A wonderful and thought-provoking field trip with Alief Elsik High School

ms85 — Mon, 07 Dec 2015 17:19:54 +0000

Alief Elsik High School brought a group of students to visit Rice on November 9, 2015 for the HRC’s Civic Humanists program. Civic Humanist fellow and Rice PhD candidate Jessica Davenport and brilliantly talented, local artist Whitney Sparks teamed up to give a vibrantly meaningful lecture on the intersections of art, culture, social justice, and public life in contemporary society. The group of girls from Alief Elsik were very reflective, discerning and warmly engaged in the overall field trip experience. Everyone seemed to learn a great deal from this incredibly informative occasion. One beautiful moment was when Whitney shared about her own experience being a high school student in which she overcame some challenging circumstances through her art. Click here to read what she had to share in her own words.

*Jessica Davenport interacting with Alief Elsik students at Rice

The interactive lecture was followed by a tour of Rice and an exploration of its public art, including a visit to Jaume Plensa’s ‘Mirror’ sculpture and James Turrell's Twilight Epiphany skyspace. Click here to view information on this amazing skyspace. Next on the field trip agenda was a visit to Intersections exhibit at Rice’s wonderful Art Gallery. The temporary installation, which reflects the artist Anila Quayyum Agha’s own struggle to realize the beauty and integrity of her religious culture while acknowledging the painful experiences she had growing up in Lahore, Pakistan, in which “culture dictated that women were excluded from the mosque, a place of creativity and community, and instead prayed at home.” Click here to read about Intersections.

After having a lovely lunch outdoors in front of the Gallery, students brought their field trip to a close by starting a creative writing assignment, which you can view here. Yves Ye, a freshman at Rice’s Brown College from China, assisted the field trip, sharing his exciting first year of living in Houston on campus at Rice. HRC Fellow Mark Schmanko was also present for the event. We are truly appreciative that Alief Elsik High School was able to come participate in our HRC Civic Humanists program. Thank you to everyone who made this event possible!

Strake Jesuit HS has an immersive experience of the medical humanities at Rice

ms85 — Wed, 11 Nov 2015 23:44:17 +0000

What an extraordinary time it was hosting Strake Jesuit College Preparatory HS for a visit to Rice on November 5. This was the first Civic Humanist field trip to host a private school since the program’s inception and we couldn't be happier with the results. Strake's Director of College Counseling Jamy Champenoy along with chaperons Nancy Rodriguez and James Saltzman arrived with thirty college-bound students, all dressed nicely wearing ties and button-up shirts (see picture below!).

The trip kicked off with a boom thanks to Abby Goode's stellar lecture in the elegant - I’m tempted to call it ‘theatrical’ - McMautry Auditorium in Duncan Hall. Her talk was on “outbreak narratives,” exploring the ways medical research is in complex tension with portrayals of illness, disease and health in public life, especially in light of the exponential rise of technology and globalizing forces of communication. In this way, Abby highlighted how media and other cultural venues narrate and often exaggerate disease outbreaks, even as they reveal the very real and troubling human struggles we all face in dealing with the ethical and interpretive implications of laboratory research and equitable approaches to human well-being and the educative potentials of the medical humanities.

Students then headed over to Fondren Library, first welcomed by Amanda Focke of the Woodson Research Center and then split up to view two different presentations related to the medical humanities - one by Focke and the other by Philip Montogomery and Sandra Yates of the Texas Medical Center (TMC) library. The group viewed all kinds of fascinating and historically significant artifacts related to Houston’s history of medical practices and earliest pioneers.

For instance, Amanda showed students the first ever recorded journal that documents nursing practices in Houston before nursing officially existed! “The Epidemic of 1878” by Mrs. K DePelchin was written in the form of journal letters to an anonymous recipient, which were recorded as copies for her own records, sharing her experiences of caring for victims of the Epidemic. However, as Focke explained to the curious group of Strake Jesuit students, these may not have been actually written to anyone because the letter style of writing could have been the most effective way for DePelchin to create the text. Philip and Sandra also shared a variety of archival materials and objects from the 1800s. Click here to view the TMC's digital collections.

*Amanda Focke presenting 19th century Houston archival materials related to some of the earliest pioneers of nursing and medical research

The presentations of Focke, Yates, Montogomery and Good altogether proved an extremely interesting and immersive glimpse into the heart of the medical humanities, both in the past and in comtemporary public life. Jackie Rios, Treasurer of Rice Medical Humanities (a student-run organization) assisted with the field trip, and provided a wonderful ad hoc tour of different features of Rice's quad and some interesting (and even a bit mischievous) details about the statue of Willliam Marshal Rice.

Students wrapped up their experience with lunch in the beautiful courtyard in front of the Rice Art Gallery, while beginning a creative writing prompt given by Good. Click here to view some of the students' work.

*Group picture of Strake Jesuit HS at Rice

Sharpstown HS has a skyspacing time at Rice

ms85 — Mon, 09 Nov 2015 21:25:25 +0000

Sharpstown High School recently brought a group of students to Rice for our Civic Humanist field trip focused on Public Heritage on Wednesday November 4th. Civic Humanist fellow Jessica Davenport and local Houston artist Whitney Sparks together gave a vibrant lecture on art, public culture, rhetoric and creative social engagement in civic life. This was followed by a tour of some of Rice’s campus art, exploring the nature of cultural identity, place, space, and architectural design in constructions of public art.

The group first visited Jaume Plensa’s ‘Mirror’ sculpture and then spent time inside the James Turrell Twilight Epiphany skyspace. Click here to view information about the skyspace.

Students were so inspired by the Turrell skyspace experience that they all at once spontaneously lept up into the air and remained suspended in the air long enough for one person to take a picture just in time!

After the campus art tour, students then viewed the Anila Quayyum Agha Intersections exhibit at Rice’s Art Gallery, which is a temporary installation that reflects the artist's own struggle to invoke the beauty of her religious culture while acknowledging her experience of “her childhood in Lahore, Pakistan where culture dictated that women were excluded from the mosque, a place of creativity and community, and instead prayed at home.” Click here to read more about Intersections. Students then had lunch outside in the beautiful courtyard right in front of the Rice Art Gallery.They wrapped up their field trip by getting into groups to work on a creative writing assignment, which you can view (forthcoming) here. Rice undergraduate Malvika Govil and HRC Fellow Mark Schmanko were also in attendance to help out with this awesome field trip experience.

A creative piece by local Houston artist Whitney Sparks. Click here to visit her web page.

Civic Humanists Program visits HSPVA!

ms85 — Mon, 09 Nov 2015 20:08:44 +0000

The HRC's Civic Humanist team took a trip to the High School for Performing and Visual Arts (PVA for short) on Wednesday, October 14. PVA hosted Fellow Jessica Davenport and local artist and former PVA student Whitney Sparks. The duo teamed up to offer an incredibly stimulating and thoughtful discussion about race, cultural stereotyping, and art as a source of creative disruption in regard to political agency. Jessica and Whitney dynamically engaged two large groups of PVA students (about 70 students per group)—at times discussions were heated and meaningful in the best of ways. We’ve since received several creative writing responses from PVA students that can be viewed here.

One striking moment of the talk was when Whitney shared about her own personal experience of being a former PVA student who ended up not receiving her diploma! This was her first time back to PVA since leaving the school in 2003, and here’s some of what she had to share of her experience:

In my senior year I left PVA with School Year Abroad to spend the year in Zaragoza, Spain. Despite the fact that in order to get into this program required me to apply a year in advance, included multiple essays and recommendations from my teachers and guidance counselor, I found out the week before my flight, that due to my decision to pursue educational enrichment abroad, I would not be allowed to graduate from HSPVA at all. I was shocked at the time, but certain of my commitment to expand my horizons. I left and never looked back. You’re looking at a high school “rise out.” That day in fact, when I was 17, was perhaps the last time I was in this building. I wrote about my experience for my college application essays to Yale and Harvard, the only two schools I applied to, and was accepted at both universities. At HSPVA I was a dancer with low self esteem, a sad story, and a dream of more. Now I am a successful visual artist and Yale graduate with an MFA from Zurich University of the Arts in Europe. Read all of Whitney's story here.

Jessica and Whitney delivered nuanced cultural insights and intellectual challenges to a wonderfully diverse group of PVA students, and it was indeed a memorable first fall trip for the HRC's Public Humanities program. The Civic Humanist team was also assisted by HRC Fellow Mark Schmanko and a group of PVA teachers who welcomed us and made things go smoothly. Thank you PVA, thank you Jessica and Whitney, thank you all!

*Jessica Davenport speaking to PVA students (on the left) and an art piece (on the right) by local Houston artist and former PVA student Whitney Sparks

*This picture of PVA's ceiling hints at the wonderful creativity and energy of the school environment.