2023 Sparks Research Symposium
Celebrating Dr. Sparks' commitment to funding student and faculty scholarship

Friday, April 21, 2023 • 12:15-4:00 p.m.
Forbes Center for the Performing Arts 

While Dr. Sparks’ legacy in the visual and performing arts is perpetually on display through the Forbes Center for the Performing Arts, Duke Hall Gallery of Fine Arts, and the Lisanby Museum, he was also deeply committed to supporting a range of scholarly activities that you might not see in a gallery or hear on a stage. As part of commemorating the George E. Sparks College of Visual and Performing Arts Scholarship Endowment, we invite you to join us for a showcase of the breadth of student and faculty research Dr. Sparks supported through CVPA Undergraduate Research Grants and CVPA Faculty Summer Grants, initiatives that have evolved into CVPA Development Grants.

We welcome you to join us for any of the following presentations:

Hear from faculty and students on how scholarship funds have driven their artistic growth through CVPA Undergraduate Research Grants, Faculty Development Awards and Student Development Awards. 

The Symposium is located in the Concert Hall at Forbes Center for the Performing Arts and the Reception is located in the Grand Lobby of Forbes Center.

12:15-12:20 pm | Welcome and Acknowledgments

12:21-12:27 pm | Maureen Shanahan (Zoom, prerecorded): “The French Colonial Subject in the Metropole (1914-39)”
12:27-12:32 pm | Shanahan (live on Zoom): Q&A 

12:33-12:39 pm | Ingrid De Sanctis: “Writing to Performance: Development of New Works”
12:39-12:44 pm | De Sanctis: Q&A 

12:44-12:50 pm | Nick Brinen: “Constructs of Local Knowledge”
12:50-12:55 pm | Brinen: Q&A 

12:56-1:02 pm | Mark Rooker: “Metal and Jewelry Video Lecture Creation”
1:02-1:07 pm | Rooker: Q&A 

1:08-1:14 pm | Rachel Rhoades: “Paths to Citizenship: Theatre Education Students and Community Newcomers Unite for Civic Participation"
1:14-1:19 pm | Rhoades: Q&A

1:20-1:26 pm | Rebecca Silberman: “Hidden Mothers and Invisible Birds: Reframing an Overlooked Genre and Arcane Photographic Process from a Contemporary ‘Art and Activism' Perspective”
1:26-1:31 pm | Silberman: Q&A 

1:32-1:38 pm | Jori Erdman: “Witness: Researching Southern Architecture through Interviews and Archives”
1:38-1:43 pm | Erdman: Q&A 

1:44-1:50 pm | Student Presentations, Caraline Christie & Aliza Matthews: “Dance in the Rain”
1:50-1:55 pm | Christie & Matthews: Q&A 

2:00-3:00 pm | Dennis Beck: 2022-2023 Madison Scholar Presentation

3:00-4:00 pm | Reception