SOCIOLOGY The "Father" of Sociology at Augsburg College As Augsburg’s Department of Sociology celebrates its 60th anniversary this year, it is a good time to look back at how the program began. Or, rather, at who began it. Joel Torstenson came to Augsburg as a history major from rural West... Show moreSOCIOLOGY The "Father" of Sociology at Augsburg College As Augsburg’s Department of Sociology celebrates its 60th anniversary this year, it is a good time to look back at how the program began. Or, rather, at who began it. Joel Torstenson came to Augsburg as a history major from rural West Central Minnesota. After graduating in 1938, he worked in education for Farmer‘s Co- ops. He began teaching part-time at Augsburg upon earning a master’s degree in history and sociology. During the war years, he became involved in the Peace Movement and participated in establishing a cooperative farm community, which led to employment with Midland Cooperatives as an educational director and community organizer. In the fall of 1947, President Christensen invited him back to Augsburg to develop its programs in social work and sociology while completing his PhD in sociology at the University. Besides the introductory courses in sociology and social problems, he added courses in sociological theory, social psychology, racial and inter-group relations, and rural sociology. “As the instructor in rural sociology," Torstenson writes, “I sought to relate my experiences in the rural communities of my early life and those as an elementary school teacher in a rural community." His involvement in rural community life and culture continued through his service on the American Lutheran Church’s Rural Life Commission and through representing Augsburg at a conference on Lutheran Higher Education in Service to Rural People. “Through such participation in rural life activities, I sought to enliven my teaching with reflections on contemporary developments in rural America." i v.1. .u. a-uuz. tut-u. u. mu- Ills-L.|'.‘.l ItL Show less
eportment We balance a solid foundation of drawing, design, and history with technical skills, critical ‘ thinking, and creative exploration in a range of media. On-campus galleries showcase the work of students as well as established artists. An innovative faculty pairs creative curriculum for... Show moreeportment We balance a solid foundation of drawing, design, and history with technical skills, critical ‘ thinking, and creative exploration in a range of media. On-campus galleries showcase the work of students as well as established artists. An innovative faculty pairs creative curriculum for traditional disciplines in drawing, painting, ceramics, sculpture, and photography with emerging disciplines in hand papermaking, book arts, architecture, and digital media. Class sizes are small; we will get to know each other. All :4; : Photos by: Stephen Geffre Show less
AMERICANéIWJBIVES Exploring the images of Native American women in film M. Elise Marubbio. assistant professor of American Indian studies, spent hours in film archives in New York, Washington, and Los Angeles. studying how Native American women were portrayed in Hollywood films. In her recently... Show moreAMERICANéIWJBIVES Exploring the images of Native American women in film M. Elise Marubbio. assistant professor of American Indian studies, spent hours in film archives in New York, Washington, and Los Angeles. studying how Native American women were portrayed in Hollywood films. In her recently-published book, Killing the Indian Maiden: Images of Native American Women in Film. she analyzes the image that intrigued her the most that of the young Native woman who falls in love or is connected with a white hero and dies for this choice. Marubbio teaches Native American Women and Film, a course in American Indian Studies, Augsburg's newest department. While Augsburg has previously had a major and minor in American Indian studies, the creation of a department strengthens the College's commitment to creating a diverse community. Department chair Erik Buffalohead says that an AIS major or minor is valuable for students preparing to work in a variety of human services in business. health care. education. youth and family ministry. etc. “It‘s all about cultural understanding." Students can also study the Ojibwe language. American Indian Studies is made up of Native and non-Native students. who often take several courses with the same professor. The department works closely with Augsburg‘s American Indian Student Services program. “In the Great American Indian novel, when it is finally written. all of the white people will be Indians and all of the Indians will be ghosts." Sherman Alexie, “How to Write the Great American Indian Novel." “Even through you and l are in different boats. you in your boat and we our canoe, we share the same river of life. What befalls me befalls you. And downstream. downstream in this river of life, our children will pay for our selfishness, for our greed. and for our lack of vision."—-Oren Lyons What comes to mind when we see Indian people in traditional dress or pictures like the ones above? All too often it is a stereotypical assumption about ceremony, spirituality. and tribal culture. What the two quotes and the photographs present are the disconnects between what most people think of when they visualize American Indians and how American Indians think of themselves. And as Oren Lyons makes clear, the resulting gulf affects us all. As with Alexie‘s "ghosts." American Indians are elided out of contemporary focus because popular cultural representations of them are so firmly entrenched in American culture. American Indian Studies responds to these disconnects and the appropriation of Indianness, the telling of tribal histories. cultures. and worldviews from non—Native perspectives. American Indian Studies provides the Native voice in response to centuries of miscommunication, disinformation, and historical erasure. Here in Minnesota and the Twin Cities we are constantly interacting with each other in our neighborhoods and in business, government. healthcare. and education. We need to understand each other’s stories. Show less
Fulbright Scholar i'mma Sutton '09 always wanted to know more about people who were different from her neighbors 'ii'owmg up in a CaucaSIan, Irish Catholic neighborhood on Chicago's south side, Sutton said she never had ontact wrth people from other races. But her mother, a Chicago police officer... Show moreFulbright Scholar i'mma Sutton '09 always wanted to know more about people who were different from her neighbors 'ii'owmg up in a CaucaSIan, Irish Catholic neighborhood on Chicago's south side, Sutton said she never had ontact wrth people from other races. But her mother, a Chicago police officer, did My mother is very opinionated," she said. "so I was automatically driven to Investigate for myself if the things he said were true“ ~.nd investigate she did. Sutton's quest to learn about others eventually brought her to Greece, Turkey, the ;iitish Virgin Islands, and to Tanzania ln August 2009 she began a nine-month asSistantship in Indonesia caching English as a Fulbright Scholar i her studies abroad, Sutton learned about "different" peopleabout ways of liying and thinking that were iothing like those she experienced in Catholic grade school and high school "You need to have some ‘ackground about people to communicate With them when you don't have the same personal experiences" he believes her studies abroad and the Fulbright program help her better connect as a nurse and teacher to ieople around the world. -i‘ter she completes the Fulbright program Sutton plans to become a nurse and work With underserved \ipulations in the U S Her long-term goal is to work internationally in areas confronting poverty war, and .atural disaster “JIIOH came to Augsburg for two reasonsto play volleyball and to study soience She was Interested in ttending a DiviSion l|| school because she wanted to partICipate in a sport and have time to focus on cademics Augsburg gave her not only the opportunity to play volleyball for three years but to study biology :‘id chemistry on campus and abroad i Fall 2008 she spent a semester on the island of Zanzrbar studying coastal ecology and conducting =seaich on the blOdnel’SIIy of fish in the Nyange reef She spent hours under water identifying speCies and aining how the fishing industry has affected the reef. is a first~generation college student. Sutton said the Fulbright application process was challenging but ‘narding ‘lt uas one of the hardest things l have ever done in my life Between a full class schedule and .aiking part time as the peer 3d\ISOf for Augsburg Abroad she met With Dme Shafer director of Augsburg s undergraduate Research and Graduate Opportunity program, to write and revise her application essay . forced me to articulate n hat I named to do \\’|Ih the rest of my life she said “At the end lwas proud I told iyself it “as a great exerCise exen if I didn‘t get the scholarship Show less
