/news-archive/tag/andrew-amstutz/ 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Mon, 04 Mar 2019 17:39:13 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 /news-archive/2019/03/04/becoming-american/ Mon, 04 Mar 2019 17:39:13 +0000 /news/?p=73615 ... 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock, community partners to host six-week film, discussion series on immigration in America]]> The grant was awarded to听糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 Ottenheimer Library and Anderson Institute on Race and Ethnicity, as well as the Central Arkansas Library System (CALS), El Zocalo, and Philander Smith College. 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock is one of only 32 cultural and educational institutions in the U.S. selected to participate in the 鈥淏ecoming American鈥� series, a project by Cite Lore in collaboration with the Immigration and Ethnic History Society and the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience. The series events, which are free and open to the public, will feature documentary film screenings and scholar-led discussions designed to encourage an informed discussion of immigration issues against the backdrop of our immigration history. The discussion will include topics like immigration and work, the history of immigration in American, prejudice against immigrants, and immigration in popular culture. Events include the following:

• 听听听听听Thursday, March 7, 6 p.m. 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Downtown. 鈥淭he Century of Immigration: 1820-1934鈥� chronicles the period when 40 million immigrants entered the U.S., making immigration a major and defining aspect of American life. Film excerpts from 鈥淣ew York: A Documentary Film鈥� and 鈥淭he Jewish Americans鈥� followed by a discussion led by Marta Cieslak, assistant professor of history.
• 听听听听听Thursday, March 14, 5:30 p.m. CALS Williams Library. 鈥淏etween Two Worlds: Identity and Acculturation鈥� looks at how immigrants react and adjust to living in a new country and culture, and how they bridge the divide between the traditions and values of their native countries. Film excerpts from 鈥淭he New Americans鈥� followed by a discussion by Neveen Shafeek Amin, assistant professor of sociology and anthropology.
• 听听听听听Saturday, March 23, 3 p.m. CALS Dee Brown Library. 鈥淔amily and Community鈥� explores how family ties and community institutions have played an essential role in successful migration and adaptation to American life. Film excerpts from 鈥淢y American Girls鈥� followed by a discussion led by Adriana Lopez-Ramirez, assistant professor of sociology.
• 听听听听听Tuesday, March 26, 5:30 p.m. 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Ottenheimer Library Room 535. 鈥淧romise and Prejudice鈥� explores the tension 鈥� historic and current 鈥� between Americans鈥� acceptance of immigrants, including the celebration of their own immigrant heritage, versus the periodic backlash prompted by concern about the economic and cultural effects of newcomers. Film excerpts from 鈥淲elcome to Shelbyville鈥� followed by a discussion led by Brian Mitchell, assistant professor of history.
• 听听听听听Thursday, April 11, 6 p.m. CALS Nixon Library. 鈥淗elp Wanted? Immigration and Work鈥� looks at the economic side of immigration, chronicling the essential part immigrant labor has played in building America, as well as the conflicted relationship American workers have had with immigrants. Film excerpt of 鈥淒estination America鈥� followed by a discussion led by Brian Mitchell, assistant professor of history.
• 听 听 听Tuesday, April 16, 7 p.m. CALS Ron Robinson Theater. 鈥淚mmigration and Popular Culture鈥� examines the ways the media and popular culture have historically taught newcomers how to 鈥渂e American,鈥� and how the rich contributions of different immigrant groups have transformed American culture and art. Film excerpt of 鈥淭he Search for General Tso鈥� by Ian Cheney followed by a discussion led by Andrew Amstutz, assistant professor of history.

]]> /news-archive/2019/02/25/urdu-book-donation/ Mon, 25 Feb 2019 18:03:23 +0000 /news/?p=73531 ... 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock receives donation of Urdu book collection]]> When Dr. Andrew Amstutz was a child, he was fascinated by tales of the adventures of family members who once lived on the other side of the world.听 鈥淪ome of my family members served as teachers and missionaries in India and Pakistan,鈥� said Amstutz, assistant professor of history at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. 鈥淢y grandfather went to boarding school in India, and my great-grandfather was a bishop. There are tidbits of family history that got me very interested in the area. Some of my relatives studied Urdu, and I wanted to learn more as well.鈥� Urdu is the official national language of Pakistan and is one of 22 officially recognized languages of India. As a graduate student at Cornell University, Amstutz spent two years studying the language at the American Institute of Indian Studies in Lucknow, India before conducting research on the history of Urdu as a Fulbright scholar. Before coming to 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock, he served as a Mellon postdoctoral fellow at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he studied a collection of 87 volumes of Urdu books that previously belonged to, an American-based Pakistani scholar of literature and religion and late professor of Urdu language and literature at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. 鈥淒r. Memon is significant because he donated his books to the University of Wisconsin-Madison,鈥� Amstutz said. 鈥淭he university already had many of the books in their library, and they wanted to find a good home for the collection. When I came to 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock, I suggested the university donate the collection to Ottenheimer Library. I want to thank the Center for South Asia and the University Library at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for making this possible.鈥� The collection consists of novels, short stories, books of poetry, Urdu dictionaries, and literary journals and criticism from the 1930s to early 2000s. The collection represents a unique reflection of vernacular publishing in India and Pakistan in the 20th century. As the editor of the only literary journal in the United States about Urdu that was published in English, Memon collected an impressive Urdu library. 鈥淒r. Memon was a key figure in the translation of literature from Urdu to English,鈥� Amstutz said. 鈥淪omething that shows the books鈥� connection to Dr. Memon is that many are inscribed to him with a note from the author. I feel that since Dr. Memon was such an influential translator, 听some Urdu authors might have sent him their books in the hope that he would decide to translate or promote their books, which would have largely increased the audience by making it available to English readers.鈥� Once processed, the books will be available to the public on the fourth floor of Ottenheimer Library. 鈥淭he Ottenheimer library is pleased to have the opportunity to add this unique collection of Urdu materials to its resources,鈥� said J.B. Hill, director of Ottenheimer Library. 鈥淲e welcome the interest of those in the community who read Urdu and those whose research centers on Urdu literature and criticism. We especially thank Andrew Amstutz for his help and work in bringing this collection to the university.鈥� Amstutz hopes that the collection will help connect the growing Pakistani and South Asian communities with the university. 鈥淚 am working on reaching out to the local Indian and Pakistani communities to let them know that the collection is here,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 also hope it will encourage others to donate their Urdu books to 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock, so the collection will continue to grow. In the years to come, I hope many people come to 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock to learn about the Urdu language, literature, culture.鈥� Over the next year, Amstutz plans to work with the library to acquire English translations that have been published of some of the books. 鈥淭hat will enable these texts to be taught in the classroom and be more widely available to the people of Little Rock,鈥� he said.]]>