The second A Taste of Arts and Science was held March 14, 2009, at Memorial Union on the University of Missouri campus. Approximately 100 faculty, staff, alumni, students and friends attended the event, which consisted of entertaining lectures, stimulating conversations and wonderful food.
“It’s important to exercise your mind just like you do your body,” says Laura Perez-Mesa, an attendee of the event both years.
Doris Littrell, an MU alumna and retired staff member, helped make the event happen with a significant donation. “Without Doris’ donation, this event would not have been possible,” says Amanda Schlink, director of external relations for the college. “We are very appreciative of her involvement.”
The Arts and Science Alumni Association (ASAO) also contributed to the event. President Chris Stevens talked about ASAO’s activities throughout the year and encouraged everyone to get involved.
Award-winning professors from various departments within the college engaged the audience with their wit and wisdom.
Do Serious Musicians Have a Funny Bone?
The day began with lunch and Michael Budds, professor of music history and literature in the School of Music. Budds explored in commentary and musical examples the subject of humor in music. Using examples from the mid 1800s, Budds demonstrated humor in music. In the song “If You Only Got a Moustache” by Stephen Foster, young men are told that to be successful in love, you only need a moustache. The song suggests that it doesn’t matter if you have manners or style, birth or fame because all you really need is a moustache to be attractive to women.
Budds had other examples of humor in music that included a song about a beautiful woman causing upheaval in a town because people couldn’t stop staring at her. A policeman, the ice cream man and a judge all were victims of her beauty. Even the church choir was singing Amor instead of Amen in “Amor” by William Bolcom. Budds said his students didn’t always find these songs entertaining or humorous. However, by the snickers heard in the crowd on Saturday, this audience thought differently.
Mr. Playboy: Hugh Hefner and the American Dream
Steven Watts, professor of American intellectual and cultural history, talked about his recently published book, Mr. Playboy: Hugh Hefner and the American Dream, which has received national press by portraying the publisher of Playboy Magazine as not just a celebrity, but a figure who has molded contemporary values. Watts says Hefner is a historical figure and “not just another smut peddler.” In Watts’ four years of interviews and research for the book, he got to know Hefner well. He learned about Hefner’s romantic side, his strict weekly schedule and his almost obsessive love of movies. Watts attributes American consumerism in the post World War II era to Hefner and Playboy Magazine.
“Playboy Magazine served as a handbook for young men on how to be sophisticated,” says Watts. “The magazine helped to redefine the American dream by putting nails in the coffin of self denial and, instead, encouraged immediate gratification.” Watts ended his lecture by stating, “The attitude of having freedom of restriction and self-fulfillment has become the centerpiece of American modern consumer culture. So, in many ways, whether we like it or not, we kind of live in a Playboy world in the 21st century. And what we think of Hugh Hefner is what we really think of us.”
Real Men Don’t Sing: Masculinity and the Musical
Professor Judith Sebesta, of the Department of Theatre, talked about her recent research on depictions of masculinity in the American musical. The lecture included audio and video clips from various musicals depicting the six masculine stereotypes that have appeared in the American musical: the athlete, military man, cowboy, gangster/gang member, working-class man and the king. Sebesta says, “What I attempted to prove was that in actuality, “real men” DO sing (and dance) in the musical!”
Snapshots from the Heartland: Amateur Photography and the Recording of Small-town Life
Nancy West, professor of English, examined snapshot photography’s early development alongside the proliferation of works about small-town life between 1900 and 1925. Showing photographs archived at the Missouri State Historical Society, West asked the questions, “How did the snapshots contribute to the iconography of small towns?” And “What motivated townspeople as they took their snapshots?”
Prior to snapshots, people did not smile in photographs. It was considered vulgar to smile in a photograph, but the snapshot ushered in the smile, as was seen in the examples. West expressed concern that the photography of today does not lend itself to the ability to retain our history and recommended that we all put our snapshots in albums.
Peer Relationships in Adolescents: Are Girls Really “Better” at Friendship than Boys?
Amanda Rose, associate professor of psychological sciences, questioned the conclusions of previous research that girls are “better” friends than boys. Based on her recent research, Rose described weaknesses of girls’ friendships. For example, girls participate in co-rumination defined as extensively discussing and revisiting problems, speculating about problems and focusing on negative feelings with peers, which may cause depression and anxiety. Rose showed videos that displayed the difference in the communication methods between girls and boys. Girls were shown discussing, rediscussing and dwelling on negative thoughts. In the boys’ videos, however, none of this occurred, leading Rose to the conclusion that girls co-ruminate; boys do not. However, this does not necessarily mean that girls are better at friendship than boys; rather, their communication style is very different.
“How Mark Twain Changed his Very Own Mind”
The day concluded with a dinner program presented by Professor Tom Quirk of the English department who talked about Mark Twain. Quirk contended that Samuel Clemens was no more or less prejudiced than many young men of his class and condition. Over the years Clemens would form an opinion on a topic such as bigotry against blacks, Native Americans, Catholics and Jews and then over the course of several years would change his mind. Quirk examined how Clemens was able to alter his long-standing opinions.
For alumnus Larry Ross, now an associate professor of sociology and anthropology at Lincoln University, this event is the first he has attended since graduating in 1999 with a doctorate in anthropology. Steven Watts had influenced Ross with his book about the War of 1812, The Republic Reborn: War and the Making of Liberal America. “Today was a chance for me to meet someone who had an impact on me as an undergrad,” says Ross. “I marveled at his book. It really stands out as literature.”
Pat Weston, another attendee says, “This was so wonderful and a real asset to the university and to Columbia. I graduated 42 years ago, and this was one of the best experiences I have had as an MU alumna.”
Dean Michael J. O’Brien summed it up best in his closing remarks, “Today, we heard lectures about serious musicians who are funny, how Mr. Playboy shaped American culture, that masculinity does have a role in the musical, that snapshots of the heartland help tell our history, that co-ruminating habits of adolescent girls can be negative and how Mark Twain changed his own mind. Where else can you find such diversity other than in the College of Arts and Science?”
