The Humanities District

Happy December, everybody! In this episode we get a visit from the Dean. Dr. Wahl and I discuss building projects happening on campus at Missouri State University. We talk about new academic programs, the phases of the academic realignment, AI, the new digital humanities lab, and much more. Shawn enjoys books about motivation and leadership. In the conversation, he shares an example of book that has inspired him. The title of that book is Reframing Organizations: Artistry, Choice, and Leadership, by Bolman and Deal.

Shannon Cay is a visual journalist with The Daily Citizen. We talk about the making of her recent short documentary "Beyond the Veil: Exploring the psychic community in Springfield." We also discuss the Daily Citizen, how Shannon got her start in journalism, and much more. Thanks for listening.

Dr. Suzanne E. Walker-Pacheco is a Professor in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Gerontology at Missouri State University. She stopped by the Humanities District to share the inside story of Paws to the Polls, a nonpartisan voter participation and voter literacy campus initiative. ~ You can find the voter info guides we discussed as well as the videos we discussed here: https://publicaffairs.missouristate.edu/PTTP/default.htm ~ Thanks for listening! If youre listening to this conversation your web browser, please help me out by subscribing to the podcast for free on a podcast app such as Spotify, and tell a friend about the show. You can also reach me at [email protected]

**Interested in the Humanities District Fall Book Club? Click here!** ~ My guest this month is Andrew Crocker, an Instructor of Political Science at Ozarks Technical Community College (OTC) and the co-advisor for a student organization called Politically Active, a nonpartisan student-run group focused on improving the political literacy of Ozarks Tech students. ~ Andrew also co-hosts a podcast about OTC called Oh That's Cool. ~ The Humanities District is Springfield-based podcast hosted by me, Jay Howard. I talk to leaders in the arts, social sciences and humanities about their work in the community.

**Check out the Humanities District Book Club!** > The Last Human Job by Allison Pugh ~ My guest today is Dr. Leslie Baynes, Associate Professor in the department of languages cultures and religions at MSU. She teaches many classes on topics in Religious Studies including a class on apocalyptic literature and a class on C. S. Lewis, both of which I took in 2007. ~ Leslie is the author of the forthcoming book, "Incarnation and Imagination: C. S. Lewis and the Bible." She has visited the museum that holds Lewis's wardrobe, the library that holds many of his personal letters, the pub where the Inklings met, and even Lewis's house, the Kilns. ~ We talk about all things Lewis, including Leslie's recent participation in the inaugural cohort of the Inklings Project.