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FSC professors present projects
at National Humanities Center

LAKELAND, Fla. (Sept. 16, 2002) - Florida Southern professors Stacey E. Boyette and Francis R. Hodges attended the National Humanities Center seminar in June. Entitled "You Must Remember This: The Creation and Uses of Cultural Memory," the seminar brought together faculty from various disciplines to discuss classic works and to explore cultural memory and how it shapes the identity of a community and a nation. The participants presented projects reflecting their interests in various cultures, memory and historical events. The seminar was funded by the Jessie Ball duPont Foundation and was designed for faculty from undergraduate teaching institutions who generally do not have extensive opportunities for research and inquiry into scholarly research, writing and discussion. 

Boyette, assistant professor of chemistry, used her interest in martial arts to study the use of Japanese cultural elements in American karate schools. "It occurred to me that 'traditional' martial arts schools across the United States cultivated and preserved a culture and memory borrowed from Japan." Her studies included a survey of 45 martial artists in five different Japanese karate styles. Boyette has been with FSC for two years. 

Hodges, professor of history and faculty member since 1978, presented a WEB-based project that reinterpreted cultural memory to include nostalgia, based on his thesis that people are more interested as a culture in nostalgia than in genuine memory. Elements of his project included the origin and sudden increase of building monuments and statutes from the Franco-Prussian War through World War I; current theme parks that incorporate "history land" in their attractions; and preservation projects such as Colonial Williamsburg. 

About Florida Southern College
Florida Southern is a four-year, private, co-educational liberal arts college affiliated with the United Methodist Church. The college offers more than 40 undergraduate majors and a master of business administration degree accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Located in Lakeland, Fla., the college is home to the largest, single-site collection of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture in the world.

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