UPbeat

News for and about University of Portland faculty and staff.

Beckman Humor Project

Why Theology Needs Marie Kondo, Feb. 11

All are invited to the next installment in the popular “Why Theology Needs…” series from the Beckman Humor Project on Tuesday, February 11, at 7:15 p.m., in the Brian Doyle Auditorium (DB 004). Senior theology major  Andrew Plasker will explore Marie Kondo’s methodology for “tidying up” and how her attitudes toward cleaning can enrich spiritual practices and help us look at our faiths in new ways.

For ADA accommodations or more information contact the Garaventa Center at x7702 or garaventa@up.edu, or visit up.edu/beckmanhumor.

“The Undertaking,” Pomerleau Concert Series, Feb. 5

“The Undertaking,” part of the Rev. Claude Pomerleau Memorial Concert Series, will take place on Wednesday, February 5, at 7 p.m., in Hunt Center Recital Hall. A reception will follow.

An aging mother’s health teeters on the brink. Her adult daughter scrambles to find footing as her role shifts from child to authority figure. Death pounds at the door and they both wonder, “Could someone this ticked off actually be dying?” Through an interdisciplinary blend of music, movement, and theatrical storytelling, “The Undertaking” uses actor/dancers to portray the end-of-life care of an elder using Dmitri Shostakovich’s Piano Trio No. 2, played live by local music ensemble Northwest Piano Trio.

Featuring UP alumna Hannah Hillebrand ’05 and music faculty member Susan McDaniel, and directed by UP faculty/alumna Jessica Wallenfels, this performance is free to the UP community. Co-sponsored by the Garaventa Center, the Beckman Humor Project, the Fr. Claude Pomerleau Memorial Concert Series, the School of Nursing, and the Performing and Fine Arts Department. For ADA accommodations or more information contact Wallenfels at wallenfe@up.edu.

The Biology of Zombies: A Beckman Humor Project Event, Oct. 30

It’s not fiction! All are invited to be alternately horrified and entertained as UP biology student Ryan Kenton presents “The Biology of Zombies and Other Parasitic Tales,” a Beckman Humor event, on Wednesday, October 30, at 7:15 p.m., in Franz Hall room 120. Kenton will dive into the world of actual parasitic wasps, worms, and fungi that have been found to turn thousands of other species into assorted forms of “zombies”

Co-sponsored by the Beckman Humor Project and the Garaventa Center. For ADA accommodations or more information: x7702 or up.edu/garaventa.

Why Theology Needs Hipsters, Feb. 6

School of Education doctoral fellow Danielle Trollinger presents a humorous look at what hipsters have to offer the field of theology in her Beckman Humor Project event on Wednesday, February 6, at 7:15 p.m., in Franz Hall room 120.

Hipsters are drawn to craft beer, obscure cheeses, organic farms, hand-dipped candles, unconventional socks, and homemade preserves. They love the authentic, the vintage, and the obscure, which is exactly why theology needs them. Prior to attending UP, Trollinger taught theology for six years at a Catholic high school in Colorado, earning the Cura Personalis Teacher of the Year award for her commitment to teaching the whole person. That commitment infuses her current scholarly work on human formation, language and imagination.

For ADA accommodations or more information: garaventa@up.edu or x7702.

7-Minute Story Slam, Feb. 1

Who doesn’t love a great story that gets funnier the more times you tell it? All are invited to a 7-Minute Story Slam on Friday, February 1, at 7:30 p.m., in Franz Hall 120 (please note new venue!). All are welcome to enjoy an evening of hilarious tales and whimsical memories told by UP storytellers, each one taking a maximum of 7 minutes. Brought to you by the Beckman Humor Project and Actually Gavin Improv.

For more information, contact Georgia Paulk at paulk21@up.edu.

7-Minute Story Slam, Feb. 1: Share Your Funniest Story!

Who doesn’t love a great story that gets funnier the more times you tell it? All are invited to a 7-Minute Story Slam on Friday, February 1, at 7:30 p.m., in Mago Hunt Recital Hall. Enjoy an evening of hilarious tales and whimsical memories told by UP storytellers, each one taking a maximum of 7 minutes, brought to you by the Beckman Humor Project and Actually Gavin Improv. Want to be part of the event? All UP students, faculty, and staff are invited to submit their own true story that captures life’s humor no later than January 18. It’s not a competition, but we do need to hear your story aloud ahead of time.
For questions or to submit a story, contact Georgia Paulk at paulk21@up.edu by January 18.

Beckman Humor Project Funding Available

This is a reminder from one of last May’s Faculty Development Day sessions that the Beckman Humor Project fund exists to help faculty and students fund just about any kind of project that uses humor as a gentle, sideways weapon against the forces of darkness. Applications for funding roll through the year, and can be downloaded from the Beckman Humor Project website. For specific questions, please contact Karen Eifler, Garaventa Center, at eifler@up.edu.

 

“It’s Alive!” Beckman Humor Lecture, Oct. 24

Justin Yeakel will offer a free lecture, “It’s Alive! Competition, Extinction, and the Ecology of Reanimation,” on Wednesday, October 24, at 7:15 p.m., in Franz Hall room 120. In his talk, Yeakel will plumb the surprising wisdom of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein with regard to competitive forces and survival in ecological communities. Yeakel is one part paleoecologist, two parts theoretical biologist, a recovering anthropologist, and a fan of science fiction and cosmic horror. He is a professor of theoretical ecology at UC Merced, and lives in Gilroy, Calif. (“Garlic Capital of the World”) to avoid the undead.

Yeakel’s lecture is part of the Beckman Humor Project and is free and open to all. Sponsored by the Garaventa Center. For ADA accommodations or more information call x7702 or email garaventa@up.edu.

“Why Theology Needs Lord of the Rings,” Feb. 6

UP theology students Ally Liedtke and Niko Strom with Professor David Turnbloom offer the latest installment in the “Why Theology Needs…” series from the Beckman Humor Project on Tuesday, February 6 at 7:15 p.m., in the Bauccio Commons Dining Room. In their talk, Liedtke and Strom present a humorous look at what The Lord of the Rings fantasy phenomenon has to offer the field of theology. For ADA accommodations or more information: garaventa@up.edu or x7702.

 

“Humor In Nursing” Talk with Hob Osterlund: Feb. 7

osterlundWriter, photographer, and advanced practice nurse Hob Osterlund will present “Humor in Nursing: How to Find Time to Laugh When There’s Zero Time for Lunch” on Tuesday, February 7, at 7:15 p.m., in the Bauccio Commons. Osterlund’s talk is sponsored by the Garaventa Center, the School of Nursing, and the Beckman Humor Project and is free and open to all.

Osterlund founded Hawaii’s first inpatient pain and palliative care program at The Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu. She also principal investigator for the Comedy in Chemotherapy (COMIC) Study, where she and her colleagues were the first to conduct a randomized controlled trial demonstrating the positive impact of comedy on the symptoms of cancer and chemotherapy. She will discuss the nursing profession as “one of the highest and hardest trapeze acts youʻll ever see,” where nurses face impossible situations on a daily basis: trying to balance on a high wire between cost-cutting and enormously expensive interventions, between doctorsʻ orders and the reality of patient care, between compassion for others and boundaries with them, between keeping people alive and allowing them to die, and many more.

For more information contact the Garaventa Center at x7702 or garaventa@up.edu.