Please join us on Thursday, April 13 at 4 p.m. in Falvey Library’s Speakers’ Corner for a Scholarship@Villanova talk featuring Alessandra Seggi, PhD, Visiting Professor, Department of Sociology and Criminology. Dr. Seggi will present a talk titled “Youth and Suicide in American Cinema: All the Silence We Don’t Talk About.“

A large project, which culminated in the publication of Youth and Suicide in American Cinema: Context, Causes, and Consequences (Palgrave Macmillan, 2022), examined the portrayal of youth and suicide in American films (N=187) from 1900 to 2019, with particular attention to the context, causes and consequences of suicide. It also teased out insidious yet fascinating social dynamics around suicidality involving both the suicidal individual and their friends and family. The analysis concluded that the portrayal of youth and suicide in film is controversial, or at least unbalanced, inconsistent, limited, and at times simplistic. Other times it can be stifling in its brutal honesty, yet rich and thought-provoking. Hence, rather than obliterate or block certain content from reaching audiences, or suggest certain reactions to audiences, young audiences need to think for themselves and question the media.

A proactive approach for audiences to interpret film messages can help youth—a media literacy strategy to embrace as active social players, while watching these films. This is a tool for empowering audiences, and helping them watch and analyze films as engaged citizens, and ultimately “for strengthening young people’s participation in civic and political life” (Hobbs, 2011, p. 421–422). Indeed, only when audiences are able to tease apart the varied, nuanced, transient, complex media messages, are they able to negotiate meaning for themselves, act as engaged social players, and perhaps begin to comprehend suicidality, and “heal the hearts or settle the minds of those left behind in its dreadful wake” (Jamison, 1999, p. 18).

Importantly, silence, by intruding into several interactions, dramatically alters them. Yet, it rarely gets talked about. So, for example, the physical and emotional consequences of suicidality on the suicidal individual are almost never tackled in film. The consequences of suicidality on the bereaved are even more infrequent object of conversation. There are yet other ways for silence to complicate relationships and affect someone’s suicidality. Silence hides complicity, when not voicing our concerns when we have some, or not speaking up in front of injustice, or not seeking help when in a crisis. It also demonstrates how we become complicit in perpetuating injustice, how we might aggravate our condition, or how we might perpetuate a life in suicidal mode, as well as perpetuating the path of least resistance. Only a few films, notably Captain Fantastic, Permanent Record, and Surviving Family, offer a vivid depiction of the desolation that friends and family experience after a suicide. Beyond the Lights shows how being embedded in a web of social relationships can offer the suicidal individual mixed messages—on the one hand, suicidality is not to be talked about; on the other, asking for and receiving help are essential steps in one’s recovery. A few other exceptional films from different eras and with varying styles, such as A Girl Like Her, Something Wild and Full Metal Jacket, showcase how silence exacerbates the consequences of trauma.

This ACS-approved event, co-sponsored by Falvey Library, the Department of Sociology and Criminology and the Department of Communication, is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served.

References:

Hobbs, R. (2011). The state of media literacy: A response to Potter. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 55(3), 419–430.

Jamison, K. R. (1999). Night falls fast: Understanding suicide. Vintage Books.

Please join us on Friday, Nov. 4 from 2-3 p.m. in Falvey Memorial Library’s Room 205 for a Scholarship@Villanova event featuring Alan Drew, MFA, associate professor of English, and director of Villanova University’s Creative Writing Program. Drew will be talking about his recently published book, The Recruit: A Novel (Random House, 2022) in conversation with Jean Lutes, PhD, Professor of English, Luckow Family Endowed Chair in English Literature.

The Recruit follows Detective Benjamin Wade and forensic expert Natasha Betencourt as they try to connect a series of strange and unsettling crimes in Rancho Santa Elena, Southern California, in 1987. Ben soon discovers that a gang of youths may be responsible for the crimes and focuses in on their latest recruit, hoping that he will lead to uncovering the leader and mastermind of the operation. Ultimately, what they uncover is an extensive and powerful network of white supremacists and so much more.

The Recruit is Drew’s third book. His other works include Shadow Man (Random House, 2017) and Gardens of Water (Random House, 2008). Drew received his MFA at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop at the University of Iowa. In addition to teaching English classes and directing Villanova University’s Creative Writing Program, he is the director of the Villanova Literary Festival.

This ACS-approved event is co-sponsored by the Department of English, the Creative Writing Program, and Falvey Memorial Library. Light refreshments will be served.

Word of the Week: Vernal Equinox (also known as: Spring Equinox, March Equinox) 

Yesterday marked the official first day of Spring! Each year spring is marked by the vernal equinox, which falls around March 20 or 21 and is when the Sun crosses the celestial equator going north. 

Equinoxes occur when the axis of rotation of the earth is exactly parallel to the direction of motion of the earth around the sun. Day and night are about the same length on this day, hence the name “equinox.” The name is derived from the Latin aequus (equal) and nox (night). 

Now that we’ve passed the vernal equinox, be prepared for earlier sunrises, later sunsets, softer winds, and sprouting plants—all signs that Spring is here.  

This Week at Falvey  

NOW–Wednesday, June 15

“That Fairyland of Ice”: Polar Exploration in Mind and Memory Exhibit | Falvey First Floor & Virtual | Free & Open to the Public 

Monday, March 21 

Mindfulness Mondays | 1–1:30 p.m. | Virtual | https://villanova.zoom.us/j/98337578849 

Monday, March 21 

The Interfaith Human Library: Where Books Talk and We All Learn About Life in a Multi-Faith World | 4:30–6 p.m. | Speakers’ Corner | Register Here 

Tuesday, March 22 

Scholarship@Villanova–Billie Murray, PhD, on Combating Hate: A Framework for Direct Action | 4–5:15 p.m. | Room 205 | Find more info here 

Wednesday, March 23

2022 Falvey Forum Workshop Series: Introduction to Digital Archives and Research | 12–1 p.m. | Virtual | Register Here 

Thursday, March 24  

Spring 2022 Digital Seeds Lecture: Matthew Bui, PhD, on “Toward Urban Data Justice: Auditing the Racial Politics of Data” | 4 p.m. | Virtual | Register Here 

Friday, March 25

Villanova Gaming Society Meeting | 2:30–4:30 p.m. | Speakers’ Corner | Free & Open to the Public 

This Week in History 

March 23, 1839 – “OK” enters national vernacular  

On March 23, 1839, the initials “O.K.” are first published in The Boston Morning Post, partially as a joke. It was meant as an abbreviation for “oll korrect,” a popular slang misspelling of “all correct.” However, “OK” then steadily made its way into the everyday speech of Americans. 

In the late 1830s, many younger people would misspell words intentionally, then abbreviate them and use them as slang. Some examples include “KY” for “no use” (“know yuse”) and “OW” for all right (“oll wright”).  

OK rose above the rest and made its way into common vernacular even to this day in part thanks to the Boston Morning Post. From there, its popularity continued when it was picked up by politicians at the time. 

Read more from History.com. 

Jenna Renaud is a Graduate Assistant in Falvey Memorial Library and a Graduate Student in the Communication Department.

By Ethan Shea

On Friday, Nov. 12, from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., Professor Bess Rowen will be giving a talk in room 205 of Falvey Library as a part of the Scholarship@Villanova program. All Scholarship@Villanova talks are sponsored by Falvey and serve the purpose of recognizing research contributions of Villanova faculty members. This tradition has been ongoing since 2004, and all presentations continue to be free and open to the public.

Professor Rowen received her MA in Performance Studies from New York University and her PhD in Theatre and Performance from The Graduate Center at CUNY. Her talk is titled “Impossible Things Are Happening Every Day: The Possibilities of Impossible Stage Directions.”

Dr. Rowen has published a book-length study on stage directions, making her the perfect speaker for this talk focused on scripts’ unspoken lines. Professor Rowen’s book is titled The Lines Between the Lines: How Stage Directions Affect Embodiment, and copies will be available for purchase at the talk.

Because of the inherent limits of the stage’s physical space, stage directions may seem impossible to fulfill at times, but Rowen claims this impossibility creates unique opportunities for creativity. In addition to stage directions, Rowen is interested in gender and sexuality theory, female playwrights, Irish theatre, and theatrical riots.

Falvey Memorial Library has plenty of resources for theatre-loving Villanovans. Within the subject guide for theatre, you can find several databases and access points to various primary sources that will help you find the information you need for your research. Not to mention the countless books concerning theatre on the shelves of Falvey’s stacks!

Now is the perfect time to attend an event focused on theatre. Given that Villanova Theatre’s second production of the season, Beckett Bites, will be performed from Nov. 4 to 14, this talk will be excellent food for thought to supplement your viewing experience, so make sure you don’t miss out on this exciting event!

Ethan Shea is a first-year English Graduate Student at Villanova University and Graduate Assistant at Falvey Memorial Library.

On Tuesday, Sept. 14 at 5 p.m., Dr. Mark Lawrence Schrad will give a book talk on Smashing the Liquor Machine in Falvey Memorial Library’s Speakers’ Corner. The event is free and open to the public. All visitors to campus, regardless of vaccination status, are required to wear masks inside campus buildings. 

About Mark Schrad, PhD 

Mark Lawrence Schrad is an Associate Professor of Political Science in Villanova University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, where he teaches graduate and undergraduate courses on Russian politics and history, post-communist democratization, comparative politics, international law, international organizations, and globalization. 

About Smashing the Liquor Machine: A Global History of Prohibition 

In a new book, Smashing the Liquor Machine (Oxford University Press, 2021), Mark Lawrence Schrad, PhD, offers an international history of alcohol prohibition—redefining it as a progressive, global, pro-justice movement that affected virtually every significant world leader from the 18th through the early 20th centuries.  

Smashing the Liquor Machine offers a wide-ranging, revisionist history of the effort to ban the predatory liquor traffic—and corrects distortions about those who supported Prohibition across the centuries. He examines anti-alcohol movement around the globe through the experiences of pro-temperance leaders like Vladimir Lenin, Leo Tolstoy, Mahatma Gandhi, and anti-colonial activists across Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. In addition, he places temperance in a global context, showing how the movement often aligned with progressivism, social justice, liberal self-determination, democratic socialism, labor rights, women’s rights, and indigenous rights. 

Smashing the Liquor Machine gives voice to minority and subaltern figures who resisted the global liquor industry, and further highlights that the impulses that led to the temperance movement were far more progressive and variegated than American readers have been led to believe. 

More About Temperance 

If you are interested in learning more about the temperance movement, check out this Special Collections and Digital Library exhibit on the 19th century writings of Samuel Alanson Lane. Lane was a strong supporter of the temperance movement and traveled the country talking at various temperance conventions. The exhibit includes writings from Lane as well as temperance propaganda, advertisements, and pledges.  

Other Books by Mark Lawrence Schrad 

Schrad, M. L. (2014). Vodka politics: Alcohol, autocracy, and the secret history of the Russian state. Oxford University Press. 

Schrad, M. L. (2010). The political power of bad ideas: Networks, institutions, and the global prohibition wave. Oxford University Press. 

Jenna Renaud is a graduate student in the Communication Department and graduate assistant in Falvey Memorial Library.

Photo by Kallie Stahl

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Dean Adele Lindenmeyr, PhD, captivated audience members in a packed Speakers’ Corner on Wednesday, sharing discoveries from her recently published biography of Sofia Panina (1871-1956). Dr. Lindenmeyr described her 20-year journey researching the life and work of one of the most remarkable women of the generation that made the Russian Revolution.

Kallie Stahl ’17 MA is Communication and Marketing Specialist at Falvey Memorial Library.