College of Liberal and Applied Arts Virtual Camp

Session 1: Crime Scene Investigation

Date/Time: Tuesday, July 7, 2020 @ 2 p.m. CST
Session Presenter Name: Dr. Milt Hill
Subject Area: Criminal Justice
Presenter Email: hillmc3@sfasu.edu  

Session Description:
Students will be introduced to the why and how of crime scene investigation. Various topics related to collecting and preserving evidence will be discussed. The difference between crime scene investigation and forensics will be explained, and the importance of notetaking and good report writing will be emphasized.

Is this session right for me?
This session will discuss how to examine crime scenes including those involving murder. However, no graphic images or other depictions will be in use.

Session 2: Forensic Linguistics: Using Language in Legal Settings

Date/Time: Wednesday, July 8, 2020 @ 2 p.m. CST
Session Presenter Name: Dr. Chris Sams
Subject Area: Linguistics
Presenter Email: samsc@sfasu.edu

Session Description:
Forensic linguistics is a field that has been around since the 1960s but only recently gained popularity in the U.K., Spain and the U.S. Linguists use our knowledge of language in criminal and civil cases addressing cases involving threats, confessions and interrogations, ransom demands, deception detection, bribery, extortion, contract law and more. Dr. Sams will share some cutting-edge work he is doing in the use of emoji as courtroom evidence. SFA is the only undergraduate university in the U.S. with a regularly offered course in forensic linguistics and we also offer varying topics courses. Two of the program’s former students have gone on to Hofstra in New York to a highly competitive graduate program in forensic linguistics, the only forensic linguistics degree offered in the U.S.

Is this session right for me?
This session focuses on crime and language. While suicide notes relate to this topic, any discussion of suicide would be in passing.

Session 3: Law and Order: Crime in Literature, and Writing for Law School

Date/Time: Thursday, July 9, 2020 @ 2 p.m. CST
Session Presenter Name: Dr. Ken Untiedt
Subject Area: English and Creative Writing
Presenter Email: untiedtkl@sfasu.edu

Session Description:
A former police officer turned English professor, Dr. Untiedt will discuss how crime is depicted in literature, specifically in the True Crime Novel genre. He also will be able to help students discover if studying English or Technical Writing could be beneficial to those who plan to attend law school.

Is this session right for me?
No graphic images or depictions.

Session 4: Skateboarding: A Thoroughly American Sport

Date/Time: Monday, July 13, 2020 @ 2 p.m. CST
Session Presenter Name: Dr. Dianne Dentice
Subject Area: Sociology
Presenter Email: denticede@sfasu.edu

Session Description:
Dr. Dentice will introduce students to the sociology of sport, recreation and leisure with a brief history of its evolution and why it is an important subcategory of the broader discipline. The lecture content will focus on how skateboarding evolved from its roots in Southern California during the late 1950s and 1960s. She will discuss some of the major contributors to the sport and how it has become a billion-dollar industry thanks, in part, to the high-profile X Games. Although skateboarding is still male-dominated, snowboarding (its first cousin) is wide open (no pun intended) for female competitors such as Sparkle, the preteen phenom.

Is this session right for me?
The reason Dr. Dentice chose this topic - besides the fact that it is just plain fun – is that even though it took a long time for gender and race/ethnic diversity to infiltrate the sport, progress continues.

Session 5:  Health Communication: Examining Culture, Language Interpretation and Disparity

Date/Time: Tuesday, July 14, 2020 @ 2 p.m. CST
Session Presenter Name: Drs. Elizabeth Spradley and Mario Morera Jimenez
Subject Area: Communication Studies, Spanish, and Intercultural/International Communication
Presenter Email: espradley@sfasu.edu and morerajima@sfasu.edu

Session Description:
Focusing on healthcare contexts, this session examines the relationship of Latin American culture to health communication in the U.S. in three distinct ways: 1) language interpretation in clinical visits, 2) culture-centered approaches to health interventions and education materials, and 3) health disparities.

Is this session right for me?
No highly sensitive topics are planned for this session, but examples used will related to illness, clinical encounters, cultural differences and health disparities. Health communication is a growing field of study and practice that includes careers in patient education, patient services, healthcare marketing and community relations. Students interested in Spanish, intercultural communication, healthcare and communication competence should find the content stimulating.

Session 6: Time Management

Date/Time: Wednesday, July 15, 2020 @ 2 p.m. CST
Session Presenter Name: Sgt. 1st Class Levi Vernon
Subject Area: Life Skills and Leadership
Presenter Email: vernonl@sfasu.edu

Session Description:
This session will introduce successful time management tools and techniques to future students that they can apply now and in the future. The session will include hands-on activity that will be done in small breakout rooms to help students collaborate.

Is this session right for me?
This session does not include any sensitive topics.

Session 7: How TV Helps Us Feel Less Alone

Date/Time: Thursday, July 16, 2020 @ 2 p.m. CST
Session Presenter Name: Dr. Linda Levitt
Subject Area: Communication Studies
Presenter Email: levittlb@sfasu.edu
 
Session Description:
Do you ever feel like you know your favorite TV characters or social media influencers better than you know your neighbors? Do you ever put on reruns or stream video for background? Come learn more about the media theory called social surrogacy hypothesis that states that spending time with familiar TV characters is like spending time with friends.
 
Is this session right for me?
There is no sensitive content in this session. 

Session 8: 10 Tips to Becoming Famous Online

Date/Time: Monday, July 20, 2020 @ 2:00 p.m. CST
Session Presenter Name: Dr. Bailey Thompson
Subject Area: Public Relations and Social Media
Presenter Email: thompsonba@sfasu.edu

Session Description:
This session will focus on 10 tips to becoming famous online. The course will focus on several basic public relations and social media principles used by major brands, nonprofits, influencers, celebrities and athletes. Topics will include personal branding and reputation management, reaching the right audiences, posting great and effective content on social media, creating your own “voice” online and how to avoid major social media faux paus. Social media platforms that will be discussed include Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and Twitter.

Is this session right for me?
No sensitive topics in the session.

Session 9: VIP ACCESS: Behind the Scenes Tour of the Television Production Facilities

Date/Time: Tuesday, July 21, 2020 @ 2 p.m. CST
Session Presenter Name: Dr. Casey Hart
Subject Area: Mass Communication
Presenter Email: hartcb@sfasu.edu

Session Description:
In this session, we will open up our working television station and studio to give students a behind the scenes tour of what we do and teach in the Department of Mass Communication. We will discuss and demonstrate how cutting-edge broadcast technology works, discuss key ideas every starting media specialist needs to know and answer any media-related questions students may have.

Is this session right for me?
Are you interested in visual storytelling, broadcast journalism or high-tech communication? If the answer is yes, then this is the right place for you! This session will be fun, fast-paced and welcoming to everyone.

Session 10: Harry Potter and the Soul of Voldemort

Date/Time: Wednesday, July 22, 2020 @ 2 p.m. CST
Session Presenter Name: Dr. Anne C. Smith
Subject Area: Philosophy
Presenter Email: acsmith@sfasu.edu

Session Description:
The Harry Potter series may be for kids, but it also explores some pretty deep ideas. We will look at ways in which the series allows us to examine views of the soul from Plato and Anselm, especially as these views are dramatized in Voldemort's character arc.

Is this session right for me?
Parents who are concerned that the Harry Potter series promotes witchcraft may be uncomfortable with the Potter-centric emphasis of the class; however, nothing taught in the class will be counter to established religion. Students who have not yet read the Harry Potter series should be warned that the material discussed in class will include spoilers!

Session 11: Hip-hop as Intercultural Communication

Date/Time: Thursday, July 23, 2020 @ 2 p.m. CST
Session Presenter Name: Dr. Tyler Welsh
Subject Area: Communication Studies
Presenter Email: welshmt@sfasu.edu

Session Description:
Initially perceived by some as a passing fad or trend, hip-hop has exploded across the world as a globalized form of communication. Originally created by African Americans in the Bronx, hip-hop was an artistic form that explored the cultural, sociological and political facets of living in America while being black. Today, scholars from various fields understand hip-hop as a form of communication that offers an intercultural understanding of marginalized or oppressed backgrounds across the globe. This means of communication allows citizens from various backgrounds to express their realities in a universal language that can be understood by audiences anywhere. This session will offer a brief history on the origins of hip-hop and survey the impact of the genre as a cultural force across the world. More importantly, we will explore how hip-hop functions as a means of intercultural communication that rhetorically translates the reality of those living within “sites of resistance.”

Is this session right for me?
Due to the subject, this session will include some explicit language and references to controversial, political movements found across the world.

Session 12: The Native American Church: People, Plants and Place

Date/Time: Tuesday, July 28, 2020 @ 2 p.m. CST
Session Presenter Name: Dr. Darrel McDonald
Subject Area: Geography
Presenter Email: dmcdonald@sfasu.edu

Session Description:
The Native American Church, recognized by the federal government in 1918, has persisted as a positive element for American Indian members despite overt oppression from mainstream society. This session will explore NAC issues and 21st century trends affecting the church and its access to peyote, the sacrament of the NAC.

Is this session right for me?
The session will discuss peyote, the sacrament of the Native American Church.

Session 13: Typologies of Serial Killers

Date/Time: Wednesday, July 29, 2020 @ 2:00 p.m. CST
Session Presenter Name: Sylvia Middlebrook, Ph.D.
Subject Area: Forensic Psychology
Presenter Email: middlebrs@sfasu.edu

Session Description:
This session includes information related to and discussion of: definition of serial murder; archetypes of serial killers; myths regarding individuals who commit serial murders; developmental aspects of serial killers; phases of offenses; and typologies/motivations of serial criminals who murder. Session will include opportunity for Q/A.

Is this session right for me?
**Caution: This is a mature and sensitive topic with content that some students may find disturbing.
Students interested in psychological motivations and mind-sets of individuals who commit serial murders may find this session interesting. If you read crime fiction/non-fiction or follow media coverage, podcasts or television series of crime or high-profile criminals, this session will contain interesting information. Movies, TV shows, documentaries, and other media frequently depict and popularize (sometimes incorrectly) the concepts that will be discussed; however, only the individual student and his/her parent can determine if this would be an appropriate topic for interested students.

Session 14: Pandemics in History and Law

Session 14: Pandemics in History and Law
Date/Time: Thursday, July 30, 2020 @ 2:00 p.m. CST
Session Presenter Name: Don Gooch and Brook Poston
Subject Area: History and Law (or Poly Sci/Government)
Presenter Email: postonb@sfasu.edu

Session Description:
Drs. Poston and Gooch will examine the role pandemics play in history and law. Dr. Poston will look at the 1775 smallpox outbreak during the American Revolution, focusing specifically on General George Washington’s decision to inoculate the Continental Army and the parallels and implications for the current Covid-19 crisis. Dr. Gooch will then look closely at the current pandemic and legal implications of state mandated lockdowns, the differing legal approaches adopted by the various states and federal government, and the legal issues associated with the protests and social unrest that have followed the lockdowns.

Is this session right for me?
We will be discussing legal and ethical issues associated with pandemic, in which hundreds of thousands of people have succumbed to the disease and millions of people across the world, and in the United States, have been significantly impacted by the governmental response to the pandemic.