宾州州立大学白兰地酒 Assistant Teaching Professor of English Pat Hillen 和 four of her students recently presented at 布鲁斯·斯普林斯汀’s Darkness on the Edge of Town: An International Symposium. Pictured from left to right are Br和ywine students Ekaterina Iatsenko, Ruchiben帕特尔, 尼克·皮尔特和凯莉·伊佐.
媒体,爸爸. — While teaching one of her dream courses, Br和ywine Assistant Teaching Professor of English Pat Hillen led her students on a journey that culminated in a group presentation at an international symposium in New Jersey.
Hillen, a longtime 布鲁斯·斯普林斯汀 fan 和 scholar of pop culture, taught an American Studies course this spring, 《斯普林斯汀:研究与社会正义,” that explored the social implications of Springsteen’s musical career.
“我们大部分的新生, 18或19岁的时候, don’t necessarily know Springsteen’s music,海伦说。. “I was interested in teaching a course that would expose those students to an icon of American pop culture while focusing on the historic social impact of his work.”
同时, Hillen was preparing to present an overview of her course at an academic conference called 布鲁斯·斯普林斯汀’s Darkness on the Edge of Town: An International Symposium, which was held at 蒙茅斯大学 in New Jersey. She quickly recognized an opportunity to further connect her students with the course content.
“I came up with the idea to moderate a student panel presentation at the conference,” she said. “I selected a few outst和ing papers from my students 和 encouraged them to submit their work.”
最后, four of her students submitted papers to the conference. 四个人都被录取了, 和, 由海伦担任主持人, they worked together to lead their own panel discussion, which they titled “斯普林斯汀 Students Talk about a Dream.”
Ekaterina Iatsenko, 生物化学专业, presented a study about Springsteen’s 1988 concert in East Berlin, analyzing its contributions to the eventual destruction of the Berlin Wall 和 the end of the Cold War.
Management information systems major Nick Peart shared his study, 《蓝领骗子》,” which compared the lyrics 和 musical tendencies of Springsteen to those of modern rappers.
Aerospace engineering major Ruchiben帕特尔 traced Springsteen’s albums “Darkness,” “Nebraska” 和 “Wrecking Ball” to underscore their ongoing narrative about the realities of working-class life.
神经科学专业学生Kayleigh Izzo的论文, “斯普林斯汀, 列侬和歌词,” contrasted the social-justice views of 布鲁斯·斯普林斯汀 和 British contemporary John Lennon.
“They were the only undergraduates presenting at this conference, 和 they rightfully got a lot of attention,海伦说。. “The audience had lots of comments 和 feedback.”
The students also were interviewed by E-Street Radio, a Sirius XM radio channel that features 布鲁斯·斯普林斯汀’s music around the clock.
This year’s symposium celebrated the 40th anniversary of Springsteen’s 1978 album "Darkness on the Edge of Town" with discussion panels, 主讲人及, 当然, 音乐表演. 会议地点, 蒙茅斯大学, is home to the archives of 布鲁斯·斯普林斯汀’s special collections 和 boasts more than 30,000年控股. Hillen 和 14 of her students even had a chance to utilize the archive for their end-of-semester group presentations.
最后, the symposium became much more than an opportunity to learn — 和 teach others — about an icon of American pop culture.
“By looking at one man’s work 和 addressing the issues of language 和 culture within it, we were able to track Bruce’s legacy of social justice 和 apply it to our studies,海伦说。. “The fact that four of those students now have honors 本科研究 on their resumes is a bonus.”
