Named after our seminar room, The Virtual Jewel Box hosts conversations at the Obert C. and Grace A. Tanner Humanities Center at the University of Utah (tanner.utah.edu). We share research, commentary, interviews, dialogue, and storytelling from across humanities disciplines. Views expressed on The Virtual Jewel Box do not represent the official views of the Center or University.
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Mistrusting the news, with Jake Nelson and Robert Carson
52:21
52:21
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52:21Under what conditions do people trust the news, if at all? How did Covid lockdown change news consumption? What are we to think of journalists who leave establishment news organizations and build their own following on platforms like Substack? And does our mistrust of news organizations mirror mistrust of other professional sectors, like health car…
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Dr. Strangelove, the Cold War, and American culture, with Matt Basso and Megan Weiss
39:35
39:35
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39:35Matt Basso and Megan Weiss discuss the iconic film, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. They explore the film’s historical context, its satirical take on Cold War politics, and its depiction of gender. The Red and Lavender Scares, consumerism, and militarization all helped set the stage for the Cold War culture lam…
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Cultures of the Black diaspora, with Louis Chude-Sokei and Scott Black
47:00
47:00
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47:00Louis Chude-Sokei, author of Floating in a Most Peculiar Way, discusses the Black diaspora, sound, accent, masculinity, Afrofuturism, dub music, and AI with Scott Black. Links: Louis Chude-Sokei, Floating in a Most Peculiar Way Louis Chude-Sokei, The Last “Darky”: Bert Williams, Black-on-Black Minstrelsy, and the African Diaspora Louis Chude-Sokei,…
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Writing in the age of AI, with Lizzie Callaway and Scott Black
32:41
32:41
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32:41Why learn to write in the age of artificial intelligence? Elizabeth Callaway, Assistant Professor of English at the University of Utah, talks with Scott Black about writing pedagogy with and about AI. Links: Josh Dzieza, “Inside the AI Factory” Ethan Mollick, “I, Cyborg: Using Co-Intelligence” NYT review of Chris Hayes, The Siren’s Call: How Attent…
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Oscar Wilde in Utah, with Randell Hoffman and Robert Carson
1:04:18
1:04:18
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1:04:18In 1882, Oscar Wilde visited Utah during his famous lecture tour of the United States. Local historian Randell Hoffman discusses the scandals of Wilde's visit, and the Victorian-era conventions that Wilde challenged. Robert Carson examines Wilde's lectures on the importance of beauty and his provocations about taste and artificiality. Links: Michèl…
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Sex and the Planet, with Peggy Battin and Jim Tabery
25:17
25:17
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25:17What if advances in technology were already changing the causal logic of human reproduction which is now taken for granted? Could pregnancy shift from an event which some opt out of through prevention or termination, to an intentional, elective choice? How should such a system work, and what would be its likely consequences? These questions compris…
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Bloodborne and the Aesthetics of Video Games, with Nathan Wainstein and Michael W. Clune
35:47
35:47
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35:47Nathan Wainstein (Assistant Professor of English at the University of Utah) discusses his new book, Grant Us Eyes: The Art of Paradox in Bloodborne. Joining him is Michael W. Clune (Samuel B. and Virginia C. Knight Professor of Humanities at Case Western Reserve University). See also: Video Games: The Artistic Medium of the Future. Introduced by Ro…
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On Death and Memory: Alice Dailey, author of Mother of Stories, with Lindsey Drager
28:09
28:09
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28:09Alice Dailey recounts the life and death of her mother, who was “a gifted teacher, a passionate reader, and a pathological liar.” Dailey is Professor of English and Director of Faculty Affairs at Villanova University. She discusses her scholarly memoir, Mother of Stories: An Elegy, with Lindsey Drager (Assistant Professor of English, University of …
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Introduction from the Tanner Humanities Center
11:48
11:48
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11:48Scott Black, Director / Robert Carson, Associate Director / Beth James, Administrative Director. Episode edited by Ethan Rauschkolb. Named after our seminar room, The Virtual Jewel Box hosts conversations at the Obert C. and Grace A. Tanner Humanities Center at the University of Utah. Views expressed on The Virtual Jewel Box do not represent the of…
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