End-of-semester reminders

Best wishes to everyone for a successful exam week and a good conclusion to the semester.

Some reminders:

1. The Department may be closed any day after 4 pm, especially during exam week. If you are coming to turn in a paper, make sure to arrive before 4 pm or verify arrangements with your instructor.

2. Save a copy of your papers, take-home finals, etc. on an easily accessible USB drive or the hard drive of a computer that you will have access to after you leave town. In case of a snafu, you will want to be able to easily re-send or re-print your paper.

3. Papers and exams will be available to pick up in the Department office after the beginning of the semester in January. Some of your instructors may have the exams/papers ready for pick-up at the beginning of the week of the 15th.
Please come by the office at some point in the next semester to pick up your work. Papers not picked up will be discarded after two semesters.

4. I recommend saving your graded papers until after you have graduated and been admitted to graduate/professional school. When you ask faculty for letters of recommendation for graduate school or for other applications (study abroad programs, internships, scholarships, etc.) many will ask you to send them a resume, a statement of purpose and copies of the work you did for them. If you have their graded, marked-up copies of your papers, you will make the process easier for all.

Good luck with writing and exam-taking. I wish everyone a good winter break and a happy new year. And if you celebrate a religious or cultural festival at this time of year, the very best of wishes for that holiday as well.

Pitt Alumni Association Graduate Scholarship

Pitt Alumni Association Graduate Scholarship - $5,000
and
Dr. and Mrs. Alexander Minno Student Resource Award - $1,000.

Awards will be applied directly to the recipient’s tuition account for Fall ‘09. Each is a one-time, merit-based award, open to both continuing students and those just entering graduate study in any of the University’s schools or colleges. Additionally, in order to be eligible to receive this scholarship, the student must have received his/her undergraduate degree from the University of Pittsburgh.

For an application contact Laraine Hlatky as listed below. Completed application and supporting material must be returned to the Alumni Center, Suite 140, Alumni Hall, no later than February 13 2009. Questions regarding either award should be directed to Laraine Hlatky at Laraine.Hlatky@ia.pitt.edu or 412-624-5589.

December 10 Lecture: "Abraham Circumcises Himself"

"Abraham Circumcises Himself:
A Scene at the Endgame of Jewish Utility to Christian Art"

Wednesday, December 10th
3:00 p.m.

University of Pittsburgh
Frick Fine Arts, room 125

Marcia Kupfer is currently on leave from Johns Hopkins University and
teaching in the Art History Department at Ohio State University.

This talk is co-sponsored by the Department of History of Art and
Architecture, the Jewish Studies Program, and the Center for Medieval and
Renaissance Studies.

SPRING SCHEDULE CHANGE

RELGST 1740 "Meaning, Mystery, and Paradox" has been cancelled.
A second section of Philosophy of Religion has been added on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:30-10:45 (RELGST 0715/37723 = PHIL 0473/37724)

Congratulations to Professor Bakic-Hayden!

Professor Penkower writes:

Please join me in congratulating our colleague, Milica Bakic-Hayden, on
being elected as the incoming president of the North American Society of
Serbian Studies (NASSS), which works under the umbrella of the American
Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies (AAASS). For the past
several years, Milica had been serving as vice-president of the NASSS.

December 13: Japanese Tea Ceremony

If you will be in Pittsburgh on Saturday, December 13th (for students, the last day of final exams at Pitt), we invite you to join us for a traditional Japanese tea ceremony lecture and demonstration, to be performed by Sen So-oku, tea master and successor to the head of Japan’s Mushakouji Senke school of tea ceremony (founded in 1667). Mr. Sen is one of the world’s top practitioners of tea ceremony, and we invite you to come and learn more about this art with us. Please feel free to email this announcement to anyone who may be interested in attending.

This event is open to the public, but please see the announcement below for details:

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Please join us for a lecture and demonstration on the art of the traditional

Japanese Tea Ceremony


Saturday, December 13th, at 2:30 PM

University of Pittsburgh Book Center
4000 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213

The art of the Japanese tea ceremony was perfected by tea master Sen-no-Rikyû in the late 16th century, and after his death, the art of chadô was passed down through the generations. Sen So'oku, the oldest son of the current grand tea master of the Mushakouji Senke school is the fourteenth generation tea master of Sen-no-Riykû’s descendants. Join us to learn more about the history and art of tea ceremony from one of the world’s foremost experts!


To guarantee admission, please RSVP to Jennifer Murawski by email at jennm@pitt.edu or by phone to 412-383-3062. (Those who do not RSVP are welcome to attend, but guests who have registered may have a chance to participate in the ceremony.)


Sponsored by the Asian Studies Center, the University Center for International Studies, the Japan Iron and Steel Federation and Mitsubishi Endowments, the University of Pittsburgh Book Center, the Consulate General of Japan in New York, Japan America Society of Pennsylvania, and the Pittsburgh Japanese School.

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Jennifer Murawski
Assisant Director of Educational Outreach, Asian Studies Center
4133 Wesley W. Posvar Hall
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
(p) 412-383-3062
(f) 412-624-4665
(w) www.ucis.pitt.edu/asc