[157] 'Trash-Talking' Has New Meaning At MTSU Symposium Nov. 2-3

‘TRASH-TALKING’ HAS NEW MEANING AT MTSU SYMPOSIUM NOV. 2-3
Undergrads to Present Research, Hear ‘Garbology’ Guru and Oil-Spill Expert

FOR RELEASE: Oct. 20, 2010
EDITORIAL CONTACTS: Dr. Brian Hinote, bhinote@mtsu.edu or 615-494-7914;
Dr. Meredith Dye, mdye@mtsu.edu or 615-898-2690

(MURFREESBORO)—MTSU will be talking trash in the James Union Building, not in Murphy Center or Floyd Stadium, as the 19th Annual Tennessee Undergraduate Social Science Symposium gets under way Nov. 2-3.
“Talking Trash: Garbage in Society and the Environment” is the theme of this year’s symposium, which is highlighted by two special lectures:
• a keynote address, “The Garbology of Us,” on Tuesday, Nov. 2, from Dr. William L. Rathje, founder and director of The Garbage Project in Tucson, Ariz.; and
• a Senior Scholar’s Lecture, “Oil Spill Déjà Vu: Social Impacts of the BP Gulf Gusher and the Exxon Valdez Disaster,” on Wednesday, Nov. 3, by Dr. Duane A. Gill of Oklahoma State University.
Rathje, whose research and public presentations focus on the archaeology of modern garbage, will speak at 6 p.m. Tuesday. Gill, who is part of a research team investigating the human impact of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill as well as several other spills in recent years, will speak at 12:40 p.m. on Wednesday.
Both lectures will be held in the JUB’s Tennessee Room.
Program Committee Co-Chairs Dr. Meredith Dye and Dr. Brian Hinote said this year’s symposium promises to be a “lively gathering of student researchers and established scholars” that engages some of the most timely social and environmental issues of contemporary American society.
“We encourage student participation from across all corners of campus and the entire Middle Tennessee area, and in cooperation with many other faculty members and student organizations, are working diligently to make this an enjoyable and informative campus event by bringing leading researchers in the social sciences to MTSU,” Hinote said.
“But the symposium is really a celebration of student research and academics,” added Dye, “so come and join us in early November to enjoy the various activities that we have planned, but also to support student research as well.”
During his lecture, Rathje will explain:
• what foods and drinks we most misreport consuming;
• how our misunderstanding of foods affects our health;
• what biodegrades and what doesn’t in modern landfills and what’s taking up the most space there; and
• the easiest ways to decrease what we throw away.
An interview with Rathje is scheduled to air on “MTSU On the Record” on Sunday, Oct. 31, at 8 a.m. on WMOT-Jazz 89 and www.wmot.org.
Gill’s lecture will examine the social impact of the BP gusher by comparing the community of Bayou La Batre, Ala., with Cordova, Alaska. Both communities are renewable-resource communities, and their social and economic recovery is tied to restoration of damaged resources.
Also on Tuesday, a thematic panel on environmental issues and consumerism is set for 11:30 a.m. in the Tennessee Room, and a feature documentary, “Garbage: The Revolution Starts at Home,” will be screened at 4:15 p.m. The film by writer/director Andrew Nisker follows an average family as they save all the garbage they produce over three months, then discover how their single household affects the planet.
Student research-paper presentations are scheduled throughout the two-day symposium on a variety of social topics, including immigration, social problems, social and cultural theory, hate crimes, race and ethnicity, Appalachian studies, health and family, experiential learning in archaeological studies, and study abroad. All social-science paper submissions are welcome.
The symposium is sponsored by the College of Liberal Arts, the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, the MTSU Distinguished Lecture Series, the College of Graduate Studies, the University Honors College, the Municipal Technical Advisory Service, Students for Environmental Action, the MTSU Sociology Club, the Middle Tennessee Anthropology Society and student activity fees.
All events are open to the public and are free.
For more information on the symposium, please contact Hinote at bhinote@mtsu.edu or 615-494-7914 or Dye in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at mdye@mtsu.edu or 615-898-2690. You also may visit the symposium website at www.mtsu.edu/soc/socsymp/index.shtml.

Founded in 1911, Middle Tennessee State University is a Tennessee Board of Regents institution located in Murfreesboro and is the state’s largest public undergraduate institution. MTSU now boasts one of the nation’s first master’s degree programs in horse science, and the Council of Graduate Schools in Washington, D.C., acclaims MTSU’s Master of Science in Professional Science degree—the only one in Tennessee—as a model program. This fall, MTSU unveiled three new doctoral degrees in the sciences.

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IN BRIEF: MTSU will be talking trash in the James Union Building as the 19th Annual Tennessee Undergraduate Social Science Symposium gets under way Nov. 2-3, featuring lectures from Arizona “garbology” guru Dr. William J. Rathje and oil-spill expert Dr. Duane A. Gill of Oklahoma. Rathje, whose research and public presentations focus on the archaeology of modern garbage, will speak at 6 p.m. Tuesday. Gill, who is part of a research team investigating the human impact of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill as well as several other spills in recent years, will speak at 12:40 p.m. on Wednesday. Both lectures will be held in the JUB’s Tennessee Room and are free and open to the public. Student research-paper presentations also are scheduled throughout the two-day symposium on a variety of social topics. For more information about the symposium, visit www.mtsu.edu/soc/socsymp/index.shtml or call 615-494-7914.

For MTSU news and information, visit www.mtsunews.com.

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ATTENTION, MEDIA: For color JPEGs of Rathje and Gill, please contact Gina E. Fann in the Office of News and Public Affairs via e-mail at gfann@mtsu.edu or by calling
615-898-5385.