We all know that Shakespeare is wildly clever, but is he so fun that he’s worthy of stick figure comic art? That’s what webcomic artist and author Mya Lixian Gosling, the creator of Good Tickle Brain, thinks, and she’s hoping other people will think so, too.

Gosling will speak about her art, writing, and the silly side of Shakespeare on Wednesday, October 3, in Hynson Lounge, located in Hodson Hall. The event, which is part of the annual Sophie Kerr Lecture Series, will start at 4:30 p.m., and is free and open to the public.

Good Tickle Brain, the world’s foremost (and possibly only) Shakespeare stick figure webcomic, has been posted twice-weekly online at goodticklebrain.com since 2013. Gosling has degrees from Oberlin College and the University of Michigan and formerly worked as a Southeast Asian language cataloger at the University of Michigan Graduate Library.

For more information on this and other English Department and Sophie Kerr events, visit the website at www.washcoll.edu/departments/english/events.php, or view our annual Literary Events Calendar brochure here: www.washcoll.edu/live/files/8293-2018-19-literary-events-brochure.

Paul Ortiz, an expert in the fields of African American history and Latino studies, will visit Washington College on Oct. 2, discussing his book An African American and Latinx History of the United States.

Sponsored by Black Studies Program, Latin American Students Association, and the William James Forum Fund, the event at 5 p.m. in Litrenta Hall of the Toll Science Center is free and open to the public. A book signing will follow.

An associate professor of history in the University of Florida, Ortiz is also the director of the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program. He specializes in African American history, Latino Studies, the African Diaspora, Social Movement Theory, U.S. History, U.S. South, labor, and documentary studies.

His book Emancipation Betrayed: The Hidden History of Black Organizing and White Violence in Florida from Reconstruction to the Bloody Election of 1920 received the Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore Book Prize from the Florida Historical Society and the Florida Institute of Technology. He also co-edited and conducted oral history interviews for the award-winning “Remembering Jim Crow: African Americans Tell About Life in the Jim Crow South.”

Ortiz is currently writing a book on settler colonialism, which will be part of Beacon Press’s new ReVisioning American History series.

About Washington College

Founded in 1782, Washington College is the tenth oldest college in the nation and the first chartered under the new Republic. It enrolls approximately 1,450 undergraduates from more than 35 states and a dozen nations. With an emphasis on hands-on, experiential learning in the arts and sciences, and more than 40 multidisciplinary areas of study, the College is home to nationally recognized academic centers in the environment, history, and writing. Learn more at washcoll.edu.

Four experts in Latin America politics and cultural issues will be featured in Washington College’s Goldstein Program in Public Affairs event on Sept. 24,a panel discussion that will examine the issue of immigration in the era of President Donald Trump.The experts will discuss how the framing of immigration as a security issue—a major policy shift from prior administrations of both political parties—and the accompanying rhetoric have had a profound impact on immigration from Latin American countries and Latinx communities within the United States.

The distinguished panelists include Gregory Weeks, Ana Patricia Rodríguez, Adriana Beltrán, and Adam Isacson. The talk at 7 p.m. in Hynson Lounge at Hodson Hall is free and open to the public.

Gregory Weeks is associate dean for academic affairs in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at UNC Charlotte. He has published several books and dozens of articles on Latin American politics, U.S.-Latin American relations, and Latino immigration. He is editor of the academic journal The Latin Americanist and writes regularly on his blog Two Weeks Notice: A Latin American Politics Blog.

Ana Patricia Rodríguez is associate professor in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese and U.S. Latina/o Studies at the University of Maryland, College Park. She has published widely on Central American transnational cultural production. She is the author of Dividing the Isthmus: Central American Transnational Histories, Literatures, and Cultures (University of Texas Press, 2009). Presently, she serves as the president of the Latina/o Studies Association (LSA) and is completing a book manuscript on trauma and (post)memory in the Central American diaspora.

Top: Gregory Weeks, Ana Patricia Rodríguez. Bottom: Adriana Beltrán, Adam Isacson

Adriana Beltrán is the director of WOLA’s Citizen Security Program, where she promotes policies that address the root causes of violence and improve the effectiveness and accountability of police and judicial systems. She is the co-author of the pivotal study “Hidden Powers,” documenting the rise and impact of clandestine criminal organizations in Guatemala. Beltrán was a long-time advocate for the establishment of a UN-sponsored commission to investigate and prosecute organized criminal networks, which culminated in the creation of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG). Last year, with partners based in the region, Beltrán launched the Central America Monitor to ensure that international assistance is strategically targeted and to evaluate progress in the region to reduce violence, strengthen the rule of law, and tackle corruption through a series of indicators.

Adam Isacson is the director of WOLA’s Defense Oversight program, which monitors U.S. cooperation with Latin America’s security forces, as well as other security trends. Isacson accompanies WOLA’s Colombia program on peace and security issues, which has a central focus for his Isacson’s Defense Oversight work. Since 2011, Isacson has also focused on border security. He has visited the U.S.-Mexico border about 20 times, and has also completed field research along nearly the entire border between Mexico and Guatemala. A prolific writer and coder,Isacson has produced over 250 publications, articles, book chapters, and policy memos over the course of his career. He has created several websites, from blogs to standalone web apps. He hosts WOLA’s podcast, Latin America Today.

The Louis L. Goldstein Program in Public Affairs was established in 1990 to encourage students to enter public service by introducing them to exemplary leaders in and out of government. It has hosted journalists, political activists, foreign policy analysts, diplomats, military commanders and government officials of national and international stature. It also sponsors lectures, symposia, and visiting fellows, as well as student participation in models and conferences and other projects that bring students and faculty together with leaders experienced in developing public policy. Its current curator is Christine Wade, Professor of Political Science and International Studies, a highly sought expert on Latin American politics,  and author and editor of several books on Latin America, including Captured Peace: Elites and Peacebuilding in El Salvador.

About Washington College

Founded in 1782, Washington College is the tenth oldest college in the nation and the first chartered under the new Republic. It enrolls approximately 1,450 undergraduates from more than 35 states and a dozen nations. With an emphasis on hands-on, experiential learning in the arts and sciences, and more than 40 multidisciplinary areas of study, the College is home to nationally recognized academic centers in the environment, history, and writing. Learn more at washcoll.edu.

Rowers, sailors, donors, and community members will join Washington College President Kurt Landgraf and other dignitaries on Sept. 22 to dedicate Hodson Boathouse, the first bright new gem on the College’s evolving waterfront on the Chester River.

The event at 444 South Cross Street, Chestertown, begins at 11:30 a.m. and is open to the public, with a light reception to follow.

In celebrating the opening of the new boathouse, Landgraf will be joined by representatives of The Hodson Trust, which donated $2.5 million to the project; Regis de Ramel ’97, a member of the College’s Board of Visitors and Governors and crew team alumnus, who made a $1 million gift; donor Ann Horner ’80, also of the Board of Visitors and Governors; Athletics Director Thad Moore; and Alex Kincaid ’19, captain of the men’s rowing team.

After the dedication, Moore and others will christen a new Resolute rowing shell for the women’s rowing team in honor of former women’s team Coach Mike Davenport. This will bring to three the number of Resolute varsity shells for the growing women’s team.

Support for the $5 million Hodson Boathouse, which broke ground last fall, came from more than 150 donors, including former team members and other alumni. Located next to the Lelia Hynson Pavilion, the new boathouse is 9,200 square feet, about 3,600 square feet feet of which comprises a wraparound deck that offers expansive views for events and regattas.

The building houses locker rooms for the rowing and sailing teams, bathrooms, two offices, a team lounge, a 35-seat classroom, and an ergonomics training room with 32 stationary rowing machines. A state-of-the-art tank room with a 16-station, 25-by-54-foot rowing tank enables rowing team members to perfect their sweep technique and practice when the weather is too cold or inclement for on-the-water training.

With environmental sustainability at the forefront, Hodson Boathouse is heated and cooled by an energy-efficient geothermal well system, lighting is entirely LED, and the deck is made of recycled plastic. As noted by the building’s designer, the architecture and engineering firm HGA, “Water is one of the most important elements of the site for the College because of the focus on the Chester River as an area of study; therefore, water usage and protection of the watershed through rain gardens and shoreline mitigation plantings were identified early on as primary concerns for project performance. The project is designed for resiliency in the face of rising sea levels and changes to the watershed by raising the building up on piers.”

In addition to the rowing and sailing teams, the new boathouse will be a gathering place for the Chester River Rowing Club, a group of master racers and recreational rowers, and a focal point for community waterfront events, among them the 12th Annual Cardboard Boat Race & Waterfront Festival, hosted by the Center for the Environment & Society, which will follow the dedication, from 1 – 4 p.m.

Parking is available in the Wilmer Park parking lot and in the Chestertown Municipal lot on the 200 block of Cannon Street. A shuttle service will also be running from the front of the College’s Casey Academic Center starting at 11 a.m.

Please RSVP to https://bit.ly/HodsonBoathouse and fill out the form. For more information call 410-778-7849.

About Washington College

Founded in 1782, Washington College is the tenth oldest college in the nation and the first chartered under the new Republic. It enrolls approximately 1,450 undergraduates from more than 35 states and a dozen nations. With an emphasis on hands-on, experiential learning in the arts and sciences, and more than 40 multidisciplinary areas of study, the College is home to nationally recognized academic centers in the environment, history, and writing. Learn more at washcoll.edu.