Reynolds College Blog

Dr. William Meadows participates in D-Day anniversary in France

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In June, Dr. William Meadows, alongside 18 members of the Comanche Indian Veterans Association, visited France to celebrate the 80th Anniversary of D-Day and join in a ceremony on Utah Beach to honor the Comanche Code Talkers.

Meadows is a professor of anthropology and Native American studies in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Gerontology at Missouri State University. He was recently appointed to the editorial board of the American Indian Quarterly.

Meadows discusses unique role of Native Americans in war

Speaker at projection screen presents to audience
Meadows presenting on Native American code talkers during the Battle For Normandy Conference at Chateau d’Audrieu near Tilly, France.

Meadows presented “Native American Code Talkers in Europe in World War II” at a conference during the celebration.

Code talkers were Native Americans in the United States Armed Forces. They used their tribal languages to send secure military messages during World Wars I and II, Meadows explained. This was faster than existing coding technology and gave the American forces a unique advantage.

The conference, an annual observance to commemorate D-Day, took place at the Chateau d’Audrieu, located in the heart of the Normandy countryside.

“D-Day describes the Allied invasion at Normandy in 1944 to liberate western Europe and bring an end to the Nazi Reich and the European Theater of WW II,” Meadows said.

In his speech, he noted that many people remain unaware of the unique role Native Americans played in both world wars.

“Despite the American government’s attempts to suppress their languages, Native Americans used these very languages to send secure military messages that saved countless lives,” Meadows said.

“The French are more aware of the war and its impacts on their home villages and families because the invasion occurred in villages throughout Normandy,” Meadows continued. “Many express gratitude to Americans, British and Canadians whose ancestors liberated them. They’re also increasingly learning about the presence and role of the code talkers.”

Large group of people pose for photo on beach
Members of the Comanche Indian Veterans Association with their French hosts and students from Tilly, France, at Utah Beach.

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History professor Dr. Chelsea Davis wins prestigious journal prize

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Missouri State University’s Dr. Chelsea Davis, assistant professor in the Department of History, has been awarded the 2024 CHA Journal Prize from The Journal of the Canadian Historical Association (JCHA).

In “All that Glitters Is Wine? Viticultural Capitalists and the Creation of Britain’s Colonial Wine Industry,” Davis examines how extractive mining industries in colonial South Africa and Australia also boosted the British empire’s wine industry.

The journal announced in February 2024 that Davis had won its best paper prize, which included a certificate of recognition and a monetary award of $250.

“I was very surprised,” Davis said, “but excited at the news.”

“By winning its best article prize, Dr. Davis has demonstrated the significance of her research and its respect by her peers,” said Dr. Kathleen Kennedy, head of the history department. “This award is further confirmation of the skill and dedication that she brings to her craft.”

Davis specializes in the history of the modern British Empire, especially the nineteenth century. Her research interests include British environmental and labor histories but also Britain’s colonial wine industries in South Africa and Australia.

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CODERS project helps transform rural education

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Training rural teachers to engage students in coding across the disciplines — that is the goal of Missouri State University’s Computer Science Opportunities, Development and Education in Rural Schools (CODERS) project.

An interdisciplinary project among faculty members from Reynolds College of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (RCASH), College of Education (COE) and College of Natural and Applied Sciences (CNAS), CODERS integrates coding skills with literacy, music, languages and computational thinking.

CODERS works with students in grades 3-8. It is funded by a five-year, $4 million Education, Innovation and Research Early Phase grant from the U.S. Department of Education.

Project director Dr. Keri Franklin, professor of English and director of the Center for Writing in College, Career and Community, oversees the evaluation design and overall project.

Drs. Tammi Davis (COE), Diana Piccolo (COE), Andrew Homburg (RCASH), Judith Martinez (RCASH) and Razib Iqbal (CNAS) develop CODERS modules and teacher training.

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Jin A. Seo featured in latest edition of Mind’s Eye

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Congratulations to Jin A. Seo, assistant professor in the Department of Art and Design, on her feature story in the 2024 issue of Mind’s Eye magazine.

In her exploration of the human body, Seo’s work delves into the interplay of what is real and what is artificial in our environments.

The full story is now available online.

Excerpt

Stunning vistas and glorious light-filled landscapes inspire artists.

No surprise that Jin A. Seo, associate professor of art and design at Missouri State University, counts herself among those inspired.

However, Seo, an art jeweler, approaches landscapes differently.

Her work breaks the confines of traditional jewelry-making. Pushing past an outfit accessory, her jewelry serves a sculptural exploration of the body. Seo’s work asks the viewer to consider their own body as a landscape.

Read the full story

Dr. Heidi Backes publishes book on Spanish Gothic fiction

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Associate professor Dr. Heidi Backes has published her first book, “Spectral Spain: Haunted Houses, Silent Spaces and Traumatic Memories in Post-Franco Gothic Fiction,” through the University of Wales press.

“Spectral Spain” uses Spanish Gothic fiction to explore the connections between historical memory and the effects of twentieth-century Spanish fascism under Francisco Franco.

First published in the United Kingdom in May, the book will appear in North America in August through the University of Chicago Press, which is an affiliate of the University of Wales Press.

Backes said she felt “quite humbled” when she learned her book had been accepted for publication.

“The Gothic Literary Studies series at the University of Wales Press is one of the best academic series in the world for studies of Gothic fiction, and to have my scholarship selected to form part of that series has been a tremendous honor,” she said.

“Spectral Spain” incorporates Backes’ research and teaching at Missouri State University. She presented her initial research for the book in 2023 at the Reynolds College of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Symposium.

Backes has taught at MSU for eight years in the Department of Languages, Cultures and Religions.

A fascination with Gothic fiction

Ever since she was a child reading R. L. Stine’s “Goosebumps” series, Backes has been fascinated by Gothic literature.

That fascination translated into an academic career. Backes earned her master’s and doctorate degrees in modern Spanish literature, specializing in Spanish Gothic fiction and twentieth century Spanish history.

“I am especially interested in twentieth century history and the Francisco Franco dictatorship (1939-1975),” she explained. “Many Gothic authors in Spain have written novels that take on the traumatic past in monstrous, ghostly forms.”

Backes is also drawn to how Gothic fiction explores themes of human psychology.

“There is something particularly meaningful about the way that the Gothic uses human psychology to teach us about ourselves and our societies — things that we may choose to ignore because they are too painful to acknowledge, things that frighten us, things that make us question the reality around us,” Backes said. [Read more…] about Dr. Heidi Backes publishes book on Spanish Gothic fiction