By Mack McCormick, Amanda Osborne, Whitney Hale

Outwardly, it would appear that Arab and Jewish immigrants comprise two distinct groups with differing cultural backgrounds and an adversarial relationship. Often ignored, however, are the similar immigrant paths these two groups face in the United States, particularly in non-urban areas lacking established immigrant or ethnic populations. In regions like Kentucky, where Jewish and Arab populations are nearly invisible and established cultural or immigrant circles are not prevalent, both groups must negotiate complex identities and often find that their new locations illuminate more similarities between them than differences.

In "Arab and Jewish Women in Kentucky: Stories of Accommodation and Audacity," University of

By Sarah Geegan

The University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences will present the Distinguished Professor Lecture, featuring History Professor Ron Eller at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, April 12 in the William T. Young Library auditorium.

Eller's lecture, "Seeking the Good Life in America: Lessons From the Appalachian Past," will discuss what the future holds for Appalachia, using the history of the region as a foundation.

Eller, a professor in the Department of History, is originally from West Virginia. Having  spent more than 40 years teaching and writing about the Appalachian region, he also served as the director for the UK Appalachian Center for 16 years. Eller has also served as chairman of the Governor’s Kentucky

By Sarah Geegan

Students in professor Randolph Hollingsworth's research seminar expanded the boundaries of a typical history class as they examined the complexities and influences of Kentucky civil rights era women. By participating in digital dialogues, contributing to online databases and engaging in community service, the students experienced history by thinking outside the book.

"We don't have many scholarly books covering the wide-ranging history of women in Kentucky," Hollingsworth said. "One thing that we've found is that women are simply absent in many historical records. Sometimes it's a willful absence, and people choose not to include them. But then other times, it's just neglect."

The course aimed to begin filling this historical void. Students served as history-detectives, acquiring

By Sarah Geegan, Kami L. Rice

Baishakhi Taylor and Darina Lepadatu became fast friends when their paths converged at the University of Kentucky nearly 10 years ago. The two women, from India and Romania respectively, were among the few international students in UK’s sociology Ph.D. program.

As Lepadatu notes, they went through the acculturation process together. They even have young daughters who are almost the same age. Both scholars have recently taken on roles at different universities, and they credit the preparation they received at UK for their success.

On first glance, Taylor’s new job doesn’t appear to be the obvious choice for a research-minded sociologist. But Taylor says her sociology background was key preparation for the position she acquired last year at Duke University.

As academic dean

By Sarah Geegan

The University of Kentucky’s Appalachian Center and Appalachian Studies Program will feature a panel discussion about hydraulic fracturing (or “fracing”) as a way of extracting natural gas in Kentucky. The event, part of the Appalachian Forum series, will take place from 7-9 p.m Thursday, Feb. 23, in Room 106 of UK's White Hall Classroom Building.

Panelists at the event will represent a variety of relevant areas of expertise, and after brief introductory remarks by each panelist, Al Cross, director of the Institute for Rural

By Kathy Johnson

The University of Kentucky Appalachian Center, Appalachian Studies and the Graduate Appalachian Research Community are making a call for papers for the 2012 UK Appalachian Research Symposium and Arts Showcase. The topic of the work must be related to Appalachia, original, and produced in the last three years. 

The deadline for submitting an abstract of work online is midnight Dec. 15. The submission can be made by going to the GARC tab on www.appalachiancenter.org and clicking on the "Abstract

By Erin Holaday Ziegler

The University of Kentucky College of Arts & Sciences will host a trailblazing American diplomat next week to continue the college's Year of China initiative.

Former U.S. Ambassador Julia Chang Bloch will speak on “Leadership and Education in a Globalizing World: China’s Challenge” at 5 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 10, in Room 118 of the White Hall Classroom Building on UK's campus.

Bloch’s talk, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by the "Passport to China: Global Issues & Local Understanding" course taught by UK sociology Professor Keiko Tanaka.

Ambassador Bloch, the first Asian-American ambassador in American history, has had a broad career in U.S. government service. She is currently president of the U.S.-China Education Trust, a nonprofit organization working

The International Studies program in the College of Arts & Sciences at the University of Kentucky developed three years ago in response to a recognition that the world and its problems are increasingly interrelated. Whether it's religious beliefs; social or political circumstances; environmental, economic or health outcomes; events in one part of the world today affect those

Professor of Sociology Claire Renzetti has been named the recipient of the Lee Founders Award by the Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP).  The award honors the founders of SSSP, Alfred McClung Lee and Elizabeth Bryant Lee. The Founders Award recognizes significant lifetime achievements in research, teaching, or service leading to the "betterment of human life," and commitment to social action programs that promote social justice. The award recognizes work over a distinguished career that provides understanding and insight for practical application and service at the local, state, and/or national level.

Professor Renzetti joins some notable sociologists who have received this award in the past, including Thomas C. Hood, Irving