College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences Newsletter for Alums
Fall 2023
What's New at UIS?
This is a particularly exciting moment for us at UIS, as new faculty and administrators join the seasoned faculty to further our mission. The new College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences houses the departments and majors in the arts—Visual Art, Theatre, Music—; in the traditional humanities—English and Literatures, History—; and core social sciences—Sociology, Anthropology, Criminology and Criminal Justice, and Social Work. We also include the interdisciplinary Liberal Studies major, and the Women and Gender Studies, and African American Studies minors. On the graduate side, we offer the master’s programs in Public History and Human Development & Counseling. We’re excited about this cluster of vibrant and socially-engaged programs, committed faculty and engaged students—stay tuned for more news, as we work to bring the new Institute for Race, Gender, Sexuality, and Social Justice online as a platform for supporting and amplifying action and scholarship that promotes social justice, with a focus on local community connections. You can support us and our students here!
Introducing our New Student Editor!
Alondra Hernandez
Hi! I’m a junior majoring in Political Science. I transferred this year in the fall from Prairie State College located up in the suburbs of Chicago.
Message from the Dean
Greetings! I’m delighted to take this opportunity to introduce myself to you as the new Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences or “CLASS.” I taught English literature, Humanities, & Gender Studies for more than 25 years at another public college founded in the 1960s. While there, I helped build a major in Gender Studies, worked with students to establish a Gender and Diversity Center on campus, and helped establish a new “Health, Culture, and Societies” minor that won a National Endowment for the Humanities grant. UIS’s highly personalized teaching by dedicated faculty feels deeply familiar. I still hear from former students like yourselves—lifelong learners who are making the world a better place.
In case you’re curious, my scholarship has focused on how political philosophers used fiction—novels and short tales— to share and promote revolutionary ideas in 1790s Britain. I really believe in the power of storytelling to move people. More recently I’ve been exploring accounts of how non-elite Britons claimed the right to speak publicly on political and legal subjects—even those who we might identify now as “disabled.”
On a more personal note, I’m originally from the Washington, DC area, so getting back to four real seasons, particularly your beautiful fall, has been a great experience. And I’m enjoying chances to meet with current students and prospective students at various events on campus—particularly openings in our Art Gallery and performances by UIS Theatre and the UIS Orchestra. My grandmother was a self-taught piano teacher, my mom a school librarian, my aunt an artist, and my spouse is former director of a program in contemporary and experimental music, so I come to the liberal arts through a string of family connections as well as intrinsic interest. I love meeting new people, so I hope you’ll stop by the Dean’s office on the 3rd floor of UHB and introduce yourself when you are next on campus.
Student Spotlight
Lilian Georgiou
Interviewer: Where are you from and what made you choose UIS?
Lilian: I was born and raised in the south suburbs of Chicago... I felt I would benefit from being able to cultivate more personal relationships and experiences than I would attending an institution with hundreds of students in each class. Of course, I was also interested because I knew that it was a part of the University of Illinois system and so would offer a quality education and I had heard good things about its history department.
Interviewer: What is your current major and focus, and what led you to them?
Lilian: I’m a history major, but I’m not focusing on any topic in particular. I’ve never been able to identify one specific time period or event that I was the most interested in. I’m passionate about the history of US imperialism in the Philippines, but also about many other topics. I honestly don’t remember when I got interested in history. Once it was time to apply for colleges, I simply couldn’t imagine doing anything else. I felt, and still feel, that it is an incredibly important subject and that the skills its study cultivates are invaluable.
Interviewer: Tell us about your presentation for the Middle East Studies Association of North America (MESA) on "The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Arab Orthodox.” What was the research process and presentation like for you?
Lilian: ...This interest grew out of personal family history...I know very little about my family history and saw this as an opportunity to perhaps learn more about the historical circumstances that structured their lives... The presentation itself was far more casual than I, or the other presenters, had been expecting. It was also much more collaborative. I feel I learned a lot both from hearing feedback on my paper but also from being able to offer feedback on the other participants’ projects.
Interviewer: How long have you been a student here and how was the beginning like (student life wise and academic wise)?
Lilian: I have been a student at UIS since the Fall of 2019. The beginning was a bit chaotic, but that was mostly due to the fact that we were all sent home at the start of my second semester because of COVID-19. It was difficult trying to figure out college while living through a global pandemic, but I don’t feel I’ve missed out on anything.
Interviewer: What are your plans for next semester and after UIS?
Lilian: I will be graduating this December so my plans for next semester are to celebrate having completed my undergraduate degree. After that, I do plan to attend graduate school. I am considering a master’s in public history. Most probably, I will end up applying to UIS and so my “after UIS” plans might be to return to UIS.