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Judaism and Judaica have been studied at Carolina since 1947, when the department of Religious Studies was established. Until recently, most courses focused on the study of biblical sources and Hebrew languages. The new center brings together scholars from a range of academic departments including English, Germanic languages, history, political science, religious studies, and Slavic languages and literatures. "Carolina was one of the first major public universities to offer courses in Judaism more than 50 years ago," said Risa Palm, dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, where the new center is based. "It's appropriate that we build on that leadership now by drawing on our faculty expertise in key areas concerning the Jewish experience throughout history." The center has a three-fold mission: to teach undergraduate and graduate courses, create and disseminate new research, and convene public conferences and lectures featuring leading scholars of the Jewish experience in the United States, Europe, Israel and beyond. An important first step occurred March 26, when University officials approved a new undergraduate minor in Jewish Studies to begin this fall. Plans call for an undergraduate major program in the near future. The center will provide for the study of the culture, history and religion of the Jewish peoples in interaction with the wider community in which they live, said Jonathan Hartlyn, director of the center and professor and chair of the department of political science. "Our program will provide rich knowledge of the Jewish experience reaching back to early Judaism. There will be attention to the modern Jewish experience in Europe and the United States, including the American South, as well as in other world regions." Hartlyn noted also that attention will be paid to a comparative analysis of Jewish political and economic life, educational and cultural expression and demographic trends, to the Zionist movement, and to the history of modern Israel in its regional context. The center held its first advisory board meeting in February. Charter members of the board include alumni, attorneys, business executives and Jewish community leaders. Additional members will be added in the future.
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Harris-Lopez tells you that she is a teacher, an African-American scholar, and, not least of all, a Southerner. She is also someone who isn't afraid to look closely at and critique the literature of her own culture -- point out emerging stereotypes, places where things may be getting too safe.
You are a white woman who has read only the obvious writers -- James Baldwin, Ralph Ellison, a little Alice Walker. You ask some questions, listen, then ask some more. You try to keep up.
Harris-Lopez has filled book after book with her ideas about literature. In her latest, "South of Tradition," she exposes taboos in African- American literature -- subjects or character traits that many black writers have avoided. Black women characters, for example, are almost never promiscuous or even irresponsible. They mother their own children and then some. And with some exceptions, black writers don't portray incest or homosexuality, or they only allude to it.
Why? "There's a whole mythology that they're writing against," Harris-Lopez says. That mythology includes, for instance, the idea that black people are oversexed. That black women possess an animal magnetism irresistible to white men -- slave owners. That black men are violent.
So it's natural that writers would, consciously or not, try to counter those stereotypes, she says. One overcompensation -- the strong black woman. She serves God, cares for her children, and makes up for men's shortcomings. Often physically big and strong, she doesn't need relaxation, or sex, or a confidant. This type is so prevalent that Harris has written a book about it -- "Saints, Sinners, Saviors: Strong Black Women in African American Literature." A classic example is Tante Lou (in Ernest Gaines' "A Lesson Before Dying"), who's raised countless godsons on fried chicken and pralines. When she orders an adult godson to do something, he can't refuse. There's also Velma Henry (Toni Cade Bambara's "The Salt Eaters"), who does the work of seven people, and Pauline Breedlove (Toni Morrison's "The Bluest Eye"), who knocks out her abusing husband with a frying pan.
At first, showing these kinds of women was a breakthrough. "When you look at Mama Lena Younger and what Lorraine Hansberry did with her in 1959, that's certainly to be applauded on the one hand because you've finally got a black woman on stage, on Broadway, who looked like a whole lot of black women out there in black communities," Harris-Lopez says, talking about "A Raisin in the Sun." "But on the other hand, if after a while you just keep putting her there, and you don't have other things, then you've lapsed into stereotype again."
Some writers have ventured outside the stereotype. Harris-Lopez points out that before 1970, black women characters couldn't "go crazy." No matter what, they managed. But by 1973, for example, in "Really, Doesn't Crime Pay?" Alice Walker writes of Myrna, who "cultivated her nervous breakdowns." And, by the 1980s, writers such as Toni Cade Bambara and Gloria Naylor were expanding the portrayal of the strong black woman by giving her otherworldly powers -- she can talk to ghosts, create lightning storms, or die and then watch over the living. And in "Parable of the Sower," Octavia E. Butler writes of Lauren, a black woman who has a healthy interest in sex but no desire to have children. But Lauren doesn't completely defy the stereotype; she has the physical strength of a man and watches over four brothers and sisters.
Harris-Lopez calls for writers to expand their reach even more. For instance, she still finds few truly equal friendships among black female characters. Most of these women need nobody. She wants to see writers give such characters a chance to "look across" at someone, rather than always looking down. "I think to keep portraying them as always strong takes away a portion of their humanity," Harris-Lopez says. "It's the complexity of character that I'm angling for."
Harris-Lopez can understand writers' inclination to create black characters who "put the best foot forward." Take her intense, negative reaction to "The Color Purple," back in 1982. When you ask about it, she says it's ancient history. She has talked about it plenty. But still.
Harris-Lopez has said that to criticize "The Color Purple" is often seen as deserting the black woman writer. But she didn't let that stop her. She felt that "The Color Purple" played to many of the historical stereotypes. "There didn't seem to be any space for relief from this violence, sexual violation, sexual abuse," she says. "I was hoping that black writers had enough of a sense of connection to black communities that if they were going to present that kind of ugliness, it would be balanced out with some kind of goodness."
The book, she said, was "a loaded gun in the hands of those who were already inclined to malign black people."
People often assume that black writers' stories are more than just stories. That they speak for the race. "Any writer can go out there and write whatever he or she wants," Harris-Lopez says. "But the consequences for doing so are dramatically different if you're an African American writer." Once, a twenty-something man said to her, "I'm so glad we read "The Color Purple" because now I know how black people in Georgia lived in the first few decades of the twentieth century." Harris-Lopez shakes her head. "There were these folks who were reading it as a documentary of black people's lives."
"I was concerned with this larger issue of what writers should and should not do in relation to their communities. Even using the word `should' in connection with a writer is problematic. And I recognize that."
Today she has tried to see other sides of that book. In "South of Tradition," she highlights the use of humor in "The Color Purple." She was inspired by lively exchanges with her students, some of whom were bent on proving her wrong. "So I assigned myself the task of going back and saying, `okay, can you see something else?' It was also a good opportunity to let students know -- you are a reader, and when the teacher says something in the classroom, you can challenge that."
You've exhausted your questions about literature. So you ask about her connection to the South. Her emphatic answer is a surprise. "The South is where I belong," she says. Her upcoming book of personal essays, "Summer Snow," includes an essay by the same name that explains. "`Summer Snow' deals with this whole notion of how rare it might seem for a black person in the South to say, `I embrace the South, and all that means, as well as I embrace my blackness,'" she says. "So it's about like snow falling in Alabama in July."
She continues. "My father's blood is in the soil in Alabama, and just because George Wallace was governor of Alabama doesn't mean that I don't still claim that soil."
She mentions her 1984 book on lynching. Not exactly a pretty topic. "But what am I supposed to do, say `I'm not related to that at all?' Because those black people are culturally, communally related to me, even if they are not biologically related to me. But embracing that soil, embracing that history doesn't mean that I embrace the violence, doesn't mean that I embrace the segregation," she says. "The South is where I feel most comfortable."
By now, you are more comfortable too, in this office with her. Harris-Lopez does indeed have decades of writing experience, a resonant voice, a piercing eye. But she also has a laugh just as deep as her voice. You hear it when you ask a naive question. "Oh child," she says. "That's asking me to write a ten-volume book."
"South of Tradition" was published in October 2002 by The University of Georgia Press. "Summer Snow" will be published by Beacon Press in April 2003.
Editor's note: This story is reprinted from the Winter 2003 issue of "Endeavors," a magazine highlighting research at Carolina. It is published three times a year by the Office of Graduate Studies and Research. Neil Caudle serves as editor, and Angela Spivey -- who wrote this piece -- is associate editor. Employees who would like a free subscription should send their name, job title, department and campus address to the "Endeavors" office via campus mail (Endeavors, CB 4106), e-mail (endeavors@unc.edu) or the subscription form at the magazine's web site (research.unc.edu/endeavors).
Inside your body, platelets rush to the site of an injury and activate, sticking together to clot your blood. But take these cells and try to store them, and they lose some of their power. Once
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put back inside the body, stored liquid platelets can rejuvenate in a few hours and help prevent bleeding. But they're not fast enough or reliable enough to stop acute bleeding from a gunshot wound or other injury.
A new Carolina startup company, created with the help of the University's Office of Technology Development, is well on its way to a solution -- a method of freeze-drying platelets that preserves their function. Tom Fischer, associate professor of pathology and lab medicine, and other researchers behind Hemocellular Therapeutics have developed freeze-dried platelets that have been shown in more than 250 studies in rabbits, dogs and pigs to stop acute bleeding. The researchers plan to have a product ready for testing in humans within 18 months.
The key to their technology, Fischer said, is a process called molecular cross-linking, which involves adding a molecule of paraformaldehyde to the cells. "The molecule has a reactive chemical group on each end of it. So it's got two active parts, and it will sit down and join two proteins together on the surface of the platelet so that they are then stabilized," he said. "We end up with a net-like structure all over the surface of the cell that gives it a little strength so that it won't rupture when frozen due to ice expansion." This structure preserves the platelets so they can survive the freeze-drying process.
Paraformaldehyde is a reactive derivative of formaldehyde. That sounds a bit scary --formaldehyde in a blood product? But, Fischer said, paraformaldehyde doesn't "persist in the product." Any chemical that doesn't react with the cells is washed away before freeze-drying.
For many years, scientists have been "fixing" cells with paraformaldehyde to preserve cell structure for viewing under a microscope. But the fixing usually destroys the function of the cells. Hemocellular's technology preserves the cells and their function. Marjorie Read, emeritus professor of pathology, is the "real innovator" behind this technology, Fischer said.
"Dr. Read's brainstorm was finding the sweet spot -- the point where the platelets were cross-linked just enough to preserve them but their function was not destroyed," he said. "Her genius was to first ask the question `Well, can we do this?' And then she went in the lab and did it."
Read achieved that result in 1992. Since Read's retirement, Fischer has continued the work. "So 11 years later, we've shown that not only does the cross-linking work, but the lyophilized [freeze-dried] platelets can retain function to stop bleeding in animals, and can be stored for a long period of time," Fischer said. The paraformaldehyde also sterilizes the platelets, reducing risk of infection.
Other research groups have done work on methods of freeze-drying platelets, but Hemocellular's technology is the closest to becoming a usable product. Researchers at the University of California, Davis, for example, have been preserving platelets before freeze-drying by adding a sugar called trehalose. But these platelets have not yet been shown to retain their function, Fischer said.
Now Fischer and Arthur Bode, cofounder of Hemocellular and a pathology professor at East Carolina University, are working to meet FDA requirements so the product can progress to the next step -- testing in human clinical trials. "We're working on getting every little detail worked out," Fischer said, "to make sure we have a very consistent manufacturing process."
For information about reporting inventions of your own, contact the Office of Technology Development at 966-3929 or visit its web site at research.unc.edu/otd.
Provided
by Graduate Studies and Research
Writer:
Angela Spivey
Editor:
Neil Caudle
Overview
* Project location: S. Columbia Street, south of Carrington Hall.
* Projected cost/funding source: $24 million/state bond.
* Scope/benefits of project: Modern infrastructure systems supporting state-of-the-art facilities. Major addition to provide office, teaching and training space to enhance community health care delivery.
* Square footage: 61,300 (addition).
* Projected construction timeline: May 2003 - August 2005.
Impact on campus aesthetics
* Trees/green space/landscaping (information about any trees being removed, replaced and/or added because of the project): Several large oak trees will be preserved; other smaller trees will be removed.
* Architecture (information about how the project will fit architecturally with its immediate area): The addition complements surrounding buildings, as well as improves the sense of place and entry elements.
Impact on visitor parking, transit, traffic and pedestrian safety
* Visitor parking: None.
* Transit: There will be a five-day maximum period when Columbia Street will be reduced by one lane for utility installation.
* Traffic: None.
* Pedestrian safety: Pedestrian access will remain along Columbia Street but will be limited on the east side of the project.
For more information and updates
* See Facilities Capital Improvements Program web site at www.fpc.unc.edu/CIP/ Projects.asp?Project=25.
* Contact design manager Carole Acquesta at: cacquesta@fac.unc.edu.
One of the greatest challenges facing seniors is the rising cost of quality medical care and prescription drugs and the scarcity of programs to assist with or offset the cost of care. Most people are at least familiar with the major medical assistance programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. However, not everyone knows if they are eligible for such programs and if they are, how to enroll in the programs.
Looking for help?The following resources may be helpful in finding assistance with health care costs: Seniors'
Health Insurance Information Program
(SHIIP) SeniorCare www.ncseniorcare.com Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Training cms.hhs.gov/ |
Medicare is a health insurance program for people who are over age 65 or who have disabilities and have been receiving social
security for a set amount of time, or who have end stage renal disease. People with Medicare typically pay a portion of their medical costs. Medicare is administered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services, while the Social Security Administration handles enrollment. For enrollment information, contact the N.C. Social Security Administration at 1-800-772-1212 or the national Social Security office at 1-800-MEDICARE.
Medicaid is medical assistance for people who have limited income, are disabled, or blind. Medicaid recipients do not typically pay for their services. In North Carolina, Medicaid is managed through the Division of Medical Assistance and, locally, through each state or county Department of Social Services.
Prescription drugs are particularly expensive and are often a recurring part of treatment for medical conditions. There is currently no universal drug program exclusively for seniors. Medicare does provide prescription drug coverage for seniors but only during a hospital stay. Supplemental coverage must be purchased in addition to standard Medicare coverage. Medicaid does provide coverage for those who are eligible.
Because prescription drug coverage is not provided as a part of the original Medicare plan, many seniors find themselves paying out of pocket for expensive, yet essential, drugs -- or simply not taking the medications that they need. If you are not eligible for Medicaid and cannot afford prescriptions under Medicare, there are a few other options for you, including assistance programs offered by drug companies, and N.C. Senior Care, a new prescription assistance program offered by the state.
Recognizing the need to make prescription drugs more affordable, some drug companies have initiated assistance efforts for people who qualify. Most physicians know about such programs and can provide you with information. GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, Pfizer and Eli Lilly offer a drug discount card. Several other companies have joined forces to provide a joint drug discount card called Together Rx. Program eligibility and available discounts vary from one manufacturer to another.
In October 2002, the Health and Wellness Trust Commission of North Carolina contracted with the state Department of Health and Human Services to administer a prescription drug assistance program for people who have been diagnosed with cardiovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and/or diabetes and who are not eligible for Medicaid benefits. Senior Care program information is available from local pharmacies; area agencies on aging; departments of public health; social services; hospitals and community health centers throughout the state; and by request from the toll-free Senior Care hotline at 1-866-226-1388.
Stay Balanced!
Writer:
Leslie Bacqué, Work-Family Manager
Employee
Services, Office of Human Resources
bacque@email.unc.edu
Travel in June 1902 was an arduous undertaking. A trip to Raleigh from Chapel Hill took hours, and it would be another 18 months before the Wright brothers left the ground.
Most
North Carolinians could only dream of exploring art galleries
in Paris or classical ruins in Greece. In the late19th century,
museums and universities in Europe and North America built
collections of plaster reproductions of classical statuary.
The reproductions, called "casts," were made with molds taken from original sculptures in Rome and Athens. Plaster casts allowed artists, amateurs and enthusiasts to study the form and modeling of ancient statues in full three-dimensional scale without traveling far from home. Carolina's graduating class of 1902 gave as its parting gift a cast of the Apollo Belvedere.
Currently displayed in the recently renovated Murphey Hall, Apollo is flanked by casts of Venus and Minerva. The original Apollo Belvedere -- itself a copy of an ancient Greek statue -- is part of the Vatican collections. Michelangelo was familiar with it, and his painting of Jesus in "The Last Judgment" in the Sistine Chapel bears a striking resemblance to Apollo. Although the original sculpture was a nude, turn-of-the-century mores prompted the cast maker to cover Apollo with a fig leaf for modesty.
To the Greeks, Apollo was the god of music and exemplified youth and beauty. To the class of 1902, Apollo was a bit of antiquity for 20th-century Chapel Hill.
ArtiFACTS, an occasional "Gazette" feature, looks at campus objects classified as historic property -- what they are, how they got here and why they're significant to the University. The piece is written by Anne Douglas, historic property officer.
