by Julia Stevens ’20
Having recently discovered a passion for Africana studies and geography, Mills decided to limit other activities to focus on academics. He says his research, overseen by Professor Jaye Williams, Africana studies, investigates August Wilson’s plays and the black experience in Pittsburgh. Mills also works with Professor Vanessa Massaro, geography, studying support systems of incarcerated individuals, mass incarceration and how parole has affected its evolution.
As Mills continues juggling a full plate of responsibilities, he’s planning a teaching career and may pursue a Ph.D. In the meantime, he’s making the most of his Bucknell time, especially one-on-one opportunities to interact with professors. “I really enjoy hanging out with my professors and asking for more readings and topics to do research on,” he says.
Having recently discovered a passion for Africana studies and geography, Mills decided to limit other activities to focus on academics. He says his research, overseen by Professor Jaye Williams, Africana studies, investigates August Wilson’s plays and the black experience in Pittsburgh. Mills also works with Professor Vanessa Massaro, geography, studying support systems of incarcerated individuals, mass incarceration and how parole has affected its evolution.
As Mills continues juggling a full plate of responsibilities, he’s planning a teaching career and may pursue a Ph.D. In the meantime, he’s making the most of his Bucknell time, especially one-on-one opportunities to interact with professors. “I really enjoy hanging out with my professors and asking for more readings and topics to do research on,” he says.
by Heidi Hormel
Next spring, in the heart of India, students of Professor Anjalee Deshpande Hutchinson, theatre & dance, will learn performance techniques alongside aspiring Bollywood actors.
In May, Hutchinson and Professor Kelly Knox, director of dance, will lead a 19-day trip where students will experience an intensive acting workshop that features physically and intellectually challenging tasks such as Natyashastra-based character analysis and underwater methods of breath support.
Hutchinson, who received the Presidential Award for Teaching Excellence at Commencement this year, is a South Asian American who has primarily studied Western theatre. Along with the students, she too will learn a different approach to performance.
Hutchinson says the group will explore India and examine how to create art that draws inspiration from other cultures, rather than appropriating from them. What they learn will form the subject of the students’ December 2020 dance performance.
Hutchinson, who began her career as an actor, says she moved to teaching to work on projects that aligned better with her values and desire to influence the culture of performance.
Hutchinson adds that she’s “exposing students to what the profession can be. The students take it from there.”
In May, Hutchinson and Professor Kelly Knox, director of dance, will lead a 19-day trip where students will experience an intensive acting workshop that features physically and intellectually challenging tasks such as Natyashastra-based character analysis and underwater methods of breath support.
Hutchinson, who received the Presidential Award for Teaching Excellence at Commencement this year, is a South Asian American who has primarily studied Western theatre. Along with the students, she too will learn a different approach to performance.
Hutchinson says the group will explore India and examine how to create art that draws inspiration from other cultures, rather than appropriating from them. What they learn will form the subject of the students’ December 2020 dance performance.
Hutchinson, who began her career as an actor, says she moved to teaching to work on projects that aligned better with her values and desire to influence the culture of performance.
Hutchinson adds that she’s “exposing students to what the profession can be. The students take it from there.”