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Faculty/Staff Accomplishments and News Briefs 11/4/2020

In this issue we celebrate the accomplishments of faculty in religious and ethical studies, political science, and psychology. We also share news from the Exercise and Sports Science program about this year’s virtual Trick or Trot and from the Department of Marketing about new powerpoint templates.

Professor of Religious and Ethical Studies Steven A. Benko edited a collection of essays, Ethics in Comedy: Essays on Crossing the Line; the book is published by McFarland Press. This collection of essays addresses possible ways that moral and ethical lines can be drawn around humor and laughter. What would a Kantian approach to humor look like? Do games create a safe space for profanity and offense? Can laughter be just? Is late night humor a place where the virtues are practiced, or do late night comedians play confidence games? Is gallows humor in a medical setting ever appropriate? Contributors to this volume work to establish and explain guidelines for thinking about the moral questions that arise when humor and laughter intersect with medicine, gender, race, and politics. Drawing from the work of stand-up comedians, television shows, and ethicists, this volume asserts that we are never just joking. In addition to editing the book, Benko authored the Introduction, an essay, (“Otherwise Than Laughter: Levinas and an Ethics of Laughter”) and co-authored a second essay (“That’s Way Too Aggressive a Word: Aziz Ansari, Comedy of Incongruity and Affectively Charged Feminism”) with Meredith College alum Ellie Jones, '20. This is the second edited book by Benko; The Good Place and Philosophy: Get an Afterlife is available from Open Court Press. 

Professor of Political Science David McLennan was a guest on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal on Friday, Oct. 30. McLennan, who serves as director of The Meredith Poll, was interviewed about the importance of North Carolina in this year’s presidential election and in determining the control of the Senate. He also took questions from viewers. Watch the segment on c-span.org.

Assistant Professor of Psychology Betty-Shannon Prevatt was invited to speak in the Flipping Femininity session during Minority Enterprise Development Week at UNC-Wilmington on October 10, 2020. As one of three speakers, Prevatt focused on stress management, coping strategies, and redefining success in a lecture titled “Women's Wellness in the Time of COVID-19.”

News Briefs

Meredith College Annual “Virtual” Trick-or-Trot 5k run/walk
In conjunction with the Exercise and Sports Science Department, alumnae and friends are invited to participate in Trick or Trot 2020, a virtual 5K. This event is typically held in person starting at Meredith's Athletic Field and Track, but this year the event is going virtual. There’s still time to be part of the Virtual Trick-or-Trot. Participation counts between through November 8. View Registration Information

Meredith Branded Powerpoint Templates
New Powerpoint templates have been created with Meredith's new brand evolution lockup. Faculty and staff are invited to download these templates, which can be found on the Marketing Department page on MyMeredith under brand resources. A standard size and a widescreen size are available.

Melyssa Allen

News Director
316 Johnson Hall
(919) 760-8087
Fax: (919) 760-8330

allenme@meredith.edu