College of Humanities & Earth and Social Sciences

Common sense suggests that dangerous prison conditions will deter released prisoners from committing more crimes and returning to prison. However, studies by UNC Charlotte researcher Shelley Listwan have found that harsh prison conditions may actually push prisoners the opposite direction.

Surrounded by the sprawl of a modern city, the dense forest grove of Osun-Osogbo in southwestern Nigeria has long stood as a silent sentry guarding the mysteries of the ancient past. Those secrets are now revealed by UNC Charlotte researcher Akin Ogundiran, whose work has upended long-held views of how West Africa became a global economic player.

Throughout history, governments and armies have conspired to brutally wipe out entire groups of people through mass murder and the destruction of social and cultural structures, in an ancient practice that since World War II has been labeled by the term genocide. UNC Charlotte’s John Cox offers a new perspective on the meaning and significance of genocide in his book, “To Kill a People: Genocide in the Twentieth Century.”

UNC Charlotte scholar Tanure Ojaide has been named this year’s recipient of the Nigerian National Order of Merit (NNOM), in the Humanities category. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari presided over the investiture ceremony on December 1 in Abuja, the country’s capital. Established in 1979, the Nigerian National Order of Merit is the highest academic honor in Africa’s most populous country.

The Department of Psychology received The Provost’s Award for Excellence in Teaching for 2016, in recognition of the department’s efforts to improve students learning and outcomes, through the collective responsibility of faculty members for maintaining high-quality teaching.

Jason Black, chair of the Department of Communication Studies, and co-author Ray Harrison, assistant professor at Tennessee State University, are recipients of a national communications award, the National Communication Association Critical & Cultural Studies Division Outstanding Article of the Year Award.

More than 25 people will showcase their art in the “Artistic Protest: Representations of Race, Violence, Injustice and Inequality” event on Tuesday, Nov. 29 at 6 p.m., in Cone University Center, McKnight Hall. The event is free and open to the public.

Shannon Sullivan, Chair of Philosophy and Professor of Philosophy and Health Psychology at UNC Charlotte, presented the Jerry Jackson Lecture in the Humanities at Western Carolina University on November 3, 2016. Sullivan spoke on “Good White People,” the subject of her acclaimed book of the same name.

UNC Charlotte Communication Studies Professor Alan Freitag received the prestigious Infinity Award from Public Relations Society of America-Charlotte in November, 2016. The Infinity Award honors a public relations professional whose character, career and service represent the highest standards and who excels in the practice of public relations.

Students in the literature class “War and Genocide in Children’s Literature” are raising money to benefit Operation Refugee Child, a nonprofit organization that provides living supplies to children residing in refugee camps. The class goal is to raise $2,000 for this Promoting Peace project. This will enable the students to provide 130 backpacks filled with supplies to child refugees fleeing Syria.