In fall 2021 the Ypsilanti unit of the Library of Congress's Veterans History Project found a permanent home in the EMU Archives. Professor Emerita of History JoEllen Vinyard, History graduate student Connor Ashley, and History alumnus Maj. Gen. William Henderson (Ret.) are among the many individuals who have helped to collect, preserve, and disseminate the stories of Ypsilanti-area veterans.

Elisabeth Däumer (English/Women’s and Gender Studies) and Martin Shichtman (English/Center for Jewish Studies) were awarded a Michigan Humanities Grant to organize four staged readings of Muriel Rukeyser’s musical Houdini. Muriel Rukeyser (1913-1980) was a Jewish American writer who produced a prolific, varied body of works: poetry, prose, a memoir, children’s literature, plays, films, translations, and biographies. In her musical on Harry Houdini, which she began composing in the late 1930s (it was finally produced in 1973, with Christopher Walken as Houdini), Rukeyser combines biography and fantasy to challenge "the locks and constraints that imprison us all." Houdini’s dramatic transformation from Hungarian-born Eric Weisz, son of a rabbi, to the most celebrated escape artist of all times embodies the American dream of self-invention against all odds. His elaborate stunts in pursuit of freedom speak powerfully to our present moment, as the U.S. is confronting its history of systemic racism and struggles to reaffirm the meanings of democracy and freedom in an ever more divided nation. The fact that Rukeyser collaborated with her long-time partner Monica McCall on composing the verse-drama intimates, as well, desires for emotional, bodily, and sexual freedom that continue to be salient today.

Performances of the play contribute to the College's Detroit theme: Houdini did his most dangerous exploit in Detroit, when, as a publicity stunt, he leaped from Belle Isle Bridge, handcuffed, chained, and leg-ironed, into the icy Detroit river. As legend has it, the river was frozen, and he entered it through a small hole in the ice. Rukeyser’s musical devotes an entire scene to Houdini’s narrow escape from death. Twenty years later, in 1926, Houdini performed his last show in Detroit, even though he suffered from a burst appendix. He died a week later in Detroit’s Grace Hospital.

There will be four performances of Houdini, directed by Theatre Professor Lee Stille:

• March 20, 2pm. EMU Sponberg Theatre, Ypsilanti, Michigan

• March 24, 7pm. Riverside Arts Center, Ypsilanti, Michigan

• March 26, 8pm. The Matrix Theatre, Detroit, Michigan

• March 27, 3pm. The Matrix Theatre, Detroit, Michigan

For more information, contact Elisabeth Däumer at edaumer@emich.edu.

After two years of virtual programming, the 2022 Undergraduate Symposium will be a face-to-face event, supplemented by a virtual component. The CAS-sponsored Undergraduate Symposium celebrates the exceptional academic work of EMU's undergraduate students by showcasing students' research and creative projects. Participation is open to all undergraduate students who have been nominated by a faculty mentor and recommended by their department or school.

The Undergraduate Symposium submission site will close on January 21st, and the 42nd annual Undergraduate Symposium will take place on Friday, March 25th.