When rumors of a live-action, nonmusical version of “Mulan” began to trickle out a few years ago, many hard-core fans of the 1998 Disney original groused. No big musical numbers and soaring ballads? No Mushu, the wisecracking dragon, or Li Shang, the movie’s clearly conflicted love interest? No “Reflection”? Many felt that the filmmakers were being unfaithful to the Mulan legend — or at least to Disney’s own version of it.
But Mulan has always been the most adaptable of heroines. Long before fans criticized Disney for taking liberties with their beloved animated heroine, poets, writers, playwrights and filmmakers had been creating scores of wildly different versions of the legendary woman warrior. In some, she’s a hardened army general; in others, she has magical powers; in yet others, she’s a crack shot with a bow. In one animated version, she’s a bug.
After the original poem, subsequent versions of the Mulan story added plotlines and details to flesh out the tale. In the 16th-century play “The Heroine Mulan Goes to War in Her Father’s Place,” she has bound feet. “At the time, women in the upper classes would bind their feet, and the playwright wanted to make sure Mulan was seen as the ideal icon of femininity,” said Lan Dong, author of “Mulan’s Legend and Legacy in China and the United States” and an English professor at the University of Illinois Springfield. “She had to be perfect.”
In the 1695 novel “The Romance of Sui and Tang Dynasties,” Mulan meets a fellow female warrior who becomes her sworn sister; in the end, Mulan takes her own life when the Khan summons her to be his concubine. “Many versions emphasize her virtue,” Professor Dong said. “Even after all those years and everything she’s put herself through, she kept herself untouched.”
This story appeared in The New York Times on September 3, 2020..
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Friday, September 4, 2020
COVID-19 and college: UIS on-campus students and faculty are getting tested weekly
The University of Illinois is aiming to have its saliva tests used throughout the nation and world. The so-called Shield tests provide rapid results and were developed by researchers in Urbana-Champaign at UIUC. "Direct saliva testing can address bottlenecks of time, cost and supplies," said Martin Burke in a release. "Our test also has unique features that enable fast and frequent testing on a large scale, and we are now working together with many partners to make our testing method broadly available as soon as possible." Burke is a chemistry professor at UIUC and helped develop the tests, which are under FDA emergency authorization.
The tests are being used at all three U of I campuses, including in Springfield. The aim at UIS is to test weekly those who learn, live and work on campus. Testing, combined with contact tracing, provides a picture of where outbreaks are occurring and how to mitigate further spread. Interim UIS chancellor Karen Whitney has repeatedly described the coming school year as a roller coaster, and it's already proven to be true.
"The lab is slammed in Urbana, and we've had bumps in the road," Whitney said during an Aug. 27 UIS virtual meeting about COVID-19.
"UIS is not closing unless the governor or the system head directs me to. The question gets into how will we operate," Whitney told Illinois Times. Students and faculty who become ill will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. Pauses in on-campus activity and a temporary shift to online learning for all are included as potential mitigation efforts. Meanwhile, about 80% of students are learning purely online according to Whitney. Those who attend in-person classes must wear masks and keep a distance from others.
In-person learning is a privilege, said Whitney. There could be discipline for faculty and students who don't abide by rules. So far though, "I'm impressed with how conscientious people have been, how thoughtful they've been," Whitney said. "I'm very optimistic."
The tests are being used at all three U of I campuses, including in Springfield. The aim at UIS is to test weekly those who learn, live and work on campus. Testing, combined with contact tracing, provides a picture of where outbreaks are occurring and how to mitigate further spread. Interim UIS chancellor Karen Whitney has repeatedly described the coming school year as a roller coaster, and it's already proven to be true.
"The lab is slammed in Urbana, and we've had bumps in the road," Whitney said during an Aug. 27 UIS virtual meeting about COVID-19.
"UIS is not closing unless the governor or the system head directs me to. The question gets into how will we operate," Whitney told Illinois Times. Students and faculty who become ill will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. Pauses in on-campus activity and a temporary shift to online learning for all are included as potential mitigation efforts. Meanwhile, about 80% of students are learning purely online according to Whitney. Those who attend in-person classes must wear masks and keep a distance from others.
In-person learning is a privilege, said Whitney. There could be discipline for faculty and students who don't abide by rules. So far though, "I'm impressed with how conscientious people have been, how thoughtful they've been," Whitney said. "I'm very optimistic."
This story appeared in the Illinois Times on September 3, 2020.
Thursday, September 3, 2020
UIS celebrates its 50th anniversary
The University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) is celebrating its 50th anniversary this academic year.
UIS Interim Chancellor Karen Whitney said the university began as an upstart campus in a temporary building. Now, it is ranked as the No. 1 public regional university in the state by U.S. News & World Report.
On June 10, 1969, former Illinois Gov. Richard Ogilvie signed legislation to create Sangamon State University (SSU), which later became UIS.
SSU was considered an "upper-level" three-year university. It offered junior, senior, and graduate courses.
Then, on Sept. 28, 1970, university staff began teaching 811 students in temporary classrooms at First United Methodist Church in Springfield due to construction delays.
The first day of classes on UIS' present campus was held on Oct. 5, 1970.
The university recently hung billboards in the capital city with its 50th anniversary logo and tagline: "Bold Legacy. Bright Future."
UIS also plans to celebrate the milestone on social media.
This story appeared on WICS Newschannel 20 on September 2, 2020.
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