Family Studies Faculty Selected to Teach the Mary C. Bingham Seminar

Dr. Diana Haleman, lecturer in the Department of Family Studies, has been selected to deliver the Mary C. Bingham Seminar sponsored bi-annually by the Gaines Center for the Humanities. Her winning proposal will culminate in a class trip to Ireland during summer session 2010.

The Gaines Center holds an open competition among UK faculty every other year to offer a special topical seminar in the humanities. Approximately 12 students are then selected by way of competitive application. The Bingham Seminar provides faculty and students a chance to explore a subject not in the university's regular course offerings and to do so on-site, since the seminar provides funding for a four-week study visit either within the United States or abroad.

Founded 25 years ago, the Gaines Center for the Humanities functions as a laboratory for imaginative and innovative education at UK. Devoted to cultivating an appreciation of the humanities in its students and faculty, the Center embraces varied paths of knowledge, and particularly strives to integrate creative work with traditional academic learning. It also sponsors an array of seminars and workshops that bring the rich and varied resources of the Lexington community and the University of Kentucky together.

“We are very proud of Dr. Haleman for winning the competition to present the Bingham Seminar,” said Ron Werner-Wilson, chair of the Department of Family Studies. “Her seminar examining family immigration from Ireland will be an excellent opportunity for a select group of students to learn about families in a historical context.”

Haleman joined the Department of Family Studies in the fall of 2008 as a lecturer. She teaches a variety of courses for both undergraduate and graduate students. Haleman's research interests include early childhood development, parenting, and working with single parent families. She also has extensive experience in a variety of university and community settings that include early childhood education, parent education, and early intervention services for children and families.

The course, “Across the Atlantic: Exploring Irish Immigration to the U.S.,” will be taught during the 2010 spring semester. It will be followed by 3-4 weeks of travel to Ireland during the 2010 summer session. Students are selected through an application process by the Gaines Center. The seminar will examine the immigration of families from Ireland to the U.S., a process that has spanned more than three centuries. Because the experiences of the Irish in America have been well documented in literature and the arts as well as in academic studies, they provide an excellent framework for studying the broad processes of immigration and enculturation.

For more information on the seminar, please contact the Gaines Center for the Humanities or Diana Haleman .

The Department of Family Studies is committed to offering quality programs for students preparing to work with individuals and families in various settings including schools, private and public human agencies, and business. The focus is on enhancing the quality of life for families based on scholarship in family sciences. Undergraduate service programming is at an applied level using an interdisciplinary approach from the perspectives of individual and family development, family resource management, and family systems.