EIU Media Relations

Eastern Illinois University’s Booth Library to host Authors@EIU event April 15

(Charleston, IL) – Eastern Illinois University’s Booth Library will continue its Authors@EIU series with a second event in the series being offered at 5 p.m. Wednesday, April 15. All EIU and regional community members are welcome to attend the free event, including students.

• Danelle Larson, Ph.D., Professor, Music Education and Director of the Music Education Division
  Music Teaching and Learning in America’s Public Normal Schools
  Edited by Danelle Larson, Ph.D. and Jill M. Sullivan, Ph.D.
  Bloomsbury Publishing, January 2026
  Dr. Larson and her colleague Dr. Jill Sullivan, Arizona State University, collaborated with fourteen authors who share research on histories of music in public normal schools (institutions for training teachers) in America. Combined with these histories are considerations of the impacts of race, gender, and geographic location on curriculum in America's Public Normal Schools. Dr. Larson conducted research at EIU and authored the chapter "Music in the Eastern Illinois State Normal School." Larson teaches a variety of courses in the music education curriculum, supervises student teachers, and oversees the Master of Arts, Music Education Degree program that serves practicing music educators across the country. Her research interests include mentorship of new teachers, female military bands, and history of music education in public schools.
  
  
• Robin L. Murray, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, English, Film Studies and Women/Gender/Sexuality Studies
  and Joseph K. Heumann, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, Communication Studies
  Eco-Teen Films, by Robin L. Murray, Ph.D. and Joseph K. Heumann, Ph.D.
  Routledge, September, 2024
  Focused on the impacts of environmental disasters and climate crises globally, this book examines the experiences of teens grappling with eco-disasters and issues in films of the twenty-first century. With an emphasis on teen activism, international settings and filmmakers, and marginalized perspectives, this book showcases teens on film that are struggling with present and future everyday eco-disasters amplified by climate change. By highlighting and interrogating diverse genres of teen films in which young adults encounter, address, and battle environmental issues and calamities while also struggling with adolescent development, this book acknowledges the young adult point of view missing from most critical ecocinema research and underlines connections between the more complex ‘coming-of-age’ themes found in teen films with ecocinema themes and approaches.
  Murray and Heumann have co-authored eight ecocinema books: Ecology and Popular Film: Cinema on the Edge (SUNY Press 2009) That’s All Folks?: Ecocritical Readings of American Animated Features (U Nebraska Press 2011) Gunfight at the Eco-Corral: Western Cinema and the Environment (U Oklahoma Press 2012), Film and Everyday Ecodisasters (U Nebraska Press 2014), Monstrous Nature: Environment and Horror on the Big Screen (U Nebraska Press 2016), Ecocinema and the City (Routledge 2018), Film, Environment, Comedy: Eco-Comedies on the Big Screen (Routledge 2022), and Eco-Teen Films (Routledge 2025).           

Five authors in total are being featured across three Spring 2026 Authors@EIU events to celebrate the research, scholarship and creative success of EIU faculty and alumni who have recently achieved publication of a book or comparable scholarly or creative work. The April 15 event will be held in the Library’s West Reading Room beginning with a shared reception at 5 p.m. Presentations will begin at 5:30 p.m. with introductory remarks, author presentations, and question-and-answer sessions with each author. 

About Booth Library
Eastern Illinois University’s Mary J. Booth Library is celebrating its 75th year anniversary during academic year 2025-2026. Since opening as a dedicated library in 1950, Booth Library has become a cornerstone of teaching, research and community engagement, serving not only EIU but also students, educators, and residents throughout Central Illinois. For more information about Booth Library or EIU’s Spring 2026 Authors@EIU series, contact Booth Library Exhibits & Events Coordinator Diane Highland at dehighland@eiu.edu or by calling (217) 581-6061.

About EIU
EIU prepares students to accomplish their life goals through a combination of quality academics, personal relationships, and both on-campus and online learning opportunities. For more information about Eastern Illinois University, including its broad array of academic and career readiness programs, or any of EIU’s other community-based services and opportunities, visit eiu.edu or call EIU’s public information office at (217) 581-7400.

CLICK HERE FOR INFORMATION ON AN APRIL 9 AUTHORS@EIU EVENT.