Events Archive

How we think, how we feel, and how we behave depends on ethnicity, social class, and where we live.  Each of these social distinctions is associated with different patterns of ideas and practices about how to be a person and the right way to behave.  This research focuses on choice, suggesting that…

Yann Martel is one of the world's most respected contemporary writers.  He is the author of the short story collection The Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios, the novel Self, and the international best-seller Life of Pi, his second novel and winner of the 2002 Man Book Prize. Hosted by:  Carr…

In a new cosmology based on science, the human is no longer separate; observer and observed merge and become part of the web of one life process. In this view, the uniqueness of the human lies not in separation, but in being the carrier of mystery. Daniel Martin, principal author of an Earth…

Criminal trafficking and slavery are growing national, regional, and global problems yet they are much-neglected subjects in academia and public policy. Susan Martin explores the global dimensions of the trafficking and slavery problem, evaluates measures being taken to address these criminal…

How can the same phenomenon, religion, serve some movements as an agency of destruction and others as an instrument of reconciliation? Martin Marty discusses militant fundamentalisms, ethnonationalism and other disruptive and "killing" expressions of religion, contrasting them with the "healing"…

Using clips from Hoop Dreams and Boys to Men? film director/writer/producer/editor Frederick Marx argues the societal necessity to resurrect ritual initiation and mentoring of teenage boys.  In this context, he discusses themes from his upcoming feature documentary New American Heroes, a year-long…

Since 1986 the United States has employed a politics of contradiction in its relations with Mexico. With US encouragement, Mexico joined GATT in that year and embarked on a neoliberal economic project that opened its economy to trade, investments, and exchange, a project that was institutionalized…

Mulnajil yib’an Mayab’ ti’ej yetoq Mayab’ konob’ Trabajando con las Lenguas Mayas: Una Investigación desde la comunidad   VIDEO In this talk, Professor Mateo Pedro will discuss his work on Mayan languages in Guatemala highlighting language documentation, language maintenance, and research. He…

From the early 1920s on, French surrealists showed an elective sensibility toward Northwest Coastal art.  The great moment of the true discover of this art in Europe, however, is the World War II European exile in New York.  Then Clause Lévi-Strauss, André Breton and their friends developed in the…

The struggle for Greek independence in 1821 reverberated around the world and with effects continuing to be felt today - almost 200 years later. Mark Mazower examines what we can learn about our own attitudes to questions of state sovereignty, humanitarian intervention and politics itself from…

W. B. Yeats is known primarily as a great modern poet and, arguably, one of the greatest poets writing in English in the twentieth century. As a playwright and founder of the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, he has also had a major influence on the development of twentienth century theatre. Cosponsored by…

What triggers disgust? Paradoxically, disgust is both primitive and yet infused with civilization and its objects seem heterogeneous and without unifying principle (from corpses to feces to rats to body parts). McGinn suggests that death figures in objects we find disgusting, directly or indirectly…

"I am not one of those...who think that a woman (scientist)...can disinterest herself from her role as a woman, either in private or public life." Irène Joliet-Curie While only eight other Nobel Prizes in science have ever been presented to women, more than 300 have been presented to men.  Sharon…

Aaron McGruder is the author and illustrator of the comic strip The Boondocks.  Through his work, Mr. McGruder seeks to provoke thought, help improve the state of racial discourse and expand the types of humor found on the newspaper comics page. Hosted by: Martin Luther King Jr. Symposium Planning…

Cosponsored by Department of Animal Sciences, Department of Biochemistry, Department of Chemistry, Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Department of Veterinary Biosciences, Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, Institute for Environmental Studies, Interdisciplinary Program in Environmental…

Professor McNair will present findings from her long-term literacy program that involved African American children's literature and 10 African American families with children in grades K-2. The goal was to determine how the families' social practices changed as a result of participating in the…

During the summers of 1999 and 2000, New York City residents reported seeing increasing numbers of dead crows. After several birds, including flamingoes and a bald eagle, in the Bronx Zoo died, pathologist Tracey McNamara found evidence suggesting that they were carriers of the West Nile Virus.…

Marian McPartland is the "First Lady of Jazz . . . she brings a very special joy to all of her music . . ." Chicago Sun-Times   In conjunction with: School of Music, Continuing Education and Public Service in Music, Piano Laboratory Program, Women's Studies Program, Krannert Center for the…

Billie Melman's research calls for a new perspective in the field of colonial studies. By examining the writings of European women travelers, she finds that these women identified with their Middle Eastern Counterparts, rather than viewing them as the exotic "other," as men commonly did.…

In the wake of a steady stream of revelations regarding the treatment of prisoners in US military custody, their representatives and the American Public have been engaged in debates over the value, justice and dangers of investigating and/or prosecuting current and former US officials for torture…

The veil is a precisely dated historical event. Only economics can make us understand why it is still called for by fundamentalists who claim it will protect Moslem societies from "moral decay."   In conjunction with: School of Human Resources and Family Studies, Department of French, Department of…

Professor Sally Engle Merry’s research interests focus on human rights, gender violence and, most recently, how big data indicators have been used as a tool of power to influence global governance practices. Big data sets and the statistical techniques that accompany them have impacted governance,…

Popular movie-videos emerged in Ghana and Nigeria in the late 1980s as a result of media deregulation and commercialization of the film industry. These popular videos spread quickly throughout Africa. Their themes address a war between the Christian God and the “powers of darkness,” embodied by…

A lecture/performance exploring the aesthetics and practice of mbira music, its relationship with Shona religion and ceremony, and the transformations the tradition has undergone in recent decades. Cosponsored by: Office of the Chancellor, Office of the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic…

In the wake of the one-year anniversary of the devastating earthquake in Haiti, alternative strategies for present and future possibilities to rebuild must be considered. In order to reconceptualize Haiti culturally and politically as a nation-state, Claudine Michel will not only explore the…