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Sara Lennox

Director of the Social Thought and Political Economy Program and professor of German Studies at the University of Massachusetts, AmherstSara Lennox poster

Reading Transnationally: The German Democratic Republic and Black Writers

Thursday, October 25, 2007
7:00 p.m. – Stern Center, Great Room

Keynote speaker for the conference of the same name. Many of the African-American authors GDR publishers prmoted after the war were deeply influenced by Soviet models of proletarian internationalism, national self-determination, and masculine subjecthood. GDR scholars could thus appropriate such Black writers texts to provide confirmation of official GDR notions about race-blind class solidarity, general-neutral revolutionary subjectivity, the GDR’s positioning of itself on the right side of history, and the role that particular kinds of literary production could play in moving history forward. Only a reading attentive to transnational influences acting upon the GDR and Black writers in their Cold War contexts can fully account for why and how East Germans were encouraged to read African-American literature. Co-sponsored by Music and German Departments.

Issue in Context
Beginning in the 1920’s, a number of African-American artists and intellectuals openly expressed their adherence to socialism as a way to gain rights for Black people under the political unity of American working classes. Read more

Yolanda Lopez, political artist

The Virgin of Guadalupe on the Road to Aztlan

Yolanda Lopez poster

Wednesday, October 17, 2007
7:00 p.m. – Stern Center, Great Room

Artist-provocateur and activist, Yolanda Lopez, will discuss the trajectory of her work, including her famous “virgin of guadalupe” paintings, in the context of her experiences with the Chicano civil rights movement, feminism, and contemporary immigration debates. Co-sponsored by Latin American Studies, American Studies and sociology Department.

Issue in Context
The Virgin of Guadalupe is one of the most revered Roman Catholic symbols in Mexico. She is believed to be an apparition of the Virgin Mary. From the time of the Mexican War of Independence, the Virgin of Guadalupe has been assumed as an icon of Mexican culture. Each year on December 12, millions of Mexicans and Mexican Americans celebrate The Queen of Mexico with dancing, songs, fireworks, and prayers.

According to the United States Census Bureau, in 2000 there were more than 20 million Mexican Americans living in the United States. Although they represent a large portion of the U.S. population, Chicanos, or Mexican-Americans, still often find themselves marginalized and discriminated against in mainstream society. The Chicano movement addresses negative representations of Mexican-Americans. Activists in the Chicano movement have worked Read more

Julie Nemecek and Bear Bergman

Gender and the Search for Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

Thursday, October 11, 2007
Gender Poster
Part I – Common Hour
“Transgender Issues” – Facilitator, Prof. Christine Talbot
12:00 p.m. – Weiss Center, Rubendall Recital Hall

Part II – “Gender and the Search for Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness”
7:00 p.m. – Stern Center, Great Room

Julie Nemecek, consultant, former associate professor and minister and S. Bear Bergman, writer, activist, performer, will use their own compelling stories and current research to discuss the barriers gender causes for the realization of the “unalienable rights” enumerated in our country’s Declaration of Independence. They will also identify key tools and actions needed to overcome those barriers. The Clarke Forum Student Board has created this program. Co-sponsored by the Office of the Dean of Students.

Issue in Context
In an article published in the September issue of the Human Relations journal, professors Stephen Linstead and Alison Pullen define “transgender” as a gender identity that goes beyond the normative binary system of male and female social representation. By this definition, transgender does not refer to sexual orientation and transgendered people may identify as heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, or asexual. The American Psychological Association specifies Read more

Dana Priest

Author and National Security Correspondent with The Washington PostDana Priest

The Media as Junkyard Dog: One Journalist’s Journey From Secret CIA Prisons to the Walter Reed Scandal

Wednesday, October 10, 2007
4:30 p.m. – Stern Center, Great Room
Dana Priest, Pulitzer Prize winner, and the reporter who “broke the story” on Walter Reed Hospital. What is the role of the mainstream media during a time of war and growing government secrecy? Priest takes us through the obstacle course, with all its trapped doors and moral dilemmas she encounters everyday in reporting during a time of great national angst and fear of terrorism. Co-sponsored by the United States Army War College and the philosophy department.

Issue in Context
While the “War on Terror” and the debate about its constitutionality continues, concerns about the system of American democracy and its morality are at the center of our national life.
As the link between the government and the American public, the media are responsible for informing American citizens about Federal policies and practices, and the government’s actions and inactions. But what happens if the government withholds such information from the media? Does the Bush administration have the right to operate in secrecy? The treatment Read more

Carmencita "Chie" Abad

No More Suffering From Sweat

Tuesday, October 9, 2007ChieAbadPoster
7:00 p.m. – Stern Center, Great Room
Chie will discuss the horrible working conditions she endured in the U.S. territory of Saipan while making clothing for the Gap. In her struggle to unionize workers, she was forced to leave the island and is now working to educate Americans about inhumane factory conditions worldwide. Co-sponsored by campus academic life (first year seminars/learning communities) and the sociology department.

Issue in Context
Where did you buy the clothes you are wearing today? It is possible your clothes were made in a garment factory by underpaid women and children working in deplorable conditions. In many garment and clothing factories around the world, workers spend prolonged periods of time in dangerous settings, pressured to meet production quotas. Corporations use these “sweatshops” in their production process in order to capitalize on cheap labor costs, boost production, and pursue increased profits at the expense of the human rights and dignity of the human beings who sweat to assemble products for mass consumption.

While some limited progress has been made in establishing regulations and worker rights in some factories, a large percentage remain outside the sphere of global attention. Read more

Sister Helen Prejean

Dead Man Walking: The Journey Continues

Sr. Helen Prejean poster
Thursday, October 4, 2007
7:00 p.m. – Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium
Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking and Death of Innocents: Wrongful Executions. Sister Helen is a Southern storyteller who brings you on a journey and shares her experiences involved with her death penalty ministry while working with the poor. She is the author of Dead Man Walking and Death of Innocents: Wrongful Executions. Book signing to follow. Co-sponsored by The Legislative Initiative Against the Death Penalty, Unitarian Universalists of the Cumberland Valley, community service and religious life, and the religion, philosophy, and English departments.

Join us for a student-led discussion “Continuing the Conversation” to be held on Friday, October 5, 12:30 p.m. at The Clarke Forum. Bring a bag lunch.

Issue in Context
Since 1976, there have been 1,095 executions in the United States. The death penalty has been used as a form of punishment in America since the founding of the colonies as Europeans brought the practice with them to the New World. The methods of execution have evolved over the years from hanging, to the firing squad, the electric chair in 1890, the gas chamber in 1924, and Read more

Vinton Cerf

Priestley Award

Tuesday, September 25, 2007Priestleyposter
7:00 p.m. – Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium

Social, Technical and Economic Consequences of the Internet Evolution

Vinton Cerf, one of the founding fathers of the internet, will discuss new internet products and services that may be appearing over the next decade. He will also explore the business consequences of dramatic changes in the economics of computing, networking and international demographics. Dr. Cerf will receive the Priestley award for his key technical and managerial role in the creation of the Internet, in particular, for leading the development of the TCP/IP protocols. Co-sponsored by the mathematics and computer science department.

Issue in Context
It is difficult to identify anything that has changed our lives to the extent that the Internet has. While the 19th century industrial revolution led to manufacturing prowess, expanding GDP and an increase in per capita purchasing power, the technological revolution which so much of Dr.Cerf’s work represents has captured the essence of human evolution and has taken us places previously incomprehensible. Who would have imagined that we could one day monitor the progress of our washer/dryer from our office desk? Who would have imagined that we could one day browse BBC online Read more

Judge Marjorie O. Rendell

United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, 43rd First Lady of Pennsylvania

The Constitution Day Address: The Constitution and Civic Responsibility

Monday, September 24, 2007ConstitutionDay0924
7:00 p.m. – Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium
As a federal judge, First Lady and citizen, The Honorable Marjorie O. Rendell is passionate about civic learning. She has said, “We are the newest guardians of our democracy. It is important that we rededicate ourselves to the creation of those “voices of the people” proficient in understanding and willing to sacrifice for the rights and responsibilities embodied in our Constitution. We have a duty as “living” citizens to educate our youngest so that they not only know the words, “we the people…,” but fully embrace their meaning.” Co-sponsored by the department of political science.

Issue in Context
On September 17, 1787, thirty-nine men signed the U.S. Constitution, giving the people sovereignty under the American government. As the oldest written national constitution in use, the United States Constitution stands as a model of statesmanship and cooperation. September 17, 2007 marked the 220th anniversary of the signing of the Constitution; this date serves as a reminder of the Founding Father’s legacy and American citizen’s responsibility to uphold Read more

Stephanie Black

Life and Debt

LifeandDebtposter

StephanieBlack092007Podcast
Thursday, September 20, 2007
7:00 p.m. – Stern Center, Great Room
Film showing and discussion with the filmmaker.
The film features Jamaica, land of sea, sand and sun, and a prime example of the impact economic globalization can have on a developing country. Using conventional and unconventional documentary techniques, this searing film dissects the “mechanism of debt” that is destroying local agriculture and industry while substituting sweatshops and cheap imports. With a voice-over narration written by Jamaica Kincaid, adapted from her book A Small Place, Life and Debt is an unapologetic look at the “new world order,” from the point of view of Jamaican workers, farmers, government and policy officials who know the reality of globalization from the ground up. Co-sponsored by campus academic life (first year seminars/learning communities).

Issue in Context
At what expense comes the global economic domination of industrial capitalist countries? The globalization process currently spreading through the world has many negative effects. In developing countries like Jamaica, many economic policies are adversely affecting the lives of the population. This process is fueled by multi-national economic organizations, such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Bank. Read more

Admiral Dennis Blair

Omar Bradley ChairBlair poster
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
7:00 p.m. – Stern Center, Great Room

The American Use of Military Force Since the Fall of the Berlin Wall

When the Berlin Wall came down in 1989 there were hopes for a peaceful new world order and even predictions of the end of history. As it turned out, the United States has sent major military forces into action nine times in the 19 years since then. Two major conflicts are continuing today in Afghanistan and Iraq. Admiral Blair will address how the United States has used military force in recent years, successfully and unsuccessfully, and how to think about what the country should do in Afghanistan and Iraq. Co-sponsored by the department of political science.

Issue in Context
The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 marked the end of nearly a half-century of Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. The United States emerged victorious, affirming its superiority in the international arena. President H. W. Bush declared grand expectations for a “new world order” – the United States would finally be able to fulfill its founding fathers’ visions of freedom. There were widespread hopes for global peace. However, Read more

Lance Simmens

Global Warming

Tuesday, September 11
Stern Center, Great Room, 7:00 p.m.091107Simmens

The scientific evidence on global warming is as disturbing as it is definitive. Increasing carbon emissions challenge our planet and all who inhabit it, a challenge that is here and now and that we must both acknowledge and address. Taking off from the documentary film, An Inconvenient Truth, the presentation by Simmens, special assistant to Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, speaks to the average citizen.

Issue in Context
Global warming refers to the rise of the average temperature of the earth’s atmosphere and oceans and has become a prominent global issue over the last fifty years. Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have been found by scientists to contribute in large part to the continued increase of the earth’s temperature. While some greenhouse gases are necessary to maintain a temperature suitable for life on earth, an excess of these gases can create serious problems. In the past decade, the earth has experienced some of the warmest years ever recorded. While changes in the sun’s orbit and some volcanic eruptions have contributed to global warming, scientists and environmentalists have found that the recent elevated temperatures of the planet can be attributed Read more

Jackson Katz, educator and filmmaker

Tough Guise: Violence, Media and the Crisis in Masculinity

Thursday, September 6
7:30 p.m. – Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium090607Katz
Mr. Katz explores the relationship between the social construction of masculinity and the widespread violence in American society, including the tragic shootings at Virginia Tech, Columbine, and elsewhere. Katz will provide the audience with conceptual and practical tools for reading both negative and positive media images critically, especially those connected with masculinity and violence. Co-sponsored by the sociology and anthropology departments.

Issue in Context
The past fifty years have seen serious challenges to conventional gender and sexual relations, which have reshaped people’s identities and experiences in the United States. Diversity has become more than just a statement of gender, racial, and ethnic uniqueness. People are embracing the idea of gender equality and more women are assuming positions of power and responsibility that transcend the domestic realm. Discriminated groups have been demanding their rights and claiming acceptance and visibility in society. These social movements are perceived as a threat by some men who react violently to the challenge of their dominant role. Jackson Katz points that the only field in which men still have an advantage over women is the “area of Read more

"Tough Guise: Violence, Media, and the Crisis in Masculinity" – Film Showing

Wednesday, September 5
7:00 p.m. – Stern Center, Great Room
The first educational video to systematically examine the relationship between pop-cultural imagery and the social construction of masculine identities in the United States at the dawn of the 21st century.
Jackson Katz, educator and filmmaker will present a lecture on Thursday, September 6. Click here for more information about this lecture.
For a film clip, visit http://www.mediaed.org/videos/MediaGenderAndDiversity/ToughGuise/# Read more

The Sentinel: The Situation

Film peers across cultural divide in Iraq
By Joseph Cress, March 25, 2007
Last updated: Sunday, March 25, 2007 2:19 AM EDT

It begins with a lack of understanding at the most basic level.

An American patrol confronts two Iraqi teenagers crossing a bridge at night outside Samarra.

They want to know why … They want to know their intentions … But there is a cultural divide, a language barrier.

Frustration takes hold and the soldiers act, dropping the two boys into the river.

One drowns and the news spreads among the population. There is both sorrow and anger.

A journalist investigates, tracking down a lead to the funeral where women wail over a coffin and men scheme in the courtyard looking to broker favors from the local mayor.

This is the setup for “The Situation,” a fictional film about the occupation of Iraq, which made its central Pennsylvania debut Saturday before a capacity crowd in Carlisle Theater.

Co-written by director Phillip Haas and journalist Wendell Steavenson, who spent a year reporting from Iraq, the film illustrates the interactions between Iraqis and American soldiers.

Its message is despite mass media coverage, many people remain confused and lack understanding of the Read more

The Patriot-News: The Situation

The Patriot-News

CARLISLE
Iraq war movie focuses on cultural differences
Sunday, March 25, 2007
BY M. DIANE McCORMICK
For The Patriot-News
CARLISLE – Resolving conflicts by understanding other cultures was the theme of a movie making its Pennsylvania premiere at the Carlisle Theatre last night.

“The Situation,” directed by Philip Haas, shows the Iraq war in 2004 through the eyes of a fictional American journalist and the people around her — Iraqi and American civilians, militants and soldiers.

Just before the lights dimmed, Carlisle resident Leon Blosser, who teaches Arabic at Dickinson College, said he believes the situation in Iraq would have been different if the American government had concentrated on teaching Arabic to its Middle East operatives.

The opening scene begins with a language gap and ends with a death.

A panel discussion before the movie featured a man once responsible for training American military commanders in strategic thinking, retired Army Gen. Robert H. Scales Jr.

Scales, the former commandant of the U.S. Army War College, said the military needs a new training approach. His generation of soldiers was trained to strike targets, he said.

But today’s military leaders need the education and tools to bridge cultural gaps, he said, because Read more

The Situation – Panel Discussion

Saturday, March 24, 2007
Panel Discussion about Iraq, prior to the film showing of The Situation.

Panelists:
Maj. General Robert H. Scales, Jr., former commandant of the U.S. Army War College
Col. Lawrence B. Wilkerson, chief of staff for former Secretary of State Colin Powell
Steven Clemons, director of the American Strategy Program at the New America Foundation

Link to Event Information
Panel Discussion podcastPodcast
Link to UChannel with Streaming Video Video icon Read more

Addressing Climate Change: A Least-Cost Strategy

Thursday, March 22, 2007
Benjamin Rush Award
Roger W. Sant

Roger W. Sant is co-founder and chairman emeritus of The AES Corporation, one of the world’s largest global power companies operating in 27 countries. Mr. Sant was assistant administrator for energy conservation and the environment at the Federal Energy Administration as well as director of the energy productivity center, affiliated with the Carnegie Mellon University.

Lecture presented by Rush Award recipient, Roger Sant on March 22, 2007Podcast Read more