... Lecture Series. Community / Campus. Free to All. Connecting to the Future, Serving the Public Good

Transcription

1 University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point College of Letters and Science Community / Campus Lecture Series Free to All Connecting to the Future, Serving the Public Good

2 Lecture Series 7:00-8:30 p.m. September 25 Speaker Stephanie Alemán, Ph.D. - Anthropology Topic Engagement and Experience in the Amazon: Emergent Ideologies of Fieldwork in Anthropology October 16 Speaker David Gibbs, Ph.D. - Computing Topic Implications of Exponential Technological Change November 20 Speaker James Stokes, Ph.D. - English Topic The Day the Globe Theatre Burned to the Ground: Using Documents to Bring the Age of Shakespeare to Life December 11 Speaker Padmanabhan Sudevan, Ph.D. - Psychology Topic Mind and Brain in Life January 22 Speaker Christopher Yahnke, Ph.D. - Biology Topic Bioacoustics: The Nature of Animal Sounds February 19 Speaker Debbie Palmer, Ph.D. - Psychology Topic Parental Involvement in Academic Activities: What s a Parent to Do & What Do Students Want? March 26 Speaker Dona Warren, Ph.D. - Philosophy Topic Thinking Well: Exploring the Intersection between Critical Thinking and Cognitive Therapy April 16 Speaker Susan Brewer, Ph.D. - History Topic Why America Fights: War Propaganda from 1898 to the Present

3 September 25, 7:00-8:30 p.m. Stephanie Alemán, Ph.D. Anthropology Engagement and Experience in the Amazon: Emergent Ideologies of Fieldwork in Anthropology Fieldwork is one of the defining features of Anthropology as a discipline. As the source for data regarding human groups and their variety, fieldwork also carries with it many issues concerning the level of engagement and the formation of relationships between researchers and the communities they visit. Alongside these issues of engagement is the consideration of experience; both on a personal, individual level, and on a larger, theoretical level in terms of the way in which culture can be experienced and how these experiences can be translated into knowledge in order to make the different lifeways of others more accessible. In the Amazon, fieldwork presents specific challenges and yields unique rewards. In our current, globalized world, doing fieldwork in remote places takes on new meanings and the nature of relationships with Amazonian peoples changes to reveal new and challenging aspects. These issues will be presented with reference to the way in which fieldwork changes both the community and the researchers who work among them and how this in turn relates to doing anthropology as a global citizen.

4 October 16, 7:00-8:30 p.m. David Gibbs, Ph.D. Computing Implications of Exponential Technological Change From The Singularity is Near, by Ray Kurzweil. Penquin Books, 2005, New York, NY. Computing power will continue to exponentially increase in the immediate future as new technologies come to fruition. Computers will become ubiquitous in clothing and all everyday objects (including humans), and all communicate with each other and the worldwide mesh. Breakthroughs in scientific research, building upon the unlocking of the genetic code, will allow repair and replacement of parts of the human body to dramatically extend life spans. Nanotechnology, engineering things at incredibly small sizes (smaller than one-millionth of a meter), will enable the creation of nanobots, or robots designed to work at the molecular level. Nanobots will be equipped with instructions, and given tasks as wondrous as performing medical procedures within the human body or as mundane as constructing ordinary objects. Artificial Intelligence (AI) software, capable of learning (from itself and other AIs) will equip computers with intelligence millions of times more capable than human brains. Reverse engineering of the human brain will permit downloading of biological brains. Augmenting biological brains will extend human intellectual capabilities to include uploading intelligence. Robots will be smarter than humans. This merger of biological and silicon will dramatically mark the point in time now referred to as the Singularity, predicted to occur no later than the year What are the implications of this rapid technological change upon daily life? On medicine? On nutrition? On education? On employment? On warfare? On relationships? On human reproduction? On augmentation of the body? What is a cyborg? Will radical life extension result in over-population? What do I do if I want to live forever? What do I do if I don t want to live forever?

5 November 20, 7:00-8:30 p.m. James Stokes, Ph.D. English The Day the Globe Theatre Burned to the Ground: Using Documents to Bring the Age of Shakespeare to Life The Age of Shakespeare, the Renaissance, was, of course, a kind of golden period for English drama. But it was also a very complicated time, filled with crisis and change-in religion, politics, culture, society, science, and philosophy. It is often described as the birth of the modern world, but it was no easy birth. The passionate controversies of the age tended to focus in public performance-in support or rejection of drama and traditional customs. The countless archival documents generated by those controversies provide vivid and unique windows for seeing into that wonderfully creative and generative, but often violent and explosive, age. My presentation uses documents from the period to illustrate the age in all-too-human terms.

6 December 11, 7:00-8:30 p.m., Stevens Point Padmanabhan Sudevan, Ph.D. Psychology Mind and Brain in Life The relationship between mind and brain and the ramifications of that relationship are central to a host of psychological, medical, judicial and ethical questions that arise in a variety of contexts in our daily lives. This lecture will deal with the nature of the mind-brain relationship, that is, how the brain enables the mind, with special focus on some basic cognitive processes in attention and memory. We will also discuss, as a group, some of the most important applications of the mind-brain relationship in real life: individual agency, free choice, legal responsibility and medical treatment to name a few.

7 January 22, 7:00-8:30 p.m. Christopher Yahnke, Ph.D. Biology Bioacoustics: The Nature of Animal Sounds Animals use sounds for a variety of reasons. Bats and whales use it to navigate in their environment and to search for food. Sounds are also used to communicate with members of their species. Howler monkeys vocalize to defend territories and maintain contact with group members. Elephants can coordinate group movements over many miles with vocalizations below the range of human perception. Many animals use vocalizations in elaborate mating rituals. This talk will introduce you to the basic physical properties of an acoustic signal and how those signals are used in a variety of ecological situations.

8 February 19, 7:00-8:30 p.m., Stevens Point Debbie Palmer, Ph.D. Psychology Parental Involvement in Academic Activities: What s a Parent to Do & What Do Students Want? Parental involvement in their children s academic activities has been frequently examined in younger students, yet little is known about the college years. At younger ages, appropriate parental involvement is seen as both positive and protective. However, what type and level of parental involvement is appropriate during late adolescence and young adulthood? Does parental involvement in their children s academic activities during late adolescence and young adulthood really matter? In this talk I will present the findings from recent research on parental involvement in students academic activities, including findings from my own studies examining UWSP students conducted over the last five years. I will also describe my ongoing research, funded by a University of Wisconsin System Teaching Fellow award.

9 March 26, 7:00-8:30 p.m. Dona Warren, Ph.D. Philosophy Thinking Well: Exploring the Intersection between Critical Thinking and Cognitive Therapy According to cognitive therapy, many unpleasant emotions and unhelpful ways of behaving are rooted in faulty thinking patterns. According to critical thinking, a subject often taught under the general aegis of philosophy, people can learn to think better by mastering a handful of relatively simple skills. This presentation will explore the intersection of cognitive therapy and critical thinking by examining how techniques from critical thinking can help us to discover our hidden beliefs, can enable us to assess these beliefs, and can assist us in changing the beliefs that we find to be false or unproductive.

10 April 16, 7:00-8:30 p.m., Stevens Point Susan Brewer, Ph.D. History Why America Fights: War Propaganda from 1898 to the Present Why America Fights explores the presentation of war aims by the U.S. government to the American people in six wars from the Philippines War to Operation Iraqi Freedom. When Americans are called upon to fight, they want to know what they are fighting for. They believe they deserve truthful reasons. Official propaganda, however, seeks to rally support by appealing to what Americans want to believe about themselves. From the world wars to counter-insurgency operations, propaganda has portrayed the United States as a generous liberator, spreading democracy as it defends civilization against barbarians. Such compelling portrayals are worth investigation. This lecture will include numerous examples of wartime propaganda from posters, speeches, photographs, and films.

11 Lecture Series 7:00-8:30 p.m. September 25 Speaker Stephanie Alemán, Ph.D. - Anthropology Topic Engagement and Experience in the Amazon: Emergent Ideologies of Fieldwork in Anthropology October 16 Speaker David Gibbs, Ph.D. - Computing Topic Implications of Exponential Technological Change November 20 Speaker James Stokes, Ph.D. - English Topic The Day the Globe Theatre Burned to the Ground: Using Documents to Bring the Age of Shakespeare to Life December 11 Speaker Padmanabhan Sudevan, Ph.D. - Psychology Topic Mind and Brain in Life January 22 Speaker Christopher Yahnke, Ph.D. - Biology Topic Bioacoustics: The Nature of Animal Sounds February 19 Speaker Debbie Palmer, Ph.D. - Psychology Topic Parental Involvement in Academic Activities: What s a Parent to Do & What Do Students Want? March 26 Speaker Dona Warren, Ph.D. - Philosophy Topic Thinking Well: Exploring the Intersection between Critical Thinking and Cognitive Therapy April 16 Speaker Susan Brewer, Ph.D. - History Topic Why America Fights: War Propaganda from 1898 to the Present

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