Is Extreme Global Inequality our Destiny?
dnorris10 February 21st, 2007
Branko Milanovic of The World Bank, discusses the question, “Is Extreme Global Inequality our Destiny?” at the fifth lecture in the Great Decisions Lecture Series on Feb. 20.
Farmers First Altered Climate Thousands of Years Ago
dnorris10 February 21st, 2007
William F. Ruddiman, professor emeritus of environmental sciences at the University of Virginia and author of Plows, Plagues, and Petroleum: How Humans Took Control of Climate, will present “Farmers First Altered Climate Thousands of Years Ago” on Wednesday, Feb. 7, at The College of Wooster. The lecture, which is part of the Global Climate Change Symposium, begins at 7:30 p.m. in Lean Lecture room of Wishart Hall (303 E. University). A dessert reception will precede the lecture. Admission is free and open to the public.
Ruddiman, who won the 2006 Phi Beta Kappa Award in Science and the Phi Beta Kappa Book Award, will discuss his assertion that humans have actually been changing the climate for some 8,000 years, primarily as a result of the earlier discovery of agriculture. He will address the impact of farming on greenhouse-gas levels - thousands of years before the industrial revolution - which kept our planet notably warmer than if natural climate cycles had prevailed, quite possibly forestalling a new ice age. His book, which is the first to address the full historical sweep of human interaction with Earth’s climate, focuses on three broad stages of human history: (1) when nature was in control; (2) when humans began to take control, discovering agriculture and affecting climate through carbon dioxide and methane emissions; and, (3) the more recent human impact on climate change. The book concludes by looking to the future and critiquing the impact of special interest money on the global warming debate.
Ruddiman is a marine geologist who received his Ph.D. from Columbia University. Before joining the faculty at the University of Virginia, he was a senior research scientist at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in New York, a program associate with the National Science Foundation, and a senior scientist/oceanographer with the U.S. Naval Oceanographic Office in Maryland. He is also the author of Earth’s Climate: Past & Future, and has published articles in Scientific American, Nature, Science and other scientific journals.
Can Latin America Foresee a Finer Future?
dnorris10 February 7th, 2007
Nicole Spencer, associate to the president of The InterAmerican Dialogue, will address “Can Latin America Foresee a Finer Future?”. There is a nice article in the Daily Record about Ms. Spencer.
Can Immigration Dilemmas be Resolved?
dnorris10 February 2nd, 2007
Pawan Dhingra, professor of sociology at Oberlin College, and Pablo Mitchell, professor of history at Oberlin, present “Can Immigration Dilemmas be Resolved?”.
Can Iraq be Mended?
dnorris10 January 26th, 2007
Richard Herrmann, director of the Mershon Center for National Security Studies at The Ohio State University, opened the series on Jan. 23 by addressing the question, “Can Iraq be Mended?”
Where do Genes Come From?
dnorris10 December 1st, 2006
Dean Fraga, associate professor of biology at The College of Wooster, will present “Where do genes come from? Developing Model Systems to Explore how New Gene Functions Evolve” at the final Faculty at Large lecture of the fall semester on Tuesday, Nov. 28, at 11 a.m. The lecture, which is free and open to the public, begins at 11 a.m. in Room 009 of Severance (Chemistry) Hall (943 College Mall).All organisms have a ”genetic blueprint,” or genome, that helps determine their appearance and behavior, according to Fraga. The genome is composed of a large number of genes whose combined action determines the unique aspects of each species. Even the simplest organisms have thousands of genes, and this number can reach even higher counts in the more complex organisms (tens of thousands of genes). Fraga will address such questions as “Where did these genes come from?” and “How do genes evolve and acquire new functions?”
“An understanding of the evolution of genes and gene functions will help us to understand how the diversity of life we see around us arose, and may help us design new protein functions in the future,” said Fraga. “I will explore this topic and the use of two model systems I am now using at the College to try to understand how new genes arise and how they acquire new biochemical or physiological functions.”
Fraga, a member of the Wooster faculty since 1994, specializes in molecular biology, genetics, and the use of antisense/RNAi technology to control gene expression. His research has appeared in scientific articles that have been published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, the Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. A member of the Society of Protozoologists and the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Fraga has received research grants from the National Institute of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the American Cancer Society. His most recent award from NSF was a collaborative research grant with faculty in Wooster’s chemistry department to study the evolution of structure-function relationships in the phosphagen kinase protein family.
Can Darwinians also be Christians?
dnorris10 October 18th, 2006
Can Darwinians also be Christians? Michael Ruse, Werkmeister Professor of Philosophy at Florida State University, set out to address that provocative question at the third Wooster Forum event Tuesday night in McGaw Chapel.
The eloquent and soft-spoken Ruse, now 66 and making his third visit to The College of Wooster, framed the discussion within the polar viewpoints of evolutionist Richard Dawkins and evangelist Pat Robertson, both of whom, he said, are “a little over the top.”
Ruse, who conceded that a discussion about science often makes the religious uneasy just as a conversation about religion tends to make scientists uncomfortable, advocated a move toward the center through a dialogue involving those on both sides.
Ruse began with a condensed history lesson about Darwinism and Christianity. He noted that Charles Darwin was a Bible-believing Christian before a fateful trip to the Galapagos Islands on the H.M.S. Beagle in 1835 changed everything. Fascinated by the diversity of birds and reptiles on the islands, Darwin sketched out his tree of life, which became the foundation for his theory of evolution through natural selection. Ruse went on to contrast Darwin’s views with those of others, including William Paley, a Christian apologist, utilitarian, and philosopher who made a design argument for the existence of God in his book Natural Theology. He also summarized the beliefs of such theologians as Thomas Aquinas, Martin Luther, and John Calvin.
After providing a historical context, Ruse went about answering the central question by posing fourth others. First, he asked, “Does the fact of evolution make Christianity impossible?” While acknowledging that Pat Robertson would probably say “yes,” Ruse argued that science and religion can co-exist, primarily because of man’s ability to reason, hinting that not all of scripture is literal and concluding that evolution does not make Christianity impossible. Then, Ruse asked, “Does the fact of evolution make Christianity unnecessary?” Before answering the question, he advised the audience to “hang on a minute. The story is more complex. There are still facts that need to be explained.” He went on explain the development and function of the eye of a fossil trilobite, and concluded that evolution does not make Christianity unnecessary.
In a slightly different version of the second question, Ruse asked, “Does Darwinism make Christianity unnecessary?” In this case, he said “yes” because Darwin’s theory of natural selection argues against the need for Christianity to explain design on nature.
Ruse’s final question, “Does Darwinism make Christianity impossible?” went to the heart of the issue. Dawkins and many other Darwinians would probably say “yes” according to Ruse because of the problem of evil. Darwin struggled with the idea that God would allow pain and suffering, but Ruse pointed out the distinction between moral evil (man’s inhumanity to man, which results from free will), and natural evil (events that occur in nature) and concluded that a “traditional Christian” (that is, not a literalist) could reconcile a dangerous world ruled by laws which allow free will (and thus evolution) with a loving and omnipotent God.
Ruse, who has written 18 books on the subject, concluded the presentation with a question-and-answer session and then moved across the street to Freedlander Theatre, where he signed copies of his latest book, The Evolution-Creation Struggle.
Pilates: Fact, Fusion, and Fundamentals
dnorris10 September 19th, 2006
The College of Wooster will open its Faculty at Large fall lecture series with a look at the power of Pilates when Kim Tritt, professor of theatre, presents “Pilates: Fact, Fusion, and Fundamentals,” on Tuesday, Sept. 19, at 11 a.m. in Freedlander Theatre (329 E. University St.). Tritt will discuss Joseph Pilates, classical Pilates technique, and the significance of Pilates to the German tradition of modern dance and American dancers. All in attendance will be invited to experience the eight fundamental principles of Pilates, which will be modified to suit individual needs. Participants are asked to wear loose pants and a comfortable shirt. They should also bring a thick towel or mat.
Tritt, who joined the faculty at Wooster in 1983 and served as department chair for four years, recently completed a one-year leave to take part in a Pilates Certification and to research dance in world cultures at the University of Hawaii. She also completed archiving the private dance collection of Gladys Bailin, which will be housed in the Bobst Library at Ohio University. From 1997-2005, Tritt served on the board of directors of OhioDance and is presently on the advisory board for OhioDance and the Great Lakes College Association New York Arts Program.
The Faculty at Large lecture series was established in 1999 to give members of the faculty an opportunity to share their latest research and interests with colleagues, students, staff, and residents of the community. The next lecture will be Tuesday, Oct. 31, at 11 a.m. in Room 009 of Severance (Chemistry) Hall (943 College Mall) when Denise Bostdorff, associate professor of communication, presents “Hang the Banner, Sound the Trumpet: George W. Bush, Epideictic Rhetoric, and the War in Iraq.”
Heaven & Earth: Participating in the Cosmic Process
dnorris10 April 25th, 2006
Lowell Boone, visiting assistant professor of physics at The College of Wooster, will close out the Faculty at Large spring lecture series with “Heaven & Earth: Participating in the Cosmic Process” on Tuesday, April 25, at 11 a.m. in Room 009 of Severance (Chemistry) Hall (943 College Mall). Admission is free and open to the public.
Boone’s talk will focus on the incredibly energetic outflows of material called “jets.” These structures can be found in newly forming stars and in the intense environments of stellar corpses, such as neutron stars and black holes. They are even found at the centers of galaxies, emanating from super-massive black holes a million to a billion times the mass of our Sun. Jets can contain relativistic particles with velocities approaching the speed of light. Such extreme environments can produce copious amounts of radiation over more than 10 orders of magnitude in energy: extending from the radio waves, through visible light, and even into X-rays and Gamma rays.
“The universe is a vast place - so much so that at times we may feel utterly cut off and alone,” said Boone. “But we are not alone in the universe: light travels from every corner of the sky to bring us news of all manner of events and structures, including the life and times of these beautiful and powerful structures called jets. We need only open our eyes and learn to interpret the message to be inexorably caught up in the cosmic process.”
Boone, who joined Wooster’s faculty in 2003, earned his B.A., M.S., and Ph.D. from the University of California at Santa Cruz. A member of the American Astronomical Society, Boone’s previous work includes the commissioning and operation of STACEE (the Solar Tower Atmospheric Cherenkov Effect Experiment), an emerging type of ground-based detector. He is particularly interested in using gamma-ray and X-ray astronomy to study the structure and energetics of active galactic nuclei, as well as how these objects can illuminate the composition of the intergalactic infrared photon field, an avenue of inquiry which may be used to learn about galaxy formation in the early universe. The results of Boone’s research has been published in a variety of scholarly journals.
Making Stories of Our Lives: Rewriting the Mother-Daughter Plot
dnorris10 March 28th, 2006
Joanne Frye, professor of English and women’s studies at The College of Wooster, will present “Making Stories of Our Lives: Rewriting the Mother-Daughter Plot” at the second Faculty at Large lecture of the spring semester on Tuesday, March 28, at 11 a.m. in Room 009 of Severance (Chemistry) Hall (943 College Mall). Admission is free and open to the public.
Frye, who recently completed a memoir of her own experiences as a mother, will discuss the power of stories in our cultural thinking about mothers and the urgency of developing new stories about the relationship between mothers and daughters. Historically, the experiences of mothers have often been silenced or distorted, in part because most stories give primary voice to sons and daughters, rarely to mothers themselves, according to Frye. Even feminist perspectives on mothers have been largely through the eyes of daughters, again denying the distinctive agency and subjectivity involved in motherhood. The result, says Frye, is that mothers have rarely told stories of selfhood or been seen as engaged in thought and active in their own self-definition. And they have been portrayed as selfish or “bad” if not focused exclusively on their children’s needs. These expectations are often played out again in daughters’ subsequent lives.
“Much of my work in writing a memoir of my life as a single mother of two daughters has been a struggle of self-definition in resistance to cultural norms and available story forms,” said Frye. “Because stories are so important to culture and to ideas of self, I could not simply abandon the idea of story. But neither could I fall into the trap of traditional plotting of women’s lives. In my talk, I will discuss some of the features of narrative that I embraced in this work, as well as the problems I encountered in developing an honest approach to difficult personal material.
“Like the memoir, my discussion of it will draw on my work in my first book - Living Stories, Telling Lives: Women and the Novel in Contemporary Experience - as well as my personal experience as a mother resisting cultural norms, for myself and for my daughters,” added Frye. “The discussion also connects to a course I have taught periodically since 1986 and am currently teaching again: Feminist Perspectives on Motherhood.”
Frye has been a member of Wooster’s faculty since 1976. She is a graduate of Bluffton College (1966) and earned her Ph.D. at Indiana University (1974). She specializes in 20th century British and American Literature, feminist literary criticism, and women’s studies, with particular attention to interdisciplinary analysis of motherhood and narrative forms for women’s experiences. She is the author of two books, and recently completed a book-length manuscript, tentatively titled, Biting The Moon: A Single Mother’s Memoir. She also continues her scholarly interest in the novels of Virginia Woolf. Her honors and awards include the Luce Distinguished Scholar-Teacher Award and the Alice and Edith Hamilton Prize, a manuscript award from The University of Michigan Press, Women and Culture Series.
