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Past Lectures

2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005

 

2009

Siquieros and the Mexican Mural Movement

On April 28, Tony White, OLLI instructor and Professor Emeritus, History, will discuss his recent book, Siquerios, Biography of a Revolutionary Artist, and make a slide presentation on “Siquerios and the Mexican Mural Movement” at noon in the Cooperage, followed by a book signing.

David Alfaro Siqueiros (1896-1974) was a revolutionary artist and lifetime activist whose biography reads like an epic novel. A founder of the Mexican Mural Movement and one of the great artists of the twentieth century, he painted murals in Mexico, Los Angeles, Chile, Cuba and Argentina, several of which provoked censorship. Critical of trends in modern art, he challenged fellow artists in journals which he published. In his search for a modern realism, he explored the use of new materials, techniques and equipment, which he corporated into his art. His final project, the largest mural ever painted, integrated architecture, sculpture and mural painting.

Radicalized by his experiences in the Mexican Revolution, he organized miners, commanded front-line troops in Spain and led an armed assault on Trotsky's headquarters in Mexico City. He was imprisoned for militant activities in Mexico and was exiled or deported from Mexico, the United States, Argentina and Spain. Sentenced to eight years in prison in 1960, he painted several hundred canvases before his release in 1964. Because he expressed his views on contemporary issues, and was linked to major figures in art and politics, his life story reads like a capsule history of modern Mexico and the twentieth century, complete with intrigue, adventure and romance.

2008

It Matters! Engage. Participate. Vote

Sonoma State University is pleased to announce a unique and timely collaborative program for the fall 2008 semester titled It Matters! Engage. Participate. Vote. Coordinated through the University Library, the program is designed to provide students, faculty, staff and the community an opportunity to explore together many of the “hot” issues in the November election.  It Matters! Engage. Participate. Vote. features art exhibitions, brown bag discussions, class projects, and voter education events. More information

  • Wednesday, September 17 at noon in Schulz 3001 (Constitution Day)
  • War and the Economy -- moderator David McCuan, Associate Professor, Political Science Department
    • Paul Gullixson, Editorial Director, Press Democrat
    • Steve Cuellar, Associate Professor, Economics Department
  • Wednesday, September 24 at noon in Schulz 3001
  • Oil and Energy
    • Jeff Baldwin, Lecturer, Geography Department
    • Sascha von Meier, Professor, Environmental Studies and Planning Department
  • Wednesday, October 1 at noon in Schulz 3001
  • The Environment
    • Laura Watt, Assistant Professor, Environmental Studies and Planning Department
    • Caroline Christian, Assistant Professor, Environmental Studies and Planning Department
  • Wednesday, October 15 at noon in Schulz 3001
  • Pre-Election Ballot Discussion
    • Presented by students from the Political Science Department
  • Wednesday, October 22 at noon in Schulz 3001
  • Race and Gender
    • Catherine Nelson, Professor, Political Science Department
    • Don Romesburg, Associate Professor, Women's and Gender Studies Department
  • Wednesday, October 29 at noon in Schulz 3001
  • Immigration
    • Daniel Malpica, Assistant Professor, Department of Chicano and Latino Studies
    • Patricia Kim-Rajal, Assistant Professor, Department of Chicano and Latino Studies
  • Wednesday, November 5 at noon in Schulz 3001
  • Post Election -- moderator David McCuan, Associate Professor Political Science Department
    • Ruben Armiñana, President, SSU
    • Pete Golis, Columnist and Blogger, Press Democrat

 

Sonoma State University Library to host Let’s Talk About It: Jewish Literature Reading and Discussion Series

The University Library at Sonoma State will host a free, five-part reading and discussion series called Let’s Talk About It: Jewish Literature – Identity and Imagination. The series, which will take place during the fall semester, explores Jewish literature and culture through scholar-led discussions of contemporary and classic books on the theme “Between Two Worlds: Stories of Estrangement and Homecoming.” 

The University Library is one of over 250 libraries nationwide receiving grants to host the series developed by Nextbook and the American Library Association (ALA). Local support for the series is provided by SSU’s Center for the Study of the Holocaust and Genocide, Hillel of Sonoma County, and the Santa Rosa Junior College Library – Petaluma campus.

“We are thrilled to have been selected to host this unique series that will allow people a chance to participate in discussions on themes in Jewish literature. It is a great opportunity for students and community members to share in close dialogue – all under the guidance of our dedicated scholar, Anne Goldman, from the SSU English department,” said Karen Brodsky, University Library Arts and Lectures Program Director.

Each program will begin with a brief lecture by Professor Goldman, after which participants will exchange their own responses to and ideas about the featured reading. Participants will have access to each book, so participation is limited.  The first program will explore Exodus, the Second Book of Moses, and will be held on September 25 from 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm in room 3001 of the University Library. The remaining books and dates are as follows: Lost in Translation by Eva Hoffman on October 2, 2008; Moacyr Scliar’s The Centaur in the Garden on October 30, 2008; Allegra Goodman’s Kaaterskill Falls on November 13, 2008 and Out of Egypt by André Aciman on December 4, 2008.

Sonoma State Professor Anne Goldman teaches 19th and 20th century American literature in the Department of English. Her most recent work includes an essay on the author Saul Bellow and an assessment of the work of Mark Rothko and Marc Chagall. Her current book project, Worlds of Light: Jewish American Culture in the Twentieth Century, was funded by a National Endowment for the Humanities grant in 2006.

2007

CITIZENS OF THE WORLD: ON COMMON GROUND?

02/15/07 Thursday, Noon

Rob Eyler
Economics Department

Rob McNamara
Political Science Department

Central and South America

03/01/07 Thursday, Noon

Dolly Friedel
Geography Department

Paula Hammett
University Library

John Wingard
Anthropology Department

03/15/06 Thursday, Noon

"Will Russia Still Exist in 2107?"

Steve Bittne
History Department

Zeno Swijtink
Political Science Philosophy

Europe

03/29/07 Thursday, Noon

Michaela Grobbel
German Program, Modern Languages & Literatures Department

Christine Renaudin
French Program, Modern Languages & Literatures

Tania de Miguel Magro
Spanish Program, Modern Languages & Literatures

04/19/07 Thursday, Noon

Patricia Kim-Rajal
Chicano & Latino Studies Department

Tryon Woods
Criminology and Criminal Justice

 

North America

05/03/07 Thursday, Noon

"The Local Meets the Global: The Battle for Not-So-Scarce Resources"

Mike Ezrai
American Multicultural Studies Department

Paula Lane
Education

Finale

05/10/07

Weapons of Mass Destruction and Global Climate Change

Lynn Cominsky, Astronomy & Physics
Karina Nielsen, Biology

  

2006

CITIZENS OF THE WORLD: ON COMMON GROUND?

SCHULZ ROOM 3001

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Thursday, 09/28/06 at 4:00pm - 5:30pm

NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCES & TIME MACHINES: A JOURNALIST’S TALES

ROBERT ROSENTHAL: Managing Editor of the San Francisco Chronicle

09/28/06 Thursday, Noon

Cathy Kroll
English Department
African Literature: The Missing Dialogue

Myrna Goodman
Department Chair, Sociology
Student Activism in Response to African Genocide

Mutombo M’Panya
Hutchins School of Liberal Studies
Western Wars on African Soil

AFRICA

10/05/06 Thursday, Noon

Karin Enstam
Anthropology Department
Poaching: Environmental and Economic Impacts in Africa

Rheyna Laney
Geography Department
Bearing the Burden: Village Life & Biodiversity Reserves

Richard Zimmer
Anthropology Department
It’s the Global Economy, Stupid!

10/12/06 Thursday, Noon

Bill Poe
History Department
Testing Historical Metaphors: Conflict in the Middle East

Barry Preisler
Political Science Departmen
Reflections on the Latest War in the Middle East

MIDDLE EAST

10/19/06 Thursday, Noon

Anne Goldman
English Department
Politics of Home: Memoirs of a Middle Eastern Childhood

Rocky Rohwedder
ENSP Department
Water & Peace: Teaching the Youth of the Middle East

11/02/06 Thursday, Noon

Randy Dodgen
History Department
China’s Development Myths

Chingling Wo
English Department
Lonelier on an English-Speaking Lonely Planet:
The Non-English Side of Economic Xenophobia

ASIA/ INDIA

11/09/06 Thursday, Noon

Laxmi Tewari
Music Department
Open Your Heart and So Will Everyone Else

Rashmi Singh
Humanities
India Past and Present

 

Thursday, 11/30/06 Noon

GLOBALIZATION AND ITS DISCONTENTS:
A Review of the Stresses and Conflicts
Generated by the Globalization Process

Eduardo Ochoa
 Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs

  

08/15/06 - 10/29/06

The Grass Family (Gramineae)
by Wopo Holup

GALLERY

11/10/06 - 01/05/07

Kaleidoscope: International Art Students’ Work from Bay Area Sights Curated by SSU Students
 

Arts and Humanities Forum

Faculty from the School of Arts and Humanities share their current research interests.
In Schulz 3001 at noon but dates vary so please check schedule: http://www.sonoma.edu/a_h/AHForum.htm

What Physicists Do

Presented by the Department Physics and Astronomy this ongoing series is held Mondays at 4:00
in Schulz 3001. For specific schedule check: http://phys-astro.sonoma.edu/wpd/

2005

Talks on Texts was a series of Wednesday noon-time lectures in room 3001.  The idea, brought to us by Jonah Raskin (Professor of Communication Studies at SSU), was a series of short (15 - 20 minute) talks by SSU faculty members about the “texts” that have transformed them and inspired their lives.  Faculty from across campus to participate, giving them wide latitude for selecting their specific text. 

Sept 14 2005 - View Archive: Lynne Morrow and Steve Estes in Windows Media Player

  • Lynne Morrow, Music  Department
    Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music based on Ingmar Bergman’s Smiles of the Summer Night.
  • Steve Estes, History Department
    Carnival of Fury: Robert Charles and the New Orleans Race Riot of 1900 by William Ivy Hair and Evil Empire by Rage Against the Machine.

Sept 21  2005 - View Archive: Beez Schell and Mike Ezra in Windows Media Player    

  • Beez Schell, Kinesiology
    A League of Their Own – with supporting texts about women athletes
  • Mike Ezra, AMCS
    Autobiography of Malcolm X

Sept 28 2005 - View Archive: Paula Lane and Thaine Stearns in Windows Media Player  

  • Paula Lane, Education
    Moby Dick Cracks Me Up
  • Thaine Stearns, English
    "Parenthesis," the 1/2 chapter from A History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters by Julian Barnes and W.H. Auden's poem "September 1, 1939”

Oct. 5  2005 - View Archive: Paul Draper and Sherri Anderson in Windows Media Player  

  • Paul Draper, Theater Arts 
    Ali and Nino: A Love Story by Kurban Said
  • Sherri Anderson, Accounting
    A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute

Oct. 12  2005  - View Archive: Dolly Freidel and Michaela Grobbel in Windows Media Player      

  • Dolly Freidel, Geography
    Barbara Kingsolver's "Prodigal Summer"
    Michaela Grobbel, Modern Languages and Literatures
    Goethe's "Erlkönig:" Encountering the Uncanny

Oct. 19  2005 - View Archive: Suzanne Tocyzski and Tony Mountain in Windows Media Player          

  • Suzanne Tocyzski, Modern Languages and Literatures
    The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint - Exupery
  • Tony Mountain, Hutchins
    Albert Camus' The Stranger and The Plague.

Oct. 26  2005 - View Archive: Richard Senghas and Michael Schwager in Windows Media Player            

  • Richard Senghas, Anthropology
    Beowulf
  • Michael Schwager, Art History
    "An Encounter with Greatness: Guernica at MoMA"

Provost’s Lecture Series - Schulz 3001
Highlighting student, faculty, and staff research projects.

  • Wednesday, February 11, Noon & 7:00 p.m.
    Scott Miller, Writing Center
    “Did Frodo Fail?” The Lord of the Rings in Print and on Film

  • Wednesday, February 18, Noon
    Alexandra von Meier, Environmental Studies
    The Electric Grid: A Social Contract Revisited

  • Wednesday, February 25, Noon
    Mike Ezra, AMCS
    Muhammad Ali’s Main Bout: Black Economic Nationalism, the Vietnam War, and Professional Boxing

  • Wednesday, March 3, Noon
    David Walls, Sociology
    Head Start and the War on Poverty

  • Wednesday, March 17, Noon
    Karin Enstam, Anthropology
    Wildlife, Weather Extremes, and Wildfires: Stories of Hardship and Perseverance in the African Bush

  • Wednesday, March 24, Noon
    Anne Goldman, English
    Dreaming of Childhood: Exilic Storytelling

  • Wednesday, April 14, Noon
    Ross Meentemeyer, Geography; Hall Cushman, Biology; Nathan Rank, Biology; Richard
    Whitkus, Biology; David Rizzo, UC Davis, Plant Pathology
    Sudden Oak Death: Research and Management of Disease Spread in Sonoma County

  • Wednesday, April 21, Noon
    Mark Kearley, Chemistry and Carmen Works, Chemistry
    The Chemistry of Alcohol in the Liver/The Chemistry of Metals in Biological Systems

  • Wednesday, April 28, Noon
    Marco Calavita, Communication Studies
    Apprehending Politics: News Media and Individual Political Development in Contemporary America

Public Lectures and Readings

  • Monday, April 19, 26 Noon - University Library Art Gallery
    National Poetry Month featuring SSU poets

  • April 13, 15, 20, 22, 27, 29 Noon - Schulz 3001
    SSU Author Readings -A collaboration between the SSU Bookstore and the University Library
    Jennifer Shaw, Art History
    Peter Phillips, Sociology/Director of Project Censored
    Elizabeth Martinez, Modern Languages
    William Babula, Arts & Humanities
    Adrian Praetzellis, Anthropology
    Gerald Haslam, Author
    Jonah Raskin, Communications Studies
    Sherril Jaffe, English
    Michaela Grobbel, Modern Languages