Turning Points Faculty Speaker Series
                                          Archive

2011-2012 

George Mariz, History and Honors Program Director
April 11, 12
Why Read the Classics:The Enduring Value of Great Literature

Professor Mariz will discuss four literary classics, including Homer’s Odyssey, Aeschylus’ Oresteia, Shakespeare’s King Lear and Fyoder Dostoevsky’s The Idiot.
He will illustrate how these works inform us about the time period in which they were composed. In the words of Matthew Arnold, as quoted by Mariz, these works and their authors “see life steadily and see it whole” in a way that few others have been able to do. Mariz will strive to interpret themes and characters in these classics that he believes embody permanent qualities in our existence.

Mariz holds B.A., M.A. and PhD. degrees from the University of Missouri, Columbia. His interests are in European intellectual history and the history of religion, particularly the Protestant clergy. He began teaching at Western as an associate professor of history since 1976 and became the director of the Honors Program in 1987.

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Troy Abel, Enviornmental Studies
February 15, 12
Ecotopia’s Prism - Five Seasons in Costa Rica’s Ecology, Economy & Culture

Drawing on his research collaborations over the past five seasons with WWU students, faculty, and Costa Rican’s conserving tropical rainforests; Abel shared his insights on ecological citizenship, political biogeography, and immersion in some of the most biologically intense places on the planet.  His overriding philosophy has been that while Costa Rica’s world renowned system of protected areas and national parks is where the nation’s conservation of biodiversity began, it will be finished, for the good or the bad, outside of them. 

Costa Rica is translated as "rich coast," originating from Spanish conquistadors who mistakenly thought the land was filled with gold.  Many now recognize that Costa Rica’s riches are in fact more green than gold with more than 4% of the world’s estimated biodiversity.  Countless observers have documented this nation’s natural exceptionalism but there is so much more to this republic. Costa Rica has universal health care, a longer life expectancy than the U.S., the happiest people on the planet, and no military. Only by expanding our attention to all of these faces can one begin to see Ecotopia’s Prism—how Costa Rica’s intersections of ecology, economy, and culture foster and inhibit sustainability. 

Troy Abel received a Ph.D in Public Policy from George Mason University. He is an associate professor of Environmental Studies & Program Director of Huxley’s annual Rainforest Immersion and Conservation Action (RICA) study abroad initiative in Costa Rica.                                                                                   ____________________________________________________

  Rich Brown, Theatre and Dance
  October 19, 2011
  The Transformative Power of Devising                                                                                            

Brown presented results from his ongoing research into art of devising new works for the stage with undergraduate students. Devised works are collaboratively created by an ensemble of artists rather than by a single playwright, and then performed by those same generative artists. This lecture explored the challenges/ benefits of embracing collective intelligence when creating new theatrical material, the differences between writing text and writing performance, and investigated different approaches to devising.

Brown discussed the making of cheat, US, and The American Family – three devised works created at WWU over past four years. The American Family premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland last July; US is currently being held for possible selection for this winter’s regional American College Theatre Festival in Fort Collins, Colorado; and Professor Brown and Professor Craig Dunn of CBE are currently co-authoring a textbook chapter for Business Ethics and Aesthetics titled “Cheat: Exporting Business Ethics to Theatre Arts.” 

Brown earned his PhD in Theatre from the Univ. of Oregon. After training at NYU' s Experimental Theatre Wing, Rich taught acting, directing, and dramatic literature at Hartwick College before coming to WWU, where he currently teaches devising & acting movement. He has published in Theatre Topics and Theatre Journal; presented at Association of Theatre in Higher Ed. conferences in performed with Mary Overlie in the Shady Corners Performance Art Festival, and co-founded Theatre 88, which produced The Zoo Story and What I Heard About Iraq, which performed at LaMama E.T.C. in New York City & Montreal. 

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Pamela Whalley, Economics Education Center   
November 16, 2011                                                                        
Nice People Don’t Talk About It

Consider the following:  Only 70% of children who
start ninth grade graduate four years later;

• Financial difficulties are the number one reason students don’t attend or drop out of college;
• Financial incompatibility and mismanagement are
  listed as number one cause of divorce;
• Poor financial choices played a role in causing Great Recession

Students are leaving high school financially illiterate.  Scores on H.S. financial literacy tests nationwide have fallen 16% since 1998 to an average of 48.3%. Recent surveys of college students indicate that their level of knowledge isn’t much higher,- average scores in 60% range. Despite need for financial education, WA does not require financial education at the k-12 level.  Where do our children learn about personal finance?  They report - they learn by observation at home or from their peers.  But, more people talk to their children about sex than about money and their peers are apt to be equally uninformed. 

She explored ways to begin the conversation about money in our schools and homes so children will be prepared for financial world which awaits them.  Reality is that our children aren’t failing personal finance—we are failing to provide them with this vital life skill.

Pam Whalley is Director of Center for Economic & Financial Education at Western and is president of WA Council for Economic & Financial Education.  As dir./president, she presents teacher training workshops/community outreach programs on economics and personal financial to educators across state.  Currently Vice Chair of Financial Education Public/Private Partnership and chair of its education committee.  Her research includes work in financial education, and has had two books, "Financial Fitness for Life Parent’s Guide k-5 and the Financial Fitness for Life Parent’s Guide 6-12" published this fall.

Whalley received her graduate and undergraduate training in economics at Indiana University, in Bloomington, Indiana.  Her teaching experience includes service at Indiana University, IU-PUI, Whatcom Community College, and WWU.            ____________________________________________________________             

  POSTPONED until further notice

       Jeanne Armstrong,Western Libraries                                 

From Hull House to Institutional Housekeeping: 
Academic Women and Community from the Twentieth
to the Twenty-First Century

 
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2010-2011 
                             

                                                                                                     

Paul Chen - Policical Science
March 2, 11                                                                                                                     
Mixing Religion and Politics:  Recent Developments in Political Science  Research

One of the consequences of the tragic 9/11 attacks has been the realization that religion is a powerful motivator for human action, both individually and collectively. Any casual observer of wo over the last decade will see that religion exerts a powerful influence on global politics.  Given the salience of religion to politics, one would think that political scientists would be on the cutting edge of that field of research

Political scientists tend to neglect investigating religious components of political behavior, because academics often view religion as a purely private matter of personal belief having few public consequences. While research on religion in world politics has burgeoned over the last decade, religion has traditionally received scant attention from scholars in proportion to its wide-ranging influence on human culture and civilization. Chen discussed the increasing attention that political scientists and others have paid to religion, explained their traditional bias against studying religion, and, after noting differences between older and more recent research on religion, discuss what these differences mean for our understanding of the role of religion in the modern world

Chen holds a JD. from Southwestern University School of Law; an MA in Inter-Cultural Studies from Biola University and a PhD in political science, with a concentration on public law at the University of Southern California. At Western, He teaches courses on law, courts, politics, and society.  In fall 2010, he was a scholar-in-residence at Regent College on the UBC campus, where he delved into political and postmodern theology.

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 Carmen Werder with students James Hanks & Martha Tarnawski                                   
 February 16, 11 - Teaching-Learning Academy & Writing Instruction Program             
 What’s a Meta-for?                                                                                                               

Werder reviewed the theoretical set of ideas of understanding metaphors and shared metaphors identified by WWU students and faculty.  These ideas will be the basis for Werder to suggest the implications of understanding metaphors for promoting civil discourse, formulating identity and deepening learning.

James Hanks and Martha Tarnawski, seniors within WWU’s Communication Department, will share their own stories of developing an understanding of metaphors and suggest how these understandings have benefited their learning.

Werder has academic credentials in English with a concentration in the study of rhetoric.  Her dissertation was a rhetorical study of the metaphor of silence in selected 19th-century American literature texts.  As a Carnegie Scholar (2005-06), she examined the metaphors that students in her civil discourse class used for themselves as communicators and as learners, and understanding the role of metaphor in civil discourse is one of the primary objectives of “Civil Discourse as Interactive Learning” (Comm 322), a course she regularly teaches.  

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Sheila Webb, Journalism                                                                                                
January 19, 11 -  Prowess Unlimited: The Portrayal of Science                                 
and Technology in Life Magazine in the 1930s and 1940s                                             

Sheila Webb, assistant professor of Journalism presented “Prowess Unlimited: The Portrayal of Science & Technology in Life Magazine in the 1930s and 1940s.” 

Sheexplored how the press is critical to our knowledge and control of scientific and technological developments; an understanding of how narratives of science and technology have been constructed in the press, and of the values ascribed to both practice and practitioners, aids that knowledge and control. The photo-essays in the early years of Life afford an examination of role of a new medium to create stories that visualized the hopes and priorities of the time, a period when the U.S. became an international power, a power crucially enhanced by scientific and technological prowess. It is also the period in which public enthusiasm for technology reached a high point.

The first pictorial journal in the U.S., Life was an immediate success. The response to the premiere issue signaled eager acceptance of this new form of mass communication: within a month of the launch in Nov. 1936, circulation passed one million. Life was ideally suited to conveying the discoveries of the time: its oversized format, which combined striking photos with explanatory captions, allowed for large photos and drawings, explaining developments in detail. Compared to other magazines, Life presented scientists and entrepreneurs as exemplary Americans and offered step-by-step explanations of developments in the lab to the layperson.
    
Life’s coverage of technology and science actualized the visual society, a society that is both created by and made necessary by increasing urbanization and the growth of technologically mediated communication. The magazine glorified science & technology, covered advances , and presented technology as an expression of American ingenuity, all aspects that resonate today. To explore the construction of science and technology in the popular press, this talk reported on a narrative analysis which identified seven themes in the magazine: biography, education, magic, control over nature, American might, solution to modern problems, and the future.

Webb holds a B.A. in English from the Univ. of Michigan a M.A., M.F.A., and Ph.D. from the Univ. of Wisconsin. She teaches in the Department of Journalism in the Visual Journalism Sequence.

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                                                                                                   Ira Iyman (L) & Joe Myers    
Ira Hyman - Psychology                                                                                                      
October 20, 10 - Unicycling Clowns, Train Wrecks, and Pilots                                       
Forgetting to Land: Adventures in Inattentional  Blindness                                            

Hyman’s published research includes studies on memory for song lyrics, the creation of false childhood memories, collaborative remembering, memory of traumatic events, and inattentional blindness towards unicycling clowns.

Through his studies, Hyman has found many unimaginable things that could happen to anyone while being distracted.  He proves just how oblivious people really are with today’s new technology at their fingertips.

“A woman falls down an open manhole while talking on her cell phone.  A train operator misses the signals and causes and accident while texting…When people become oblivious to the world, they make potentially disastrous mistakes…For example, if a clown unicycled past while you were walking, you’d notice wouldn’t you?  If you were talking on your cell phone you probably would not notice. These are all examples of Inattentional Blindness—times when people are focused on one activity and fail to notice something that may pass directly in front of them,” said Hyman.

“One of the most dangerous aspects of cell phone divided attention is that affected individuals remain oblivious to their poor performance.  When people are shown what they’ve missed because of Inattentional Blindness, they are surprised that they could have missed it,” added Hyman.

Hyman is the co-editor, along with Ulric Neisser, of Memory Observed: Remembering in Natural Contexts.  He is a regular contributor to the Psychology Today website, through his blog “Mental Mishaps.”  His undergraduate degree is from Duke University and his Ph.D. from Emory University.
 
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2009-2010 

                                                                                                          

Kathleen Saunders – Anthropology                                                                                     
April 14, 10 - What Students See in the Flickering Light of Plato's Cave                       

According to Saunders, one of the frequently discussed digital divides is difference in durably installed thought patterns between “digital natives” (mostly teenagers and young adults who grew up with ubiquitous computing) and “digital tourists” (users who acquired computing skills after early childhood). The classroom provides a concentration of natives for anthropological fieldwork to explore the interpenetration of digital and natural in cultural configurations of Western’s students. 

In her Cyborg Anthropology class, Saunders asks students to make two drawings, one of their technological dreams and the other of their technological nightmares. “It's telling - I must ask each student to label one utopic and the other dystopic. Without the labels I couldn't always be certain of their intent,” she said. “Examining these pictures highlights the disruptions/ dislocations of traditional cultural values held by digital natives, particularly around the ultimate questions of identity, purpose, and mortality.” 

Saunders is a senior lecturer in the Anthropology Department. She did her undergraduate work at Purdue University and attended the University of Minnesota for graduate school in Anthropology. Her academic interests include Economic Anthropology, Anthropology of Reproduction, and the Anthropology of Science & Technology as captured in her signature course, Cyborg Anthropology. She has been at Western since 2000.
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Paul Piper - Western Libraries                                                     
March 3,10 - Information and Knowledge                                                              
as Commons - The Case of Wikipedia                                                                     

According to Piper, in the past eight years a collaborative, volunteer effort by ordinary citizens from all over the world has achieved one of the largest projects in the history of humankind.  Although very different in scope and materials, this project is analogous to the building of the Egyptian or Mayan pyramids, or the construction of the Great Wall of China.  This enormous construction project has been completed without slavery, without hierarchical management, and without significant capital.  In his presentation, Piper will discuss this project which, of course, is Wikipedia, the world’s largest encyclopedia, the world’s largest website, and possibly the greatest effort of human collaboration eve

Since 1998 Piper has been a WWU librarian.  He has been infatuated with the Internet since the late 1980s, particularly the impulse to freely share information which fueled much of its early development.  In addition to being a librarian, Piper also writes on Internet issues, fiction and poetry.
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Dennis Whitcomb - Philosophy                                                           
February 10, 10 - Wisdon in Mind and Action                                  

According to Whitcomb, ancient and medieval philosophers were deeply interested in the nature of wisdom.  They asked what wisdom was, what was good about it, whether we had any, and whether it could be taught – and they debated these issues widely.  Modern philosophers were less interested in wisdom, and contemporary philosophers show only a small amount of interest in it.  In his talk, Whitcomb will review some very recent philosophical work that is starting to bring wisdom back to the fore.  He will also give some arguments for his own views about what wisdom is, and will discuss the relationships between those views and several other competing views.

Dennis Whitcomb received his doctorate in 2007 and has been teaching Philosophy at Western ever since.  He is a specialist in the theory of knowledge and value, and he is widely published in that area.  Most recently, he has been thinking and writing about curiosity, wisdom, knowledge, and the relationships among these things.”

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Kristi Tyran-  Management                                                                
January 13, 10 - Alleviating Poverty through Management Education: Helping Graduates of a Rural Kenyan Girls School through IncomeGenerating Projects                                                                         

Tyran visited Ombogo Girls Academy in Kenya in Sept. 08 & July 09 working with administrators, teachers & students to develop ideas to utilize management education to assist girls to be more successful/self-sustaining after graduation. One method endorsed by the school is development of income generating projects to both raise money for the school and provide students with an opportunity to learn how to manage/ sustain a small enterprise. As students assist in planning/ implementing the projects, they learn key skills in leadership, management, organization & planning, interpersonal relationships, and marketing. By developing management skills, girls increase their chance for success in future business endeavors.

This lecture provided an overview of the literature on management education and the alleviation of poverty, and a summary of the progress made so far in developing income generating and management training for graduating students at Ombogo.

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Sebastian Mendes, Art                                                                    
November 18, 09 - “There is a Black Mirror in My Heart:            
An Oral History and the Legacy of a Holocaust Rescuer.”            

Mendes’ presentation focued on the actions of his grandfather, Portuguese diplomat ristides de Sousa Mendes, who in June, 1940, aided thousands of Jewish refugees pouring into Bordeaux, France, with German troops poised to capture the city at any time. In an extremely concentrated period of only a few days, his actions resulted in the largest single rescue act of the Holocaust. Mendes was severely punished by his own government and never recognized or vindicated in his own lifetime.

Mendes discussed his grandfather’s personal background/ character which contributed to the circumstances surrounding his actions. He discussed what this meant for himself and the 30,000 refugees who received transit visas, allowing them passage out of France to Spain and eventually into the safety of neutral Portugal.

Decades later, an ever-increasing international chorus of voices has insisted that Mendes’ grandfather be recognized by his homeland.

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 2008-2009 

                                                                              

Nancy Pagh– English                                                                                
April 15, 09 - What’s Cracking Up?  Humor as Subversion in Poetry 
A poet & instructor in the English Department, Pagh read/spoke about poems as part of National Poetry Month.  Humor is an essential strand in Nancy’s voice as a poet, but her poems aren’t simply comic.  She discussed ways that humor offers her entry into difficult subject matter.  Reflecting on work of her favorite poets, Nancy discussed humor as a form of subversion that has been used in particularly interesting ways by women.  How is humor created, how does it influence the relationship between the poem’s speaker and her audience, and how do these poets avoid the stereotypically “feminine” trap of self-deprecating humor?  Defensive humor can serve as a shield, but these poems disarm us and subvert resistance with surprise and wit.

           Ten Reasons Your Prayer Diet Won't Work - Nancy Pagh
1 ) Praying to god that you will be thin instead of eating only burns
     eleven calories at average fervency.
2 ) Jesus had large love handles. I know in pictures he's skinny and white with
     slightly Italian-esque features,  but he understood the value of keeping on a few
      extra pounds to tide him over in the desert.  
     If you are a child of god this runs in your family.
3 ) All food miracles create more:more loaves, fishes, wine, more manna...When
     you ask god to do something about fat expect multiplication.
4 ) The only time you used to talk to god was giving thanks before high-caloric
     meals. Fat cells remember this and begin to swell even at mention of his name.
5 ) God has stock in Doritos.
6 ) Eventually you will tell yourself that god created you this way
     and who are you to disagree?
7 ) Contrary to popular belief,eating isn't a mortal sin -god believes in free will.
8 ) Bread & wine. Communion suggests god endorses Mediterranean Diet instead.
9 ) Blasphemy, to waste German chocolate cake.
10) God is characterized by excess; only proof that god exists is that  natural world        is more than it has to be. The closest you've come  to acting in her        perfect image was building your sacred hips.
FROM - No Sweeter Fat, published by Autumn House Press (Pittsburgh)
  NO DVD is available for this lecture.

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Grace Wang - Environmental Studies                               
March 4 - Seeing the Forest for (more than) the Trees:
Mushrooms, Berries & Other Non-Timber Resources    
                                                                                                                                                                                        
Wang discussed non-timber forest products (NTFPs) and how different groups of people have gathered them throughout history. Her research addresses the motivations & socio-cultural implications of why people gather non-timber forest products.  She will present case studies on huckleberries, salal, and mushrooms. In Oregon, tribal members from the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Indians have Treaty rights to gather huckleberries on the Mt. Hood National Forest.  Wang examined the implications of those Treaty rights with modern-day policies of the U.S. Forest Service and resulting cultural issues. On Washington’s Olympic Peninsula, harvesters gather salal; yet where they harvest the plant has management implications, depending on the ownership. 

She also discussed mushroom harvesting in Pacific Northwest and Canada, focusing on First Nations access to resource and possible ecological impacts of overharvesting. 

An associate professor of Environmental Studies, Wang has taught at Huxley College since 2002.  She teaches courses in environmental policy, natural resources and sustainability.
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Jen Lois - Sociology                                                                        
Feb 11, 09 - Motherhood & Time: What                                       
Homeschoolers’ Experiences Can Tell Us                                     
Jen Lois discussed how the mainstream definition of “good” mothering in the U.S. demands a lot from mothers, particularly when it comes to time.  Phrases such as “quantity time,” “quality time,” “time management,” and “me time” which are embedded in the cultural discourse surrounding motherhood, that many mothers feel guilty about not spending enough – or “right” kind of – time with their children. Different mothers react differently to these cultural messages. Lois will draw on seven years of field research & interviews with homeschooling mothers to examine how they understand and react to these temporal demands of motherhood. 

Most of the mothers in her study chose homeschooling to spend more time with their children; yet homeschooling also deepens time-stress in other ways.  Although these mothers find ways to manage time, they also find that some time cannot be controlled. In those cases, they turn to managing their feelings about time instead. Because homeschoolers’ experiences are intensified along this temporal dimension of motherhood, they illuminate how our culture’s high standards affect all mothers.

Lois recieved her B.A. in Latin American Studies from Dartmouth College. A field researcher, Lois observes first-hand and participates in interesting areas of social life. In her first project, she spent 6 yrs. studying a volunteer, mountain-environment search & rescue group. Through this research, she became interested in gender, heroism, and the sociology of emotions, focusing much of her work on these issues. The project turned into a book, published in 2003, and in '06 was honored with the Outstanding Recent Contribution Award from the American Sociological Association’s Sociology of Emotions Section.  Lois now studys homeschooling mothers, focusing on how ideas about emotions/ time can influence how women define themselves as mothers.  She will be turn this project into a book, to be published in 2010.
A DVD of Lois's presentation is available in Western's Library & can be checked out.

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Daniel Boxberger - Anthropology                                           
Jan. 14, 09 - Objectivity & Relativity in Science of the       
American Indian: Lessons Learned From the Ancient One                                                                                                                                      

Boxberger discussed the history of the relationship between Native Americans and the science of anthropology, especially in the courtroom. Always complex and controversial this relationship came to a head in the legal brawl surrounding the dispensation of the human remains popularly known as Kennewick Man. Asking the question: Who owns history? Boxberger explored different interpretations of Native American history ranging from cultural evolution (objectivity) to the Coyote Tales (relativity). Critical to the question are the perceptions the general public hold concerning Native American rights and their voice as stakeholders in issues of land management and resource allocation.

Daniel Boxberger is professor and chair of the Anthropology Department.  He has been at Western since 1983. The author of three books and over 36 articles on the subject of Native Americans and natural resource use/control. He is the 2008 recipient of the Olscamp Faculty Research Award. His research on indigenous rights spans 35 years during which he has worked on a number of landmark cases.

He has worked on projects for federal land management agencies, including a report on the history and culture of the claimant tribes of The Ancient One (Kennewick Man) for the National Park Service repatriation decision. Boxberger is currently working with the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde to help clarify rights to lands ceded by treaty.

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John Bower - Fairhaven College                                                  
Nov. 12, 08 - One Foot In Nature, One Foot In a Crazy World:
How the Study of Nature Can Lesson Our Environmental        
Impact & Improve Our Quality of Life                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
Bower used data/images from his studies of the natural world to consider how nature study informs our attempt to slow environmental degradation, while improving our quality of life. Drawing on his studies of bowhead whales in the Alaskan arctic, hummingbirds & seabirds on a remote Pacific Ocean island, Pacific Northwest marine birds, and the research of other scientists, he addressed the impact humans are having on the world.

He Pointed out the dilemma of environmental degradation is only one part of working toward a solution. How do we find the motivation to change our lifestyles to lessen our impact on the natural world? Iif we make such changes, what will happen to quality of our own lives? Working from the viewpoint that humans are animals with a long evolutionary history who suddenly find themselves in a novel environment, Bower argues careful study of other animals and the cross-cultural study of humans can teach us about how to enrich our current lives while living more sustainably.

Drawing on lessons learned from slowing down to nature’s pace and doing research in out-of-the-way places, Bower argued that a simpler, less energy intensive life will mprove the plight of the environment and can also improve our quality of life.

Bower, associate professor at Fairhaven College has spent 25 years studying the natural world.  He started as a birdwatcher, his research includes acoustic communication in bowhead whales & song sparrows, and population ecology of Pacific Northwest marine birds. Bower recently lived on Isla Robinson Crusoe, 500 miles off coast of Chile, studying competition for flowers between endangered & endemic Juan Fernandez firecrown hummingbird and the green firecrown, a recent arrival from the South American mainland.  He teaches courses including “Marine Bird Ecology,” “The Science and Music of Natural Sound,” “Cultural and Biological and Perspectives on Pregnancy and Childbirth”

A DVD of Brower's talk is available in Western's Library & can be checked out.

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2007-2008   

Bruce Beasley - English            
April 16, 08 - Poetry Reading                                                                                                                                                                                                      
Beasley, a poet and professor of English, spoke about and read poetry as
part National Poetry month. Beasley won the 1996 Colorado Prize for
“Summer Mystagogia” and the 1993 Ohio State University Press/Journal
Award for “The Creation.” His poems have appeared in Kenyon Review,
Ploughshares and Iowa Review, among other journals.

A DVD of Beasley's talk is available in Western's Library & can be checked out.

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Midori Takagi - Fairhaven College                                      
March 5th, 2008 -"There are no Katos Here, Everyone is
the Hornet: The Asian Hero in American Action Films"             
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
In her lecture, Midori discussed the history of cinema heroes & the Asian American experience and why Hollywood won’t allow Asian men to “beat the bad guy, get the girl and ride into the sunset.”  The popularity of Asian stars in American movies has been growing for the past 30 years.  Since the 1970s, beginning with Bruce Lee, Asian actors have become more visible and have moved beyond a cult following.  Examples of recent popular Asian action stars include Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Chow Yun Fat, and Jet Li, all of whom have been thrilling western moviegoers with feats of physical agility and power. With each of their box office successes, Asian actors in general are finding greater opportunities to play leading roles.  They are no longer limited to being the side-kick or chauffer-in the vein of Kato - to a crime-fighting hero such as the Green Hornet.  They now can play the Hornet himself.  While many critics, and many fans, readily honor Jackie Chan, Chow Yun Fat, and Jet Li to be American action heroes, their crowns do not fit well.  Because in spite of these actors’ impact on Hollywood, they have not redefined the American action tradition to truly accept an Asian hero.

A DVD of Takagi's presentation is available in Western's Library & can be checked out.

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 Marsha Riddle Buly - Elementary Education                                                     
 Feburary 13th, 2008 -Demystifying Bilingual Education                               

Riddle Buly, a recipient of the 2005-06 Excellence in Teaching Award, exploreed why bilingual education in the U.S. is misunderstood.                                                                  

She notes that “countries throughout the world offer students opportunities to study at least two languages throughout elementary school. In Finland and Spain, students study and speak three languages, not just two.” But in the U.S., bilingual education in elementary schools is less common.

Riddle Buly described the difference between additive and subtractive approaches to bilingual education. Additive or enrichment bilingual education is instruction that uses two or more languages where students fluently speak, read, write, and comprehend all languages of instruction. In subtractive or remedial bilingual education the goal is to replace whatever language a student speaks with only English. She will also provide potential benefits of additive or enrichment bilingual education for both English Language Learners and native English speakers in the U.S.

She joined Western's faculty in 1999. For over 20 years she has worked in K-12 schools as a teacher, reading specialist, language arts coordinator & mentor teacher in Spain, CA, & WA.

DVD of Riddle Buly's' talk is available in Western's library, Special Collections
M-F, 11 am-4 pm, or by appt.@ 650-3193. Archival DVD only - can't be checked out.

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          Kathy Knutzen - Physical Education              
         January 16, 2008 - Active Living for Health

 

Knutzen is director of WWU’s Center for Healthy Living. She has been at WWU since 1978.“Active Living for Health” reviewed health risks associated with physical inactivity and physical activity/inactivity trends across age groups. She examined health    benefits of physical activity demonstrating strong support for inclusion of regular physical activity for overall health. Different types of exercise were examined pointing out benefits related to cardiovascular or strength exercise. Factors such as transportation, environment and lifestyle were explored from the role they play in influencing overall physical activity participation.

A Professor in the PEHR Dept. and Associate Dean of the College of Humanities & Social Sciences, Knutzen has taught courses in Kinesiology & Biomechanics since 1979 and has directed the Mature Adult Training Program since 1995 - introducing hundreds of older adults to strength and physical activity for maintenance and improvement of function in aging.

Knutzen coordinates the Center for Healthy Living activities, a center comprised of faculty from seven departments who promote health in the community. Her research interests include older adult function and exercise equipment evaluation. She recently completed the 3rd edition of a biomechanics/kinesiology textbook and she maintains an active publication/research presentation schedule. She is a Fellow in the American College of Sports Medicine and the Research Consortium of AAHPERD and is biomechanics serving her second term as the Biomechanics Section Editor of the journal Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport. She was recently inducted into the American Academy of Kinesiology, a prestigious organization with 150 active members who have made significant contributions to the fields of kinesiology & physical education.

A DVD of Knutzen's ' talk is available in Western's Libraries, Special Collections
M-F, 11 am-4 pm, or by appt.@ 650-3193. DVD is archival only & cannot be checked out.

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George "Pinky" Nelson - Science Math & Technology Education
Nov. 14, 07-Sputnik plus 50 years, The Enduring Impact                                                                                                                  
Pinky Nelson, Science, Math & Technology Education Director and Physics/Astronomy professor
has been at WWU since 2002. He was a NASA astronaut/mission control specialist aboard 3
shuttle space flights from 1978-89.

"In Oct. 1957, as a 7 year-old boy, along with millions of other Americans, I watched a faint ‘star’ move rapidly from west to east across the evening sky. I will never forget how excited it made me feel about the future, and how nervously the grownups reacted,” said Nelson. “In '89, after three trips into orbit, I was among the first westerners to visit Kazakhstan to stand on the launch pad where the Space Age started.”

50 years have passed since Sputnik was launched, but Nelson said its impact is still being felt in gov., military, schools, media, the scientific community and in our culture. He believes Sputnik was a turning point-the day we first left the planet to begin our expansion into the solar system and beyond.

Nelson’s missions included: 1st on-orbit satellite repair in '84; pilot for 1st operational flight of manned maneuvering unit & primary extravehicular crewman; crew on flight of Discovery-Sept. '89, immediately following the Challenger. Nelson has advised NASA as chair of the Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Missions 3A & 3B External Independent Readiness Review Team.

A DVD of Nelson's talk is available in Western's Library & can be checked out.

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2006-2007 

Mary Janell Metzger - English               
Oct. 1, 2006 - Teaching and Learning
in an Age of Fear & Corruption            
                                                                                                          

The author of Shakespeare Without Fear: Teaching for Understanding, English professor Mary Janell Metzger explored the connections between student fear, corruption or what is more commonly known as “cheating,” and the nature of teaching and learning today. Through her experience as a teacher of the anxiety producing Bard, Metzger examined the nature of today’s students’ fear of failure, the relationship between such fear, contemporary education debates, the culture of moral corruption advanced by global capitalism, and the work of teaching/learning. She argued that teachers & students must risk failure i to engage the work of writers like Shakespeare, writers that challenge us to think as clearly, and reasonably as we can about who they invite us to be as their readers — individually, historically, socially, politically – and what such an experience means for living in this world – in and outside the classroom.

A DVD of Metzger's presentation is available in Western's Library & can be checked out.

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         Zite Hutton - Accounting                                                    
         Jan. 1, 2007 - The IRS: Myths and Reality                           

Award-winning professor Marguerite "Zite" Hutton, a former IRS Agent and a CPA, discussed common "myths" related to the IRS and taxes, and countered those myths based on her own experience and observation and current research. Hutton stated that "no one likes to pay taxes, even though tax revenue pays for the many services that are provided by our communities, states and country." "There are so many myths -such as tax refunds are only delivered on Tuesdays" - and everyone hears horror stories, such as "do you know what the IRS did to a friend of a friend of a friend?" Hutton is the CBE Distinguished Teaching Fellow for 2006-09. She is also the recipient of: WA Society of CPA's "2005 Outstanding Accounting Educator for WA State;" WWU's Excellence in Teaching Award; Chase Franklin Excellence in Teaching Award; & the American Taxation Association/Arthur Anderson Teaching Innovation Award.

A DVD of Hutton's ' talk is available in Western's library, Special Collections. M-F- 11 am-4 pm,
or by appt.@ @ 650-3193. Tape is archival only & cannot be checked out.

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Steve Globerman - Economics                                                                      
Fe. 27, 07 - Competing for Highly Educated                                               
People: Is U.S. Economy in Trouble?                                                                                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                     
Globerman, Kaiser Professor of International Business & Dir. of the Center for International Business, contended that highly educated workers are a major resource for innovation and economic growth. Traditionally, the U.S. has been a magnet for students seeking advanced degrees, and for highly educated and trained professionals. The inward migration of highly educated people has been a prominent reason for the prosperity the U.S. has enjoyed over the past decades. Researchers are increasingly concerned that the U.S. is becoming less attractive as a migration destination for highly educated people, including those who already hold U.S. citizenship. The presentation focused on the issues of whether and why the U.S. is becoming a less attractive location for highly educated people to live/work. Possible policy responses on the part of U.S. government officials was also discussed. Globerman has published articles, and books on international business topics. He is listed in Who’s Who in Economics; Who’s Who in International Business and Who’s Who in Business Education. His personal/professional interest in international migration issues was honed by his own experience as a migrant who lived and worked in Canada.

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Gregory Pulver -Theatre Arts Chair                                      
March 7, 2007 -  Feminism and Costume History                              

Pulver's lecture was not just about clothing, it was also about cultural influences and why women in power wore what they wore. He presented an overview of costume and fashion history spanning over 4,000 years, focusing on women in roles of leadership. Nefertiti, Queen Elizabeth, Amelia Bloomer, early women's rights activists, and other strong women were discussed as ground-breakers of fashion and history. He also explored women's silhouette and how it has changed throughout history from Queen Elizabeth's time to the present. Pulver teaches courses in costume design and history and specialty classes in puppetry, millinery, mask making, and movement for actors.

A DVD of Pulver's presentation is available in Western's Library & can be checked out.

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Ray Wolpow - Chair, Secondary Education                 
April 11, 07 - Through the Dead of Night: Lessons in
Resiliency & Hope from Survivors of the Holocaust                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Wolpow, Director of the Northwest Center for Holocaust, Genocide & Ethnocide Education, stated that many K-12 students have backgrounds that include pervasive familial/societal violence. Students who live in families that mistreat them, in dangerous neighborhoods, who attend school with hostile and delinquent peers, cannot choose to leave. This lack of choice over people/environments increases juveniles’ vulnerability to intimate victimization and participation in related high-risk behaviors. Consequences: low self-esteem, depression, attachment, personality & sexual disorders, and dramatic decreases in academic performance. Holocaust survivors know abuse, gang violence, murder and betrayal. Many who are familiar with pain of loss have constructed meaningful lives. Survivors who affirmed value of life in face of death and chose recovery in the face of despair, do more than inspire us. Sharing stories of how survivors restored their lives by helping others and the creation a new genre of “testimonial” literature, he showed how their messages, taught with a pedagogy that fosters resiliency, can be comforting to K-12 students struggling to recover from their own traumas.

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2005-2006

Wendy Walker - Environmental Studies                                                                   
October 19, 05 "Disaster is in the Eye of the Beholder:                                        
An Alligator's View of Hurricane Katrina                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
Walker explored whether Hurricane Katrina and other sudden natural events like tsunamis and volcanic eruptions, while so devastating to humans, could actually benefit other species. She suggested that humans tend to view these events in the context of their own lives as “disasters,” though the events have varying impacts, both positive and negative, on diverse species – and may actually be a necessary and natural part of the Earth’s complex environmental systems. “It’s possible that what is good for an alligator in the long run might even aid the human species in the long run,” added Walker. To quote naturalist John Muir, “when we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe.”

A DVD of walker's ' lecture is available in Western's library - special collections. m-f - 11 am-4 pm, or by appointment @ 650-3193. The tape is archival only, and cannot be checked out.

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Dawn Prince Hughes - Anthropology                      
Nov. 16, 05 - The Curious Incident of the Gorilla  
in the Meantime: My Unusual Path to Academe                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
Dawn Prince-Hughes explored her unique path to academic success. Undiagnosed with Autism
until age 36 she had a very difficult time in school. Eventually, she quit school in her third year of high school and left home, becoming homeless for several years. A chance meeting with a group
of captive gorillas afforded her an opportunity to learn how to understand human social behavior, how to regulate sensory stress and resulting anxiety, and eventually led to her rediscovering her enthusiasm for learning. As a result, Prince-Hughes obtained a Ph.D. in interdisciplinary anthropology through Universitat Herisau, in Switzerland, with primate studies as a focus. Dawn focused on how autistic/highly sensitive students can either excel or fail in the academic world, what strategies work and do not work for students and the need for "neurodiversity" within the university community.

An audio tape of Price-Hughes presentation is available in Western's library and can be checked out. Consult the on-line catalog for availability.

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Peter Haug - Decision Sciences                                                  
January 18, 06 - Outsourcing in India                                       
and its Effect on the United States                                             
                                                                                                        

Haug addressed American offshore outsourcing of information technology, technical and customer support services, and business processes to India. He contends that outsourcing will increase dramatically during the next several years. By 2008, a National Association of Software and Service Companies survey estimates that Indian employment in IT outsourcing service providers will increase from 650,000 to over 1 million people. Based upon the authors’ experiences in teaching about and observing outsourcing activities in India, this presentation discussed recent trends in offshore outsourcing to India and the benefits and challenges of outsourcing for the United States.

A DVD of Haug's presentation is available in Western's library and can be checked out. Consult on-line catalog for availability.

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Sandra Mottner - Finance & Marketing                                                         
Feb.15, 06 - Nonprofit Marketing: A                                                               
Different Kind of Shareholder Wealth                                                            
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
Mottner addressed a relatively new area of study: the growing use of business tools and theories to help nonprofit organizations achieve their goals and work with their constituencies. According to Mottner, nonprofit marketing involves using marketing strategy and tools to “do good,” rather than just making a profit. She said nonprofit organizations are often understaffed, under-funded and dependent on volunteers who are not skilled in marketing or fundraising, so they could clearly benefit from strategic, traditionally profit-driven marketing strategies. Mottner presented samples of nonprofit marketing for museums.

A DVD of Mottner's presentation is available in Western's library and can be checked out. Consult the on-line catalog for availability.

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   Fallou Ngom - Modern & Classical Languages                 
   April 12, 06 - Language Analysis in Asylum Case:       
   Recent Development in Forensic Linguistics                 

Ngom discussed how many Western governments now use language analysis to determine the national origin of asylum seekers. Due to wars, poverty, population displacements and migration, the number of asylum seekers to Western countries continues to grow. "While many people apply for asylum for genuine reasons, some use the asylum system to immigrate to the West by claiming that they come from a country whose citizens are normally granted asylum," said Ngom. And, in cases where immigration officials doubt the asylum applicant's claims, the socio-linguistic features in the applicant's speech are analyzed to verify whether they are consistent with those found in the communities they claim to be from.

A DVD of Ngom's presentation is available in Western's library and can be checked out. Consult the on-line catalog for availability.

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2004-2005

  Arunas Oslapas - Industrial Design                                          
   Nov. 17, 04 - Zero Waste                                                        

Arunas Oslapas, Associate Professor & Industrial Design Program Coordinator in the Engineering Technology dept. spoke about an on-going industrial design project that focuses on intercepting industrial waste/scraps and incorporating it into innovative products that address the triple bottom line of economics, social equity and the environment.  He described experiments and showed visuals, and also showed failures and successes as his students have embarked on their adventures to "turn trash into cash."  Oslapas stressed that "In order for our Earth to be a fully sustainable system, we must reach a point of zero waste.  In nature, the perfect model, there is no waste; all "products" produced in natural systems are food or raw mateials for another level of the cycle, said Oslapas.  Understanding the cyclical characteristics of nature can aid us in the man-made world as we mimic nature and patten our systems after her.

An audio tape of Oslapas' lecture is available in Western's library, Special Collections. M-F - 11 am-4 pm, or by appointment @ 650-3193. The tape is archival only, & cannot be checked out.

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Gigi Berardi & Lynne Robbins - Environmental Studies                  
Jan. 19, 05 - Academic Tribes & Territories: Promoting Diversity
                                                                                                                  
In addition to working together at Huxley, where Berardi is Environmental Studies Chair, Robbins and Berardi co-developed the Tribal Environmental and Natural Resources Management program which is used at Northwest Indian College. The program combines the different social, cultural and academic principles distinct to Western and Native American approaches to science learning, to build a core learning community. "How groups and individuals perceive and communicate with one another within their concepts of time and space, and interaction, or how they establish modes of learning are very important parts of culture," Berardi said. Some cultures favor "high-content" learning, using multiple-streams of information surrounding an event. Communication is within the context itself, not within the actual message delivered. For "low-context learners, the pattern is the opposite: filtering out conditions surrounding an event to focus as much as possible on the words and objective facts.

An audio tape of Berarde & Robbins' lecture is available in Western's library, Special Collections. M-F- 11 am-4 pm, or by appointment @ 650-3193. The tape is archival only, & cannot be checked out.

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Kristi Lemm - Psychology                                                                    
March 9, 05 - How Well Do You Know How You Feel?                     
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
Lemm has done extensive research on implicit, or unconscious, beliefs and attitudes, particularly implicit prejudice. Her current work focuses on implicit bias related to race, obesity, gender and sexual orientation. To show how such implicit beliefs are measured, Lemm allowed audience members to take the Implicit Association Test. "In recent years, researchers have realized that people are not always willing to reveal their attitudes, particularly regarding socially sensitive topics such as prejudice. In addition, people may have attitudes they don't even realize they possess", Lemm said. She also described studies that she and her colleagues and student have conducted at Western to assess implicit attitudes, with a particular focus on her ongoing research about attitudes toward gay men.

An audio tape of Lemm's lecture is available in Western's library, Special Collections - M-F - 11 am-4 pm, or by appt. @ 650-3193. The tape is archival only, and cannot be checked out.

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Bruce Larson - Secondary Education & Social Studies              
April 13, 05 - Using Face-to-Face and Electronic                         
Discussions to Examine Controversial Issues, Develop            
Citizenship and Promote Thinking                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
Bruce Larson, the 2003 recipient of the Excellence in Teaching Award, credits his 11 years of secondary teaching experience to leading him to the realization that classroom discussion is a critical teaching tool. Larson believes that electronic formats may serve to reduce the teacher's authority, and allow students to assume more authority during the discussion. This could serve to make the discourse more egalitarian and less focused on student attributes such as status, power, ethnicity, or culture. Such discussion boards could allow typically unheard student to have a "voice."

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2003-2004

Brian Bingham - Huxley College                                       
Oct. 23, 03 - Immersion Experiences                              
and Intensive Mentoring                                                                                       
Brian Bingham discussed his experiences promoting diversity in marine science education as keys to academic success. Bingham is director of Western's Minorities in Marine Science Undergraduate Program which annually enrolls students from around the country for two quarters of course work, research, participation in K-8 classroom outreach and presentations at professional meetings. Brian has directed MIMSUP since its inception 13 years ago. He won the 2002 Presidential Award for Excellence, administered by the National Science Foundation, and a Management Excellence Award from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Bingham also received Western's 2002/03 Diversity Achievement Award.

An audio tape of Bingham's' lecture is available in Western's library, Special Collections . M-F -11 am-4 pm, or by appt. @ 650-3193. the tape is archival only, and cannot be checked out.

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Millie Johnson - Mathematics                                                      
November 20, 03 Using Mathematics to                                   
Understand What Bees are Buzzing About                               

"Mathematics isn't just about computation anymore," says Johnson, an award-winning teacher with 31 years of experience. Johnson notes that the defense department is currently training bees to sniff out explosives. Their sense of smell is better than dogs and they can easily fly to their target undetected. She stated that bees can not only detect the mines without requiring a walk through the explosives, they can also revitalize agriculture via pollination. Johnson received the Distinguished Teaching Award from the Mathematical Association of America's Pacific NW Chapter.

An audio tape of Johnson's lecture is available in Western's Library, Special Collections . M-F. 11 am-4 pm, or by appt. @ 650-3193. The tape is archival only, and cannot be checked out.

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Charles Sylvester - Physical Ed., Health & Recreation             
Feb. 12, 03 - Leisure & Liberal Education                                

Charles Sylvester, a 2002/03 Excellence in Teaching recipient, earned the 2001 Excellence in Teaching Award from the National Society of Park and Recreation Educators and the 1991 Member of the Year Award from the National Therapeutic Recreation Society. In his presentation, Sylvester explored the classical relation between leisure and liberal education. He also described several of the historical forces that transformed leisure, causing it to be associated in the modern mind with emptiness, shopping, and entertainment rather than education and excellence. He considered the possibility of restoring leisure and liberal education in a way suitable for modern democracy.

Audio tape of Sylvester's' lecture is available in Western's library, Special Collections M-F - 11 am-4 pm, or by appointment @ 650-3193. the tape is archival only, & can't be checked out.

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Alan Gallay - History                                                             
March 4, 06 - Slavery & Race in Early America                                                                                                                      

Allan Gallay was honored in 2003 with the prestigious Bancroft Prize for his book, The Indian Slave Trade: The Rise of the English Empire in the South, 1670-1717. He is the first historian to focus on Native American slavery, a project that took 13 years of research. He was the 2002/2003 recipient of the Olscamp Research Award. "Most Americans assume that slavery and race were inseparable and unchangeable in American history. Yet concepts of race evolved as American slavery altered over time, said Gallay,who also examined how the ideology of freedom for some and enslavement for others occurred in the revolutionary and antebellum period.

An audio tape of Gallay's lecture is available in Western's library - Special Collections. M-F- 11 am-4 pm, or by appt.. @ 650-3193. the tape is archival only, and cannot be checked out.

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Carol Janson - Art History                                                                                                  
April 15 - Common Ground: Partnerships in Art & Community                                    

Carol Janson was one of four Center for Instructional Innovation 2002/03 "showcase" faculty to utilize her senior seminar "as a bridge to students' futures." She devised a service-learning project in which students created paintings for Whatcom Transit Authority bus shelters. Through a power-point presentation, Janson proved that an opportunity to combine students' artistic talents with critical thinking and problem solving was useful to them and an enhancement to their community.

An audio tape of Janson's lecture is available in Western's library, Special Collections - M-F - 11 am-4 pm, or by appt. @ 650-3193. the tape is archival only, & cannot be checked out.

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2002-2003

Suzanne Paola - English                                                              
October 24, 02 - Afterwards: A Reading                                  
                                                                                                            

In her presentation, Suzanne Paola wove together evolutionary science and personal material. She read from "Body Toxic" - her first work of non-fiction. Paola is an award-winning author and poet who was awarded a $20,000 National Endowment for the Arts grant for creative writing and earned the esteemed Brittingham Prize for her poetry. Written under the name Susanne Antonetta, her environmental memoir, "Body Toxic" was also named a 2001 New York Times Notable Book and an American Book Award winner.

An audio tape of Paola's lecture is available in Western's library, Special Collections. M-F- 11 am-4 pm, or by appt @ 650-3193. the tape is archival only, and cannot be checked out.

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Nov. 21, 02 - Diversity Flashpoints
                                                                                     
                                                                                       Karen Hoelscher   Joe Garcia
                                                                                       Education            Management

Professors Hoelscher & Garcia, both winners of the Diversity Achievement Award, discussed their national study of potentially explosive interpersonal situations bourn out of identity differences. Their objective is to enable educators to become more effective in managing these challenging incidents. Based on interviews with colleagues from universities across the U.S., this presentation provided insights into their research methods, and found implications for practice.

An audio tape of lecture is available in Western's library - Special Collections.M-F - 11-4 pm,
or by appointmentt @ 650-3193. the tape is archival only, and cannot be checked out.

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Sara Weir - Political Science                                                                   January 30, 03 - Women Care Givers                                         
and Intergenerational Relationships                                          

Weir's talk focused on women caring for women; the importance of intergenerational relationships with non-family members, and kindness and humor as strategies for acceptance of aging. She has expertise in the topic, particularly the social, political and interpersonal implications of aging, and co-chaired Western's interdisciplinary gerontology certificate program. She makes care giving decisions for her mother and aunt who have significant memory loss.
An audio tape of Weir's lecture is available in Western's library - special collections.M-F - 11 am-4 pm, or by appt. @ 650-3193. the tape is archival only, and cannot be checked out.

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David Nelson - Economics                                                   
February 20, 03 - From Plan to Market                             
Economic Education in the former Soviet Union              

                                                                                                             

David Nelson discussed efforts underway in the former Soviet Union to teach young people about how a market economy functions. During his tour of the former Soviet Union in 2001, Nelson observed students learning lessons in economics, which he developed for U.S. students, which are now being used throughout the former Soviet Union and beyond. Nelson asked his audience to consider: "Will the seeds that are being planted today among students in the Ukraine, in Belarus, and in many other countries of the former Soviet Bloc, bear fruit in the years to come as a new generation of young people assumes leadership responsibilities in these countries?"

An audio tape of Nelson's lecture is available in Western's library - special collections. M-F - 11 am-4 pm, or by appt. @ 650-3193. the tape is archival only, and cannot be checked out.

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George "Pinky" Nelson Nelson - Science Education                   
March 13, 03 - Goofy Goals & Hidden Agendas;                        
Recapturing the Vision of Education Reform                             

                                                                                                          
                                                                                                      
George Nelson, a former astronaut who has logged more than 400 hours of space travel, including voyages on the STS-41C Challenger and the STS-26 Discovery is the new director of the Science, Math & Technology Education program. He arrived at Western in January 2002, to continue his lifelong pursuit of educational reform to ensure that all Americans are literate in science, math and technology. Before coming to WWU he served for 5 years with the American Association of the Advancement of Science as the Director of Project 2061, a national initiative to reform K-12 science, math, and technology education in the U.S.

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Dana Jack - Fairhaven College                                              
April 24, 03 - Mapping the Valleys in the Minds of Nepal:
A First Study of Depression in the Hindu Kingdon             

                                                                                                   

Winner of the 2002 Paul Olscamp Research Award, Dana Jack traveled to Nepal in 2001 to research how gender issues relate to depression and play out in other cultural contexts. While she was there, she taught courses in women's studies and helped develop a graduate-level gender studies curriculum at Tribbhuvan University in Katmandu. Author of "Silencing the Self" a ground-breaking study of depression in American women, Jack engages in internationally recognized research. Her latest book, "Behind the Mask: Destruction & Creativity in Women's Aggression" explores the origins, meanings and forms of women's aggression.

An audio tape of Jack's lecture is available in Western's library, Special Collections M-F- 11 am-4 pm, or by appointment @ 650-3193. the tape is archival only, and cannot be checked out.

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2001-2002

David Patrick - Chemistry                                                           
October 16, 01                                                                              
Nanoscience?                                                                

                                                                        
Nanoscience studies the world at the size scale of atoms and molecules. Though the subject matter is very small, the scope and technological impacts of this new field of science are potentially very large. No other discipline in the natural sciences is receiving as much attention and is the subject of as much hype as nanoscience. Optimistic futurists predict nanoscience will produce cures for disease, save the environment and solve the problem of the social security deficit, among other things. Others, such as Bill Joy, CEO of Sun Microsystems, worry about a future filed with nanorobots run amuck, plotting to make humans obsolete. Amid the promise and hyperbole, one certainty is that funding for nanoscience research has increased dramatically at a time when support for non-health related basic research has been constant or declining. Will nanoscience deliver on its promises? Do we have something to fear?

An audio tape of Patrick's lecture is available in Western's library, Special Collections - M-F     11 am-4 pm, or by appt. @ 650-3193. the tape is archival only, and cannot be checked out.

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David Sattler - Psychology                                                            
November 13, 01 New National Study                                         
Shows American Resiliency After Sept. 11                                  

Sattler, an expert on psychological responses to disasters, presented results of a new national study indicating that a strong majority of college students have reprioritized their lives and are exhibiting positive signs of coping and resiliency since Sept. 11. Two weeks after the September 11 attacks, Sattler and two Western Graduate students interviewed 1,282 college students. Respondents were in New York city ; Boulder, CO; Charleston, SC and at Western. Regardless of proximity to the tragedy, Sattler's team found attitudes of the college students survey were surprisingly similar.

An audio tape of Sattler's lecture is available in Western's library, Special Collections - M-F, 11 am-4 pm, or by appt. @ 650-3193. the tape is archival only, and cannot be checked out.

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Scott Babcock - Geology                                                                  
Jan. 15, 02- Earth Visions - Reading                                              
the Rocks of the Pacific Northwest                                                                

Scott Babcock "read" stories told by some of the spectacular geologic features in this region. Among the "chapters" in Babcock's slide-illustrated talk, were tales of micro plate mosaics, volcanic cataclysms and how the Ice Age came and went. "The Pacific Northwest is blessed with some of the most spectacular geologic features to be found anywhere in the world. One of the great beauties of the science of geology is that a great deal of the earth's history can be interpreted by merely observing the form and substance of rocks and landscapes. Geologists call this reading the rocks."

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Julie Lockhart - Accounting                                                             
Feb. 12, 02 Accountancy: Steward of the                                     
Land or Pawn of the Status Quo?                                                  

What does the field of accounting have to do with the natural environment? Julie Lockhart addressed this question by reviewing the current status of corporate financial reporting on environmental issues and by providing examples from companies' financial reports. She critiqued the accounting model dealing with the environment and describes some of the barriers that exist to preventing better reporting of environmental impacts, thus keeping accountancy a "pawn of the status quo." There is hope that accounting can help improve the environment, since "what gets measured gets done." Many companies now produce environmental reports outlining environmental initiatives and progress. As more companies accept these guidelines, we may see accountancy hold a prominent role in environmental stewardship.

An audio tape of Lockhart's lecture is available in western's library, Special Collections - M-F
11 am-4 pm, or by appt. @ 650-3193. the tape is archival only, and cannot be checked out.

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Rosemary Vohs - Elementary Ed. & Communication                          
March 5, 02 - An Evening of Storytelling:                                         
Art & Academic Pursuit                                                                                    

Rosemary Scott Vohs, a professional storyteller and public speaking coach presented an evening of storytelling. Storytelling is now recognized as an interdisciplinary subject that delves into the fields of anthropology, environmental education, communication, business, creative writing, healing arts and theater. Vohs was classically trained in performance arts in her native England. She has taken her award-winning talent to Australia, Southeast Asia and Canada. She produces Telebration and co-produces the Bellingham Storytelling Festival, both part of National Storytelling Week.

An audio tape of Voh's lecture is available in Western's library, Special Collections - M-F
11 am-4 pm, or by appt. @ 650-3193. the tape is archival only, and cannot be checked out.

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2000-2001

Todd Donovan - Political Science                                                                              
Oct. 17, 00 - Can Ballot Initiatives  Improve Our Civic Life?                                
                                                                                                                                                                                                                     
Nationally known for his expertise on voting habits and ballot initiatives, Donovan discussed the critical viewpoint that the citizen's initiative process wreaks havoc on democracy in Washington and other states. He spoke of overstated threats like the cost of ballot access, the role of special interests and the threat that initiatives pose to minorities. Donovan contended that initiatives may strengthen democracy in ways that are most often overlooked "In Nov. 2000 voters were asked to vote on more initiative measures than in any election since 1914," Donovan said.

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Ed Rutschman - Music                                                            
November 14, 2000 - When Composers                            
Borrow, Who Gets the Paycheck?                                                     

Excellence in Teaching award-winner for 1992-93, Ed Rutschman, musicologist and composer, explored the borrowing practices of musicians over the long span of a millennium, from Gregorian chant to the present day Napster court case. The recent digital dissemination of recorded music has raised serious questions about the protection of intellectual property. Many of the same issues are centuries old. What if Handel appropriated the music of another composer and used it in the context of his own work? Was he simply paying homage to the other composer, or was he engaging in criminal activity? He played examples of distinctly similar recorded works - he let audience decide for themselves.

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Michael Seal - Engineering Technology (VRI)                  
January 16, 2001 - V-12 Compound
Expansion Composite Engines

Michael Seal, founder/director of Western's Vehicle Research Institute (VRI) talked about the V-12 compound engine which was recently developed at the Vehicle Research Institute. The engine, capable of reaching 300 horsepower when all 12 cylinders are working replaced the experimental Subaru engine currently in the Viking 7. The engine will improve upon that of a Honda Civic. The target weight of the engine is 200 pounds, a reduction in 100 pounds from the Civic' equivalent engine and 400 pounds from a V-8 engine. Since 1971, Seal and his students and staff have produced prize-winning research vehicles, experimental racing cars and automobile engines.

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Larry Estrada - Fairhaven College                                      
Feb. 13, 01 - Zorro Politics in Mexico:                                 
The Potential Legacy of Vicente Fox's Presidency            

February 13, 2001 - Larry Estrada discussed the present social and political conditions in Mexico and the impact that the most recent presidential election had on Mexican society during the next six years. He also focused on Mexico's current positions on immigration, the drug war, domestic crime and unemployment - with emphasis on the country's population explosion and its implications for social and cultural change. As former chair of the Washington State Commission on Hispanic Affairs, Estrada received the Benito Juarez award from the Whatcom Hispanic Organization for his work and leadership within local and statewide Hispanic communities.

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Steven VanderStaay - English                                         
March 13,01 - When Schools Work- Fostering             
Achievement & Resilience in an Urban High School               

VanderStaay shared the results of his year-long study of Seattle teacher Rick Nagel from Franklin High School, renown for the achievements of students in his award-winning law and society program. VanderStaay's research was funded by a grant from the National Academy of Education and the spender foundation to research factors that protect at-risk children from engaging in dangerous or criminal behavior. VanderStaay contended that "The importance of good schooling and the role of teachers who engage the interest of their students and provide challenging curriculum in a child's life can never be over estimated."

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Sarah Clark-Langager - Western Gallery Director                        
April 18, 01 - Seeing Through Public Art                                                   

Sarah Clark-Langager conducted a walking tour of Western's internationally known sculpture collection. Her presentation answered many often-asked questions about the noted collection: How did Western become a national leader in the development of outdoor sculpture? While other universities are not developing sculpture collections, Why is Western's still considered a premier example? What is notable about each of the 23 artists and their works?

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1999-2000

Steve Dillman - Engineering Technology                                   
Nov. 9, 1999 - The Raven: An Educational Project                   
to Build a World Record-Setting Human Powered Aircraft      

The Raven is a human-powered aircraft with a wingspan greater than the Boeing 737. Steve Dillman discussed the project and how it will soon be ready for its first piloted flight. The project is an effort to build an aircraft capable of setting four world records in human powered flight. It incorporates advanced materials to produce rigid wing and fuselage skins with a cantilever wing construction. Design specifications call for an aircraft with a wingspan of 35 m, a weight of only 34 kg, a cruising velocity of 32 km/hr, and a range of 160 km. An aircraft has been built and is currently under testing, and has made approximately 150 short trial flights without a pilot. However, initial structural testing has revealed some problems in design and manufacture that must be addressed prior to piloted flight. It is estimated that the Raven will be ready for first flight 30 days after successfully passing the final structural tests.

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Jack Hardy - Environmental Sciences                                                                            
January 18, 99 - Global Warming - What Can Be Done?                                                            

During the 20th Century humans have greatly increased the concentration of greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere. Realistic assumptions regarding use of fossil fuels suggest that this trend will continue. Scientists confirm that the recent global warming lies outside the bounds of natural variation. If present trends continue, water resources, forestry and agriculture will likely face serious impacts. The 21st Century will present us with the most challenging environmental problem ever. Jack Hardy's lecture discussed how we will sustain our ecological and economic systems in the face of unprecedented climatic change.

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Don Alper - Center for Canadian American                                    
Studies & Political Science                                                             
Feb. 15, 99 -One Landscape/Two Systems:                                
Emerging Forms of Ecological Politics Across the Border"                     

Don Alper discussed the future of the Pacific Northwest in the Cascadia region. The growth rates in the Seattle-Tacoma and Vancouver, B.C. urban areas have been among the highest and metropolitan areas in Canada and the U.S. Alper discussed the cross-jurisdictional cooperation needed to deal with the impacts of this growth.

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Kathleen Young - Anthropology                                                 
March 1999 - Anthropology of Good and Evil                                   

Anthropologist Kathleen Young discussed the cross cultural nature of Good and Evil. She investigated the ranges and variations of what humans consider good and evil. Young also explored the following questions: Are there some acts that are universally considered evil? Does the idea of basic human goodness exist cross culturally? What are the ranges and variations of what humans consider good and evil? And - How do ideas of good and evil reveal to us a broader consideration of what it means to be human? Young’s study of the war in the former Yugoslavia, led her to the study of cross-cultural conception of good and evil. She received Western’s Excellence in Teaching Award in 1999.

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Robin Matthews - Watershed Studies, Huxley College                
April 18, 99 - What's in My Drinking Glass Besides Water?      

Robin Matthews is the Director of the Institute of Watershed Studies at Huxley college of the Environment. She discussed current information about Lake Whatcom; the primary water source for the City of Bellingham, a recreational site, a major wildlife habitat and a desirable residential area. She discussed the local issues in relation to the universal complex problem of providing safe drinking water for our community.

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1998-1999

John Field - Geology                                                                                                   
November 10, 98 - Salmon, Floods, & Earth Science                                              
Education: Geology Isn't Just About Rocks Anymore                                                               

John Field outlined that two of the most pressing economic and environmental issues facing our region are integrally tied to streams and rivers: the decline of the salmon runs and the continuing losses due to flooding. These issues may seem unrelated to geology, but as a fluvial geomorphologist (river geologist) Field is currently working, together with his students, to address these issues locally and to create a greater public awareness of these problems. As a member of the Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association, he monitors the success and impact of stream restoration projects in the community. He is also the director of the Washington Earth Science Initiative, a teacher enhancement program designed to involve teachers in local environmental issues such as habitat restoration and flooding.

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Robbi Ferron - Equal Opportunity                                
Jan. 12, 99 - Multi-racial Identity Will Win the Race
to Equal Opportunity, Leaving Anti-discrimination   
and Affirmative Action Breathless                              
                                                                                                    
In the year 2000, the U.S. census permitted citizens to designate themselves as having more than one race, for the first time in census history. In doing so, the Federal government is recognizing the growing multi-racial population. Robbi Ferron, Executive Director of Western's Equal Opportunity Center, explored the implications of this change. Ferron noted that creating a multi-racial designation comes at a time when numbers of protected classification in anti-discrimination law are increasing as are attacks on affirmative actions. She also argued that multi-racial identity may be a better vehicle to win the race to equality than anti-discrimination laws and affirmative action ever were. Ferron served as senior policy advisor for affirmative action for Governors Mike Lowey and Gary Locke.

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Kris Bulcroff, Sociology & Linda Smeins, Art History                    
Feb. 9, 99 - The Road to Romance: An                                         
American Honeymoon Experience                                                                     

Sociologist Kris Bulcroft and Art Historian Linda Smeins discussed their recent book about the social construction of the modern honeymoon. The presentation included discussion about the historical origins of he custom of the honeymoon, contemporary form and function of the ritual, and the meanings of the honeymoon for interpersonal identity. "Where you choose to honeymoon - whether it's soaking in a 7-foot tall champagne glass in the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania or lying on the beach in Jamaica" - says a great deal about who you are and how you view your marriage, says the authors. Today, 95% of all couples take a honeymoon, compared to 47% of pre-World War II couples.

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Floyd Lewis, Joe Garcia & Kenneth Keleman - Management & Decision Sciences
March 9, 99 - Electronic Meetings for the Next Century                                                 
                                                                    

The audience witnessed a live demonstration of an electronically-supported meeting through a demonstration of Group Support System (GSS) technology, where some participants were in remote locations. In the early 1980s, Lewis developed the first microcomputer-based Group Support System. The initial GSS software evolved into a commercial product called MeetingWorks for Windows. In this presentation, College of Business & Economics Management and Decision Science professors Lewis, Garcia and Keleman demonstrated how, as we move into the 21st Century, we may find such electronic meetings becoming the norm - rather than the exception.

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Marie Eaton - Fairhaven College                                                                                        
April 13, 99 - Marie Eaton, Unplugged                                                                                 
                                                                                                               

Marie Eaton, Dean of Fairhaven College and a member of the music ensemble Motherlode, sang a variety of songs, that she has written over the years. She played guitar and was accompanied by her nephew on bass. Motherlode, a dynamic group of four women from Bellingham, and Portland, Oregon, has been performing together for 17 years and have recorded six C.D.'s. They have shared stages with such nationally known artists as Ronnie Gilbert, Tom Paxton, Theresa Trull and Judy Small. They are known for their warmth, spontaneity and rapport with their audiences, which invariably sing along at the invitation of the artists.

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Larry De Lorme - Provost & History Department
May 11, 99 - Policing the Frontier, Some North American Comparisons

Provost De Lorme remains passionate about his areas of academic expertise: frontier crime and law enforcement. During the lecture, he shared interesting historical vignettes drawn from the Washington Territory & British Columbia.

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1997-1998

David Mason - Fairhaven College                                                  
Feb. 13 - When You Look Deeply Into the                                  
IFaceted Golden Eye of the Green Lacewing....                          

Fairhaven professor David Mason, a biologist, presented a multi-media performance piece, which he originally created in 1971 for an ecology class for civil engineers at UC Berkeley. Lacewing - was presented many times in the Bay area and beyond. The presentation at Western featured the original slides and sound track seen at a place in time in which the environmental movement was emerging - the blended visual and auditory images, helped incite metaphoric thinking. Mason cautioned that the dialogue that follows the presentation allows the audience to come to a mutual understanding of our yearning to be satisfied by the same things - respect for the planet and knowledge that we are fragile emotional beings.

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Judith Segal - Wilson Library                                                                                    
February 18, 96 - Bookless & Paperless After the Millennium                              
or, Curling Up in Bed with a Good Computer                                                           

University Librarian, Judith Segal will examine the questions - Does the pleasure and experience of reading hinge upon the bound book? Will electronic modes of information delivery displace the library's print collections? In this presentation, Segal reflected upon the relationship between technology and discourse and the power of the word in any form. An avid reader and storyteller, Segal has experienced librarianship with children, young adults, undergraduate and graduate students and scholars in New York City, Boston, Virginia, Israel and the Pacific Northwest.

An audio tape of Segal's presentation is available in Western's library and can be checked out. consult the on-line catalog for availability.

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1996-1997

James Davis - Political Science                                                                               
November 14, 1996 - An Election Aftermath:                                                       
Closing a Century of Presidents                                                                              

In his lecture, Emeritus Professor Jim Davis focused on the two-century old Electoral College System; the existing means of selection of the President of the United States.  According to the U.S. Constitution, a winning presidential candidate needs to receive the majority of the nation's electoral votes in order to be elected president. Even though this system will be used in the last presidential election of the twentieth century, it has many critics calling for its demise.  Dr. Davis discussed the benefits and conseguences of any changes in the Electoral College System and the direct popular vote. The aftermath of this year's election will also be a topic of interest.  Davis has worked campaigning with Vice President Hubert Humphrey, presidential nominee Walter Mondale, Senator Eugene McCarthy and President John F. Kennedy.

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Ralph Vernacchia - Physical Education Parks & Recreation                                          
January 14, 97- Winning Attitudes of Olympic Athletes                                              

In his presentation, Physical Education professor Ralph Vernacchia contended that elite athletes who participate in Olympic competition develop and utilize a variety of mental skills which help them succeed in the athletic arena. Olympians mentally prepare themselves for competition by adopting a performance attitude which reflects the mental attributes and skills of "pressure" situations. He demonstrated that learned attributes of highly successful athletic performers has relevant ramifications for successful performance in all walks of life. Vernacchia shared his research and observations regarding key mental attributes.

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Violet Malone - Adult & Higher Education                                    
February 11, 97 - The 2.5% Solution                                         

It has been determined that when an innovative idea or practice is introduced into a community of 100 people, approximately 2.5% of that number will adopt the innovation long before it is seen as an "appropriate" innovation for the rest of the people. It is assumed that 2.5% could be actively involved in the community-wide acceptance of the innovation. Not true! The people who make up the 2.5% group usually do not "fit" because they are involved in putting the innovation to use. Who are the "2.5 percenters," and why don't they fit the norm? When is the norm population uncomfortable with the "2.5 percenters?" Malone analyzed how these "2.5 percenters" bring change to a community and why the communities need the solution. A nationally known motivational speaker, Malone is the former president of the Adult Education Association of the USA and chairperson of the National Coalition for Literacy (USA).

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Ronald Kleinknecht - Psychology                                                   
April 8, 97 - When Fear Takes Over: The Nature,
Consequences & Treatment of Medically-Related Phobias 

Fear is one of the most basic emotions experienced by humans and animals. It is best understood as part of a built-in alarm system that warns us of danger and prepares us to escape or to cope with threats to our physical and psychological well being. However, this alarm system sometimes becomes hyper-sensitive to potential dangers such that it can hinder one's social and physical well-being. It can motivate life-threatening avoidance behavior. The lecture illustrated the nature of fear and dysfunctional phobic reactions by focusing on fear motivated avoidance and medically related diagnostic and treatment procedures. Specific attention was addressed to the fear and avoidance of receiving injections and blood draws. Kleinknecht also described research into the origins of these phobias, their consequences, and how they can be effectively treated.

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Robert Keiper - Secondary Education                                        
May 6, 97- Visual, Vocals & Verbals:                                        
The 3 V's for More Effective Communication                          
                                                                                                          

Teachers today are constantly in the sales business! Everyday they must enter classrooms and "sell" products ranging from algebraic equations to causes of the Civil War to parts of speech. To do so, the teacher of the 90's must use all of the "tricks of the trade," including the addition of more energy, enthusiasm and excitement in their teaching. The passion and persuasion needed can be exhibited by reviving the power of ones nonverbal communications (visuals), breaking old habits in using ones' voice (vocals), and considering the words (verbals) that one uses. All these skills and the techniques used to train teachers to be passionate about their teaching are easily transferable to a myriad of activities and or professions. Keiper's multi-media presentation utilized a computer, laser disc and a data projection system to involve the audience in exercises demonstrating the use of visuals, vocals and verbals

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1995-1996

Thomas Schlotterback - Art History
November 14, 95 - The Once and Eternal Virgin Goddess Athena
Parthenos: Big Mama's Back and She's Bad" 

In his multimedia presentation, Art professor emeritus, Thomas Schlotterback stated that the giant chryselephantine statue of Athena Parthenos, in the Parthenon at Athens, is one of he most written about art objects from ancient times. Its significance as an object and as an image has carried the meaning and expression of a culture that predicted and predicated modern times. Schlotterback demonstrated that, when viewed in a specific historical continuum, Athena Parthenos is a critical connector between modern times and the very most ancient manifestation of human culture: the Great Earth Mother.

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Ken Hoover - Political Science                                                    
Jan. 16, 96 - Identity: Who Needs it,                                        
What Good is it?                                                                          
                                                                                                       
What do people want in the way of an identity? Is our identity what separates us from other people? Or, is it what makes us part of a community? How can the separatist and community-oriented aspects of identity be worked out in a democratic society? Kenneth Hoover, Political Science Department Chair, shows how technology depends first on a analysis of the process of identity development and maintenance. Drawing upon the extensive cross-cultural and cross-gender research of Erik Erickson, and of subsequent researchers like Carol Gilligan, Hoover developed a conception of identity formation that included both its universal and separatist aspects. Hoover is the author of four books and is a Distinguished Teaching Award winner.

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Thor Hansen - Geology                                                                  
February 14, 96 - Dinosaurs & Dodos: The
Effect of Mass Extinction on the History of Life 

Geologist Thor Hanson contends that one of the largest mass extinctions in earth history is going on now. More than 99 percent of all animals and plants that ever lived have become extinct, he said. Most of these extinctions have occurred during relatively brief episodes and were pervasive incidents involving plants and animals in nearly all environments on a global scale. By examining the causes and effects of previous extinctions, he shed light on one of the largest extinctions in history. Hanson received the Paul J. Olscamp Outstanding Research Award of 1993-94 and was a visiting scholar at Oxford University in 1991-92.

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Susan Costanzo - History                                                         
April 6, 96 - A Nostalgia for Censorship?                                           

Susan Constanzo, an assistant professor of Russian History, addressed the paradoxes of the recent demise of censorship in the former Soviet Union. While celebrating the unfurling of the Communist party straightjacket of the arts, artists now face a new set of problems associated with the creative and financial aspects. The reward for censorship and conformity had been financial security and high status. Now most artists scrape by. With the withering of the repressive role of the state, many artists have suffered creative crises in the search for a new "enemy" and a new purpose beyond efforts to outwit the censor and criticize the state. The ambivalence has influenced Western exposure to Russian artists. Their experiences provide food for thought and recent debates in the U.S. government's role in the support of the N.E.A. Costanzo has lived in Moscow and St. Petersburg at various times since 1988, helping to fend off Communist loyalists during the attempted coup and takeover of the Russian "White House" in the summer of 1991.

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Ed Bereal - Art                                                                          
May 14, 96 - Sleepless in Havana                                          

Art professor, Ed Bereal presented a multimedia lecture about his experiences during the 1994 Fifth International Havana Biennial. He examined Cuba from the perspective of a visiting African American artist. His presentation juxtaposed the diversity and disparity of Cuban culture and presented Cuba in a new light - its people, economy and politics - filtered through his personal experiences. As a painter/sculptor his exhibition venues include the San Francisco Museum of Art, the Pasadena Art Museum and the Smithsonian National Collection of Art.

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1994-1995

Robert Spich - Management                                                                                  
January 17, 95 - If I Were Them, Would I Still Be Me?                                     

In his presentation, International Business Management professor, Robert Spich examined trying out another generation's shoes and finding that they don't fit so well! Sp owards higher education with a view on how well it serves students in this increasingly complex and international world. He juxtaposed his experience as a student in the 60s and 70s with that of a student in the 90s. Spich started his teaching career as a Fulbright Scholar in Chile.

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Bill Smith - English   
March 14, 95 - Friendly Aliens & Deadly Slashers  

This multimedia lecture explored the cultural significance of space aliens and bloody slashers in popular films during the past 20 years. Studying films such as Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T., Starman, Cocoon, Halloween, Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street reveals similarities which suggest a close kinship between two genres. Through careful analysis, Smith contended, that one can reach the disturbing conclusion that our emotional responses to these films are in direct opposition to the cultural values they portray.Smith is the author of several textbooks and the former editor of "WPA: Writing Program Administration" "_______________________________________________________  

Phillip Montague - Philosophy                                                                                   
April 18, 95 - Myths of Parental Rights                                                                   ,
Realities of Parental Responsibilities                                                                                        

Philosophy professor and chair, Philip Montague contended that parenthood in all its legal, psychological, and social dimensions is frequently examined and discussed, but the nature of these dimensions is largely taken for granted. Parents are, of course, morally responsible for the well-being of their children, and they are commonly assumed to have moral rights to make decisions regarding the course of their children. And, their apparent rights are simply ways of fulfilling these responsibilities Montague asked the audience to consider "the idea that parents have only responsibilities regarding their children and that their apparent rights are simply ways of fulfilling these responsibilities."