Sebastian            Kristi             Dennis            Kathleen              Paul
                 Mendes              Tyran           Whitcomb          Saunders             Piper

              2009-10 Turning Points Faculty Speaker Series

         Lectures held from 5:15 - 6:15 pm in CF 110 (Communications Facility)

      The Turning Points Faculty Speaker Series celebrates the wealth of knowledge &
      talent on Western’s campus. The series features one hour eclectic talks by faculty
      who are experts in their field.  Turning Points Lectures are free and open to the
      public - no tickets required.Rean: Lesons Leom

Nov. 18 – Sebastian Mendes, Art

Art professor Sebastian Mendes will present “There is a Black Mirror in My Heart: An
Oral History and the Legacy of a Holocaust Rescuer,” the first installment in WWU’s Turning Points faculty lecture series, at 5:15 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 18, in Communications Facility room 110 on the WWU campus. The event is free and
open to the public.

Mendes’ presentation will focus the actions of his grandfather, Portuguese diplomat Aristides de Sousa Mendes, who in June, 1940, was in the unique position to aid thousands of desperate 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 entire Holocaust; as a result, Mendes was severely punished by his own government and
never recognized or vindicated in his own lifetime.

Mendes will discuss his grandfather’s personal background and character contributing to the circumstances surrounding his actions, and will look into what this may have meant for himself as well as the 30,000 refugees who received his 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.

 For more information about the Turning Points Faculty Speaker Series or for disability information call 360-650-7545 or visit: www.wwu.edu/turningpoints.  For those
attending Turning Points faculty lectures, no parking permit is required to park after
5 p.m. in the gravel lots 12A and the C lots south of the Communications Facility, near Fairhaven College.  Parking meters require payment all hours.  

Jan. 13 -  Kristi Tyran, Management

Feb. 10 – Dennis Whitcomb, Philosophy

March 3 - Paul Piper, Library
" Information and Knowledge as Commons: The Case of Wikipedia"

April 14 - Kathleen Saunders

                          

Titles/Descriptions will be posted as soon as they are received essons Learned From the Ancient One

For more information or for disability accommodations- 
Call: 360-650-7545 or email Fran.Maas@wwu.edu

   SEE ARCHIVE PAGE - for previous Turning Points Speaker Series events