WAUKESHA – Each semester several members of the faculty and staff at the University of Wisconsin-Waukesha present 50 Minute Lectures on their research or topic of interest. Six such presentations have been scheduled for fall 2004, all offered at noon in Conference Room 101, located in the Commons on campus at 1500 N. University Dr., Waukesha. Admission is free, and the public is welcome.
On Thursday, September 23, Marlin Johnson, the director of the UW-Waukesha Field Station and associate professor emeritus in biological sciences, will address “The Effect of Affluenza on Nature: Why Care?” The book, Affluenza, which focuses on the “disease” of overconsumption, has been chosen as the campus common reading experience for the academic year. Johnson takes an environmental approach, noting how ravenous, unsatisfying consumption is polluting the air, water, and soil, disrupting ecosystems, and, in the end, diminishing the “good life” that it seeks.
Emeritus associate professor of history Blake McNulty returns to campus on Tuesday, October 5, to tell of his travels in “Nepal, the Hidden Kingdom.” He will show a video and describe the culture, geography, and customs of the Himalayan country sandwiched between China and India.
A professor of chemistry specializing in biochemistry, Asif Habib will discuss “Genetically-Modified Foods: Feast or Frankenfood?”on Thursday, October 14. He will talk about the science, applications, promise, politics, and perils of genetically-modified foods.
Staying with the food theme, assistant professor of English Ellyn Lem will explore “When ‘Tex’ Shed ‘Mex’: Laura Esquivel’s Own Mexican Revolution” on Thursday, October 21. After examining historical documents on Mexican food and culture that reveal long-held biases, Lem shows that “Ironically, food also has been a passageway to better understanding and appreciation of Mexico in the last decade – a turnabout that was aided greatly by the ever-popular film and novel, Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel.” These will find their way into the discussion.
On Thursday, October 28, assistant professor of sociology Ron Gulotta will present an active learning exercise to provoke consideration of “Collective Action and the Free Rider Problem – Cooperation that Won’t Bite Back.” He argues that society progresses through cooperative effort, which proceeds through social structures. Yet aversion of free riders – those who gain without contributing – causes others to restrain their actions. Gulotta will share an exercise aimed at minimizing the impact of free riders while promoting social action.
Finally, on Tuesday, November 30, Tim Thering, assistant professor of history, will speak on “Citizen or Worker? Liberty and Labor in the Gilded Age.” Thering will review how American workers responded to the rise of big business after the Civil War and examine why labor perceived that these economic changes threatened their rights as citizens. He also will discuss workers’ attempts to build alternative business institutions to preserve liberty as they defined it.
The 50 Minutes Lecture Series is sponsored by the University Convocations Committee as part of its regular schedule of events.
For information about UW-Waukesha, contact the Student Services office at (262) 521-5210, or visit the Web at waukesha.uwc.edu.
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