Public Lectures 2005-2006- Text Only
Ron Den Otter
Cal Poly Political Science Professor
The Controversy over Roe v. Wade: Much Ado About Nothing?
Thursday, November 10th, 1 - 2 pm
University Union - Chumash Right Wing
Roe v. Wade, which established a constitutional right to abortion, is arguably the most significant decision that the Unites States Supreme Court has ever handed down. The Court’s decision in Roe legalized abortion in all states and marked the beginning of what has become one of the most salient legal, political, and personal issues of the 20th century.
This presentation explores several facets of the Court’s decision beginning with an examination of what the Court actually stated in the Roe decision and then addressing several important questions such as whether the Court reached the right decision for the wrong reasons. Could the Court have used stronger legal arguments to support the constitutional right to abortion? And most timely, with the changing composition of the Supreme Court, what is the likely fate of Roe?
Professor Den Otter earned his J.D. at the University of Pennsylvania Law School and his Ph. D. in political science at UCLA. Prof. Den Otter's fields of expertise include public law and political theory.
Marilyn DeLaure
Cal Poly Communication Studies Professor
Planting the Seeds of Change: Ella Baker's Radical Rhetoric
Thursday, February 2nd, 11 am - 12 pm
Erhart Ag. Bldg. 10, Room 227
American Civil Rights activist Ella Baker played a central role in establishing the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), the Student Non- Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. Her contributions have gone largely unnoticed, however, partially because she rejected the "charismatic orator" model of social movement leadership. Instead, Baker employed a variety of rhetorical strategies in organizing communities from the bottom up, empowering ordinary people, "especially the young and the poor," to engage in collective political action.
Marilyn DeLaure is an Assistant Professor of Communication Studies at Cal Poly. She earned a Ph.D. in Rhetoric from the University of Iowa and taught at Allegheny College in Pennsylvania before coming to Cal Poly in 2003. Her research interests include civil rights rhetoric, performance studies, and the discourses of consumerism.
Dr. Sandra Rosenbloom
University of Arizona
The Changing Travel Patterns of Older Women: Safety and Mobility Implications
Thursday, May 11th
11:30 am — 1:00 pm
Mott Bldg. 42, Room 205
As our society grays, the fact that women tend to outlive men creates specific daily travel needs for senior citizens. A clear understanding of the everyday mobility and safety needs of particular sub-publics can help transportation planners, engineers, and policy-makers (as well as voters) appreciate the importance of matching transportation systems to human needs. Dr. Rosenbloom updates her research on women and the elderly, proposing better ways to plan and implement transportation systems to reflect emerging realities.
Dr. Rosenbloom is Professor of Planning, Natural Renewable Resources, Gerontology, and Women's Studies at the University of Arizona, and a pioneer in transportation research on the special needs of population subgroups. Renowned for her research work on daily urban travel patterns of women and the elderly, she was honored with the Crum Distinguished Service Award by the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies of Science in 2004.
Brenda Helmbrecht
Cal Poly English Professor
There Is No "I" in Grrrrl:
The Bustin and Bitchin Rhetoric
of Third-Wave Zines
THURSDAY, MAY 18TH
11 am—12 pm
Business Bldg 003, Rm 112
What are the mechanisms by which third-wave feminist zines like Bitch and Bust enrage, offend, cajole, and motivate readers to effect social and political change in their own lives? This talk will explore the world of feminist zines—and the irreverence, anger, wit, and sarcasm that saturates them—in order to explore how third-wave feminists are using zines to transform the debates surrounding feminism and gender/sexuality issues.
Dr. Brenda M. Helmbrecht is in her second year as an Assistant Professor of English at Cal Poly. She is currently Director of the Writing Program. She received her Ph.D. in Rhetoric and Composition from Miami University, Ohio in 2004.
