Public Lectures 2006-2007- Text Only
Professor Jasna Jovanovic and Ruchi Bhanot
Closing the Gender Gap in Math & Science: Have We Come Far Enough?
Thursday, November 30th
12 —1 pm
Science North 53, Rm 215
Despite gains in closing the math and science gender gap, the gap persists in female participation in these fields. Underrepresentation is most pronounced in engineering, where women earn only 18 % of bachelor’s degrees. Research has shown the importance of self confidence for retaining girls in these fields, but we know little about why these perceptions become increasingly negative during the adolescent years. This talk explores the mechanisms (at home and in the classroom) by which girls become vulnerable to the stereotype that "girls don't do math."
Dr. Jovanovic is in the Department of Psychology and Child Development at Cal Poly. She also holds an adjunct position at the University of Illinois, Urbana- Champaign (UIUC). Ruchi Bhanot is currently an American Association of University Women International fellow, completing her doctoral work at UIUC.
Maxine Hong Kingston
Discusses Her New Book Veterans of War, Veterans of Peace
Wednesday, February 14th, 8-10pm
Philips Hall, Building 06, Room 124
Koa Books is proud to announce the October 2006 publication of Veterans of War, Veterans of Peace, a harvest of creative, redemptive storytelling—nonfiction, fiction, and poetry—spanning five wars and written by those most profoundly affected by it.
For more than twelve years, National Book Award-winning author Maxine Hong Kingston has led writing-and-meditation workshops for veterans and their families. The contributors to this volume— combat veterans, medics, and others who served in war; gang members, drug users, and victims of domestic violence; draft resisters, deserters, and peace activists—are part of this community of writers working together to heal the trauma of war through art.
Reading their words, we witness worlds torn apart then rebuilt. This epic and timely work is the distilled wisdom of warriors and their loved ones, expressing themselves with breathtaking artistry and truth.
Maxine Hong Kingston is Senior Lecturer for Creative Writing at the University of California, Berkeley. For her memoirs and fiction, The Woman Warrior, China Men, Tripmaster Monkey, and Hawai'i One Summer, she has earned numerous awards, among them the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction, the PEN West Award for Fiction, an American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Literature, and a National Humanities Medal from the National Endowment for the Humanities, as well as the title of "Living Treasure of Hawai'i." President Bill Clinton presented her with a National Humanities Medal in 1997.
Angela Davis
March 9 7:00 pm
Chumash Auditorium
Angela Davis cannot be described with one word. Whether she is remembered for her afro, her powerful text Women, Race, and Class, her infamous murder trial, her 1980 presidential campaign, or her teaching experience at UC Santa Cruz, Angela Davis continues to be a living historical figure who represents the most passionate of American activism.
Patrick Guerriero
Cultural War: A Report from the Frontlines
Tuesday, April 10th, 4-6pm
University Union, Building 65, Room 220
Patrick Guerriero (Executive Director of the Gill Action Fund) will provide an insider's perspective on the politics involved in the ongoing struggle for lesbian, bisexual, gay, and transgender equality in the two-party system.
A former mayor, state representative, candidate for lieutenant governor in Massachusetts, and Executive Director of the Log Cabin Republicans, Patrick Guerriero has devoted his career to public service. He continues his important work advocating gay and lesbian equality through the Gill Action Fund.
Cal Poly Music Professor Ken Habib
THE LEBANESE SUPERSTAR SINGER, FAIROUZ: A GENRE UNTO HERSELF
Thursday, May 17th
12 —1 pm
Science North 53, Rm 215
The Lebanese superstar singer Fairouz has been the focus of a music cultural phenomenon for over 50 years. This phenomenon has reverberated throughout the Levant, penetrated all corners of the Arab world, and resounded in the Diaspora. It has redefined Arab art and popular music through the creation of a cosmopolitan musical style and required a deft negotiation of the boundaries that oftentimes separate people — barriers manifested in nationality, religion, class, education, age, and gender, among others. This lecture examines the ways that diverse fans have found their identity in Fairouz and examines how the celebrity artist effectively became a genre unto herself.
Ken Habib is an Assistant Professor in the Cal Poly Music Department. He earned his Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology at UC Santa Barbara with specializations in the Middle East and American popular music. His work concentrates on the music of the Eastern Mediterranean, and especially on the collaboration of the Lebanese superstar singer Fairouz and the Rahbani composers. Dr. Habib is also a composer and performer and directs the Cal Poly Arab Music Ensemble.
