"We are going to New York, come hell or high water, " says professor Robert McNamara as he prepares his sixteen students to go to a Model United Nations conference on the East Coast from April 15-20.
The trip is a unique one for Sonoma State University students this time since the idealism of world government is clashing with international political strategies, says McNamara whose delegation is representing the Kingdom of Nepal.
The Model UN course allows students to learn to debate international issues ranging from disarmament of Iraq, weapons of mass destruction and human rights to terrorism and shrinking supplies of fresh water.
"A good amount of time in class is spent discussing international relations and the history and theory of international organizations, especially as it relates to world politics today," says McNamara. It is the fourth year an SSU delegation will attend the national MUN conference.
McNamara says the speech in front of the UN Security Council by Secretary of State Colin Powell was taken more seriously by the class in light of the forthcoming conference.
One of the highlights of the trip is a chance to meet with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, and to debate in the United Nations building.
"There are some really sharp students at this conference, which make the actual debates incredibly interesting," says McNamara.
The SSU delegation will have a chance to see how current events have serious effects on the country they represent.
"Nepal is a third-world country which requires international aid and has a variety of social and economic issues to contend with," McNamara says.
"Third world countries are getting alot of attention now because their votes are being courted, but their voting is tied in with the kind of aid they receive from the United States," he says.
"The students are going to have to step out of their national identity and look at Nepal's perspective in the international arena."
In previous years, SSU's Model UN has represented Malaysia, Thailand and Peru.
Hard-hitting media critic Norman Solomon will discuss his new book "Target Iraq: What the News Media Didn't Tell You" at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 14 in the Cooperage at Sonoma State University. Tickets are $8. The event is sponsored by Project Censored, the University's media watch program.
Co-written with veteran foreign correspondent Reese Erlich, Solomon's book explores the realities underlying arguments for and against the invasion of Iraq and illuminates ways U.S. media have helped market an "unprecedented war."
Solomon is the founder and executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy, a consortium of policy researchers and analysts. A nationally syndicated columnist since 1992, he has written ten books including "Unreliable Sources" (with Martin A. Lee) and "The Habits of Highly Deceptive Media."
Solomon's op-ed pieces on media and politics have appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and most other major U.S. newspapers. He is an associate of the media watch group FAIR (Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting).
Soloman organized two trips to Baghdad in late 2002, the first with Rep. Nick Rahall and other delegates, the second with actor and director Sean Penn.
For further information, contact Project Censored, (707) 664-2588.
Sonoma State University is honoring women's contributions and accomplishments by celebrating National Women's History Month in March.
From Native American author Paula Gunn Allen debunking Disney to women's comedy, music, and dance, from tales of vigilantes and political power brokers, artists and soviet agents, there are a variety of free events on tap for March. For current information see www.sonoma.edu/campuslife/wrc/ for calendar updates.
Sonoma State has a special connection to this national celebration.In the 1970s, some SSU students decided to do something new for their history class _ to research important women. These women later formed the non-profit National Women's History Project to promote the teaching and study of American women's history. In the 1970s and early 80s, the NWHP led women's organizations to successfully lobby Congress for the creation of what is now National Women's History Month.
National Women's History Month at SSU
Calendar 2003
For more information on these events, contact The Women's Resource Center, 664-2845.
Beautiful Woman Tree
Monday and Tuesday, March 3 and 4, Noon-2 p.m.
Main Quad
Sponsored by the Women's Union club.
"Growing Up Chicana"
Monday, March 3, 4 pm
Nichols Hall 204
Author Elena Diaz Bjorkquist's slide lecture about Mexican American women who lived in the segregated mining town of Morenci, Arizona from the 1920s-1960s. Sponsored by CALS, the Women's Resource Center, and the Sitting Room.
Ancient and Postmodern Women
Thursday, March 6, Noon
Salazar 2013
"Constructing Eve," Prof. William Poe.
"Marginal Women, Liminal Power," Prof. Randall Dodgen.Sponsored by the History Department.
Women's Comedy
Thursday, March 6, 9 pm
Student Union Pub
Laugh 'til your sides ache with two of the funniest women around, Stephanie Harvard and Rebecca Clark. Sponsored by Residential Life.
Gender, Politics and Justice: Women Do
Make a Difference
Friday, March 7, 1 pm
Multipurpose Room, Student Union
A talk by former Assembly member and the first female Chair of the California Board of Equalization Carole Migden on women in politics speaking out on sometimes unpopular social justice issues, such as Domestic Partners and other LGBT legislation.
Asian Heritage Night
Friday, March 7, 8 pm
University Commons
Funnywoman Kate Riggs rocks the house with laughter at the "Birth of a Nasian" poetry slam with an Amer-Eurasian flavor. Asian beatbox queen Elaine Chao follows. Dinner at 7 p.m. For tickets ($12 for students, $15 general), contact the InterCultural Center, 664-2537. Sponsored by the InterCultural Center and American Pacific Islanders Organization.
"Pocahontas: America's First Lady"
Monday, March 10, 5:15 pm
The Cooperage, Residential Community
Paula Gunn Allen, Native American lesbian writer, discusses women's power in early native tribes of the Northeast. Sponsored by the Dean of Social Sciences, the English Department, the Women's and Gender Studies Department, the InterCultural Center, Associated Students Productions, and the Women's Resource Center.
Power and Property in Medieval Europe
Thursday, March 13, Noon
Salazar 2013
"The Case of Cat, or, Getting Yours in Medieval Aragon," Prof. Mary Halavais.
"Saints and Jezebels; or, Queen Aelfryth's Nachleben," Prof. Judith Abbott. Sponsored by the History Department.
Reproductive Health Panel
Thursday, March 7, 7 p.m.
The Cooperage, Residential Community
Panel discusses choices in birth control and sexual health. Sponsored by the Women's Union Club.
Women's Contributions to American Sculpture: "The White Marmorean Flock"
Wednesday, March 19, 10 am-Noon; repeated 1-3 pm
Art 102
Prof. Susan Moulton will lecture on 19th-century American women artists in Rome.
American Quilts and the Underground Railroad
Wednesday, March 19, Noon-1 pm
Art 102
A video exploring the traditional craft of quilting during the Civil War.
Terrorists and Vigilantes
Thursday, March 20, Noon
Salazar 2013
"'If the men don't hang them, the women will!': The San Francisco Vigilance Committee of 1856," Prof. Michelle Jolly.
"Terrorists for the Sake of Women's Liberation," Prof. Steve Bittner. Sponsored by the History Dept.
Woman Student Leader of the Year
Reception and Award Ceremony
Thursday, March 20, 6:30 p.m
The Cooperage, Residential Community
Honor campus women student leaders and their mentors at this annual awards ceremony.
Radical Workers and Imagemakers
Thursday, March 27, Noon
Salazar 2013
"Strike Toward Freedom: The Charleston Hospital Workers Strike of 1969," Prof. Steve Estes.
"Tina Modotti, Actress, Model, Photographer and Soviet Agent, 1896-1942," Prof. Tony White. Sponsored by the History Dept.
Women Act Out
Friday, March 28, 7 p.m.
Warren Auditorium, Ives Hall
A showcase of talented SSU women students. Sponsored by the Women's Union club.
Expanding Your Horizons Conference
Saturday, March 29, 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m.
Santa Rosa Junior College
EYH encourages 7th and 8th grade girls and young women to study math and science to improve their career and educational options. For info on the web, www.eyh-soco.org, or call 707-664-2241.
Credibility Theory, Mathematica, the Geometry of Perception, the Math on Rap, the Millenium Problems, GPS for Archaeologists, and Radar Images are among the subjects to be expounded in this term's M*A*T*H Colloquium, sponsored by the Sonoma State University Mathematics Department.
Lectures will be given from 4 to 5 p.m. on Wednesdays in Darwin 108, each week through May 14 (excluding April 9). Host of the series this term is SSU Mathematics Professor Ben Ford.
On April 16the lecture will be given in conjunction with the Department's annual Math Festival. Following the traditional Awards Ceremony, the speaker will be Lofti Zadeh of UC Berkeley, the world-wide founder of the celebrated theories of Fuzzy Sets and Fuzzy Logic.
The Department expresses its gratitude to those donors and volunteers who have made possible this series, which is not supported by any state funds.
For information about all lectures, visit the Mathematics Department's web site, call (707) 664-2368 or e-mail the department at marybeth.hull@sonoma.edu or lakin.khan@sonoma.edu.
Spring 2003 Schedule for M*A*T*H Colloquium
4-5 p.m., Wednesdays, Darwin 108
XOR
Ken Yanosko, Humboldt State University
February 5
Credibility Theory
Jerry Klenow, Sonoma State University
February 12
Mathematica Toolkits
Bill Barnier, Sonoma State University
February 19
How Does the Brain Combine Different Sources of Information?
Marty Banks, UC Berkeley
February 26
What's the Math on Rap?
Helene Nehrebecki, Sonoma State University
March 5
Gamma and a Product of Sines
David Sklar, SOLA Optical and City College of San Francisco
March 12
Teacher's Pets
Charles Biles, Humboldt State University
March 19
The Binomial Theorem, Indicators, and the Bell Curve
Matthew Carlton, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
March 26
Duality and Symmetry of Hyper-Geometric Probabilities
James Jantosciak, Brooklyn College
April 2
Computing With Words and Perceptions -
A Paradigm Shift in Computing and Decision Analysis
Lotfi A. Zadeh, U C Berkeley
April 16
The Centimeter Solution in GPS Survey
William Poe, Sonoma State University
April 23
The Millenium Problems
Keith Devlin, Stanford University
April 30
Image Processing of Radar Images Using Matlab
Raquel Maderazo, Raytheon Corp, LA
May 7
Combinatorics of String Re-Writing Systems
Bala Ravikumar, Sonoma State University
May 14
The University Art Gallery at Sonoma State University is pleased to announce the opening of an exhibition of paintings by Sonoma County resident and Bay Area legend Wally Hedrick.
On view from Feb. 20 through March 16, Wally Hedrick: Preemptive Peace, will include several "image" paintings from the past few years and a larger group of elegiac all-black canvases produced primarily during the 1960s and early 70s in protest of the Vietnam War works eerily relevant today as the United States prepares for a new war, this time against Iraq.
In fact, it is the impending violence in the Middle East, and Hedrick's reaction against it, that has prompted the artist to exhibit his "veterans" (as he has referred to these paintings) once again in protest of military action by the United States.
Wally Hedrick was born in Pasadena, California, in 1928. He studied at the Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles before entering the infantry and serving during the Korean War, an experience that had a major impact on his life.
Following the war, Hedrick moved to the Bay Area and resumed his art education, studying at the California College of Arts an Crafts in Oakland and ultimately receiving his B.F.A. and M.F.A. degrees from the California School of Fine Arts (now the San Francisco Art Institute) and San Francisco State College (now San Francisco State University) in the mid 1950s.
In addition to being a central figure in--and an important influence on--the Bay Area's Beat, Assemblage, and Funk movements, Hedrick was a co-founder of the now-mythical The Six Gallery in San Francisco's North Beach district, where art was displayed, Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg read poetry (including the premiere of Ginsberg's poem Howl), and party-like events, eventually known in the art world as "happenings," took place.
By the late 1950s, Hedrick's work began receiving national recognition, including an invitation from Dorothy Miller in 1959 to participate in her Sixteen Americans exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art in New York (along with artists such as Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, and Frank Stella).
Although some of Hedrick's early work centered around assemblages made of urban debris and paintings that poked fun at the art establishment (Here's Art For 'em and Art Through the Aged), he was also making politically-themed work, such as Peace (the word "Peace" painted across an image of the American flag), as early as 1953.
During the early years of the war in Vietnam, Hedrick expressed his displeasure in paintings with titles such as Madame Nhu's Barbeque and Napalm Sundae.
He then began the Vietnam Series (several of which are included in this exhibition), a group of rough-textured, completely black canvases initially created by "painting out" (and virtually destroying) some of his existing paintings.
As the war in Vietnam escalated in the late 1960s, Hedrick began stretching new (and quite large) canvases and continued to use only black oil paint to cover them.
This series, in addition to being a direct protest of the Vietnam War, was Hedrick's method of going "on strike" and withdrawing his services from society as a maker of images.
As America's failure to achieve victory in Vietnam seemed more and more inevitable around 1970, Hedrick created an 11 foot square installation, composed of freestanding black canvases that the viewer actually enters, symbolizing the artist's notion that the United States had "boxed ourselves in" in Southeast Asia.
The Black Room (more recently referred to as The War Room) will also be part of this exhibition.
Following the end of America's presence in Vietnam in the early 1970s, Hedrick began creating mostly black and white works that reproduce, in painstaking detail, pages from old Sears and Roebuck catalogs and other vintage advertisements.
Although at first glance seemingly banal images, these paintings gradually reveal themselves as the work of an artist who for more than 50 years has been a sharp-eyed social and cultural critic. The exhibition includes a recent group of these paintings.
Just as he did during the Vietnam and Gulf wars, Wally Hedrick has once again gone "on strike". For the time being, he has stopped making new work and has focused his creative energies on Wally Hedrick: Preemptive Peace.
Following its presentation at Sonoma State University, the artist plans to exhibit these paintings at other museums and galleries across the United States.
Wally Hedrick: Preemptive Peace was organized by the University Art Gallery, Sonoma State University, in collaboration with Wally Hedrick. Special thanks to LINC REAL ART, San Francisco, for making available many of the works in this exhibition, and L.G. Williams, for his assistance at critical stages of this project.
For more information and press images, please call (707) 664-2295.
Energy rebates from Pacific Gas & Electric are allowing Sonoma State University to meet a major portion of unexpected mid-year cuts required by the State's budget deficit.
The $703,200 in rebates awarded by PG&E just months ago for a solar panel array and new heating and cooling systems in the remodeling of Ruben Salazar Hall, is proving critical in offsetting a major portion of the $952,200 that the university must plan to cut immediately from its budget as it finds itself in the middle of the spring semester.
But the University still faces $4-7 million in cuts for the next academic
year, which begins in the fall. At the same time, the campus enrollment is expected to grow by more than 500 students.
"As we face these challenges, it is likely we will need to make significant changes to the way we do business at Sonoma State University, " says SSU President Ruben Arminana.
"Our goal is to maintain quality programs for our students and maintain a good working environment for our employees. At this time, I stand behind my commitment to avoid lay-offs of any permanent employees."
President Arminana has prepared an update on the current state of the Sonoma State University budget situation for the current semester, and for the next academic year. That update can be found at www.sonoma.edu/uaffairs/budget/update_2.html
More updates will follow, says Director of Communications Susan Kashack, as the response to the budget crisis becomes clearer over the coming weeks.
The CSU will conduct a series of special meetings over the next several months to consult with various constituency groups about the budget crisis. The System Budget Advisory Committee, which is made up of presidents, provosts, and other student, faculty, staff, and alumni leaders, will begin meeting monthly rather than four times per year.
The CSU Board of Trustees' Committee on Finance will begin meeting monthly rather than every other month at Board of Trustees' meetings.
Additionally, the CSU will convene a budget summit to be held in mid-March in Long Beach.
Summit attendees include campus presidents, campus Associated Student presidents, chairs of campus academic senates, and leaders from the Statewide Academic Senate and the California State Student Association.
For further information, contact Susan Kashack, Director of Communications, (707) 664-2122.
Low cost physical examinations and health appraisals for well adults and children are available through the SSU Nursing Department's Family Nurse Practitioner Program.
The exams are supervised by Nursing Faculty and performed by Family Nurse Practitioner students who are registered nurses enrolled in the Master's nursing program. Services include a complete medical and health history, identification of health risk factors, complete physical examinations and screening tests such as blood pressure checks, vision testing, audiology testing, urinalysis, hematocrit (for anemia), cholesterol testing, and Pap smears for cervical cancer. These services can be utilized for annual exams, sports physicals, pre-employment physicals, camp physicals and Class II DMV licensing physicals. Appointments are available only to Sonoma County Residents.
The SSU Family Nurse Practitioner Health Maintenance Center will be offering these exams on Wednesdays, beginning March 12 and continuing through May 7. The cost of a physical examination is $20, Pap test $15, cholesterol check $10 or $15, hearing test $10 and a DMV physical examination is $35. Copies of records are given to clients upon request as well as mailed to private physicians or agencies.
Appointments may be made by calling SSU's Nursing Department at (707) 664-2466, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Spanish drama, German pop music and French cabaret share the stage at the second annual Foreign Language Festival at Sonoma State University from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 22.
Spoken language is a big part of the day as local high school students of French, German, and Spanish work together with the SSU language community.
"A language festival like SSU's reinvests students and teachers in cultural sharing and focuses on world diversity, " says French professor Suzanne Tocynski , one of the organizers of the event.
"Now, more than ever, multi-lingual ability is crucial to the fostering of cultural understanding and world stability, " she says.
"By participating in the language festival, students of all levels demonstrate their commitment to exploring cultures different from their own and their willingness to view difference as a strength rather than as something to be feared."
In the morning, the students will compete in poetry, diction, and public speaking contests in three languages, French, German and Spanish.
After a short brown-bag lunch, many SSU students, faculty and family members will join selected high school groups in a cabaret extravaganza in the Cooperage, including Arabic poetry and drumming, French cabarettunes, German pop music from the '30s, and Spanish drama.
Traditional New Orleans jazz by the Russian River Ramblers is also featured.
The crowning cabaret event garners much enthusiasm all around, says Tocyzski. Attendance was more than 200 people at last year's event and the festival was voted "Best Club Event of the Year" by SSU's Associated Students.
Admission to the festival is free with the exception of the cabaret, which is $3 at the door.
For more information, contact Christine Renaudin, Professor of French, at (707) 664-3159.
Sonoma State University professors Carlos A. Benito and Francisco Vazquez have received a $100,000 grant to study civic engagement behaviors and beliefs that lead to political awareness, activism and volunteering among Latino high school students in Sonoma County.
Benito and Vazquez hope to suggest ways to motivate students to participate in public life. The project also seeks to explain differences in civic engagement among students of different ethnic backgrounds.
"Over a third of Latinos nationally are younger than 18 years of age, and within the next 10 years, their voting power and civic participation could be formidable," says Vazquez.
The U.S. Census Bureau reports that Latinos are the fastest-growing demographic group in the United States, making up 12% of the total U.S. population.
In Sonoma County, Latinos comprise 17.3% of the population, he says.
Awarded from the The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) at the University of Maryland, the project involves surveys that consider civic knowledge, human values, family background, socioeconomic status, culture of origin, and demographic characteristics among other factors. Statistical findings will be validated with focus groups.
Such information can be useful for teachers and school administrators who want to develop curriculum or programs promoting civic education, says Benito. "The study's outcomes may also interest policy makers," he says.
"Civic Engagement Among Latino Youth in Sonoma County" will run through December, 2003 and is housed under the Hutchins Institute for Public Policy and Community Action at the University.
Benito, an economics professor, has worked internationally on Education and Social Projects. He has worked for the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Ford and Rockefeller Foundations, among others. As a teacher, he commonly has his students do applied research in economics to help them learn while serving community needs.
Vazquez, director of the Hutchins School of Liberal Studies, was recently honored as a recipient of one of four Honorable Mentions for the nationally recognized Ernest A. Lynton Award for Faculty Professional Service and Academic Outreach. The award recognizes a faculty member who connects his or her expertise and scholarship to community outreach.
Scott Miller offers a presentation exploring J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" and the recently released film The Two Towers as war narratives at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 19.
The program, sponsored by the University Library's Arts and Lectures program, will be held in room 3001 of the Jean and Charles Schulz Information Center on the Rohnert Park campus
A World War I veteran, Tolkien wrote "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy during the years of the Second World War, in which his sons were serving. This fact has often encouraged speculations connecting the real wars and the fictitious war in Tolkien's masterwork.
Now, with the release of Peter Jackson's second film coinciding with a potential war set to begin in the Middle East, similar speculations have arisen. In a multimedia presentation, Miller will address these hypotheses, as well as discuss various similarities and divergences between the film and the literature.
"How Tolkien's story mattered in the real world was of intense interest to the author," Miller says. "But his answers were not simple ones."
Miller is director of the Writing Center and a professor of English at the University. He is a longtime fan and student of Tolkien's work. For more information, call (707) 664-4240.
Francis McGovern, an internationally known legal pioneer, will discuss "Justice in the Balance: Using the Court System to Achieve Social Reforms" from 4-6 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 25 in the Cooperage at Sonoma State University.
The free lecture is a special program sponsored by the Lifelong Learning Institute at the University.
McGovern's name is virtually synonymous with "mass claim" litigation--the often tens of thousands of tort claims arising out of a major disaster or major product liability issue.
As a court-appointed special master or neutral expert, he has developed solutions in most of the significant mass claim litigation in the U.S., including the DDT toxic exposure litigation in Alabama, the Dalkon-Shield controversy, and the silicone gel breast implant litigation.
Working with the United Nations Compensation Commission, which was set up to ensure that Iraq compensates citizens, businesses and government agencies for losses suffered in the Persian Gulf War, McGovern helped construct a legal framework for handling the 2.6 million claims for reparations from Iraq.
He is developing a transnational Alternative Dispute Resolution center in Europe to handle torts, including silicone gel breast implants and HIV infected blood cases, that cross national boundaries.
McGovern, who teaches at Duke University and the University of California, Berkeley, is especially interested in how plaintiffs and their lawyers have resorted to the court system to address social issues which legislatures are reluctant to take on.
He has been motivated in all of his undertakings, practical, conceptual and educational, by the public's decreased faith in traditional governmental systems and procedures for resolving disputes.
Fur further information on this lecture, please phone Barbara Brooks, Lifelong Learning Institute, (707) 664-2691.
Sometimes that special teacher or inspirational program makes all the difference in the education of a child.
Sonoma State University is looking to honor just such a program with its annual Jack London Award for Excellence in Education.
Local parents, along with school superintendents and fellow teachers, are asked to nominate an exemplary and innovative K-12 program for this award, given every year by the School of Education.
Applications must be postmarked by Friday, Feb. 28 at 5 p.m. Site visits are scheduled for March. The award is given to classroom teachers who run exemplary educational programs in Sonoma County schools with a record of excellence, says Phyllis Fernlund, dean of the School of Education at SSU.
SSU faculty and staff, as well as community and educational leaders, serve as judges for this awards program. Winners will be honored at a reception at the Sonoma State University from 4-5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 14.
In addition, programs coordinated by school administrators or community representatives are eligible for the Jack London Special Award for Community-School Cooperation.
Winners who have earned the Jack London Award trophy in the past include Washington Elementary School's Physical Education Program (2002), Santa Rosa Middle School's Rekindling Hopes and Dreams (2001), Robert L. Stevens Elementary School's Dolphin Kings Chess Club (2000) and Santa Rosa High School's Art Quest (1999).
Applications as well as the criteria for judging each program are available at www.sonoma.edu/education, in the principal's office at each school, or by calling Kristen Fellner at SSU, (707) 664-2132.
Huadong Shao of Rohnert Park is the first graduate of the Master of Science in Computer and Engineering Science (MS-CES) program at Sonoma State University.
Shao was born in Xinjiang province, located in the far northwest part of China. After graduating high school in August 1990, he went to Xidian University, which is among the top three schools in China for electronic engineering. In 1994, he was awarded a bachelor's of science in Computer Communication Engineering.
Following graduation, Shao worked at Cowitel Electronics Inc. as an engineer for nearly six years before moving to the United States in 2000.
After his wife graduated from the University of California at Santa Barbara, the pair moved to Rohnert Park where Shao found the degree program at SSU. While on campus, he worked as a teaching and lab assistant. He recently received an offer of an internship at the start-up company NPhysics, Inc in Fremont. The company has an office in Rohnert Park where Huadong will be working.
Started in 2001 with the support of local industries, businesses and the community, the MS-CES degree program is designed to further the working skills and practical knowledge of engineers, computer scientists and similar professionals.
Specifically, this program deals with theory practice and research in the fields of communications, networking, photonics, computer hardware and software systems.
NOTE: A photo of Huadong Shao is available upon request.
Human rights in Burma.
Civil rights in America.
Economic issues in Central and South America.
These are just some of the diverse topics Sonoma State University's Intercultural Center is tackling in its annual "Conversation Peace: Heritage Month Lecture Series."The lectures aim to provide a forum for cultural diversity on campus. The free programs take place at 5:15 p.m. in the Cooperage.
Monday, February 10: Meet Mary Ellen Pleasant, Susheel Bibbs
Susheel Bibbs dramatizes the life of Mary Ellen Pleasant, known as the mother of civil rights in California, in the unique "chautauqua" style of the 19th century. Bibbs is considered the foremost scholar on Mary Ellen Pleasant. She has written a book and is working on a television documentary of Pleasant's life.
Monday, March 10: Pocahontas: America's First Lady, Paula Gunn Allen
Allen, a poet, novelist, and critic is a scholar of Native American studies, and has spent most of her life analyzing concepts of sexuality and gender within the culture. She has also published a novel and several books of poetry and non-fiction, all with Native American themes.
Monday, March 24: Environmentalism, and the Human Rights Tragedy, Ka Hsaw Wa, Burma
Wa is a native of Burma who has dedicated his life to documenting environmental and human rights abuses by Burma's military. He will discuss his personal treatment at the hands of the Burma military, and provide insight on how outside corporations are starting to influence the country. Other discussion topics include: government ideologies, human rights abuses, and environmental impact that connects a wide variety of topics.
Monday, April 14: Plan Puebla Panama, Xiomara Castro
Essentially a plan to transform much of southern Mexico and Central America into a network of transit corridors and maquiladora zones, the Plan Puebla Panama literally paves the way for implementation of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), expected to be passed in the coming year. Discussion topics include globalization, corporations, and their impact on the world.
Monday, May 12: Radical Visions for Transformation, Gloria Anzaldua
Anzaldua is a poet, writer, feminist and cultural theorist. Through a combination of history and personal narrative, Anzaldua allows the reader both a close-up and distanced view into a life of alienation and isolation as a prisoner in the borderlands between cultures.
For further information on the series, contact Darius Spearman, (707) 664-2710.
A interactive lecture and discussions on the life of civil rights pioneer Mary Ellen Pleasant, and a performance by the renowned Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir, are just a few of the highlights of this year's Black History Month at Sonoma State University.
The first event in the month-long celebration intended to bring awareness and insight of black culture to the SSU campus is Monday, Feb. 10. The lecture, titled "Meet Mary Ellen Pleasant." features a re-enactment on the life of Mary Ellen Pleasant, often called "the mother of civil rights in California." Pleasant scholar Susheel Bibbs will re-enact her life in music and drama in the 19th century chautauqua style.
A gospel extravaganza at 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 20 in the Cooperage will feature the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir. Other performers include gospel rap artist Derrick Forbes, Lighthouse Gospel Choir, and more. Admission is free for SSU students and $12 for general admission.
There are also a number of events during the month that are targeted towards students. These include a Comedy Night at 9 p.m., on Thursday Feb. 13 at the Cooperage and the Soul Food "special dinner" held in the Zinfandel Dining Hall Tuesday Feb. 11 from 5-7.
Sonoma State University's Holocaust and Genocide Studies Center is moving into a new "post-survivor era" and widening its reach into the understanding of the causes of genocide as it celebrates its 20th anniversary this year with a remarkable series of programs.
The inevitable loss of Holocaust survivors and the opening of previously closed historical archives around the world is allowing the Center to move in new directions, says Center director Myrna Goodman.
The Center, which is now an integral part of the department of sociology, began new classes on the causes of genocide this academic year. The title of the lecture series is "Witnessing, Resisting and Preventing Genocide."
Dr. Yehuda Bauer, one of the world's premier historians of the Holocaust, presents an insightful overview and reconsideration of its history and meaning at a lecture called "Rethinking the Holocaust" at Sonoma State University on May 6 in the Cooperage.
Drawing on research he and other historians have done in recent years, Bauer offers insightful opinions on how to define and explain the Holocaust; how Jews reacted to the murder campaign against them; what the relationship is between the Holocaust and the establishment of Israel; and whether the Holocaust can be compared with other genocides.
A second noteworthy lecturer is Michael Berenbaum, Director of the Sigi Ziering Center for the Study of the Holocaust and Ethics at the University of Judaism. Berenbaum's topic is "Why Wasn't Auschwitz Bombed?" as the Robert L. Harris Memorial Lecture in the Cooperage on March 25.
Berenbaum is president and chief executive officer of the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation, a non-profit organization founded by Steven Spielberg that is dedicated to videotaping and preserving interviews of Holocaust survivors throughout the world.
The series this year also features lectures on the Armenian genocide, North American Indians and genocide in Rwanda as well as a program on the Sonderkommando uprising. Lectures are held 4-5:40 p.m. in either Warren Auditorium or The Cooperage as noted below.
The complete schedule of events in the lecture series includes:
WITNESSING, RESISTING AND PREVENTING GENOCIDE
Sonoma State University
Tuesdays, 4-5:40 p.m.,
Warren Auditorium unless The Cooperage is indicated below:
Feb. 11: " Master Race 1933" and "The Genocide Factor." Historical
background and videos with Myrna Goodman, Ilka Hartmann, Joel Neuberg.
Feb. 18: Historical overview of the Holocaust, Elaine Leeder,
Dean of Social Sciences, Sonoma State University.
Feb. 25: Survivor's Panel, Lucille Eichengreen and Lillian Judd.
March 4: Myths of Race and the Influence of Racism on Genocide,
Michael Thaler.
March 11: When Does Genocide End?: The Armenian Case,
Dickran Kouymjian, Director, Armenian Studies Program, CSU Fresno.
March 18: The North American Indian Experience: The Bloody Island Massacre,
Edward Castillo, Professor of Native American Studies, Sonoma State University.
March 25: Why Wasn't Auschwitz Bombed?,
Michael Berenbaum, Director, Sigi Ziering Center for the Study of the Holocaust and Ethics,
University of Judaism.
Robert L. Harris Memorial Lecture, The Cooperage.
April 1: Voices of the Shoah: The Sonderkommando Uprising,
Mikko Alane, Historical Content Supervisor, Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation.
April 15: The Sociology of Genocide, Myrna Goodman, Sonoma State University.
April 22: Resisting the Holocaust in Denmark, Knud Dyby, Novato.
April 29: Genocide in Rwanda,
Mathilde Mukantabana, M.S.W., Consumnes River College; President, Friends of Rwanda Association.
May 6: Rethinking the Holocaust,
Dr. Yehuda Bauer, Institute of Contemporary Jewry, Hebrew University. The Cooperage.
May 13: Facing Current Genocides, Jerry Fowler, Staff Director,
Committee on Conscience, United State Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, D.C.
May 20: Legacies of the Holocaust: Second Generation Panel,
Elaine Leeder, Dean of Social Sciences, Sonoma State University, Moderator.
May 27: What Have We Learned? Faculty/Student Panel.
For further information, phone Myrna Goodman, Ph.D., Director of Holocaust and Genocide Studies Center, (707) 664-4296.
