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Past Events

Thursday, 26 Mar 2020

Canceled: White Mansions, Black Bodies: Jordan Peele's "Get Out" and the New Age Slave Plantation
8:00 PM – Great Hall - This event has been canceled due to the COVID-19 situation. Professor Novotny Lawrence discusses Jordan Peele's horror thriller "Get Out", demonstrating the ways in which the director employs traditional filmmaking storytelling tropes to examine contemporary racial profiles. In doing, Peele uses the cinema as a tool for social activism, working to help create a future in which citizens will potentially be more informed about, attuned to, and concerned with fighting against systemic racism. Spring 2020 Liberal Arts and Sciences Dean's Lecture

Wednesday, 25 Mar 2020

Canceled: Dinosaurs to Milankovitch Cycles: the Last 250 Million Years-Dr. Compton James Tucker III
7:00 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - This event has been canceled due to the COVID-19 situation. Dr. Tucker is a senior biospheric scientist, employed by NASA. He has used satellite data for deforestation mapping, predicting ecologically coupled disease outbreaks, mapping glacier extent, and mapping climatic effects on global vegetation. From 2002-2012 he was active in NASA's space Archaeology Program, leading a NASA team assisting archaeologists mapping ancient sites with ground penetrating radar and magnetometers in Turkey at the sites of Troy and Gordion, the home of King Midas. He has been awarded NASA's Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal and the Presidential Award for Meritorious Senior Professional Service. Sigma Xi Lecture Series

Tuesday, 24 Mar 2020

Canceled: A Science Comedian's Guide to Communicating Science- Brian Malow
7:00 PM – 127 Curtiss - This event has been canceled due to the COVID-19 situation. Brian Malow draws on two decades as a stand-up comedian to help scientists communicate better with general audiences. In a presentation that promises to both amuse and educate, Brian will offer advice on a range of topics including stage presence, connecting with audiences, using analogies, and abusing PowerPoint.

Wednesday, 11 Mar 2020

Childfree by Choice: The Movement Redefining Family and Creating a New Age of Independence - Dr. Amy Blackstone
7:00 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - Dr. Amy Blackstone is a professor in sociology at the University of Maine, researching on childfree choice, workplace harassment, and civic engagement. She is the author of Childfree by Choice. Dr. Blackstone will discuss the culture and discrimination that surrounds not having children for women, men, gay and lesbian couples, and trans persons. She will discuss the history of the childfree movement and its future.

Suffragette, Editor, Abolitionist: The Story of Mary Louise Booth - Tricia Foley
5:00 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - Join author Tricia Foley as she walks through the extraordinary life of Mary Louise Booth, who was a founding editor of Harper’s Bazar, wrote the first history of New York City, and a leader in the abolition and suffrage movements. Tricia is a home design and restoration expert, who has published 10 books about design and lifestyles. Part of the 100th Anniversary Events Commemorating Women’s Suffrage

Tuesday, 10 Mar 2020

Three Ways to Disappear - Katy Yocom
7:00 PM – Gallery, Memorial Union - Katy Yocom was born and raised in Atchison, Kansas, and currently resides in Louisville, Kentucky. her debut novel, Three Ways to Disappear, Yocom explores the story of journalist, Sarah DeVaughan. In researching the novel, Yocom traveled to India, funded by a grant from the Elizabeth George Foundation. Three Ways to Disappear won the Siskiyou Prize for New Environmental Literature and was named a Barnes & Noble Top Indie Favorite. Yocom earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Kansas, and an MFA from Spalding University where she currently serves as an Associate Director. Pearl Hogrefe Visiting Writers Series

Monday, 9 Mar 2020

Is God a Conservative?
7:00 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - Award-winning novelist of crime and suspense, conservative speaker Andrew Klavan will discuss how God provides morality. He posits "John Adams said our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. Do we have to have faith if we want to be free?" Nominated five times, two of his books have won the Edgar Award. Klavan also has a podcast on The Daily Wire.

Living in the Future's Past
6:00 PM – Pioneer Room - Living in the Future's Past is a film narrated by Jeff Bridges and directed by Susan Kucera. It was awarded the Gold World Medal by the United Nations for its efforts in the field of climate change and sustainability and Best Documentary by the Arizona International Film Festival. The documentary will challenge students to think about environmental issues and their place within this movement. A discussion will follow the film.

Friday, 6 Mar 2020

Ancient Indian Science in the Modern World-Dr Subhash Kak
6:00 PM – 127 Curtiss - Dr. Kak is a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Oklahoma State University. His research is in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and history of science. Dr. Kak will discuss the current research in the disciplines of neuroscience, physics, and computer science and indicate parallels with ancient Indian texts. He will highlight how consciousness studied as a part of the ancient Indian science is relevant in our times.

Thursday, 5 Mar 2020

Symphony of Diversity - Adrian Anantawan
7:30 PM – Stephens Auditorium - Join the Iowa State University Orchestra as they celebrate a world that is a Symphony of Diversity. Bringing uncommon artists and uncommon composers to the concert hall to highlight the many cultures and peoples that make up America, the performance features the Iowa State University Symphony Orchestra under its conductor, Jonathan Govias, along with special guest Adrian Anantawan, violin. Doors open at 6:45pm. This event is free and open to the public.