You live near a major university and a community college. There are smart people that come here every week to talk to the general public about interesting topics. Perhaps you were not aware of this fact, or were overwhelmed by the sheer number of opportunities for possible enlightenment. If that’s the case, Smile Politely understands and is here to help. Here are several events going on in town this week. Check out one or more of them if you have time. Get your learn on, as they say, and join the cognoscenti.
If you have a community event, speaker, or film event that you’d like to see featured on Listen Up!, send the event information to joelgillespie [at] smilepolitely [dot] com by Friday the week prior to the event. Listen Up! runs on Mondays (or Tuesdays, if I procrastinate too much or there’s a holiday or some such).
WHAT: “Natural History of Delhi” by Amita Sinha, UIUC Professor of Landscape Architecture
WHEN: Tuesday, September 8 @ 12 noon
WHERE: Lucy Ellis Lounge, room 1080, Foreign Language Building
Most of Professor Sinha’s (right) published works have concentrated on Muslim and Hindu temples and shrines in her native India, so this talk should be of interest in that it’s on a topic that’s both broader in architectural scope and narrower in geographical scope than her customary focus.
WHAT: “The Cyprus Problem: The Destruction of Cypriot Cultural Heritage” by Prof. Van Coufoudakis, University of Nicosia, Cyprus, and IU-PU at Fort Wayne,
WHEN: Wednesday, September 9 @ 6 p.m.
WHERE: Krannert Art Museum Auditorium (enter from Peabody), 500 E. Peabody, Champaign
Cyprus is in a bit of a weird place, both politically and geographically. The former British colony has been the subject of a tug-of-war between Turkey and Greece for decades, with the north of the country occupied by the Turks and the south by the Greeks. So where does that leave the Cypriots? Head to Professors Coufoudakis’ (left) talk and find out.
WHAT: “Spearing the State: Political Violence and Indigenous Politics in Peru” by Shane Greene, Assistant Professor, Anthropology. Indiana University, Bloomington
WHEN: Thursday, September 10 @ 12 noon
WHERE: 101 International Studies Building
Professor Greene (right) has a new book out on Stanford University Press (that’s right, SUP, dog) titled Customizing Indigeneity: Paths to a Visionary Politics in Peru, and this talk will tackle an aspect of that volume.
From the description: “How do vision quests, river locations, and warriors relate to indigenous activism?” Just like they do here in the good ol’ US of A, I’m sure. Sounds like an interesting subject; if you’re nearby and have your lunch hour free, check it out.
WHAT: “Social Dimensions of Environmental Policy Seminar — Vulnerability to Climate Change: Scientific and Ethical Challenges in Adaptation Policy” by Hans-Martin Fussel, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Germany
WHEN: Friday, September 11 @ 2:30 p.m.
WHERE: Room 5602 Beckman Institute
Fussel (above) comes to the topic of climate change from a unique angle — he has degrees in Computer Science and Advanced Systems Science, and most of his work has been in the area of computer modeling. That might make for a less-politicized look at global warming, which would be most welcome, in my opinion.