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 six events going on in town this week. Check out one or more of them if you have time.
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 Mondays at noon.
WHAT: There is No Alternative
WHEN: Monday, Jan. 26 @ 8 p.m.
WHERE: Levis Faculty Center
How far down the road of hyper-growth, global political economy are we? Can natural necessity resume its position as our guide for personal conduct? If so, then why hasn’t it already? Melissa Orlie of the University of Illinois Department of Political Science and Eric Freyfogle of the U of I College of Law examine the assumptions and realities of our economy and our environment and how they relate to issues like local food systems.
Presented by The Unit for Criticism and Interpretive Theory at the University of Illinois.
WHAT: Parallel@Illinois and Computer Science Department Distinguished Lecturer, Dr. David Kuck of Intel Corporation
WHEN: Monday, Jan. 26 @ 4 p.m..
WHERE: 1404 Siebel
Dr. Kuck will discuss capacity-based codesign of computer hardware and software.
WHAT: The “Turcos” of Argentina: An Overview and Analysis of the History and Influence of the Arab Argentine CommunityThe “Turcos” of Argentina: An Overview and Analysis of the History and Influence of the Arab Argentine Community
WHEN: Tuesday, Jan. 27 @ 12 noon
WHERE: Lucy Ellis Lounge (room 1080), Foreign Language Building
Hasan Shahid, Graduate Student in Latin American Studies will examine the factors that led to thousands of Arabs from the Ottoman Empire migrating to Argentina between the 1860s and 1950s and how they adapted to their new society.
WHAT: ITI Distinguished Lecture: James Larus: “The Real Value of Testing”
WHEN: Thursday, Jan. 29 @ 4 p.m.
WHERE: 1030 NCSA
A decade ago, Tony Hoare noted that “The real value of tests is not that they detect bugs in the code but that they detect inadequacies in the methods, concentration, and skills of those who design and produce the code.” As usual, Tony saw far ahead of the current reality. At that time, Microsoft Research was very focused on a specific aspect of software development (finding code defects). Over the intervening years, Microsoft Research’s efforts in this area grew greatly, and our research agenda broadened considerably. This talk will trace the evolution of Microsoft Research’s efforts to improve software development and explore how testing fits into the more people-centric approach that we have reached.
Reception to follow.
WHAT: Muslims, Islam, and Race in America
WHEN: Friday, Jan. 30 @ 12 noon
WHERE: 2nd Floor, Levis Faculty Center: 919 W. Illinois Street, Urbana
The 19th-20th century biographer Henry Adams makes the point that to do American history without the clue of race is to produce little more than nursery tales. Islam, on the other hand, at least in its most common ideological expression, is race-neutral. How, then, do Muslims come to terms with the centrality of race to American identity-formation and belongingness? And what effect does this quintessential American reality have on the discourse about and within the Muslim community in America, especially given the dominant racial and ethnic make-up of Muslims in the U.S.? This lecture will explore these issues with particular reference to American blackness, on the one hand, and Islamophobia on the other.
WHAT: Black History Month Kick-Off
WHEN: Sunday, Feb. 1 @ 2 p.m.
WHERE: Urbana Free Library
Celebrate Black History month at the Urbana Free Library. Hear some of the winners of this year’s essay contest read excerpts from their winning essays and enjoy music performances by our special guests, Soul Premiere and the Urbana High School Choir.
Cosponsored by the University of Illinois Lincoln Bicentennial Committee.