WHAT: “2010 Illinois Sustainability Week,” UIUC Office of Sustainability
WHEN: Monday, Oct. 25 through Friday, Oct. 29
WHERE: Various locations throughout campus
There are events going on throughout the week, too many to list here. Check the Sustainability Week website for full details.
WHAT: “Answering Questions about the NYC Mosque, Discrimination, and Issues Contemporary Muslims Face,” Dr. Scott Alexander, Associate Professor of Islam at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago
WHEN: Tuesday, Oct. 26 @ 7 p.m.
WHERE: Bevier Hall 180, 905 South Goodwin Avenue, Urbana
From Dr. Alexander’s bio: “Scott Alexander’s interest in Islam dates back to the early1980s, when he was both witnessing the events of the Islamist revolution in Iran, and concentrating in comparative religion as an undergraduate at Harvard.”
WHAT: “Your Environment, My Environment: A Fight for Survival,” John Passacantando, former executive director, Greenpeace
WHEN: Thursday, Oct. 28 @ 7 p.m.
WHERE: 217 Noyes Lab (along the north side of the Main Quad
From Passacantando’s biography: “A onetime conservative, John Passacantando was converted to the environmentalist cause in 1987 when Mike Roselle, founder of Earth First! and the Ruckus Society, scaled Mount Rushmore and hung a giant gas mask on George Washington. Roselle served time in prison for this stunt. Passacantando now praises Roselle as a sort of personal guru (despite the destructive and often violent tendencies of his other organizations), calling him ‘the environmental equivalent of the old blind guy on Kung Fu, where you try to grab the pebbles and you can’t.'”
WHAT: “What does it mean to claim that Sex, Gender, and the Body are Socially Constructed?” Toril Moi, Duke University
WHEN: Thursday, Oct. 28 @ 8 p.m.
WHERE: 3rd Floor, Levis Faculty Center, 919 W. Illinois, Urbana
This was on the calendar three times, so it must be a big deal…
WHAT: “Scenes from Iran: Two Americans Reflect on Their Years in Iran,” Wally and Evie Shellenberger
WHEN: Friday, Oct. 29 @ 6:30 p.m.
WHERE: Central Illinois Mosque and Islamic Center, 106 S. Lincoln, Urbana
WHAT: “The History of Russian Rock ‘n Roll,” Artemyi Troitsky, Journalist, Moscow State University
WHEN: Monday, Nov. 1 @ 4 p.m.
WHERE: 100 Gregory Hall
Mr. Troitsky only has an hour and a half to work with and it’s a broad, ambitious topic. Should be worth your time if you’re a music fan.
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. It’s free, you know. Plus, sometimes there’s free food, too!
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.