15. Bearing Witness: Where the “Lost Generation” Might Have Gotten Lost
April 2, 2008
Dr. David T. Humphries, Assistant Professor of English

Dr. Humphries is the author of Different Dispatches: Journalism in American Modernist Prose (Routledge, 2006), a book which examines how developments in journalism influenced American literary modernism, from Willa Cather’s early fiction to Robert Penn Warren’s All the King’s Men.

Beginning with the actual newsreel footage and the experiences and writing of these three Americans, this talk will examine how the act of filming such human catastrophes influenced the language of the “lost generation” and the way we continue to witness, interpret, and record such tragedies today.

10. A CAMPAIGN FOR EDUCATIONAL EQUITY
December 7, 2005
Dr. Arthur Levine
President, Teachers College, Columbia University

 
Dr. Levine received his bachelor’s degree from Brandeis University and his Ph.D. from State University of New York at Buffalo. Prior to Teachers College, he served as Chair of the Higher Education program and Chair of the Institute for Educational Management at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

This event examines the critical issues surrounding the gap in educational expectations, opportunities and outcomes between America’s most advantaged and disadvantaged students.

Dr. Levine, a long term advocate for excellence in America’s educational system, and is the author of dozens of articles and reviews. His most recent book is "When Hope and Fear Collide: A Portrait of Today’s College Student". His numerous opinion editorials appear in such publications as The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and Education Week.

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9. Globalization, Clash of Civilizations, and the Post 9/11 World
March 23, 2005
Dr. Caf Dowlah, Assistant Professor Social Sciences Department, QCC

Dr. Dowlah, who recently joined Queensborough’s Social Sciences faculty, brings to his post an impressive, multicultural background in economics and public policy within both educational and non-academic settings. The Bangladesh national is thrice a graduate of the University of Southern California, having earned a Ph.D. in Political Economy and Public Policy in 1990 and two separate Master’s degrees – in Economics and Public Administration – from the institution.

Dr. Dowlah has authored several books and refereed papers. His most recent book, entitled "Backwaters of Global Prosperity: How the GATT/WTO Trade Regimes Contribute to the Marginalization of the World's Poorest Nations" has just been published by Praeger publishers.

This lecture addresses how the forces of economic globalization, reinforced by a “clash of civilizations,” contribute to the post-9/11 reality of global insecurity.

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8. Leaves of Grass, Still Growing After 150 Years
November 3, 2004
Professor Billy Collins, Distinguished Professor of English, Lehman College, CUNY and New York State poet laureate and U.S. poet laureate 2001-2003.

Billy Collins is the author of five books of poetry. His poetry has appeared in anthologies, textbooks, and a variety of periodicals including Poetry, The American Poetry Review, The American Scholar, Harper's, The Paris Review, The New Yorker, and The Atlantic Monthly. His work is regularly featured in The Best American Poetry and in the Pushcart Prize anthology.

Prof. Collins has received fellowships from the New York Foundation for the Arts, The National Endowment for the Arts, and the Guggenheim Foundation. He has also won the Bess Hokin Prize, the Frederick Bock Prize, the Oscar Blumenthal Prize, the Wood Prize and the Levinson Prize--all awarded by Poetry magazine. In 1992 he was chosen by the New York Public Library to serve as a "Literary Lion." He is a Distinguished Professor of English at Lehman College (CUNY) He served as United States Poet Laureate for 2001-2003. He was appointed New York State Poet Laureate 2004-2006.

This lecture focuses on one poet’s assessment of the abiding strengths and influence of Walt Whitman’s decisive poem, “Leaves of Grass,” a century and a half after its publication.

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7. From Regis Philbin to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: The Problem of Meaning in Music
March 24, 2004
Dr. Martin Kutnowski, Assistant Professor Music Department, QCC

Dr. Kutnowski is a contemporary composer with firm roots in the tonal idiom. In his works, references to the musical past are often embedded within folk materials of his native country, Argentina. His pieces, ranging from solo instrument to orchestra, have been performed in Europe, Asia and the Americas. In February 2003, his “Lullaby for an Ancient Grandfather” was performed by Ana Maria Trenchi Bottazzi at Carnegie Hall’s Isaac Stern.

During this presentation Dr. Kutnowski asks: Is music a language? Do musical works have “meaning?” The lecture will explore answers to these and other questions. Works from the tonal repertoire and musical curtains of well-known TV shows will provide a springboard for this lively and informative discourse.

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6. Multinational Queens: People and Politics
October 22, 2003
Featuring Dr. John H. Mollenkopf, Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Sociology at the CUNY Graduate Center.

Dr. Mollenkopf, who is also director of the Center for Urban Research at the CUNY Graduate Center and coordinator of the interdisciplinary concentration in public policy and urban studies, has authored or edited 10 books on urban politics, urban policy, the politics of urban development and New York City. Prior to this, he directed the Economic Development Division of NYC’s Department of City Planning and taught urban studies and public management at Stanford University. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard and B.A. from Carleton College.

During this lecture Dr. Mollenkopf explores the changing demographics in Queens and how the Borough’s residents are reshaping political life.

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5. Positively Fascinating History of Negative Numbers
April 9, 2003
Dr. Patricia R. Allaire, Associate Professor, Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, QCC

Dr. Allaire is currently the Secretary of the Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Mathematics (CSHPM), an organization with members from 26 nations on six continents.

Her most recent publications include an article in Historica Mathematica, and an entry on Duncan F. Gregory in the soon-to-be published Dictionary of Nineteenth-Century British Scientists.

Dr. Allaire, who received her Doctorate from Adelphi University and Master’s from both Queens College, CUNY and Adelphi, is particularly interested in research on the history of algebra and foundations of calculus in Great Britain in the early nineteenth century, and pedagogical use of the history of mathematics.

During this presentation Dr. Allaire explores “The Positively Fascinating History of Negative Numbers.”

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4. If I Had Stayed in Salonika" (Si io stava en Salanik): The Holocaust and its Precursors in Sephardic History and Literature
October 23, 2002
Dr. Louise Mirrer, Former Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, CUNY

Dr. Mirrer has published widely on language, literature, medieval studies, and women’s studies. Her most recent book is Women, Jews, and Muslims in the Texts of Reconquest Castile, a “deconstruction” of the medieval Castilian canon using contemporary theories of gender and race. She holds a double Ph.D. in Spanish and Humanities and an MA in Spanish from Stanford University, and she holds the Diploma in Linguistics from Cambridge University in England.

In this presentation Dr. Mirrer discusses Judeo-Spanish history, the Spanish Inquisition as precursor to the Holocaust, and artistic and literary depictions that tie the themes together.

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