Currently@Carleton
International Cultural Heritage Specialist to Present April 20 Convocation
During periods of social crisis, culture is frequently marginalized as inconsequential. Nevertheless, it can play a vital role in promoting stability during difficult economic and political transitions. Stuart Gibson is a fine arts and cultural heritage consultant who specializes in assisting cultural organizations and governments during economic and political transition, advising governments on how to save their national treasures. In addition, Gibson is the director of the UNESCO Hermitage Project in St. Petersburg, Russia, described by the Russian government as one of the most successful cultural projects undertaken by the United Nations in Russia. The State Hermitage Museum is one of the largest, oldest, most important, and famous art galleries and museums of human history and culture in the world. UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that promotes international collaboration through education, science, and culture. Using the former Soviet Union and the Middle East as primary examples, Gibson will explain how cultural diplomacy can be used as a tool in overcoming political and economic isolation. His presentation titled “A Cultural Ambassador in the Context of Global Citizenship” will take place at 10:50 a.m. in Skinner Memorial Chapel.
President Emeritus Stephen R. Lewis, Jr. Returns to Carleton
Please join us for a special event with Carleton’s President Emeritus Stephen R. Lewis, Jr. President Lewis will be speaking on Wednesday, April 18, at 4:30 p.m. in the Gould Library Athenaeum. He will be discussing his new book Very Brave or Very Foolish? Memoirs of an African Democrat which he co-wrote with Botswana’s former President Quett Masire. Lewis has worked as a consultant to Masire since 1975 and lived in Botswana twice. He will share his insights about the leadership of Masire, a self-described “reluctant politician,” the economic and political development of Botswana, and the collaborative process of writing this memoir. A booksigning and reception with refreshments will follow the talk. Very Brave or Very Foolish? will be sold at the event and is now available in the Bookstore at a 15% discount.
Postage Rates Will Increase May 14
Effective May 14, U.S. Postal Service rates will increase. Among the rate adjustments, the single-piece rate for First-Class mail will increase from 39 cents to 41 cents, and the postcard rate will increase by two cents to 26 cents. Rates for flats and parcels (packages) will change from a weight-based to a dimension-based rate calculation, making this the most complex and talked about postal rate revision ever. If you would like to learn more about these rate changes, and the new “Forever Stamp,” please check out this U.S.P.S. Web site. Mailing Services will provide additional information as it becomes available.
Sustainability Display at the Bookstore
As Earth Day approaches, we would like to draw your attention to our display of sustainability titles. We have titles that address real energy solutions, examine ethical shopping, give practical suggestions for green living, and much more. Please stop in and browse the books on this important topic. Check out The Citizen-Powered Energy Handbook: Community Solutions to a Global Crisis by Greg Pahl for an inspiring vision and specific blueprint for saving the planet. Be the Change You Want to See in the World: 365 Things You Can Do for Yourself and Your Planet by Julie Fisher-McGarry is an information-packed planner for a low-impact lifestyle. The Rough Guide to Climate Change by Robert Henson and The Rough Guide to Shopping with a Conscience by Duncan Clark and Richie Unterberger will certainly enhance your sustainability library. Check out the complete article for other Bookstore selections.
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Sustainability Display at the Bookstore
As Earth Day approaches, we would like to draw your attention to our display of sustainability titles. We have titles that address real energy solutions, examine ethical shopping, give practical suggestions for green living, and much more. Please stop in and browse the books on this important topic. Check out The Citizen-Powered Energy Handbook: Community Solutions to a Global Crisis by Greg Pahl for an inspiring vision and specific blueprint for saving the planet. Be the Change You Want to See in the World: 365 Things You Can Do for Yourself and Your Planet by Julie Fisher-McGarry is an information-packed planner for a low-impact lifestyle. The Rough Guide to Climate Change by Robert Henson and The Rough Guide to Shopping with a Conscience by Duncan Clark and Richie Unterberger will certainly enhance your sustainability library.National Poetry Month
Don’t forget that April is National Poetry Month and all titles in our Poetry department are 20% off through April 30.New Titles
Send: The Essential Guide to Email for Office and Home by David Shipley and Will Schwalbe—Stepping up to the challenges of email, this much-needed book helps people use email to their best advantage at work or at home, achieve their goals, and stay out of jail. Send is a survival guide for the digital age, providing the Eight Deadly Sins of Email and Six Essential Types of Email among other wise tidbits, and perhaps most important, how to think before you click “send.”
Helpless by Barbara Gowdy—In this haunting and suspenseful novel of abduction and obsessive love, Gowdy draws on her trademark empathy to create a portrait of love at its most consuming and ambiguous.
The N Word: Who Can Say It, Who Shouldn’t and Why by Jabari Asim—Asim traces the roots and meanings behind the racial slur and argues that using the word keeps blacks at the bottom of America's socioeconomic ladder. He also proves there is a place for this word in the mouths and on the pens of those who truly understand its twisted history.
New in Paperback
American Theocracy: The Peril and Politics of Radical Religion, Oil, and Borrowed Money in the 21st Century by Kevin Phillips
Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky
The Great Transformation: The Beginning of Our Religious Traditions by Karen Armstrong
ACT Center
I am pleased to announce the establishment of ACT Center as an independent department in the Division of Student Life, effective April 1. Former ACT coordinator, Laura Riehle-Merrill has been appointed as the Director. The Acting in the Community Together office has grown to support over 48 ongoing civic engagement programs. ACT offers the Carleton community challenging and rewarding volunteer opportunities. This announcement reflects the Division of Student Life’s commitment to civic engagement. The Campus Activities Office and the ACT Center continue to reside at their Sayles-Hill locations.
Chaplain's Office Services and Events for the Week
- “Children of Abraham” Panel Discussion—Tuesday, April 17, 7 p.m., Library Athenaeum. With Jewish, Muslim, and Christian panelists.
- Taizé Vespers Service—Wednesday, April 18, 7 p.m., Chapel. Led by Chaplain Carolyn Fure-Slocum.
- Centering Prayer—Thursday, April 19, noon, Chapel Lounge. Led by Reverend Jill Tollefson.
- Torah Study—Thursday, April 19, 5 p.m., Reynolds House. Led by Rabbi Shosh Dworsky.
- Shabbat Service—Friday, April 20, 6 p.m., Reynolds House. Led by students. Dinner follows the service.
- Mustard Seed Chapel Service—Sunday, April 22, 5 p.m., Chapel Main Sanctuary. Led by Carleton’s student praise band. Soup supper follows the service.
Perlman LTC Events This Week
- “Distinctive Pedagogies: Teaching Through Picture Writing,” Tuesday at noon, Language and Dining Center 104
- Spring Book Discussion Group—Randall Kennedy’s Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word, Thursday at 4:30 p.m., Headley House
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Tuesday, April 17
“Distinctive Pedagogies: Teaching Through Picture Writing”Join us for a demonstration of Professor Zhao’s technique of live illustration in the classroom. This will be the inaugural event in our new series on distinctive pedagogies.
Qiguang Zhao, Burton and Lily Levin Professor of Chinese
Noon to 1 p.m., Language and Dining Center 104
(please note day, location, and that this event will end at 1 p.m.)
Bag lunches provided for 50
Spring Book Discussion Group: Thursday, April 19 and Tuesday, May 15
Randall Kennedy’s Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word
Facilitated by Harry Williams, David and Marian Adams Bryn-Jones Distinguished Teaching Professor of History and the Humanities, co-sponsored by the Mellon Faculty Life Cycles Grant4:30 to 6 p.m., Headley House
Refreshments providedIf you are interested in reading the book and participating, please sign up with Jennifer Cox Johnson at the Perlman Center (jcoxjohn@carleton.edu; x4192).
NOTE: April 17 event is on TUESDAY (misprint on poster)Looking ahead:
Thursday, April 26: Faculty Scholarship Forum
Integrative Learning: Chemistry, Carnegie, and CreativityTricia Ferrett, Professor of Chemistry and Director of Carleton's Interdisciplinary Science and Math Initiative (CISMI)
Professor Trish Ferrett spent last year as a 2005 Carnegie Scholar at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. She will talk about a new scholarly project related to integrative learning that focuses on mapping out the creative dimensions of student work in an interdisciplinary first-year seminar on abrupt change in human and natural networks. She will also weave into her talk a story about her intellectual journey as a scholar—from physical chemistry lab scientist to scholar of teaching and learning.
Noon to 1:30 p.m.
Gould Library Athenaeum
Bag lunches provided for 50Co-sponsored by the Perlman Center for Learning and Teaching, Gould Library, and Quantitative Inquiry, Reasoning, and Knowledge (QuIRK) Initiative
See all the Perlman LTC events for spring on the poster in your campus mail or click here.
More posters available from the LTC by contacting Jennifer Cox Johnson.Empty Bowls Project 2007
Empty Bowls is a civic engagement project that raises money for the local food shelf. Students in Professor Connole's Advanced Ceramics class make bowls as a community while learning about the history of ceramics and the collective power of collaborative work. Please read on for more details.
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Empty Bowls is a civic engagement project that raises money for the local food shelf. Students in Professor Connole's Advanced Ceramics class make bowls as a community while learning about the history of ceramics and the collective power of collaborative work.
Empty Bowls Project 2007
April 27 from noon to 1 p.m.
Bald Spot (Great Hall if rain)Steps to help end hunger... starting right here in Northfield
1. Pick out a handmade bowl, crafted by Carleton Ceramics
2. Enjoy a simple meal of soup, made by Carleton Interest Houses
3. Keep the bowl as a reminder of all the empty bowls in the worldSuggested donation: $10 to $15
All proceeds go to the Northfield Community Action Food ShelfExperimental Evidence for Fallacies?
A talk by Cowling Distinguished Visiting Professor Jonathan Adler, on Tuesday, April 17, from noon to 1 p.m. in Olin 141. Read on for more details.
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A wide range of psychological studies seem to show that our natural patterns of reasoning suffer from extensive fallacies, confabulation, and even irrationality. These studies have been subject to extensive debate. Specifically, commentators have argued that the studies do not show failures of reasoning because the subjects do not interpret the problems posed as the experimenters’ intend. Under the subjects’ actual interpretation, they answer the problems correctly. Experimenters respond by denying that subjects’ interpretation is other than as intended. My question is this: Even if subjects interpret their task differently than intended, does it follow that they are not guilty of the fallacy under study?
"What is Philosophy of Mathematics?"
A colloquium by Charles Chihara, Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley, will be presented on Thursday, April 19, at 3:10 p.m., in CMC 206. Please see complete article for further details.
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This talk will explore the nature of philosophy of mathematics by focusing on the three principal schools of foundations of mathematics developed in the early part of the Twentieth Century: Logicism, Formalism, and Intuitionism. Chihara will present an account of the nature of philosophy of mathematics based upon the premise that philosophy of mathematics is a branch of philosophy, with the goal of producing the kind of understanding of mathematics that philosophy aims to achieve for the other areas of human intellectual achievements such as science, art, history, language, and literature. He will reexamine the success of the three foundational schools mentioned above in light of the goals of philosophy of mathematics.
Children of Abraham Forum
You are invited to attend the first ever “Children of Abraham Forum,” sponsored by Carleton's student Christian, Islamic, and Jewish communities, on Tuesday, April 17 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the Library Athenaeum. The topic is "Connecting to One God" and aims to highlight similarities and differences between Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. Speakers from each religion will discuss what it means to connect to God in the context of their tradition. There will be a time for questions from the audience at the end of the program, and refreshments will follow the discussion.