The Leading Edge

Events

Monday, April 18

Pioneers, Protesters, and Privatizers: Urban Homesteading and American Political Transformation — Marisa Chappell, Humanities Center Research Fellow and history faculty, discusses the “urban homesteading” programs of the 70s and 80s that offered free houses in declining neighborhoods to homesteaders who pledged to rehabilitate and occupy them. The programs quickly became a site of political conflict. Chappell’s talk will explore competing visions of urban homesteading to illuminate shifting race and class politics in the late twentieth-century U.S. 4:00 p.m., Autzen House.

Bioethics and Cancer: When the Professional Becomes Personal — People who teach and write about bioethics often consider issues related to cancer, such as treatment decision-making and the doctor-patient relationship. But cancer patients and their families see those issues from a different vantage point than clinicians and professors do. Professor Rebecca Dresser, of Washington University School of Medicine, discusses these issues based on her book called “Malignant: Medical Ethicists Confront Cancer.” 7 p.m. Memorial Union Journey Room.

Tuesday, April 19

Religious Studies Club – “Religion & Politics” — Join us for a delicious catered dinner during which we will discuss the ways in which religion and religious discourse has been, and is currently, used in the political arena. RSVP to Dr. Rena Lauer (RSVP necessary). Co-sponsored by the Hundere Endowment. 6 p.m. Milam 319.

Wednesday, April 20

SPS Spring Colloquium Series — 12 – 1 p.m., Reed 111. MAIS candidates Katy Krieger and Christian Sinnott will present their research. Katy’s talk is titled “Words of Well-being;”  Christian’s talk is titled “Investigating Differences Between Rural and Non-rural Students in High Education. Please join us!

Friday, April 22

Anthropology Tan Sack Series —Former MA student in Anthropology and current medicinal cannabis cultivator, Jyl Wheaton-Abraham, will give a lecture on the various ways humans have sustained a relationship with cannabis for thousands of years. She will be discussing the history of cultivation, prohibition, and the growing mobilization towards medicinal and recreational use, with special emphasis on the recent discovery of the endocannabinoid system, and the human need for compounds found in the cannabis plant. The talk, entitled “Dancing Naked in the Marijuana Fields: An Emerging Perspective on Cannabis,” will be in 201 Waldo Hall at noon.

Music à la Carte — OSU New Music Ensemble. Memorial Union Lounge, Noon, Free.

Speech Communication Colloquium — Dr. Robert Iltis will present “Obligation and Choice in Lincoln’s First Inaugural” on at 4 p.m. in STAG 160. His work argues that Lincoln’s metaphoric style enabled a pragmatic response to secession, but also engaged symbol systems that gave a mask of civility to slavery.

Saturday, April 23

The Thin Green Line: Creative Resistance to Fossil Fuel Development in the Pacific Northwest — Featuring speakers, artists, activists, policy makers, writer, workshops and movement building, The Thin Green Line will gather engaged citizens from all over the Pacific Northwest to learn and strategize about resisting fossil fuel development. 1-9 p.m., The LaSells Stewart Center.

Upcoming Events

The first week in May will see the 30^th annual observance of Holocaust Memorial Week at Oregon State University. As has been the case for many years, the program will deal not only with the Holocaust, but with the theme of comparative genocide. Also in keeping with standard practice, human rights issues will receive a prominent place. Holocaust survivor Eva Mozes Kor will speak in Corvallis on May 2, 7:30 p.m. in the Austin Auditorium of the LaSells Stewart Center. For more information on the program and speakers, visit: http://holocaust.oregonstate.edu.

Current Research, Publications and Creative Activity

Assistant Professor of New Media Communications and Speech Communication, Joshua Reeves, presented a paper at the University of Oregon’s international What Is Media conference on April 15.

Elizabeth Root recently had an article published, “Cultural adjustment from the other side: Korean students’ experiences with their sojourner teachers,” in China Media Research 12(1). Over the weekend, Root accompanied six MAIS graduate students to the Northwest Communication Association Conference in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho, where the students, who have Speech Communication as their major area, presented their work.

Assistant Professor of History Christopher Nichols’ essay on Trump and the History, Appeal of Protectionism and Isolationism, titled “Trump’s Misguided and Empty Promise of Protectionism Dovetails with His Appeal to Isolationism,” was recently published on The History News Network: http://historynewsnetwork.org/article/162423.

Director of Athletic Bands Dana Biggs and the OSU Pep Band have been representing Beaver Nation throughout Oregon over the past week. The band performed last week at an OSU baseball game, a BBQ for donors and the Portland spring football game. On Saturday, April 16 Biggs and the pep band performed at the annual OSU Spring Football game at Reser Stadium in Corvallis. The ensemble  also provided music and entertainment at the Corvallis Half Marathon on Sunday, April 17.