Honors College
Forum History: The Eighties
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The 70s 1980-81 1981-82 1982-83 1983-84 1984-85 1986-87 1987-88 1988-89 1989-90 The 90s
1980-81 |
FALL 1980
Mythology and Religion
September 23, 1980“Every civilization has grown out of a mythological base.”
At the time, Joseph Campbell was an author who spoke about how people can relate mythology and religion to their own lives. He argued that psychological and mythological problems are identical.
Energy Future
September 30, 1980Daniel Yergin was, at the time, the author and co-editor of Energy Future, and the director of Harvard University’s Center for International Affairs. He was also a consultant to the European Common Market and the US Department of Energy and Transportation as well as the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
October 7, 1980
At the time, Malcom Andrew was the editor of medieval texts and part of a group that was preparing a new edition of Chaucer’s works.
October 14, 1980
“Charity is a sign of the return of goodwill and kindness in our country. Without charity, there is no future.”
Alexander Ginzburg was a Russian dissident whose work in human rights in the Soviet Union led to his arrest by the KGB. He spent nine years in prison, was forced to leave the USSR in 1979, and was stripped of his citizenship.
The Political and Social Power of the Media
October 21, 1980David Halberstam was a journalist and historian who won a Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting in 1964 for his reports from Saigon.
November 4, 1980
Richard Brautigan was a novelist and short story writer whose work featured black comedy and satire.
Southern Folklore and Humor
November 18, 1980William Price Fox was a humorist and a novelist who wrote about Southern Folklore.
SPRING 1981
January 13, 1981
At the time of this lecture, Charlayne Hunter-Gault was a correspondent for the Lehrer-McNeil Report on PBS and the New York Times metropolitan reporter for the Urban Black Community.
Washington Merry-Go-Round
January 20, 1981At the time of his lecture, Jack Anderson was a syndicated columnist.
Modern Dance: A Lecture, A Demonstration
January 27, 1981At the time of her lecture, Annabelle Gamson was a world renowned dancer.
Exploring New Worlds and Living in Outer Space
March 3, 1981Brian O’Leary was an astrophysicist who trained in NASA’s Scientist Astronaut program and a leading futurist.
The Next Four Years
March 17, 1980Douglas Kiker was an author and reporter who, at the time of his lecture, was an NBC correspondent.
Why Do We Need the Humanities?
March 31, 1981At the time of this lecture, Cleanth Brooks was the managing editor of Southern Review and a professor emeritus at Yale. He donated a large portion of his library to USM.
1981-82 |
FALL 1981
The Moral Majority Debate
October 13, 1981At the time, Cal Thomas was the vice president and spokesman for Jerry Falwell’s organization as well as a writer for the public affairs TV show Another View from Washington.
At the time, Sam Brown was the director of ACTION, the federal volunteer service agency. He also founded, coordinated, and led the Vietnam Moratorium in DC in 1969.
The Watergate Affair
October 20, 1981“Either we are unable to apprehend reality, or if we can, we tend to turn away from–shun–the harsher aspects of it. The idea being, I suppose, if you don’t look at it, pretend it isn’t there, somehow or other, it will go away.”
Sponsored by UAC in cooperation with Forum. (Forum paid UAC what would’ve been earned from ticket sales to the event)
Reagan and the Economy
October 27, 1981William Rusher was a conservative syndicated columnist, known for his appearances on Advocates, the PBS show. He wrote The Conservative Advocate and served as a publisher for William Buckley’s National Review. In his talk, Rusher said that Reaganomics was supposed to be the good to counter the “liberalomics” and “cut the tax burdens and take regulation, in large part, off the backs of business.”
The Reagan Economy: Another View
November 3, 1981At the time of his lecture, Frank Cappiello was the vice president of Monumental Corp, an insurance holding company, and president of Monumental Capital Management Inc. He was best known for his role as a panelist on Wall Street Week.
The Quest for Excellence
November 10, 1981“Experience is not what happens to a man; it’s what a man does with what happens to him.”
Max Cleland was the administrator of the Veterans Administration from 1977 to 1981 as well as a triple amputee who became the youngest member of the Georgia State Senate.
Can Reagan Make Women Disappear?
November 17, 1981“I don’t think Reagan can really make women disappear. But he can certainly stop the progress that’s been very important for women of all ages and the men who care about them.”
At the time of this talk, Sarah Weddington was a contributing editor of Glamour and a former special assistant to Jimmy Carter.
Human Rights in Latin America
December 1, 1981“Human rights concerns, in the US perception, has a very low priority.”
At the time of this lecture, Patricio E. Chaparro was a visiting Fulbright lecturer from Chile who taught in history and political science at USM
SPRING 1982
February 2, 1982
“There is a new kind of social Darwinism in this country: it is called survival of the richest.”
Julian Bond was a social rights activist and a leader in the Civil Rights movement. He was elected to Georgia legislature in 1965 but wasn’t allowed to take his seat because of his opposition to the Vietnam War. He was re-elected twice and wasn’t allowed to take his seat until 1967 when the Supreme Court ruled in his favor and was elected to Georgia State Senate in 1974.
Oceans in Trouble
February 9, 1982Jean Michael Cousteau is an oceanographer and conservationist who is also the son of Jacques Cousteau.
Prince of the City: Surviving the System
February 16, 1982Bob Leuci was a detective for the NYPD who was chosen to work the Special Investigation Unit in the Narcotics Division. He worked as an undercover officer and learned about the corruption in the system. He was later asked to work for the federal government to reveal the corrupt activities in the NYPD and it resulted in the arrests of 56 policemen, six lawyers, and a judge. It caused his partner and best friend to commit suicide. They put him in a government installation “for his own protection” and he remained there for three years.
March 2, 1982
At the time of his lecture, Geoffrey Ashe was a writer and lecturer on British Lore. In connection to his Forum, he and a group of participants recreated the Glastonbury Maze on the Pride Field on campus.
A Selection of Work
March 23, 1982Donald Barthelme was an author and was one of the original founders of the creative writing program at the University of Houston. He read a selection of his works.
Government and the Media
March 30, 1982Jody Powell was the former press secretary to President Jimmy Carter and was one of his first appointments upon entering office.
April 6, 1982
No information available.
April 20, 1982
No information available.
1982-83 |
FALL 1982
If Your Best Friend was an Alcoholic
September 28, 1982Ryne Duren was the relief pitcher for the New York Yankees from 1958-1961. He became an alcoholic, something that ruined his career, and was hospitalized seven times during his baseball career. After getting sober, he went to college and became a counselor to help others with the same illness before becoming director of the Stoughton (Wisconsin) Community Hospital Alcohol Rehabilitation and Education Program.
Youth Goodwill Mission of the Republic of China
October 3, 1982This Forum consisted of fourteen college students from Taiwan who were visiting colleges in the US and performing for them a program of dance, music, and martial arts. The purpose of this was to strengthen the bonds of friendship between the Chinese and American people.
The Forum was split into four parts: An introduction to Chinese martial arts, including Kung Fu, selections of Chinese folk dances and songs, an introduction to some traditional songs and dances of Taiwan, and selections of Chinese and American popular songs.
Missing: An American Tragedy
October 12, 1982Thomas Hauser is an author who was, at one time, a lawyer who entered a Wall Street firm where he specialized in First Amendment work. He also worked in areas including anti-trust and securities law. He shared in the preparation of United States Supreme Court briefs and conducted field research on behalf of the families of students killed by law enforcement officers at Jackson State in 1970. Assisted in the formulation of a trial strategy in a suit brought on behalf of the family of a student killed at Kent State. His first book, Missing, was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and was made into a film starring Jack Lemmon and Sissy Spacek.
Prison and Reform
October 19, 1982At the time of his lecture, John Coleman was an economist who worked on equal opportunity programs from 1965-1967 associated with the Ford Foundation. He was the president of Haverford College in Philadelphia from 1967-1977 and wrote The Secret Life of John Chapman during a six month leave from his college presidency.
Ground Zero: A Plan for Survival
November 2, 1982Ellis Woodward was the Director of Public Affairs for Ground Zero, a non-partisan project committed to the education and involvement of the American people in the issue of nuclear war. Woodward also served as Director of Advanced Operations for Jimmy Carter and then as Director of Press Operations for the 1980 Carter/Mondale Campaign in New York and New Hampshire.
The State of the Nation
November 9, 1982Cosponsored by the Associated Student Body
Thurmond was the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee of the United States Senate and was the ranking majority member of the Veterans Affairs and Armed Services Committees. This was his second Forum appearance.
The Role of Women in the Media
November 16, 1982At the time of her appearance, Diana Nyad was the greatest long-distance swimmer in the world. She competed in races down the Nile and across the Great Lakes as well as for the longest swim in history, for either men or women, and stroked 89 miles from the island of Bimini in the Bahamas to Jupiter, Florida. At the time, she was a full-time commentator with ABC Sports, had a television exercise show, and wrote Basic Training for Women.
Star Trekking with Scotty
November 30 1982James Doohan was an actor who was best known for his portrayal of Scotty in Star Trek (The Original Series).
SPRING 1983
The Role of Minorities in Politics and Government
February 22, 1983Carl Stokes was the Mayor of Cleveland in the late 1960s and was the first black mayor of a major American city. He also served as a news analyst for WNBC-TV News and received an Emmy in 1979.
Entropy and the Emerging Order
March 1, 1983Jeremy Rifkin served on the President’s Commission on Agenda for the 80’s which was intended to provide future options for the US Economy. He became concerned with the issue of genetic engineering in the 70s and wrote a book called Who Should Play God? He was also the head of the Peoples Business Commission.
Men’s Rights
March 8, 1983At the time of his appearance, Fred Hayward was the Director of Men’s Rights, Inc. and a member of the advisory board of the National Congress for Men.
Male-Female Relationships
March 22, 1983Neil S. Jacobson was an author who spoke about marital therapy and wrote Marital Interaction: Analysis and Modification.
Civilization in Space
March 29, 1983Harrison Schmitt is a geologist who, after spending a year with the US Geological Survey, joined the NASA Apollo program. He was the lunar module pilot for Apollo 17 which landed on the moon in 1972. After leaving the moon, he became director of NASA’s varied energy programs. In 1975, he returned to New Mexico and entered the senatorial race and was elected to the Senate as a Republican in 1976.
Philosophy of Technology
April 12, 1983Buckminster Fuller was an architect, engineer, poet, and philosopher who was best-known for the creation of the geodesic dome and its application as an ideal human habitat. He was also the architect of the US Pavilion at Expo 67.
Communist China and the USA: How Can We Best Communicate?
April 19, 1983At the time of his lecture, Donald Williams was a professor of speech and intercultural communication. He served as scholar-delegate to several international communications conferences, as an oral communications consultant for the US Navy, and for a number of US and foreign businesses and agencies.
An Evening with Maya Angelou
May 3, 1983Maya Angelou was a poet, singer, and Civil Rights activist whose work spanned over 50 years and brought her international acclaim.
1983-84 |
FALL 1983
Prison Recollections from Bangkok
September 27, 1983At the time of his lecture, Alphonso Lingis was a professor of Philosophy at Penn State.
Soviet Subversion and Espionage
October 4, 1983Arkady Shevchenko was a Soviet Ambassador and Under Secretary General of the United Nations as well as a top political advisor to Foreign Minister Gromyko. He held the highest diplomatic rank in the Soviet Union and was an intimate of Khrushchev, Brezhnev, and Foreign Minister Gromyko. Before he defected and asked for asylum in 1978, he was thought to be on his way to becoming the next Soviet Foreign Minister.
Crisis in Poland
October 11, 1983At the time of this lecture Maciej Oltarzewski was part of Solidarity’s dramatic struggle against the police-state repression of Poland’s Communist government. Oltarzewski served as legal counsel and financial advisor to Solidarity leader Lech Walesa as well as editor of the underground newspapers for Farmer’s Solidarity and Worker’s Solidarity. Oltarzewski was imprisoned for counter revolutionary activities and came to the US as a political exile.
Kissinger and National Security
November 8, 1983Seymour Hersh is an investigative journalist and was the author of one of the country’s most distinguished reports. He became an award-winning foreign correspondent and journalist for the New York Times and received a Pulitzer Prize for his revelations of the My Lai Massacre. He reported on domestic CIA spying and the sale of US technology and weapons to Libra by former CIA agents Frank Terpil and Edwin Wilson.
How the Soviet Union Sees the U.S.
November 8, 1983Vladimir Pozner was a French writer who was a cultural socialist.
The Great Toxic Waste Scandal
November 15, 1893At the time of his lecture, Hugh Kaufman was one of the most controversial and significant figures in the environmental movement. He was the Director of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Toxic Waste Disposal Program and the chief investigator for Hazardous Waste Sites. He was credited with uncovering the illegal toxic waste dumps at Love Canal and the “Valley of Drums” in Toone, Tennessee. He was also a key architect of the “Superfund” legislation intended to facilitate toxic waste clean-up under the Carter administration.
The Future of Liberalism
November 29, 1983At the time of his lecture, Michael Harrington was a professor of political science. He was a member of the national executive committee of the Socialist Party from 1960 to 1972 and was chairman of the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee and a member of the board of Directors of the Workers Defense League and the ACLU.
Mississippi Revisited
December 6, 1983William Raspberry was an award-winning journalist and columnist with the Washington Post. He discussed issues that we face in everyday life such as divorce, education, ethics, discrimination, rape, black issues, white issues, human issues.
SPRING 1984
Instant Theater
February 7, 1984Geoffrey Holder was an actor, dancer, choreographer, and award-winning director and painter. He directed The Wiz on Broadway as well as some of the 7-Up Uncola commercials and Rapid Shave commercials. He was well-known for his portrayal of the character of Punjab in Annie. He won Tony awards for his costume design and directing of The Wiz and was a Guggenheim award-winning painter.
A Republican View of Election ‘84
February 14, 1984John LeBoutillier was, at the time of his lecture, a Harvard graduate who became the youngest member of the 97th Congress. He also was the only GOP freshman to serve on the prestigious Foreign Affairs Committee.
A Democratic View of Election ‘84
February 21, 1984Congressman Toby Moffett was first elected to Congress in the post-Watergate class of 1974 and was a defender of consumer rights and was awarded the Phillip Hart Public Service Award.
A Study of Investigative Journalism
February 28, 1984Peter Lance is a journalist and author who was a top investigative reporter for ABC News Nightline. At the time of his lecture, he had won five Emmys and other journalism awards.
An Evening with Maya Angelou
March 27, 1984Maya Angelou was a poet, singer, and Civil Rights activist whose work spanned over 50 years and brought her international acclaim.
Second appearance of Maya Angelou.
April 3, 1984
Sloane Coffin was a clergyman and a peace activist.
How the Soviet Union Sees the U.S.
April 10, 1984Vladimir Pozner was a journalist in the Soviet Union who worked as managing editor of Soviet Life and Sputnik magazines. He actively participated in bringing American culture to Soviet audiences as a lecturer and translator of American literature.
1984-85 |
FALL 1984
Political Consultants and Politics in 1984
September 25, 1984Raymond Strother is a political consultant who worked as a night reporter for the Associated Press and became a partner in a public relations firm in 1966. Left Louisiana in 1981 and opened an office in Washington. At the time of his visit, he had produced media for more than 100 democratic candidates including Senator John Stennis and Evelyn Gandy of MS, Governor Martha Layne Collins of Kentucky, Senator Bennett Johnson of Louisiana, and for the presidential campaign of Gary Hart.
A Winning Economic Policy
October 2, 1984Lester Thurow was a political economist, Rhodes Scholar, and professor at MIT. He was the associate editor and economic columnist for Newsweek and was a member of the President’s Council of Economic Advisors.
Lewis Grizzard Looks at Politics and World Affairs
October 9, 1984Lewis Grizzard was a newspaper columnist, syndicated in more than 100 newspapers, and humorist who Time named a rising young newspaper humorist. He wrote the book Elvis is Dead and I Ain’t Feeling So Well Myself.
Relighting the Candles of Excellence in Education
October 16, 1984Marva Collins was an educator who started the Westside Preparatory School in Garfield Park, Chicago, Illinoi. It was her vision that all students were to be treated the same. In a film about her life, The Marva Collins Story, she was portrayed by Cecily Tyson.
Democratic and Republican Views of the 1984 Election
October 23, 1984Haley Barbour was the Republican candidate who challenged John Stennis in 1982 but lost.
David Bowen Worked in Washington for the Chamber of Commerce and then the Office of Economic Opportunity before he moved back to Mississippi as the first coordinator of federal/state programs under governor John Bell Williams.
Bowen was also elected to the US House of Representatives in 1972 and served for 10 years. He also served as co-chairman for the Mondale/Ferraro campaign in Mississippi.
Mississippi Politics and Political Issues in the 1980s
October 30, 1984Ray Mabus is a politician who served in the Navy as a communications officer aboard a guided missile cruiser. Following that, he became a lawyer and served as legal counsel to a subcommittee of the Agriculture Committee of the US House of Representatives before he moved back to Mississippi to serve as legal counsel and legislative assistant to Governor William Winter. He served as the architect of the Education Reform Act of 1982 and became State Auditor of Mississippi in 1983.
The US, Latin America, and the Caribbean: A Third World View
November 6, 1984Michael Manley was a Jamaican politician and the son of Norman Washington Manley, the architect of Jamaican Independence and the first premier of Jamaica. Manley worked as a journalist before he was elected to the executive committee of Jamaica’s People’s National Party. He became president of the Caribbean Bauxite Miners and Metal Workers Federation in 1964 and was elected to Jamaican Parliament in 1967. In 1969, he became president of the People’s National Party and leader of the opposition in parliament. He became Prime Minister of Jamaica in 1972. He had the view that third world countries should not align themselves with great powers, instead smaller and under-developed countries can only achieve economic independence and prosperity by forming political and economic coalitions to better bargain with the world powers and the international business monopolies.
Israel, the US, and the Middle East
November 13, 1984At the time of this lecture, Issachar Katzir was the Consul General of Israel for the Southeastern United States. Katzir served in the Israeli Defense Forces from 1952-1955 and was named Director of the Sephardic Federation of London in 1975. Katzir was then named the Deputy Director General of the 1,000,000 Sephardic Jews in the Diaspora (living outside Africa).
SPRING 1985
Sixteenth Section Land Problem and Public Education
February 5, 1985At the time of his lecture, Dick Molpus was the Secretary of State of Mississippi.
The Board of Trustees and Recent Decisions Concerning Higher Education in Mississippi
February 12, 1985At the time of his lecture, E.E. Thrash was the Executive Secretary and Director of the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher learning. In his lecture, he spoke about the responsibilities of the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning and outlined the number of major decisions made in the years leading up to 1985.
Liberty and Justice … For All?
February 26, 1985Mary Frances Berry is a historian who spoke about history and laws from a black perspective. She served as a commissioner on the US Commission on Civil Rights and was vice chairperson from 1980-82. She also served as United States Assistant Secretary for Education in the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.
ESP and Psychic Phenomena
March 19, 1985Carl Bender is a mathematician who is a professor of Physics at Washington University. He was, at the time of his lecture, a scientific consultant at the Los Alamos National Laboratory.
Life in the Theater with Joshua Logan
April 2, 1985Joshua Logan was a Pulitzer Prize winning playwright who co-authored South Pacific with Oscar Hammerstein II.
The Dark Side of the Computer Age
April 9, 1985Robert Ellis Smith was a lawyer and former journalist who wrote about the impact of technology on the rights of the American people and the struggle of the individual against the institution.
Bloods: An Oral History of the Vietnam War by Black Veterans
April 23, 1985Wallace Terry was a journalist and historian whose oral history, Bloods, explored the black experience in Vietnam.
1985-1986 |
FALL 1985
Technology: Development and Transfer in the 1980s
September 24, 1985G. David Huffman came to USM in 1984 as the Dean of the College of Science and Technology. He was the Chair and a professor of Computer Science at Purdue University who worked with NASA.
The Sleeping Brain
October 1, 1985John R. Harsh was a professor of psychology who won national and international acclaim for his research on the sleeping brain.
Changes in the Societal Perceptions of Women as Visionaries: Implications for Social, Economic, and Political Development
October 8, 1985Shirley J. Jones was the dean of USM’s Graduate School of Social Work at the time as well as a delegate to the White House Conference on the Aged in 1981. She attended the United Nations International Women’s Conference in Kenya to gather information for a book titled Women from La Mancha
Musical Improvisation, Musical Composition: Is There a Difference?
October 15, 1985Luigi Zaninelli was a music professor with over two hundred published works at the time of the program. He had commissioned pieces for the Seattle Symphony, the New Orleans Symphony, and the Calgary Philharmonic.
Ethical Dilemmas in Health Promotion
October 22, 1985At the time, S. Eugene Barnes served as the Assistant to the Vice President for Research and Extended Services as well as the Chair of USM’s Department of Health and Public Safety. Barnes was a widely recognized authority on public health issues such as the effects of tobacco, alcohol, and drugs.
Yet Som Men Say … That Kynge Arthure ys Nat Dede
November 5, 1985Charles Moorman was associated with the university’s English department and was a medievalist, member of the International Arthurian Society. He was also an editor of the Chaucer Variorum, a computer-assisted editorial project sponsored by the New Chaucer Society.
Law in International Society
November 12, 1985James H. Wolfe was a political science professor at USM who co-authored a textbook on international relations, Introduction to International Relations: Power and Justice. He was also International Affairs editor for USA Today and conducted researcher in Great Britain and Cyprus, commissioned by the US State Department, for the purpose of analyzing Greek and Turkish proposals to create a Federal Republic of Cyprus.
Dimensions of Giftedness
November 19, 1985Frances A. Karnes was the director of the Center for Gifted Studies and was best known for her work on the education of the gifted and talented.
SPRING 1986
Health Fraud and Quackery
February 12, 1986Director of the National Council Against Health Fraud
Activism for Wellness: Fighting Consumer Health Fraud
February 25, 1986Columnist specializing in health fraud
Concepts of Self-Wellness/ Concepts of Wellness
March 4-5, 1986o William McBain Kizer, CEO Central States Health and Life Company of Omaha. Founder of Wellness Council of the Midlands. – Directions for Wellness
o Kathy King Helm, nutrition consultant. – Major Controversies Regarding Nutrition: Methods of Assessment and Mobilization
o Carolyn Williams, Dean of the College of Nursing at UK. Community health. – Realities in Disease Prevention: Assessment of Fast-Cure Programs for Chronic Illness
o Charles Corbin, fitness ed. Prof at Arizona State. – Physical Fitness: Major Fallacies; How to Evaluate Fitness Programs and Products
The Making of An Opera
January 28, 1986Composer
Oh, Mr. Faulkner, Do You Write?
February 3, 1986One-man show about Faulkner.
Aspects of Art and Art Criticism
February 19, 1986New York Critic and historian. Artist.
March 25, 1986
No specific name given.
April 8, 1986
No specific name given.
Modern Campaign Techniques: A Cynic’s View
April 15, 1986Journalist, editor of the Washington Monthly. Former member of the WV Legislature.
The Political Persuaders: The Techniques of Modern Election Campaigns, Political Communication, and Public Opinion in America
April 22, 1986Political scientist, commented on the nature of campaigning from the viewpoint of academic research.
1986-1987 |
FALL 1986
Science, Technology, and Change
September 23, 1986James Burke is a British science historian and broadcaster who worked as a writer and producer for the BBC. He hosted “The Burke Special” and won a Royal Television Society Gold Medal in 1973.
An Evening with Margaret Avery
October 7, 1986Margaret Avery is an actress who was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Shug in The Color Purple. She discussed the making of the film and Hollywood from the perspective of a black actress.
Will South Africa Survive?
October 21, 1986Helen Suzman was an anti-apartheid Member of Parliament in South Africa whose struggle against apartheid won her election to Parliament as a member of the Progressive Party. She was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1981, 1982, 1983, and 1984.
Response to Revolution: Central America and the Philippines
October 28, 1986Ray Bonner is an investigative journalist who, at the time of his lecture, was a freelance journalist who wrote about US-Philippines relations. He examined US policy toward third world dictators and analyzed the clash between America’s human rights and democratic values and its security interests.
Traditions of the New
November 11, 1986Susan Sontag was a novelist, short-story writer, critic, cultural essayist, and film director.
Love, Vodka, Laughter, Tears: A Look at Soviet Life Under the Surface
December 2, 1886Dr. George Feifer presented a discussion about what life would be like for college students in the Soviet Union. The Forum also featured a three-hour “open-house” of Soviet television with commentary from Feifer and before his lecture.
SPRING 1987
A World I Never Made
February 3, 1987James Baldwin was a novelist and activist who was a spokesman for the Civil Rights movement. He was the grandson of a slave who grew up in Harlem.
In Search of Our Origins
February 17, 1987Donald Johnson is a paleoanthropologist who startled the anthropological world in 1974 Tanzania when he discovered the oldest, most complete human ancestor fossil found at the time, Lucy. Following his discovery of Lucy, he found additional fossils, thirteen, popularly called the First Family. He was also the founding Director of the Institute of Human Origins in Berkeley.
Living with the Bomb
February 24, 1987At the time of his lecture, Paul Loeb was a free-lance writer, best known for books about how Americans cope with the threat of nuclear war.
Re-Reading the Culture
March 17, 1987Vivian Gornick is a Feminist writer and cultural historian whose lecture presented a look at how people form their ideas about what is and what is not natural.
Educating for Change in the People’s Republic of China
March 31, 1987Dr. Xie Xide was the President of Fudan University in Shanghai at the time and was a leading figure in higher education in China. She served on the Central Committee of People’s Republic of China and hosted President Reagan during his visit to China.
Continuity and Change in Southern Culture
April 21, 1987At the time of his lecture, Dr. William Havard was a Scholar of the south and served as the editor of the Journal of Politics. His lecture focused on continuity and change in Southern culture, identifying the main features of Southern distinctiveness from the American culture in general.
1987-88 |
FALL 1987
A View from 10 Downing Street
September 22, 1987First visit to USM was in 1978. This was his second Forum lecture.
The Iran-Contra Scandal: Some Lessons
September 29, 1987
Noam Chomsky is a linguist and a scholar in world politics and cultural linguistics.
Rock and Roll Confidential
October 13, 1987Dave Marsh is a music critic who served as the associate editor of Rolling Stone in 1975 and was a music biographer. He focused on links between rock music and society and his most well-known book is Born To Run: The Bruce Springsteen Story.
Social Welfare in the United States: In Search of Solutions
October 27, 1987Elanor Holmes Norton was a professor of law at Georgetown at the time. She was the first woman to chair the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and administered Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the Equal Pay Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act. She is highly regarded for her work in developing equal employment law and policy.
AIDS and Epidemiology: How to Stop a Killer
November 17, 1987Dr. Bruce Dull was one of the leading authorities on AIDS at the time and a former Assistant Director of the CDC.
The Intellectual World of the Founding Fathers
December 1, 1987Forrest McDonald was a noted historian, chosen by the National Endowment for the Humanities to deliver the 1987 Jefferson Lecture in DC as well as a finalist for a 1986 Pulitzer Prize.
SPRING 1988
The Creative Process
January 26, 1988Ze’Eva Cohen is an internationally acclaimed dancer, choreographer, and was, at the time, director of the Princeton Dance Program. A guest of the Theatre and Dance program.
A Nobel Laureate Speaks Out on World Peace
February 2, 1988Betty Williams was the winner of the 1977 Nobel Peace Prize with Mairead Corrigan as well as a winner of the International League of Human Rights Medal for Courage for her work in Northern Ireland. She witnessed the killing of an Irish Republican army gunman and three innocent children and organized 200 women in a march for peace. Co-founder of the Community of Peace People.
Literature and Culture of the West Indies
February 9, 1988At the time of this lecture, Mervyn E. Morris was a Caribbean poet and an influential cultural analyst.
Part of the Black History Month celebration.
The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence
March 1, 1988Frank Drake is an American astronomer and, at the time of his lecture, was the Dean of Natural Sciences and a professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at UC Santa Cruz. He is well-known for his belief that life exists elsewhere and is a leading authority on methods for the detection of extraterrestrial intelligence signals. He began with Project OZMA.
Jointly sponsored with Sigma Xi scientific research fraternity which he was a member of.
The Economic Status of Women in America: How do We Compare with Women in Other Countries?
March 22, 1988At the time of her lecture, Dr. Sylvia Hewlett was an economics professor at Sarah Lawrence and, at one time, the executive director of the Economic Policy Council as well as Vice President for Economic Studies at the United Nations Association. The topic of her lecture was questioning the contemporary theory that women could, at the time, “do it all.”
Cosponsored by the Women’s History Month Committee.
Apartheid and the Tragedy of South Africa
April 5, 1988Donald Woods was a South African journalist and anti-apartheid activist who was exiled by the South African government and placed under house arrest for his writings as editor of the leading anti-apartheid newspaper, the East London Daily Dispatch. Woods published the details of the death of his friend, Steve Biko, and became the first private citizen to address the United Nations Security Council.
1988-89 |
FALL 1988
Why Human Equality is a Contingent Fact of History
September 13, 1988At the time of his lecture, Stephen Jay Gould was a professor of zoology and the curator of Invertebrate Paleontology at Harvard University. He was a paleontologist and evolutionary theorist who contributed to our understanding about evolution.
On the Presidential Election
September 20, 1988Helen Thomas was a reporter best known for her membership in the White House press corps. She was the first woman officer of both the National Press Club and the White House Correspondents’ Association.
The Making of the Atomic Bomb
October 11, 1988Richard Rhodes is a historian, author, and novelist who won a Pulitzer Prize for his novel, The Making of the Atomic Bomb about the men who fashioned the atomic bomb.
Education in America
October 25, 1988Dr. Ernest Boyer was, at the time of his lecture, the president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching at Princeton University. He served as the 23rd US Commissioner of Education and was a member of the national education commissions for Presidents Nixon, Ford, and Carter.
Who Killed JFK?
November 22, 1988Bob Katz was one of the founders of the Assassination Information Bureau, an organization that monitored the 1978 Congressional investigation into the murder of President Kennedy. He asserted that neither Oswald nor Ruby acted alone and used the now famous Zapruder film as evidence.
Environmental Issues of the Next Century
December 6, 1988At the time of his lecture, Dr. Barry Commoner was a prominent environmental scientist who directed the Center for the Biology of Natural Systems at CUNY. He was a politician and among the leaders of the modern environmental movement.
SPRING 1989
The Bush Transition in Historical Context
January 24, 1989At the time of his lecture, Dr. Carl Brauer was the Director of the Public/Private Careers Project at the Center for Business and Government at Harvard. He was also a historian and the author of Presidential Transitions: Eisenhower Through Reagan.
The Naked Truth: Advertising’s Image of Women
January 31, 1989Dr. Jean Kilbourne is a writer and filmmaker who is an internationally known authority on the media and sex roles.
Wynton Marsalis and the Wynton Marsalis Quintet (Concert)
February 28, 1989Wynton Marsalis is a jazz trumpeter and a member of the famed Marsalis family.
His appearance was part of the Black History Month celebration and cosponsored by the Afro-American Student Organization and the College of the Arts.
Understanding Christian Fundamentalism
March 21, 1989Dr. Mark Taylor is a philosopher of religion and a cultural critic who, at the time of his lecture, was the Director of the Center for the Humanities and Social Sciences at Williams College.
The State of American Music
April 4, 1989Gunther Schuller was a composer, conductor, recording artist, and teacher who, at one point, was the president of the New England Conservatory of Music. He was also a member of the Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Institute of Arts and Letters.
A Soviet’s Perspective on American literature and Culture
April 11, 1989At the time of his lecture, Dr. Anastasiev was one of the Soviet Union’s leading authorities on American literature.
1989-90 |
FALL 1989
Sports, Gambling, and the Mob
September 19, 1989Dan Moldea is an author and investigative journalist whose specialty since 1974 has been organized crime. Moldea was the author of the Hoffa Wars, a novel that presented the idea that Hoffa and two mafia figures probably played a role in the JFK assassination. Moldea also claimed that promoters of illegal gambling on the NFL take in more than $25 billion annually and that it was the mafia’s second greatest source of income.
Vietnam: How Could this War Have Happened?
September 26, 1989Neil Sheehan is a journalist who won a Pulitzer Prize for A Bright and Shining Lie: John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam. He was a war correspondent in Vietnam and was the reporter that helped Daniel Ellsberg leak the classified Pentagon Papers in 1971.
The Way Things Work: Creativity and Technology
October 10, 1989David Macaulay is a world-renowned author and illustrator whose works include Cathedral, The Way Things Work, and The New Way Things Work.
The Cold Fusion Controversy and the Ethics of Scientific Discovery
October 17, 1989Dr. Park helped scientists and lay people understand the Cold Fusion controversy and was the founding editor of Applications of Surface Science.
Life and Death in China: Reflections on the Struggle for Democracy
November 14, 1989Nien Cheng was a Chinese exile in America whose husband held office in China before beginning to work for Shell. Cheng herself became an executive for Shell in 1957 and served with the company until 1966. During the Cultural Revolution, a group of Red Guards ransacked her home and arrested her. She remained in solitary confinement for six years and was a political prisoner. She recounted her experiences in her memoir, Life and Death in Shanghai.
Teenage Pregnancy: A Crisis in America
November 28, 1989At the time of her lecture, Faye Wattleton was the first African American and youngest president ever elected of Planned Parenthood. She is best known for her contributions to family planning, reproductive health, and the pro-choice movement.
SPRING 1990
The American Economy: What You Should Worry About, and What You Shouldn’t
January 30, 1990Paul Solomon is a journalist who specializes in business and economics. He has been the business and economics correspondent for PBS NewsHour since 1985 and rose to prominence as the executive editor of Enterprise.
This lecture was the first for the Boardman Business Forum and was cosponsored by the Honors College and the College of Business Administration.
A True Story of Growing Up in Apartheid South Africa
February 13, 1990Mark Mathabane is a South African author and former collegiate tennis player. Mathabane was discovered by 1972 Wimbeldon champion Stan Smith. The rights to Mathabane’s 1986 autobiography, Kaffir Boy, were purchased by Oprah in hopes of adapting the novel into a film.
Mathabane’s appearance was co-sponsored by the African American History Month Committee.
Making Music on Micros: Music in the Age of Computers
February 20, 1990At the time of his appearance, Dr. Hofstetter was a leading authority on the subject of computers and music. He was a pioneer in the use of computers for musical composition and music education.
Dr. Hofstetter’s appearance was sponsored by IBM as part of its Consulting Scholars Program.
Sex, Monogamy, Adultery, Divorce: Where Did We Come From? Where Are We Going?
March 20, 1990Dr. Helen Fisher is an anthropologist who, at the time of her lecture, was a regular guest on television in the 80s and 90s about human sexual behavior and the future of relations between the sexes.
Dr. Fisher’s visit was co-sponsored by the USM Committee on Services and Resources for Women.
If You Love This Planet
March 27, 1990Dr. Helen Caldicott is an Australian pediatrician, author, and anti-nuclear advocate. She is best known for her leadership in the movement to end the nuclear arms race and has founded several associations dedicated to opposing the use of nuclear power. She was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 1985.
Concert
April 17, 1990Michael Doucet is a singer-songwriter who founded the Cajun band BeauSoleil. At the time of their appearance, the band opened for The Grateful Dead. Their appearance featured a crawfish boil on the lawn of Bennett Auditorium before the concert.
Their appearance was co-sponsored by the College of the Arts.