Lecture Preview
Title: Journeys Lecture Series — “Science, Exploration, and Emotion”
The Basics: Jay Apt, a former NASA astronaut who is now an associate research professor in the Tepper School of Business, will discuss how emotional and rational ways of thinking continue to guide his professional life. Apt believes that while many people divorce science from exploration, the two are inextricably intertwined. Apt served as an astronaut on four shuttle missions and two space walks. He also co-authored the best-selling book Orbit: NASA Astronauts Photograph the Earth (National Geographic, 2003).
When: Monday at 4:30 p.m.
Where: Adamson Wing (Baker Hall 136A)
Title: “Strategic Challenges in the Middle East”
The Basics: General John Abizaid, former commander for the U.S Central Command, will speak on his experiences as a commander in the Middle East, the Horn of Africa, and Central Asia. Units under his command included the 1st Infantry Division, a brigade in the 82nd Airborne Division, and two Ranger companies. Serving from 1973 to 2007, Abizaid is the longest-serving commander of U.S. Central Command. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the International Institute for Strategic Studies. Abizaid is currently president of his own international security consulting firm, JPA Partners, LLC, which advises corporations and public agencies.
When: Wednesday at 10:30 a.m.
Where: Rangos 1, University Center
Title: “The Steel Cocoon: Tales of the Doctors, Nurses, and Patients of the Iron Lung, 1928–1955”
The Basics: Lynne M. Dunphy, Routhier Endowed Chair of Practice and Professor of Nursing, University of Rhode Island, will discuss the ways in which polio survivors in the early 20th century embraced the mechanical apparatus associated with their disease by confronting a cultural stigma. American antipathy to these assistive devices meant that polio survivors often had to overcome an emotional and psychological resistance to using them.
When: Thursday at 6 p.m.
Where: Lecture Room 5, Scaife Hall, University of Pittsburgh campus
Title: “The Wal-Mart Effect”
The Basics: Charles Fishman, award-winning journalist and author of The Wal-Mart Effect, will discuss the ways in which Wal-Mart drives America’s economy, what it means to be considered the most powerful and influential company in the world, and what the company’s current and potential effects on globalization could be. Fishman will focus on how Wal-Mart affects the prices we pay and the products we buy, and on the other end, the lives of the factory workers who make these products.
This lecture is the 2007 International Festival keynote address.
When: Friday at 12:30 p.m.
Where: Rangos Ballroom, University Center
Title: “University Lecture Series — Mechanization, the Enlightenment, and the Industrial Revolution in Britain”
The Basics: Joel Mokyr, the Robert H. Strotz Professor of Arts and Sciences and professor of economics and history at Northwestern University, will discuss the impact of mechanization on economic and social developments in Britain. The lecture will focus on the history of mechanical devices and how they have shaped intellectual and physical labor important to Britain’s development during this period.
This lecture is co-sponsored by the Humanities Center.
When: Friday at 4:30 p.m.
Where: Adamson Wing (Baker Hall 136A)