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Pinker to inaugurate Kurtz Lecture Series
Steve Pinker, the über-eminent and multiple award-winning cognitive scientist with rocker hair and a populist touch, will inaugurate the Department of Philosophy’s new Paul Kurtz Lecture Series on Dec. 2.
Pinker, the Johnstone Family Professor in the Harvard University Department of Psychology, will present “A History of Violence” at 4 p.m. in the Screening Room, Center for the Arts, North Campus.
The lecture is free and open to the public. But get there early.
Pinker usually plays to packed houses, in large part due to what science scholar and journalist Robert Wright calls “his ability to convey complex ideas with clarity, flair and wit.” This also is why his highly regarded academic books routinely are found on The New York Times best-seller lists.
Contradicting what he calls “the treacle that we often teach our children” about a historical past defined largely by peace and harmony, Pinker will chart the decline of violence from Biblical times to the present day, which he defines as “the most peaceful time in our species' existence.”
“Though it may seem illogical and even obscene, given Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, Iraq, Ruanda and Darfur,” Pinker says, “it is true.”
A Canadian-American experimental psychologist, psycholinguist and author of popular science, Pinker was named one of TIME magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world in 2004.
The Paul Kurtz lecture series has been endowed by Kurtz, professor emeritus of philosophy at UB and a national figure in the philosophical field. Like Pinker, he is both eminent and controversial, a populist who has made a significant mark in his field.
Often referred to as “the father of secular humanism,” Kurtz is best known for his prominence in the American skeptical community. He is founder and past chair of the Center for Inquiry Transnational and its federated organizations, including the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and the Council for Secular Humanism. The New York Times called him “a skeptic of everything but fact.”
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Print Sale scheduled
The Department of Visual Studies will hold its 15th annual Print Sale from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Nov. 18 in the atrium of the Center for the Arts, North Campus.
Admission is free.
The sale, titled “Works via Photons?” will feature original artist prints by UB students and alumni. Proceeds will support student research and scholarship in print media.
For further information, contact Jeff Sherven at 645-0556 or jsherven@buffalo.edu.
TransAmericas group to hold first meeting
The TransAmericas Research Workshop, a new Humanities Institute working group, will hold its inaugural meeting on Nov. 30 and invites scholars and students interested in Latin American, Latina/o and Caribbean studies to attend.
The meeting will take place from noon to 1:30 p.m. in 1004 Clemens Hall, North Campus.
The mission of the TransAmericas group is to bring together people throughout the university and across disciplines who are interested in a hemispheric approach to Latin American, Latina/o and Caribbean studies.
Those attending the first meeting will discuss recent works by Jill Lane, Adrian Perez Melgoza and Mary Louise Pratt, who have developed innovative perspectives on the critical study of race and gender in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Readings are available by contacting Camilo Trumper, assistant professor of American studies, who is coordinating the group with Dalia Muller, assistant professor of history.
During the spring semester, the group plans to host noted scholars of Latin America, Latina/o and Caribbean studies who study the relationship between race, gender and politics from a cross-disciplinary, transnational perspective.
Efforts paying off to make Heights ‘greener’
An initiative to educate residents in the neighborhood around the South Campus about the benefits of recycling is paying off, thanks to the efforts of UB’s Off Campus Student Services, UB Green and the UB Honors College.
Last summer of 2010, member of the three UB organizations conducted a survey of recycling practices among residents in the University Heights neighborhood from Bailey and LaSalle avenues to Kenmore and Englewood avenues, and found that at that time, 488 recycling bins were in use in the neighborhood.
The groups embarked upon an education campaign, distributing information to all residents about the city of Buffalo’s recycling program and other sustainable habits.
Blue recycling bins were made available during the UB Neighbors Block Party and Safety Fair held Sept. 5, with more than 200 distributed to participants. In October, students from the Honors College went door to door to ask residents if they were in need of a recycling bin, resulting in an additional 150 distributed to households throughout the neighborhood. Residents also were asked to sign a pledge to recycle, provided with recycling instructions and reminded of the importance of participating in the city’s recycling program.
As of Oct. 28, the use of recycling bins had increased by nearly 50 percent, thanks to the UB initiative.
UB will continue to encourage recycling and other “green” efforts throughout the spring, and will continue to distribute recycling bins through it Office of Off-Campus Student Services. In addition, UB will work with students leaving campus at the end of the academic year to donate furniture and appliances to area charities.
Music offers free concerts
The Department of Music will offer a variety of free events in December for budget-conscious music lovers.
The monthly Brown Bag Concert will take place at noon on Dec. 7 on the stage of Lippes Concert Hall in Slee Hall, North Campus.
Now in its 12th year, the Brown Bag Concert Series is designed to showcase the talents of UB music students and faculty. The series of free, informal concerts presented over the lunch hour allows patrons to catch a glimpse of the kind of programming offered on a regular basis by the Department of Music. Participants are invited to bring their lunch and enjoy complimentary Tim Hortons coffee. Each attendee will receive a pair of complimentary tickets for a more formal concert within the following month.
Rounding out the free music events for November is a number of student recitals and performances by student ensembles. All are free and open to the public:
- Student Chamber Music Concert: 7:30 p.m., Dec. 2, Baird Recital Hall, 250 Baird Hall, North Campus.
- MusB Degree Recital: Equasia Jennings, soprano, 7:30 p.m., Dec. 3 at Baird Recital Hall.
- UB Saxophone Ensemble; Harry Fackelman, conductor, 3 p.m., Dec. 4, Baird Recital Hall.
- UB Transatlantic Ensemble: Moshe Shulman, director, 7:30 p.m., Dec. 4 Lippes Concert Hall.
- MM Degree Recital: Susan Carter, clarinet, 7:30 p.m., Dec. 7, Lippes Concert Hall.
- Plosion, UB’s flute ensemble: Barry Crawford, director, noon, Dec. 8, Baird Recital Hall.
- UB Choir and Chorus: Harold Rosenbaum, conductor, 7:30 p.m., Dec. 8, Lippes Concert Hall.
- On the Edge Concert: Students of Jean Kopperud, 3 p.m., Dec. 9, Baird Recital Hall.
- UB Contemporary Ensemble: Tom Kolor, conductor, 7:30 p.m., Dec. 9, Lippes Concert Hall.
- UB Symphony Orchestra: Daniel Bassin, conductor, 7:30 p.m., Dec. 10, Lippes Concert Hall.
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