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Printer-Friendly Mode'05 Dow Lecture Series schedule announced
10th anniversary of Series will focus on popular culture, popular arts; seven performances planned
August 25, 2005 —
Popular culture is the topic of the 2005 Dow Visiting Scholars and Artists Lecture Series at SVSU. The series begins on Wednesday, Oct. 12, and will conclude Tuesday, Nov. 15.
Dr. Carlos Ramet, executive assistant to the President, is the coordinator of the series, which began in 1996 and is now in its 10th year.
As coordinator, he helps lead an advisory committee composed of faculty members that try to identify a topic provocative enough to be engaging, yet one capable of being examined through the prism of different disciplines.
The committee works on developing a topic a full year before there will be any speakers or presentations.
"We try to identify a topic with broad appeal that is also relevant," Ramet says.
This year, there will be five speakers as part of the series, "Popular Culture and the Popular Arts."
In addition, there will be a jazz recital, and the third annual Hoffmann/Willertz Memorial Lecture, to be given this year by John Jezierski, a longtime professor in the history department.
The first speaker, Isabel Allende, addresses the University on Oct. 12 at 7 p.m. in the Performing Arts Theatre.
"Stories and Dreams: An Evening with Isabel Allende" will show her providing the audience with some of her stories of magic and dreams. Allende, who was forced into exile from her native Chile after her uncle, President Salvador Allende, was assassinated, has won numerous awards and distinctions throughout her literary career.
"We are bringing in someone who practices an art form to lead off the series," Ramet says.
The second speaker, Stephen Hocquard, talks to the campus on Thursday, Oct. 20 at 4 p.m. in Founders Hall.
Currently assistant vice president for Campus Facilities, he plans to address the campus in "What Can Buildings Tell Us? Defining Popular Culture Through Architecture."
Hocquard, who has spent half of his career in the architecture private sector in Michigan and Colorado, has been responsible for more than $200 million in construction projects on campus.
Wednesday, Oct. 26 at 1 p.m. will bring renowned artist Gladys Nilsson to the Rhea Miller Recital Hall.
Nilsson is a well-known artist from the 1960s, and she will give a speech entitled "Personal Foibles: A Pursuit of Amuse from Pillar to Post."
Some of Nilsson's work will be displayed Oct. 3 to Oct. in the University Art Gallery, and this international artist will also spend a week in residence, along with students and the community.
Ramet also acknowledges that the artist may use the scheduled time here for more creative purposes.
"She may create some art while she is here," Ramet says, which means the campus may get the opportunity to witness the revolutionary watercolor artist in action.
The fourth performance is a deviation from the traditional lecture format.
Jazz singer Shirlene Zarin-Taj will perform with Jeff Hall, saxophonist, who is currently this year's Artist in Residence.
On Saturday, Oct. 29 at 7 p.m. in the Rhea Miller Recital Hall, the two will perform "The Top of the Pops: A Saturday Night Jazz Recital."
Zarin-Taj is an SVSU graduate, and she has sung with musicians Phil Mattson, Dr, Michael Nayor, and Kenneth Duquaine. Hall has toured with Great Lakes Express, a jazz-fusion band, as well as the more traditional jazz group Method.
Speaker number five is Derrick Ashong, a native of Ghana.
His lecture, "Go Platinum or Go Home: Pop Culture and the Killing of Cool," looks at the downside of pop culture; it will take place Wednesday, Nov. 2 at 7 p.m. in the Rhea Miller Recital Hall.
Ashong, who was featured in the slave-rebellion epic Amistad, has also established his own record label, as well as currently being a Ph.D. candidate at Harvard in African American Studies and Ethnomusicology.
He has lived in New York City, attended school in Saudi Arabia, and he will examine popular images and messages in youth culture and detail consumerism in the popular arts.
Writer Pico Iyer gives the sixth presentation, "The Global Soul: Popular Culture and Our Changing Lives," on Tuesday, Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. in the Performing Arts Theatre.
Iyer, "the poet laureate of wanderlust," was born in England to Indian parents, grew up in California, and now resides in Japan. The author of seven books, much of Iyer's work addresses globalization, cross-cultural romance, and differences among world cultures.
"Iyer takes the international approach to popular culture, and he tries to define it," Ramet says.
Ramet also pointed out an example of Iyer's work might be to address the meaning and significance of a McDonald's in Tokyo, which would be considered much more normal compared to one in Middle America.
The final lecture, the Third Annual Hoffman/Willertz Memorial Lecture, is a summation and response to the previous stories.
History professor John Jezierski will give a presentation entitled "A Popular Vision: 19th Century Photography and the Mass Media."
Jezierski, whose specialties include the history of Michigan and early America, has produced several publications, including Enterprising Images, which received a Historical Society of Michigan Award of Merit.
The Hoffmann/Willertz Memorial Lecture honors two of the history department's pioneer faculty.
Like the previous two years, the Hoffmann/Willertz presenter tries to include their own teaching and research experience alongside the general theme of the series.
Much of Jezierski's research deals with popular media and the history of photography, which ties into to the lecture series, as Ramet points out.
"In part, the professor's expertise helps us define our topic for the fall," he says.
Support for the series is provided by the Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Visiting Scholars and Academic Development Endowment. This year's Series will also be sponsored by the Student Life Center, Diversity Programs, and the College of Arts and Behavioral Sciences
All events are free of charge, and are open to the public.