Marxist-Socialist Studies Series (Controversy Series) Announces Fall ’07 Schedule
Contact: Doug Allen, 581-3860; George Manlove, 581-3756
ORONO — The Marxist-Socialist Studies fall speaker series at the University of Maine includes a full agenda of controversial topics over the next few months, ranging from child soldiers in Uganda to the Iraq war, and including discussions about healthcare, education and prisons.
Lectures are held Thursdays from 12:30-1:45 p.m. in the Bangor Room of the Memorial Union, unless otherwise noted, and are free and open to the public. The Marxist-Socialist Studies lecture series is sponsored by the Marxist-Socialist Studies Interdisciplinary Minor and co-sponsored by Maine Peace Action Committee (MPAC) and Campus Activities and Events, with support from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Speakers do not necessarily present socialist or Marxist viewpoints. For additional information, contact Professor Doug Allen, coordinator, Marxist-Socialist Studies, at 581-3860 or by e-mail: douglas.allen@umit.maine.edu.
The schedule is as follows:
Sept. 20
“Ending Child Soldiering: Building A Culture of Peace in Northern Uganda,” with Arthur Serota, a UMaine graduate and executive director of United Movement to End Child Soldiering based in Uganda; Serota has worked in many African nations, and writes and lectures on community development, peace building, education, racism and social justice; (Totman Room)
Sept. 27
“The Iraq War and Occupation: What Is To Be Done?” with Professor Doug Allen, Peace & Justice Center of Eastern Maine and MPAC, giving a brief presentation on why U.S. funds for occupation of Iraq should be ended and troops removed as quickly as possible; following the talk, the forum will open for questions and expressing diverse points of view
Oct. 4
“‘Sicko’ Comes to Maine: How The U.S. Healthcare System Is Killing Us,” with Peter Millard, a family doctor and epidemiologist; Millard belongs to Physicians for a National Health Program, which sees access to decent healthcare for all Americans as an issue of justice and equality
Oct. 11
“Written in Blood and Fire: ‘Primitive Accumulation’ and the History of Capitalism,” with Professor Marcus Rediker, distinguished historian at the University of Pittsburgh, who writes “history from below” and is author of many books, the most recent being The Slave Ship: A Human History; Rediker also will deliver the Howard B. Schonberger Peace and Social Justice Lecture at 7:30 p.m. in 100 Donald P. Corbett Hall.
Oct. 18
“Prisons and Democracy,” with David Matlin, a San Diego State University professor and novelist, poet, prison activist and author of Prisons: Inside the New America from Vernooykill Creek to Abu Ghraib; Matlin also will read from his fiction as part of the New Writing Series on Thursday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. in 100 Neville Hall.
Oct. 25
“Violence and Education: Why Universities Are Very Violent Institutions,” with Professor Doug Allen, philosophy
Nov. 1
“The Growing Surveillance Society: New Threats to Our Civil Liberties, Freedom, and Democracy,” with Shenna Bellows, the executive director of the Maine Civil Liberties Union; (Totman Room)
Nov. 8
“Achieving a Carbon-Free Society without Nuclear Energy,” by Arjun Makhijani, Ph.D., director of the Environmental and Energy Institute in Maryland and author of many books and articles; Makhijani is the major speaker at the Sierra Club’s annual dinner in Maine
Nov. 15
“Record Profits at Any Cost: Exxonmobil, Hyper-Capitalism, and the Destruction of The Ecosystem,” with Tom Jackson, widely acclaimed independent filmmaker of Greetings from Missile Street on Iraq and other documentaries; he’ll show his latest film on climate change, Out of Balance, at 7 p.m. in 140 Little Hall. (Jackson’s website is at www.joepublicfilms.com; (Totman Room)