The Farquhar College of Arts and Science’ Faculty Lecture Series will begin on Sept. 19 at 5 p.m. with the first of 10 lectures based on the 2013-2014 academic theme, “Good and Evil.”
The annual series allows students to hear from full-time faculty members in the Farquhar College and explores the faculty’s areas of study, including art, humanities and science.
The first lecture will include the premier of a short documentary based on environmental research conducted by Eileen Smith-Cavros, associate director in the Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences. It will be held in the Second Floor Gallery of the Alvin Sherman Library.
Smith-Cavros, along with Edward O. Keith, associate professor in Farquhar and the Oceanographic Center who passed away in 2012, studied the extinction of manatees and its impact on the local population in Veracruz, Mexico. She made three trips between 2010 and 2011, two of which included several NSU undergraduate students.
“We interviewed elder rural farmers and fishermen in a small village whose lives have greatly changed since the 1950s,” said Smith-Cavros. “In the past few decades, the lagoon ecosystem they live in has changed a lot.”
These people, known as “campesinos”, once relied on manatees as a source of food and medicine. Their lives have changed for the worse, she says, but they remain resilient, which she hopes the film will convey as an encouraging message.
“I hope the film inspires NSU students to continue to do research with faculty and also to do their own research projects,” said Smith-Cavros.
Smith-Cavros and sociology major Guadalupe Almanza directed the documentary, which is narrated in Spanish by associate professor Jessica Garcia-Brown, but has English subtitles.
Following the film, Smith-Cavros will discuss the film, and address related environmental issues in her lecture, titled “Laguna Manati: Can ‘Good’ Arise from ‘Bad’ Environmental Changes?”
“There are a lot of aspects to the theme of good and evil, so one way or another, people will be interested,” said Valentin Frias, sophomore Biology major.
Dean of the Farquhar College Don Rosenblum, said that the “good” and “bad” dichotomy in her lecture will exemplify the academic theme, which should invite conversation and debate about intention and consequences in science and other subjects.
“The concepts of good and evil are broadly presented in literature and the daily news,” Rosenblum said. “Using it as our annual theme helps students and faculty relates the larger world to daily class experiences.”¬¬¬
On Oct. 17 from noon to 1 p.m., Timothy Dixon, associate professors in the Division of Humanities, will speak about another global example of good and evil. His lecture “Good and Evil in the Arab Spring,” about the uprisings of 2012, will cover the overthrown regimes and social upheaval in the Middle East over the past few years.
On Oct. 31, Barbara Brodman, professor in the Division of Humanities, will discuss the good and evil of vampires, from the monsters of European stories to the popular characters of the “Twilight” book and movie franchise.
Her lecture will explore the evolution of vampire symbolism and the changes in society that have resulted from their presence in the literary sphere.
The free lectures are open to all NSU students, faculty and staff, and light refreshments will be served. For the complete lecture schedule, visit fcas.nova.edu/faculty/publications. For more information, contact James Doan, professor in the Division of Humanities, at 954-262-8207.
