University Forum is a free public lecture series sponsored by the UNLV College of Liberal Arts and underwritten by The Jerry Kalafatis Lodge Charitable Foundation and the UNLV Foundation. Unless otherwise noted, the following lectures will be held at 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the Marjorie Barrick Museum of Natural History, located on the UNLV campus.
March 1
"Intelligent Design: A Unique View of Globalization and Science"
Gunther Stent, Professor Emeritus and founder of the program in molecular and cell biology at the University of California at Berkley, will discuss the recent revival of the religious doctrine intelligent design. During his lecture he will discuss that while the doctrine of natural selection continues to prevail, its long-term viability is in question and how science may have already outrun its Darwinian foundation.
March 9
"Producing and Consuming Sexual Desire: Workers, Customers and Strip Club Culture"
Danielle Egan, professor of sociology at St. Lawrence University and Katherine Frank, professor of sociology at University of Wisconsin-Madison will host a presentation focused on uncovering the complex interactions that take place inside exotic dance clubs. The relationship between flesh and fantasy, production and consumption, and desire and power within this popular but controversial industry will be discussed. The relationships of these topics to Las Vegas and America's highly saturated media culture will also be analyzed. This event is co-sponsored by the department of sociology, women's studies department, media studies, department of counseling and the Women's Research Institute of Nevada.
March 20
"Getting It Right and Getting It Wrong: The Unreliable Texts of F. Scott Fitzgerald - Especially "The Great Gatsby"
Matthew J. Bruccoli, professor of English at University of South Carolina, will discuss the works of renowned writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. The Great Gatsby, arguably the writer's most famous book, will be used as the basis from which to reconcile why the published works of this painstaking stylist is filled with typos and substantive errors. Mainly, was it the editors, publishers, or the writer who was responsible for the errors? This event is co-sponsored by Nevada Humanities.
March 23
"The Desert Must No Longer Swallow the Dead: The Murders of Women in Juarez, Mexico"
Professors Cristina Morales and Anita Revilla from UNLV's departments of sociology and women's studies, respectively, will host a discussion about the rampant violence in a small Mexican border town. This presentation will examine the background of the femicides plaguing Juarez, Mexico. The lecture will focus on how political-economic factors have caused the town near El Paso Tex. to become a hot bed of violence against women - hundreds have been murdered, countless others raped or tortured. This lecture, held in conjunction with Women's History Month, will also include the protest art created in response to the violations as well as several policy recommendations.
March 29
" Berlin and the Spectacle of Deconstruction: The Cinema of Wolfgang Staudte, Roberto Rossellini and Billy Wilder, 1945-50"
Addressing issues of past and present, memory and identity, and of the individual and the collective, filmmakers Rossellini, Staudte and Wilder depicted scenes of the often very difficult lives led amongst the post-WWII ruins of Berlin. Professor Ralph Stern of the UNLV school of architecture will discuss these films and their role as valuable historical documents and remarkable examples of urban representation.
