
All Lectures are FREE and open to the public.
In Justice: Stepping Across the Party Line
Sept. 12, 7PM, Tipton Hall
When New Mexico’s Bush-appointed U.S. Attorney David Iglesias refused to indict high-level Democrats before the 2006 elections, he was fired—along with six other federal prosecutors. His courage in speaking out against the Bush administration led to public outrage and a nationwide dialogue on the overreach of executive powers. Iglesias will discuss his experiences and sign his new book In Justice. Listen to the podcast NOW!
Sarah Chayes
Rebuilding Afghani Civil Society
Oct. 30, 7PM, The Forum
Former NPR reporter Sarah Chayes left journalism in 2002 to help rebuild Afghanistan. Frustrated by the corruption and arrogance she encountered with US-backed aid organizations, she formed the privately owned and funded Arghand Cooperative—a soap and body oil company. The Arghand utilizes local fruits, nuts and herbs to create a sustainable economic model for employment, growth, and a viable alternative to the opium industry. Chayes will discuss her experiences and her new book The Punishment of Virtue: Inside Afghanistan after the Taliban. Listen to the podcast NOW!
Francisco Goldman
The Art of Political Murder: Who Killed the Bishop?
Nov. 14, 7PM, The Forum
Journalist and author Francisco Goldman spent seven years in his home country of Guatemala investigating the murder of Bishop Juan Gerardi Conedera. His latest book The Art of Political Murder theorizes that the mastermind of the crime is still free—and operating at the highest levels of government. The New York Times calls it “an overdue indictment of brutal war criminals who were not just behind the one killing, but also contributed to a generation of atrocities.” Goldman will read from his novel and discuss Guatemala’s past and current political landscape. Listen to the podcast NOW!
Silja JA Talvi
The Plight of Women in the Penal System
Dec. 5, 7PM, The Forum
There is a record high of 200,000 women in prison, an increase of 757% since 1977 and the prison system has not exponentially increased its services to deal with the high female population. Journalist Silja JA Talvi illuminates the inhumane practices of the U.S. penal system and its inability to deal with this rising population in her new book Women Behind Bars: The Crisis of Women in the U.S. Prison System.
John Perry Barlow
Civil Liberties in the Electronic Frontiers
Jan. 30, 7PM, The Forum
From the Internet to the iPod, technologies are transforming our society and empowering us as speakers, citizens, creators, and consumers. When civil liberties in the networked world come under attack, the Electronic Frontier Foundation protects them. Co-founder John Perry Barlow will discuss the EFF, its most important cases, and the organization’s role as the ACLU of cyberspace. Barlow is a fellow at Harvard Law School’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society, a cattle rancher, an ex-lyricist for the Grateful Dead, and the man who gave the name “cyberspace” to cyberspace.
Lucy R Lippard
Get the Message?
Feb. 19, 7PM, The Forum
A pioneering art and cultural critic, activist and author, Lucy R Lippard has published 20 books on feminism, art, politics and place, curated over 50 exhibitions, and for 12 years has edited the community newsletter El Puente de Galisteo in the village of Galisteo, New Mexico. Infusing aesthetics with politics, Lippard's texts offer “new ways to understand the social and political impulses that create art, and which art, in turn, creates.” Lippard will discuss artists approaching the global warming crisis.
Bishop Gene Robinson
In the Eye of the Storm: America’s Gay Bishop
March 26, 7PM, The Forum
When the Right Reverend Gene Robinson was consecrated as the ninth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire, he was wearing a bulletproof vest. Robinson is the first openly gap Episcopalian bishop, and his ratification led the Episcopalian church into a nationwide crisis as conservative parishes have broken away from the U.S. denomination. His new book In the Eye of the Storm examines his radical decision to be out loud and proud—as a gay man and a Christian—and Robinson will discuss his experience and perspectives in detail.
Rebecca Solnit
Freedom of Association
Apr. 8, 7PM, The Forum
National Book Critics’ Circle and Lannon Literary Award-winner Rebecca Solnit defies categorization. A social critic, art historian, environmentalist, and lover of the American West, Solnit’s literary work celebrates the creative impulse to explore and connect – and the open and sacred landscape required to do so. Solnit’s 2005 book A Field Guide to Getting Lost salutes the value of meandering while her latest volume, Storming the Gates of Paradise, commemorates the public and private spaces that have been reshaped by greed, fear, and sentimentality. For Solnit, the political resides in the intersections of the seemingly disconnected—which she painstakingly connects for rest of us.