Spring 2013
USD and the Future of Museum Participation
Tuesday, February 19, 10 – 11:30 a.m.
American art museums are concerned about public participation. In this illustrated talk, Derrick Cartwright looks at the problems inherent in encouraging visitor participation, with special emphasis on how the University Galleries at USD are seeking to address this broadly felt challenge. Examples from a wide variety of institutions, including several at which Cartwright has served as director, will serve to demonstrate the complexity surrounding public engagement with contemporary museum practice.
Ethical Issues in Genetics
Tuesday, February 26, 10 – 11:30 a.m.
Rapid advances in genetic technologies have made it difficult for necessary ethical discussions to keep pace. At the same time, these technologies are becoming a part of routine medical care and are increasingly available to the public. Join USD biology professor Laura Rivard, PhD to learn about both the science and ethics behind topics including current genetic testing practices, whole genome sequencing, and direct to consumer genetics. Audience participants will be challenged to analyze a number of case studies involving complicated issues like privacy, autonomy, and genetic determinism. A lively discussion is sure to follow!
Music in Asian Cultures
Wednesday, March 6, 10 – 11:30 a.m.
Music traditions throughout Asia have been changing to reflect changes in culture, religious identity, politics, and globalization. Join Music Department Chair and Professor David harnish, PhD, to listen to select music styles from India, Indonesia, Japan, and China, and learn about the unique approaches each country has taken toward modernizing their music. While musicians in Japan and China have tended to emulate the framework of Western art music in their development, India and Indonesia have instead hybridized their music traditions with global music elements and styles such as jazz. The decisions that each country has made indicate distinct aesthetic, cultural, and political priorities.
Right Brain or Left Brain?
Thursday, March 21, 10-11:30 am
It takes at least 25 years for research developments to become commonplace in our culture. Brain dominance, which addresses the stylized way of thinking, was first identified in 1940s research. Similar to right and left handedness, but of the brain, it is formed by the time we are four years old. It is useful to know your brain dominance as it demonstrates a thinking preference for the way we communicate, work, and make lifestyle choices. Join Professor Lucia Gonzales for an interactive experience, and have your brain dominance tested!
Animation’s Rise in Illustrating Childhood
Wednesday, April 10, 10–11:30 a.m.
Join USD senior Karissa Valencia as she shares her thesis research on animation's early development as a children's media genre. Focusing on top American distributors Walt Disney, Hanna-Barbera, and Fleisher Bros, Valencia will explore their use of animation from its first exhibition in the 1930s through the transition to television in the 1960s. Valencia will provide a comprehensive look at film history, television, and childhood, question the stigma of mediocrity in the animation medium, and explore the changing meaning of childhood and family.
Religion, Race and Economics in Cervantes’ Don Quixote: A Window onto the Complexities of Early Modern Europe
Tuesday, April 23, 10–11:30 a.m.
Spain’s infamous expulsion of its Jewish population in 1492 is rightfully remembered as one of the low points in the history of relations among Europe’s religious communities. Much less familiar today is the expulsion a century later of the Spanish Moriscos, descendants of Iberia’s medieval Muslim population. In a lively look at Cervantes’ capacious masterpiece Don Quixote, Professor Michael Agnew will illustrate how the novel confronts the Crown’s controversial policy in one of its most memorable and troubling episodes, taking us from small-town Spain across international borders to France, North Africa, and Germany. In a scant dozen pages, and with his characteristic wit, Cervantes offers sobering thoughts about banking interests, national debt, the absolutist state and its mercantilist policies, religious liberty, and early modern racial ideologies.
Jews, Muslims and Christians in Medieval Europe
Wednesday, May 8, 10-11:30 am
Ongoing religious violence in the Middle East has prompted many pundits to look to history for guidance on how members of the great monotheistic religions have managed to live together in relative peace. Some have focused on medieval Iberia, where Christian-ruled kingdoms tolerated large populations of Jews and Muslims. In this talk, Dr. Tom Barton will explore why and how these societies forged cultures of sustainable coexistence during the high and late Middle Ages, examine the circumstances leading to the breakdown of those systems, and conclude by considering what meaningful lessons might be drawn from these historical experiences to help manage modern ethno-religious strife.
For more information about the Bridges Academy Lecture Series, please call (619) 260-4815.
