Spring 2022

FRI, JANUARY 21 – 12:00pm
Lost in Thought: The Hidden Pleasures of an Intellectual Life
Join Zena Hitz, philosophy professor of St John’s College, for a workshop on her book, Lost in Thought: The Hidden Pleasures of an Intellectual Life, whose work is “an invitation to readers from every walk of life to rediscover the impractical splendors of a life of learning.”
Virtual via WebEx: https://bit.ly/3DkPviQ

FRI, FEBRUARY 4 – 12:30pm
The Ministry of Truth: The Biography of George Orwell’s 1984
Join us for a two-part program on this superb new work on the origins of one of the most important books of the 20th century, George Orwell’s 1984. LSC-Kingwood professors John Barr and Steve Davis will lead those who read the book in a discussion of its contents. All other members of the college community are invited to learn as they listen in.
Virtual via WebEx: https://bit.ly/33LYgF8

FRI, FEBRUARY 11 – 12:00pm
The Genetic Lottery: Why DNA Matters for Social Equality
(Darwin Day)
In recent years, scientists have shown that DNA makes us different, in our personalities and in our health. This Darwin Day, Professor Kathryn Paige Harden explores how these differences matter for educational and economic success in our current society. In her book The Genetic Lottery, Harden introduces readers to the latest genetic science, dismantling dangerous ideas about racial superiority and challenging us to grapple with what equality really means in a world where people are born different. Weaving together personal stories with scientific evidence, Harden shows why our refusal to recognize the power of DNA perpetuates the myth of meritocracy, and argues that we must acknowledge the role of genetic luck if we are ever to create a fair society. Reclaiming genetic science from the legacy of eugenics, this Darwin Day offers a bold new vision of society where everyone thrives, regardless of how one fares in the genetic lottery.
Virtual via WebEx: https://bit.ly/3A96IKT

FRI, FEBRUARY 25 – 12:30pm

Latinx Students’ Literacy Practices: Complicating Concepts of Literacy, Place, and Student Success

Dr. Susan Wolff Murphy is coeditor of the edited volumes, Teaching Writing with Latina/o Students: Lessons Learned at Hispanic Serving Institutions and Bordered Writers: Latinx Identities and Literacy Practices at Hispanic-Serving Institutions. In her talk, she will discuss the ways in which teaching writing with Latina/o Students addressed a gap in literature on the diverse identities and literacy practices of Latina/o students and explain how she, Isabel Baca (The University of Texas at El Paso), and Yndalecio Isaac Hinojosa (Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi) recognized the exigency, or need, for publishing a new edited volume on Latinx students’ identities and literacy practices to expand on and complicate concepts of literacy, materiality, ethnic and racial identity, place, and student success via the concept of the bordered writer. To conclude her presentation, Dr. Wolff Murphy will share pedagogical approaches that faculty teaching writing-intensive courses can implement to support student success at Lone Star College as part of a HispanicServing Institution.

Virtual via WebEx: https://bit.ly/3289T8S

FRI, MARCH 4 – 12:30pm
The Ministry of Truth: The Biography of George Orwell’s 1984
Join us for the second part of this program on this superb new book on the origins of George Orwell’s 1984. LSC-Kingwood professor Steve Davis will lead a discussion of its contents. All other members of the college community are invited to learn as they listen in.
Virtual via WebEx: https://bit.ly/33LYgF8

FRI, MARCH 25 – 12:30pm
Madwomen and Feminists: Learning about mental health and women’s rights from two Victorian writers
Sampada Dalvi and Joan Samuelson – Charlotte Bronte’s 1847 novel Jane Eyre is the first feminist novel ever written. Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s largely forgotten 1892 short story The Yellow Wallpaper” is also a feminist masterpiece. The talk will explore how both these works included women who were artists, confined by society, and also an element of madness.
Virtual via WebEx: https://bit.ly/33muxmA

WED, MARCH 30 – 12:30pm
Are There Ten Equations That Rule the World? And If So, What are They?
David J.T. Sumpter describes ten key equations you need to know in order to make better decisions, understand the filter created by social media, and even to be a better person. He will illustrate these approaches using everyday examples — such as ‘deciding whether your new boss is an idiot?’, ‘deciding when to stop watching a Netflix series’ and ‘buying new headphones’. He’ll also explain how these have an increasingly important role in society: in finance, gambling, social media and artificial intelligence. He’ll discuss the consequences of this for us as individuals and for society as a whole.
Virtual via WebEx: https://bit.ly/3nCd28y

FRI, APRIL 22 – 12:30pm
Humanizing Homo Economicus
Scott Groen, Lone Star College Adjunct Instructor. During the 20th century the characterization of human beings as rational economic decision makers, also known as homo economicus, gained prominence in economics departments and governments across the world. The policies developed from this belief produced mixed results and at times tremendous economic calamities. Even as homo economicus gained popularity in the economics profession, a new field, behavioral economics, combined psychology and economics to develop new theories that took into consideration how people act instead of how they should act according to previous models.
Virtual via WebEx: https://bit.ly/328YaqG

WED, APRIL 27 – 12:30pm
Progress: Ten Reasons to Look Forward to the Future
Johan Norberg. Our world seems to be collapsing. The daily news cycle reports the deterioration: divisive politics across the Western world, racism, poverty, war, inequality, hunger. While politicians, journalists and activists from all sides talk about the damage done, Johan Norberg offers an illuminating and heartening analysis of just how far we have come in tackling the greatest problems facing humanity. In the face of fearmongering, darkness and division, the facts are unequivocal: the golden age is now.
Virtual via WebEx: https://bit.ly/3KjSfjL

TBD
The Knowledge Machine: How Irrationality Created Modern Science
Michael Strevens, New York University
Virtual via WebEx: Forthcoming

TBD
The Unintended Risks of Current Electric Vehicle Policy (and Better Alternatives)
If the ultimate goal is to decarbonize transportation, there are reasons to be concerned about the current electric vehicle (EV) policy. Sixty percent of US and worldwide electricity is generated from fossil fuels, causing the carbon footprint of EVs to vary dramatically based on where (and when) they are adopted. Moreover, the transition to a 100% renewable electricity grid is in its early stages and remains risky and uncertain.Building on these facts, University of California-Davis Professor of Economics Dr. David Rapson questions the emerging dogma that society should push to 100% electric transportation powered by solar and wind. Instead, he advocates for pursuing “technology-neutral” climate policies built on pollution pricing, which minimizes the risks and costs of deep decarbonization by aligning private incentives with societal decarbonization goals.
Virtual via WebEx: Forthcoming

For more information: John.M.Barr@lonestar.edu • 281-312-1744