OSU Alumni Association
2009 Spring Term
Humanities Strand
During 2009, beginning with Winter quarter, ALL will join the Sesquicentennial celebration in Oregon of the 150th anniversary of Oregon's birthday as a state by presenting a series of lectures on Oregon's history. During the Winter 2009 quarter, Cliff Trow will describe the achievement of statehood in 1859. In Spring 2009 quarter, local historian Judy Juntunen will discuss "Benton County in 1859," and during Fall 2009 quarter, our distinguished historian, Bill Robbins, will relate significant "Sesquicentennial Stories."
And now for something completely different…
A Steady-State [no-growth] Economy!
Tues., March 31, 1:30
Dr. Richard Clinton, OSU Professor Emeritus of Political Science, returns to challenge our thinking again. More than thirty years ago, ecological economist Herman Daly sketched out a viable alternative to our patently unsustainable greed- and growth-based economic system. Few paid any attention, but in light of current developments, both ecological and economic, “perhaps they’ll listen now.” Dr. Clinton will submit for examination a “steady-state economy” and the required increase in moral growth in our nation that would enable us to cease defying physical, ecological, and psychological limits and, instead, live a more satisfying life safely within our means.
Host: Doug Clark
Oregon v. Muller: Women's Rights in the Workplace
Tuesday, April 7, 1:30
A colorful cast of characters surrounds the 1908 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Oregon v. Muller, which protected women workers in factories and laundries from excessive work hours. But did the Court's ruling go too far in 'protecting' women, and did it advance or undermine the principle of gender equity in the workplace? The discussion, led by Associate Justice Robert D. Durham of the Oregon Supreme Court, will explore the human drama and the legal issues in a landmark case that demonstrates that we must “be careful what you wish for, because your wish may come true.”
Host: Barb Callner
Celebrating Lincoln: A Review of Two New Books
Tuesday, April 14, 1:30
As part of the Bicentennial Celebration of Lincoln's birth, Cliff Trow, OSU Professor Emeritus of History, will offer an assessment of John Stauffer's Giants: the Parallel Lives of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln and James M. McPherson's Tried by War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander in Chief. Each of these books is written by an award-winning scholar and is an important addition to the Lincoln genre.
Host: Cliff Trow
Making Finance Personal--the Founding of brass Media
Tuesday April 21, 1:30
From an idea to reality, this presentation will share the experiences of building a local business from the ground up and will highlight the challenges and rewards of growing to a nationally recognized company. Presented by Steve Sims, COO and co-founder.
Host: Ruth Arent
Oregon Politics, the Economic Crunch, and the Age of Obama
Tuesday, April 28, 1:30
Bill Lunch, Chair of the OSU Political Science Department and OPB political analyst, will share his diagnosis of the work of the ’09 Oregon Legislature, four months into the session. This class will focus in particular on the struggle to establish state spending priorities in the context of the national credit crisis. The discussion will also explore the nature and effects of the Obama administration’s stimulus plan and regulatory reform on policymaking in Oregon.
Host: Doug Clark
Dust Bowl Stories:
Artistic Documentation of the Great Agricultural Crisis
Tuesday, May 5, 1:30
Lawrence Rodgers, OSU Dean of Liberal Arts, discusses the 1930s Dust Bowl. In 2006, Timothy Egan won the National Book Award for Worst Hard Time, a non-fiction account of the great American Dust Bowl of the 1930s. Dr. Rodgers introduces Egan's work as a way of moving into a broad consideration of the varied ways in which a generation of American artists, writers, photographers, filmmakers and singers represented what has been called the worst man-made ecological disaster in human history. The goal is not only to illustrate the rich cultural response that the dust bowl elicited, but to point out the significance of this response in shaping our current conceptions of the 1930s American identity. The talk is multimedia, illustrated by relevant examples throughout.
Host: Cliff Trow
Barack Obama's Eloquence
Wednesday, May 13, 1:30
Robert Iltis, OSU Associate Professor and Chair of Speech Communication, will discuss Obama's inaugural address. Public commentators observed during the 2008 presidential campaign that the high quality of Barack Obama'a oratory contributed significantly to his success. Given that foregrounding, expectations for his inaugural address were set high, with comparisons made in advance to other inaugurals presented in times of crisis, especially those of Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt. This lecture examines Obama's inaugural address as it fits into the genre of inaugural addresses - a distinctive type of presidential oratory - and assesses its structure, argument and style.
Host: Cliff Trow
A Visit to Beit Am
Tuesday, May 19, 1:30
Benjamin Barnett, Rabbi of Beit Am Mid-Willamette Valley Jewish Community, will take participants on a tour of this facility. He will elaborate on its mission of presenting diverse opportunities for Jewish religious worship, providing quality education, maintaining structures for charitable activities, and offering social activities that will reinforce a sense of community. We will meet at Beit Am, 625 NW 36th St in Corvallis. Parking is on the street. c
Host: Barb Callner
Whatever Happened to Dick and Jane?
Tuesday, May 26, 1:30
Women around Corvallis told him they woke up with him every morning. His voice was heard on commercial radio and film narrations on PBS, and his company produced commercials seen on Corvallis cable channels. He initiated and developed local TV programming by creating the student TV station KBVR. He's a father of 12 children and was a caregiver to an Alzheimer victim. He's an actor and a poet. Those are some of the many facets of Dick Weinman, OSU Professor Emeritus of Media Communication. Jane White, ALL member and colleague in acting, directing, writing, and teaching, will interview Dick and take us into the psyche of this creative septuagenarian.
Host: Barb Callner
Benton County, the Early Years
Tuesday, June 2, 1:30
As part of ALL's celebration of Oregon's Sesquicentennial, Judy Juntunen, local historian and retired staff member of the Benton County Museum, takes us back to the early days of Benton County. What brought Euro-Americans to the place we now call Benton County? Who was living here before they arrived? What impact did the newcomers have on these people and the land? What was life like for county residents in the 19th century? “Benton County, the Early Years” is an opportunity to have these questions answered and learn more about our local history.
Host: Cliff Trow