Films on Communist East Germany (Friday November 16, 2007)

Please come watch two films on everyday life in communist East Germany on Friday November 16, 2007, in Roberts Hall 423.

The first film, the comedy "Goodbye Lenin," will be shown at 1:00 p.m. It focuses on the efforts of a son to protect his ill mother, a loyal communist, from the knowledge that the East German government has collapsed.

The second film, the drama "The Lives of Others," will be shown at 3:15 p.m. "The Lives of Others" focuses on how the strategies of the East German Secret Police (the "Stasi") affected East German citizens. This film won the 2006 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Both films focus not only on what life was like in East Germany, but also on the collapse of East Germany and the process of German reunification.

If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Molly Johnson at Molly.Johnson@uah.edu.

Public Lecture: Dr. Francille Rusan Wilson on the History of Black History (Tues., October 23, 2007)

The History Department and the Office of Multicultural Affairs are pleased to announce the visit of Dr. Francille Rusan Wilson, a specialist in African-American History and Women's History, to UAH.

Dr. Wilson will give a public lecture, “Carter G. Woodson’s Great Cause: The History of the Black History Movement,” on Tuesday, October 23, at 7:30 p.m. in McDonnell Douglas Auditorium in the Material Sciences Building at UAH (the building with the blue tower).

Dr. Wilson earned a B.A. from Wellesley College, M.A.T. from Harvard University, and an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. She is an Associate Professor of African-American Studies at the University of Maryland, College Park, and a Visiting Professor at the University of Southern California.

A Distinguished Lecturer for the Organization of American Historians. Dr. Wilson is an intellectual and labor historian whose current research examines the intersections between black labor movements, black social scientists, and black women's history during the Jim Crow era. She is the author of The Segregated Scholars: Black Social Scientists and the Creation of Black Labor Studies, 1890-1950 (Carter G. Woodson Institute Series in Black Studies) (University of Virginia, 2006). Her current research, a biography of lawyer and economist Sadie T. M. Alexander, explores the impact of racism and sexism on and media representations of black professional women in male professions in the early twentieth century.

Additional sponsors of Dr. Wilson’s visit include UAH Women’s Studies, UAH Continuing Education, the Bankhead Foundation, and the UAH Humanities Center.

Please contact 256-824-6310 with questions.

Society for Ancient Languages Public Reading, Thurs. October 18

The Society for Ancient Languages at UAH is pleased to announce its upcoming Public Reading, to be held in Union Grove Gallery on Thursday, October 18, at 7:30 p.m. The topic is "Arma et Toga: The Roman Military Machine in War and State," and there will be readings in both Latin and English of writings by Horace, Cicero, and St. Augustine. In addition, Dr. Jerry Mebane, Professor of English, will speak on the concept of a just war. The Public Reading will also include a musical interlude featuring members of the Society.

This event is part of the build-up to Classics Week in Spring Semester 2008, which will feature Dr. Nathan Rosenstein of The Ohio State University, a specialist in the history of the Roman military.

AIA Talk: Ancient Greek Astronomy (22 October)

Dr. James Evans of the Physics Department of the University of Puget Sound will give a talk to the North Alabama Chapter of the AIA on "The Material Culture of Ancient Greek Astronomy." The talk will be 22 October at 7:30 PM in Chan Auditorium. He is associate editor of the Journal for the History of Astronomy and the author of The Theory and Practice of Ancient Astronomy (Oxford University Press, 1998) which covers the field from Babylon to the Scientific Revolution. Please come and bring a friend.