Our first year of Rhett Talks included discussions on stereotypes, energy, the conflict in the Middle East and sex education. Watch last year’s slate below. Dean Virginia Sapiro Lawford Anderson, Professor Thomas Cottle, Professor September 17 \u2013 <\/strong>Warren Towers Cinema Room<\/strong><\/p>\n Dean Natalie McKnight Joan Salge Blake, Clinical Associate Professor Sophie Godley, Clinical Assistant Professor September 24 \u2013 <\/strong>Kilachand Hall<\/strong><\/p>\n Nathan Phillips, Professor Adam Sweeting, Associate Professor Andrew Bacevich, Professor September 30 \u2013 <\/strong>10 Buick Street<\/strong><\/p>\n Doug Kriner, Associate Professor
\nSeptember 9 \u2013 <\/strong>Rich Hall Cinema Room<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nSo you think you treat people as individuals, not as categories or stereotypes, eh?<\/b><\/a>
\nDean Sapiro draws on research from social and political psychology to show how and why you may see people and interact with them on the basis of preconceptions and stereotypes more than you know, and why that is simultaneously both necessary and problematic.<\/i><\/p>\n
\nThe Future of Energy<\/b><\/a>
\nThe supply of energy to the world offers many career opportunities, from education, law, engineering, and science to \u00a0technology. The fossil fuel era continues to extend its end but it is a finite resource. \u00a0The use of coal and oil are also impacting the world\u2019s climate as never seen before in human or earth history. Nuclear energy is well established but has its own issues of radioactive waste. The growth areas of green energy, including wind and solar are immense followed by those of geothermal, biomass, fuel cells, and tidal. The future of hydrogen fusion remains uncertain but are huge in expectations as it is the fuel of stars.<\/i><\/p>\n
\nWitness to the Story<\/b><\/a>
\nPerhaps it is fair to say that we are the stories we tell, stories that describe and define the meanings we make of things, events, and more generally what it means to be us. But our stories require witnesses, people who confirm our narratives and in ethical terms terms, discover that they have taken responsibility for us. And so it is that we begin to understand the deepest nature of the relationships we hold with parents, teachers, counselors, and friends.<\/i><\/p>\n
\nThe Top Ten Reasons Why Dickens Still Matters in the 21st Century<\/b><\/a>
\nThe top ten reasons why Dickens is still relevant in spite of the fact that we live in the age of tweets and instant entertainment and Dickens wrote LONG sentences and 900-page novels.<\/i><\/p>\n
\nThe Myth of the Freshman 15<\/b><\/a>
\nSome research suggests that the Freshman 15 is a myth; however, studies do show that weight gain may be problematic for students over their cumulative years in college. This talk will provide tips and strategies to help all students from freshmen to seniors avoid some of the potential nutrition pitfalls of college life and beyond.<\/i><\/p>\n
\nLies They Told You in High School Sex Ed Class, and Why<\/b><\/a>
\nMuch of what is taught in US high schools during sexuality education is inaccurate, misleading, and unhelpful to teens. \u00a0Research on public health prevention provides insights on what actually works to support teens and young adults to make healthy decisions about sexuality. \u00a0This talk will explore the reasons high school sexuality education is often counterproductive, and suggest alternative frameworks for healthy sexuality.<\/i><\/p>\n
\nThe Ecology of Boston<\/b><\/a>
\nThe study of urban ecology has progressed from a focus on ecology in cities, to the ecology of cities. I will use a research example of natural gas leaks to illustrate the need for a more holistic ecological understanding of cities.<\/i><\/p>\n
\nTropical New England<\/b><\/a>
\nIn a presentation that brings the humanities disciplines into conversation about global climate change, Dr. Sweeting explore the cultural implications of climate change in New England.<\/i><\/p>\n
\nHow the United States Became Mired in the Middle East<\/b><\/a>
\nProfessor Bacevich will discuss U. S. foreign policy in the Greater Middle East since the promulgation of the Carter Doctrine in 1980. \u00a0He will explain how the militarization of U. S. policy in this region has produced repeated disappointment combined with ever escalating costs.<\/i><\/p>\n
\nHail to the Pork? The Presidency and Inequality.<\/a><\/b>
\nThe talk challenges conventional wisdom that presidents try to balance out the particularistic impulses of members of Congress and instead are focused on the national interest and maximum efficiency (every president since Washington has claimed this). Instead, we show that presidents engage in pork barrel politics to an even greater extent than members of Congress, channeling federal dollars to key constituencies.<\/i><\/p>\n