Art NOW Series: Aruna D’Souza Killmonger at the Museum: What a Hollywood Blockbuster Can Tell Us About Institutions These Days Friday, November 1, 2019 from 12 noon to 1 pm in University Recital Hall W570, U of L Free admission, everyone welcome! Museums around the world have been challenged by protesters in recent years to account for who and what they show and who is footing the bill. While the questions aren’t new, the expectations about how museums function as public entities are, especially in the U.
Vincent Larivière: “Scholarly Communication and Open Access: What Researchers Should Know” Tuesday, Oct 22 from 3 to 4:30 pm in the Library Alcove, Level 10, University of Lethbridge Library Dr. Larivière is a leading (and entertaining) researcher on the topic of contemporary scholarly communication. Join us for a timely and lively discussion on academic publishing models, and how you will be affected by them. He is the author of “The Oligopoly of Academic Publishers in the Digital Era,” among many other publications.
University of Lethbridge Student Union (ULSU), the Association of Political Science Students and Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs (SACPA) will be hosting an all-candidates Federal election forum in the BMO Auditorium, room SA8002, Science Commons, U of L on October 2, 2019 at 6:30 pm All Lethbridge Federal constituency candidates have been invited. The 2019 Federal Election promises to be an interesting contest with many issues up for discussion. This election forum will be conducted using both formulated and audience questions.
They constructed a Japanese garden on the parched land of the southern Alberta prairie, an iconic monument amplifying the most powerful of all sounds – silence. Mel Murakami, Kingo Sakamoto, and a generation of many other Japanese Canadians. Who were these visionaries who literally changed the face of postwar Lethbridge? How can we piece together the stories of people who did so much but spoke so little? In a very special journey to remember remarkable individuals, we’ll hear echoes of voices now long departed in the memories of their descendants.
Mark Sakamoto’s 2017 memoir, Forgiveness: A Gift from My Grandparents, beautifully chronicles the stories of his grandparents and their struggles during the war years. Forgiveness intertwines the compelling stories of Ralph MacLean and the Sakamotos as the war rips their lives and their humanity out of their grasp. But somehow, despite facing such enormous transgressions against them, the two families learned to forgive. Without the depth of their forgiveness, the book’s author, Mark Sakamoto, would never have existed.
The speaker will discuss some of the Alberta Governments tensions, balances, successes, and failures, of managing, conserving, and using the natural resources, wildlife, and lands of Alberta. This lecture is mainly for the benefit of a Liberal Education 3010 class on “The Land” (the course’s title). Speaker: Hon. Shannon Phillips, Minister of Environment, Parks and Climate Change Shannon Phillips was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta on May 5, 2015 representing the constituency of Lethbridge-West.
For all the wealth they potentially possess, Alberta’s vast petroleum reserves have arguably been badly mismanaged since the early 1990s both in terms of collecting proper royalties and environmental sustainability. Even some of the industry’s biggest promoters have conceded that the laborious extraction of oil from sand and clay has left the province’s economic fortunes in an unreliable economic situation, not to mention the resulting ecological degradation that bitumen mining causes.
The University of Lethbridge is pleased to present a special live conversation via web-link with the former American intelligence officer and whistleblower Edward Snowden. The U of L is joining with the University of Winnipeg and Brandon University to present this unique and engaging opportunity. The University of Lethbridge School of Liberal Education presentation with Edward Snowden takes place Tuesday, May 9, 2017 at 4:45 pm in the University Theatre. The doors open at 4:30 pm, with the program to begin at 4:45 pm.
Canadian Values: What are They? The eight annual Student Speaker Challenge will kick off on Wednesday, March 1, 2017 with a total of eight students competing in this year’s event, addressing the wide-ranging and emotional topics of what “Canadian Values” are. Round 1: What are Canadian values? Round 2: How are social movements evolving? Round 3: Is democracy working? Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs (SACPA), Lethbridge Public Interest Research Group (LPIRG) and University of Lethbridge Student Union (ULSU) are collaborating to supply financial and promotional support for this annual Student Speaker Challenge in addition to the encouragement University of Lethbridge provides.
Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter and Instagram (to name a few) are social media sites that have become the voice of our generation. These Internet platforms are tools used to discover who we are, to connect with each other and think globally, but these can also become spaces that perpetuate toxic norms and violence. The problem of cyber violence and online abuse is the greatest challenge the Internet faces today. While social media sites do not cause cyber violence they do impact the ways in which this violence occurs and they can impact the ways in which this violence is prevented.
For more than a century the foothills and Front Range Mountains of western Alberta have been recognized as being vital to the water supply for western Canada. Virtually all the water that sustains communities, ecosystems and the economy of prairie Canada comes from this narrow strip of land arrayed along the Continental Divide. For all its importance, however, water management decisions affecting this enormous region have ignored the significance of land health and focused almost exclusively on building dams.
Hailed as “a myth-destroying blockbuster book” by Ralph Nader, Gordon Laxer’s latest book, “After the Sands” outlines a vision and road map to transition Canada to a low- carbon society: a plan lacking within all of Canada’s major political parties. Despite its oil abundance, Canada is woefully unprepared for the next global oil supply crisis. Canada imports 40 percent of its oil, yet—unlike twenty-six of the other twenty-eight international energy agency members—has no strategic petroleum reserves to meet temporary shortages.
Learning to harness fusion in a controlled way – recreating the sun on earth, as a clean source of energy – is the holy grail of international energy programs. According to Dr. Allan Offenberger “A sustained fusion burn is no longer an academic dream but will be realized in the near future.” Dr. Offenberger will outline several quite promising options and update us on their progress and status. Dr. Offenberger is particularly interested in getting Alberta researchers and industry involved in fusion development.
Imagine spending years in prison without being charged with a crime or knowing exactly what you’re accused of. This presentation is a sobering examination of the Canadian government’s use of security certificates, a Kafkaesque tool that allows for indefinite detention without charges, based on evidence not revealed to the accused or their lawyers. Since 1999, this rare and highly controversial device has been used to detain at least five men for nearly 30 years combined.
This is a polar celebration of wildlife and adventure to two of our planets last great wilderness areas. Brian Keating’s previous job at the Calgary Zoo was to raise money and then to spend it on environmental projects around the world. Presently, he’s the Zoo’s Honourary Conservation Advisor to their outreach efforts, and a part time Adjunct Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the U of C. Brian is also the owner of www.
In recent months we have watched the “Islamic State”, (ISIS) sweep through Syria and Iraq, terrifying much of the population and enraging people everywhere by beheading several journalists while vowing to bring their war to North America. Reportedly, many Canadian citizens have joined the ISIS forces in fighting a war that arguably is financed mainly by vast revenues from oil that is exported to the industrialized world. The speaker will explore where ISIS fits into the Islamic groups in the Arab World.
For the past several decades, conservative forces in the US and Canada have worked to finance and organize Christian fundamentalist sects, the Catholic Church and other organizations to become potentially destabilizing of progressive democratic principles and practices. Powerful interlocking political and corporate forces are seemingly teaming up against women and the disadvantaged in many Southern and Western states and in parts of Canada. These forces have negative effects on women’s ability to control and maintain bodily integrity and health, especially among low income women who often are disproportionately affected by restrictions on abortion services.
Social justice dilemmas are situations in which collective interests are at odds with private interests. Such situations arise when faced with prioritizing either short-term selfish interests or the long-term interests of a group, organization, or society. Many of the most challenging issues, from the interpersonal to the intergroup, are at their core social dilemmas. Conflicts arise when motives concerning the group are overcome by individual motives or vice versa. When this happens in a perfect world, Governments ought to intervene and restore the balance of interest, but is it happening?
Two recent disputes about who are entitled to farm Blood Tribe agricultural land have ended up in Federal and Provincial Court respectively. Chief and Council of the Blood Band arguable has sole authority to decide who farm within the reserve, and on land that is “held in common” for all band members. Others argue that a more collaborative approach may better serve the Band as a whole. This panel discussion will attempt to shed light from different perspectives on the many issues involved and also touch upon to what degree relationships with previous land renters should be considered in the context of signing new agreements.
The peace process in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict has taken shape over the years despite the ongoing violence which has prevailed since the beginning of the conflict. Since the 1980?s, Gershon Baskin has been on the forefront of efforts to research and develop the terms upon which a viable peace can be agreed to in both the Palestinian–Israeli conflict and the broader Arab–Israeli conflict. In his dynamic presentation, Gershon focuses on the numerous failures and success of the process, sharing the valuable lessons learned from his years of first-hand experience as the advisor to leaders of both sides of the conflict.
Recent events has brought issues of treaties, reserves, land claims, and the Indian Act to the forefront of political discourse in Canada. The speaker has written extensively on aboriginal history, culture and politics and has a keen understanding of the relationship between Aboriginal Peoples and the Government of Canada. As part of the U of L Native Awareness Week, the speaker will explain the many issues involved regarding the Indian Act.
Freedom of Speech: What does it Mean to You? The fifth annual Student Speaker Challenge kicked off on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014 with a total of eight students competing in this year’s event addressing the question: “Freedom of Speech: What Does it Mean to You? SACPA, LPIRG and the U of L Student Union are collaborating to supply financial and promotional support for the Student Speaker Challenge in addition to the encouragement University of Lethbridge provides.
There have been drastic changes to science in Canada in recent years. These changes have happened in three distinct ways: reduction in the ability of government scientists to communicate their research to the public, the erosion of our science capacity - especially with respect to fundamental research and environmental monitoring, and a reduction in the role of evidence in policy decisions. The impacts of these changes go far beyond science. Science and evidence are essential elements for a functioning democracy.
Date: Thursday, October 24, 2013 Time: 7:00 – 9:00 pm Location: Room PE264, 1st Choice Saving Centre, University of Lethbridge Free event, free parking, everyone welcome It’s a topic we’re really not comfortable discussing, but it’s just not going away. With a constitutional court challenge in BC and legislation pending in Quebec, the question of whether Canadians should be able to choose medical help to die when they are at the end of life is one of the most significant civil rights issues of our time.
The Blanket Exercise Date: Friday, May 24, 2013 Time: 7:00 – 9:00 pm Location: University of Lethbridge, 1st Choice Saving Centre, Room PE264 SACPA on Campus and KAIROS Lethbridge is hosting a public presentation of the “Blanket Exercise”- a teaching tool by KAIROS to raise awareness and understanding of the nation to nation relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada. Julie Graham will be leading the exercise. Julie Graham is the human rights Education and Campaigns Coordinator for KAIROS, the social justice organization of eleven national Canadian churches and church agencies, represented in Lethbridge by an energetic local chapter.
Part 1 of the Audio of this speech is available courtesy of an audience member here: http://snd.sc/XHjXez NOTICE OF SPECIAL SESSION Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 7pm PE 261 University of Lethbridge The Idle No More movement has brought issues of treaties, reserves, land claims, and the Indian Act to the forefront of political discourse in Canada. Perhaps best known for his book First Nations? Second Thoughts the speaker has written extensively on aboriginal history and politics with an eye to making major changes in the relationship between aboriginal people and the Government of Canada.
NOTICE OF A SPECIAL SESSION JOINTLY HOSTED BY: The Prentice Institute, SACPA on Campus, Friends of the Lethbridge Public Library, University of Lethbridge Thursday November 15, 2012 at 7pm in PE 250 (UofL) Doug Saunders, a Canadian born, world-renown journalist and author, comes to us from London, England where he has been the Globe and Mail’s European Bureau Chief. His journalism won the National Newspaper Award on four occasions and he has received international recognition for investigative reporting on the state of the middle class around the world.
NOTICE OF A SPECIAL SESSION JOINTLY HOSTED BY: SACPA on Campus; University of Lethbridge Office of the President; Women’s Scholars; LPIRG; Depts. of Kinesiology, Sociology, Women & Gender Studies; Gender, Equity & Diversity Caucus (ULFA); OUTreach Southern Alberta How did you become able-bodied? What did you do to yourself? That must be so, so horrible to be confined to walking!! When will you get better….that is…become more like me? And so the interrogation begins….
Is there a systemic crisis in the world?.…If so, how can it be resolved? The fourth annual Student Speaker Challenge will kick off on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012 with a total of eight students competing in this year’s event, addressing the question: “Is there a systemic crisis in the world?….If so, how can it be resolved?” The Student Speaker Challenge is a collaboration of SACPA, LPIRG and the U of L Students Union, with financial and promotional support from the University of Lethbridge.
NOTICE OF A SPECIAL SESSION JOINTLY HOSTED BY: SACPA-on-Campus, NASA, The Native American Studies Department and the U of L Tuesday, Feb 28, noon-1:30 pm 1st Choice Saving Centre U of L Room PE264 Urban Aboriginal people often face challenges above and beyond those faced by the non-Aboriginal urban population. Lower education and income levels, coupled with higher unemployment rates are mainly to blame for an over-representation in the criminal justice system, as both victims and offenders.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012 7:00 – 9:00 pm University of Lethbridge, 1st Choice Saving Centre, Room PE264 Free event: Refreshments provided More than seven years ago, the people of Skeena-Bulkley Valley, BC elected Nathan Cullen as their voice in Parliament. He believes the Stephen Harper “divide and conquer” style of ruling Canada is not in our best interest and that a new approach to politics is needed. Therefore, Nathan Cullen entered his name into the NDP leadership race September 2011 in his desire to build on Jack Layton’s vision for leadership in Canada.
Special Session Nov 24th 7-9pm at PE 264 at the University of Lethbridge Much of the general public know little or nothing about Hydraulic Fracturing (fracking), an increasingly popular, but controversial technique of drilling for oil and natural gas. Fracking involves vertical and sometimes horizontal drilling into coal bed, or shale rock using extreme pressure for the fracture treatments. Anywhere from 200,000 to 1500,000 liters of water and various stimulation and fracturing fluids, and from 75,000 to 320,000 pounds of propellant are consumed during a typical hydraulic fracture of a single well.
7-9PM in AH116 (Anderson Hall) at the University of Lethbridge Due to the graphic nature of the talk it is not recommended for those under 16. Media stories about missing and murdered women seem to appear on a regular basis, but other than a few sentences about the woman and a grainy picture of her we learn little more than about one family’s tragedy. However, when Jennifer Allan sees those stories, she sees the human tragedy as each new victim is profiled and she sees a societal crisis that needs to be addressed.
January 18 – March 15, 2011 Ballroom A in the SU building and at Andy’s Place (AH 100) University of Lethbridge The third annual Student Speaker Challenge will kick off on Tuesday, Jan. 18 with a total of eight students competing in this year’s event, addressing the question: What is global justice and how can it be achieved? The Student Speaker Challenge is a collaboration of SACPA, LPIRG and the U of L Students Union, with financial and promotional support from the University of Lethbridge.
Wednesday January 12, 2011 7:00-9:00 pm at Room PE 261 Omar Khadr was captured by American Forces in July 2002 in Afghanistan following a firefight between Afghani insurgents and US soldiers. Severely wounded by two M-16 bullets in his back, Khadr, who was just 15 at the time, was flown to Bagram airbase where he was treated for his injuries and later subjected to “enhanced interrogation techniques” before being transported to the notorious US prison camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Extremes including drought and heavy precipitation are fundamental aspects of the climate system and its water cycle. Many of the greatest climatic impacts are also linked with such phenomena. Based to a considerable degree on research conducted over the Prairies within the Drought Research Initiative (DRI), some of the means of producing a sustained lack of precipitation are shown. It is then illustrated that heavy precipitation sometimes occurs on the edge of such a region or, occasionally, within it, and that the nature of the associated storms can be affected significantly by their proximity to a drought region.
NOTICE OF SESSION SACPA on Campus Monday, September 27, 2010 7:00-9:00 p.m. Ballroom B, Student’s Union Building University of Lethbridge “Overcoming Barriers: A Discussion with the World’s First Trans MP” A lecture by Georgina Beyer. As the first openly transgender person in the world to hold a national office, Georgina Beyer was elected a Member of Parliament in New Zealand. Beyer, born biologically male, spent her early childhood on her grandparent’s farm in rural New Zealand before moving to Wellington with her mother and stepfather.