Learning Is ForEver

This presentation will be rescheduled!

Dr. Kate Luther is an Associate Professor of Sociology at PLU. She is also the Department Chair of Sociology and Criminal Justice. Her areas of interest include gendered violence, women’s incarceration and the impact of incarceration on families. Her current research examines the pathways to college for children of incarcerated parents. She serves as the co-chair for the Division on Women and Crime’s Committee for Teaching and Pedagogy.

This presentation will be rescheduled!

Charles Bergman’s new book chronicles he and his wife in their quest to see every penguin species on the planet. He will talk about his  adventure, conservation, and what it is about penguins that captures our hearts. He will share his up close and personal encounters while photographing 18 species of penguins and what is happening globally to the birds.

Charles Bergman is Professor of English and Environmental Studies at PLU. Twice a Fulbright Scholar in Latin America, he is a passionate spokesperson for animals and the environment. He writes and publishes extensively on animals, nature, and sustainability—with stories in such magazines as Smithsonian, National Geographic, Audubon, and many more. He has written four books, and has won the Washington State Book Award, Southwest Book Award, and the Benjamin Franklin Book Award. He was a finalist for the PEN USA Literary Award.

This presentation will be rescheduled!

Kiirsten Flynn will talk about marine mammals in our region and marine mammal research techniques.

Kiirsten Flynn is a biologist at Cascadia Research. She worked professionally in the boat-based education field for 10 years as an educator, deck officer and as a US Coast Guard certified Captain on large traditionally rigged sailing vessels. In 2004 she received her Masters in Environmental Management with a focus on aquatic invasive species vector management. She worked on the SPLASH project for Cascadia, co-taught a course on marine mammals at Evergreen State College, and taught environmental science at a middle school level before returning to Cascadia in 2012.

This presentation will be rescheduled!

In the wake of rapidly increasing rates of statelessness across the globe, the struggles of refugees who are displaced and in search of refuge have punctuated our national dialogue for a number of years. Reading literature by and about refugees can help to illuminate the politics and ethics that underlie community responses to statelessness. In this talk, Professor James will share excerpts of recent literature of refugee life by contemporary authors, exploring with participants the unique points of view and complex narratives that comprise refugee life today and reflecting on the ways these authors experiment with literary form to tell these tales.

Jenny James is Associate Professor of English at PLU and teaches a variety of courses on multi-ethnic American literature from 1860 to the present. Her research explores the intersections of race, gender and sexuality in post-war U.S. literature. Prof. James has published a number of articles on the novels of James Baldwin and Patricia Highsmith as well as on contemporary writers representing refugee life and memory. Working in collaboration with PLU’s Holocaust and Genocide Studies program, she regularly teaches a course on U.S. refugee literature.