WHAT: “Mobile Computing: the Next Decade and Beyond,” Mahadev Satyanarayanan, Carnegie Mellon University
WHEN: Monday, April 2 @ 4 p.m.
WHERE: 2405 Siebel Center, 201 North Goodwin Avenue, Urbana
From the event announcement: “What will inspire our research in mobile computing over the next decade and beyond? We observe that our future is being shaped by two different tectonic forces, each with the potential to radically change the mobile computing landscape … the emergence of mobile devices as rich sensors, a role that may soon dominate their current function as communication devices and information appliances … [and] the convergence of mobile computing and cloud computing. This will enable the emergence of new near-real-time applications that are no longer limited by energy or computational constraints that are inherent to mobility.”
WHAT: “The Eurasian Angular Harp: Crossing Cultures Ancient to Modern,” Bo Lawergren, Professor Emeritus, Department of Physics, Hunter College and Tomoko Sugawara, Performing Artist
WHEN: Tuesday, April 3 @ 4 p.m.
WHERE: Knight Auditorium, Spurlock Museum; 600 South Gregory Street, Urbana
This sounds bizarre and delightful: a physics professor and a harpist collaborating on a presentation regarding a millenias-old instrument. From the event announcement: “The angular harp first appeared 1900 BCE in Mesoptamia and spread across the vast area between Japan and Spain. To East Asia it came in two waves along the Silk Road, one as a shamanistic instrument, the other as a Buddhist instrument. This lecture will illuminate the angular harp’s transcedent cultural history, and music from ancient and contemporary times will be performed on the replica of a seventh century angula harp (kugo).”
WHAT: Carr Reading Series featuring Toi Derricotte
WHEN: Wednesday, April 4 @ 4:30 p.m.
WHERE: Illini Union Bookstore Authors Corner, 809 S. Wright St., Champaign
From the event announcement: “Toi Derricotte is a major literary figure whose influence extends from her roles as author and teacher to Cave Canem, the historic workshop/retreat for African American poets that she co-founded with Cornelius Eady in 1996. She is the award-winning author of the memoir The Black Notebooks (1997) and five books of poetry: Empress of the Death House (1978), Natural Birth (1983), Captivity (1989), Tender (1997), and most recently The Undertaker’s Daughter (2011). She is Professor of English at University of Pittsburgh.”
WHAT: “Buenos Aires and Chicago: A Tale of Two Evolving Neoliberal Redevelopment Governances Through Four Dimensions of Analysis,” Carolina Sternberg, Ph.D. Candidate. Department of Geography
WHEN: Thursday, April 5 @ 12 noon
WHERE: 101 International Studies Building, 910 S. Fifth Street, Champaign
This sounds like an interesting analysis of how cities become what they are. Ms. Sternberg is from Buenos Aires, and so should have a sound understanding of both cities. From the event announcement: “The neoliberal project applied to cities, suburbs, towns, and other places deepens across the globe as inequalities and discord grow. Cities are seemingly the epicenter: Cleveland, Chicago, Buenos Aires, London, and countless other urban locales visibly reflect a stepped-up neo-liberalism. As the drive to entrepreneurialize government actions intensifies ‘ to create more responsible and business-oriented citizens, build strong local business climates, and fashion globally competitive, consumption-oriented downtowns ‘ millions of people are hurt. But are the prevailing power blocs (‘neoliberal governances’) in these cities identical?”
WHAT: “A Cultural and Economic Understanding of the ‘Asian Invasions’: The U.S., Japan and China, 1940-Present,” Tom Easton, an award-winning journalist and the Asia business editor of The Economist
WHEN: Thursday, April 5 @ 2 p.m.
WHERE: Room 407 of the Levis Faculty Center, 919 W. Illinois St., Urbana
The Economist is a magazine that I enjoy reading when a copy is placed in my hands, but one that I haven’t subscribed to for quite some time. Mr. Easton’s talk sounds quite interesting.
WHAT: “Different Forces: Cultural topographies and the liberal state in Oaxaca, Mexico,” Deborah Poole, Anthropology, John Hopkins University
WHEN: Thursday, April 5 @ 4 p.m.
WHERE: 101 International Studies Building, 910 S. Fifth Street, Champaign
Oaxaca is a state in southwestern Mexico, with a population of nearly 4 million people. Its state motto is “Respect for the rights of others is peace,” which seems to be a pretty good motto.
WHAT: “The Making of a Successful Multilateral Environmental Agreement: Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer and its Montreal Protocol,” Sotiria Koloutsou-Vakakis, University of Illinois
WHEN: Friday, April 6 @ 12 noon
WHERE: University YMCA, Latzer Hall, 1001 S. Wright Street, Champaign
From the event announcement: “This lecture invites you to think and discuss on a number of questions, such as: How are multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) made? How does that affect their success? What is the yardstick for measuring MEA success? Why is the Montreal Protocol an effectiveness outlier among numerous MEAs of doubtful effectiveness? Why is it so hard to transfer the lessons learned from the Montreal Protocol to other MEAs?”
You live near a major university and a community college. There are smart people that come here every week to talk to the general public about interesting topics. Perhaps you were not aware of this fact, or were overwhelmed by the sheer number of opportunities for possible enlightenment. If that’s the case, Smile Politely understands and is here to help. Here are several events going on in town this week. Check out one or more of them if you have time. Get your learn on, as they say, and join the cognoscenti. It’s free, you know. Plus, sometimes there’s free food, too!
If you have a community event, speaker, or film event that you’d like to see featured on Listen Up!, send the event information to joelgillespie [at] smilepolitely [dot] com by Friday the week prior to the event. Listen Up! runs on Mondays when classes are in session.