CAS/MillerComm Lecture Series archive : fall 1997 By a Nose: Origins of Aesthetic Surgery and the Jews of 19th-Century Europe September 23, 1997 Tuesday 7:30 p.m. Twentieth Century Gallery Krannert Art Museum 500 W. Peabody Dr., Champaign Sander L. Gilman Henry R. Luce Professor of the Liberal Arts in Biology, The University of Chicago; Ann and Paul Krouse Visiting Scholar in Judaism and Western Culture, UIUC The origin of aesthetic surgery in 19th-century Germany and the United States set the pattern for meaning associated with changing the body for purposes of "passing." The history of aesthetic thus is closely related to the history of race and its consequences for minorities. SPONSORS: Office of the Chancellor, Office of the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and the Graduate College, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, The Council of Deans, The Center for Advanced Study, George A. Miller Endowment, George A. Miller Committee, Peggy Harris Memorial Fund, Sheldon and Anita Drobny Interdisciplinary Program for the Study of Jewish Culture and Society Krouse Visiting Lecture Fund, College of Fine and Applied Arts, Graduate School of Library and Information Science, Department of English, Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures, Department of History, Department of Philosophy, Department of Sociology, Department of Speech Communication, International Programs and Studies, Krannert Art Museum and Kinkead Pavilion, LAS/Humanities Council, Medical Scholars Program, Medical Humanities and Social Sciences Program, Program in Comparative Literature, Science, Technology, Information and Medicine Program (STIM, Unit for Criticism and Interpretive Theory, The Hillel Foundation at the University of Illinois. Hidden Order : The Dynamics and Evolution of Complex Adaptive Systems September 15, 1997 Monday 4:00 p.m. Colwell Playhouse Krannert Center for the Performing Arts 500 S. Goodwin Ave., Urbana John H. Holland Departments of Computer Science and Engineering and Psychology, The University of Michigan; External professor, Sante Fe Institute How does the immune system organize itself to recognize and repel agents of infectious disease? How has the complex instinctive behavior of animals evolved? How does a city like New York or Tokyo manage to deliver food, medicine, clothing, and other essentials to millions of inhabitants without breaking down? What are the common characteristics of these and other complex systems that allow them to "learn," to adapt and to survive? This is one of the most challenging and intriguing mysteries confronting us today. The inventor of genetic algorithms, and one of the pioneers of the new science of complexity, John H. Holland has been at the center of the rapidly developing field of complex adaptive systems (cas) since its inception. Combining observations from disciplines as diverse as economics, immunology, ecology, neuroscience, game theory, and political thought, Holland provides powerful insight into how complexity emerges and adapts. Sponsors: Office of the Chancellor, Office of the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and the Graduate College, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, The Council of Deans, The Center for Advanced Study, George A. Miller Endowment, George A. Miller Committee, Peggy Harris Memorial Fund, Department of Accountancy, Department of Business Administration, Department of Cell and Structural Biology, Department of Chemistry, Department of Entomology, Department of General Engineering, Department of Molecular and Integrative Biology, Department of Philosophy, Center for Complex Systems Research, Computer Science/Artificial Intelligence Steering Committee, Office of Organizational Research The Legacy of Mahatma Gandhi: An End-of-the-Century Perspective October 2, 1997 Thursday 7:30 p.m. Third Floor Levis Faculty Center 919 W. Illinois St., Urbana Rajmohan Gandhi Research Professor, Centre for Policy Study, New Delhi; George A. Miller Endowment Visiting Professor, UIUC Mahatma Gandhi's non-violent approach to liberation from British colonial rule was successful not only in gaining India's independence, it also inspired similar approaches in other parts of the world, most notably in Martin Luther King's civil rights movement. The Mahatma's political philosophy, however, extended beyond the struggle for independence; it included important ideas about the political and social organization of the country after independence, such as religious tolerance, rural develop.m.ent, and elimination of caste system injustices. The second of October, Mahatma Gandhi's birthday, is traditionally celebrated in India and by Indians living abroad as an occasion of great rejoicing and pride. Professor Rajmohan Gandhi is in a unique position to talk about Mahatma Gandhi's legacy on this day, because he is able to combine the scholarly expertise of the specialist in India's political and social develop.m.ents with the inside perspective of being a grandson of the Mahatma. Professor Gandhi's talk is part of a year-long series of events in recognition of India's fiftieth anniversary of independence. For more information contact the Program in South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, 333-0796. SPONSORS: Office of the Chancellor, Office of the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and the Graduate College, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, The Council of Deans, The Center for Advanced Study, George A. Miller Endowment, George A. Miller Committee, Peggy Harris Memorial Fund, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, School of Social Work, Department of History, Department of Political Science, International Programs and Studies, Program in Arms Control, Disarmament and International Security (ACDIS), Program in South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, Indian Cultural Society of Champaign-Urbana. Myth vs Reality: Women's Struggles in India Since Independence October 7, 1997 Tuesday 7:30 p.m. Room 62, Krannert Art Museum 500 West Peabody, Champaign The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Madhu Kishwar Founding Editor, Manushi---A Journal About Women and Society Fellow, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, New Delhi A leading figure in the Indian Women's and Human Rights movement and founder/editor of Manushi, Madhur Kishwar review women's struggles in post-independence India, and the prospects for Indian women in the next century. Madhu Kishwar's talk is part of a year-long series of events in recognition of India's fiftieth anniversary of independence. For more information contact the Program in South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, 333-0796. SPONSORS: Office of the Chancellor, Office of the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and the Graduate College, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, The Council of Deans, The Center for Advanced Study, George A. Miller Endowment, George A. Miller Committee, Peggy Harris Memorial Fund, School of Social Work Department of Anthropology, Department of History, Department of Human and Community Develop.m.ent, Department of Journalism, Department of Political Science, Department of Sociology, Office of Women in International Develop.m.ent, Program in South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, Women's Studies Program, Indian Student Association, Indian Cultural Society of Urbana-Champaign. Orchids and Flames: Adventures in Restoration Ecology and Conservation Biology October 9, 1997 Thursday 7:30 p.m. Third Floor Levis Faculty Center 919 W. Illinois St., Urbana Stephen Packard Director of Science and Stewardship, Illinois Nature Conservancy "When you know something is about to go out of existence, it calls out to you. People realize then there is something great to do that no future generation can do, this is do or die, the time when these last little remnants of prairie and savannah are going...What's true today for the tall grass prairie is rapidly going to become true for the planet as a whole. There will be nothing that survives in a healthy state except what people learn to restore and maintain." -Stephen Packard Stephen Packard, a pioneering practitioner and theorist of restoration addresses the current state and future of the movement. He is co-editor of The Tallgrass Restoration Handbook for Prairies, Savannas, and Woodlands (Island Press, 1997). SPONSORS: Office of the Chancellor, Office of the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and the Graduate College, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, The Council of Deans, The Center for Advanced Study, George A. Miller Endowment, George A. Miller Committee, Peggy Harris Memorial Fund, The Environmental Council, Department of English, Department of Entomology, Department of Ethology, Ecology and Evolution, Department of Geology, Department of Geography, Department of History, Department of Landscape Architecture, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, Department of Plant Biology, Illinois Natural History Survey, Grand Prairie Friends, Prairie Grove Volunteers, Urbana Park District. Selling Out: The Gay and Lesbian Movement Goes to Market October 16, 1997 Thursday 7:30 p.m. Third Floor Levis Faculty Center 919 W. Illinois St., Urbana The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Alexandra Chasin Department of English, Boston College Co-Chair, Board of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission In the last six years, a new niche market has emerged in the United States: gay and lesbian consumers have been targeted both by mainstream corporate producers and by gay and lesbian producers. During the same six years, the gay and lesbian political movement has achieved a level of social visibility that has brought questions of gay civil rights into public discourse, from gays in the military to gay marriage to struggles over anti-discrimination legislation on the ballot and in court. A crucial question arise: what is the relationship between gay and lesbian market activity and the gay and lesbian political movement? For background information, please consult www.cas.uiuc.edu or the Miller Events Line, 333-1118. SPONSORS: Office of the Chancellor, Office of the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and the Graduate College, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, Office of Affirmative Action, The Council of Deans, The Center for Advanced Study, George A. Miller Endowment, George A. Miller Committee, Peggy Harris Memorial Fund, Department of English, Unit for Criticism and Interpretive Theory, Unit One/Allen Hall, Women's Studies Program, Counseling Center, Office of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Concerns, Office of Women's Programs. Finding a Voice: A Reading by Jake Lamar October 21, 1997 Tuesday 4:00 p.m. Twentieth Century Gallery Krannert Art Museum 500 West Peabody, Champaign The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Jake Lamar Author of Bourgeois Blues and The Last Integrationist Jake Lamar was born in 1961 and grew up in New York City. After graduating from Harvard University, he worked for Time magazine. Despite becoming one of the youngest associate editors, he decided to leave the magazine in 1989 to write Bourgeois Blues, a memoir about his relationship with his father and their lives as black men in America. This book was followed by The Last Integrationist, a political thriller that explores some of America's most explosive social questions. Both books have received critical acclaim internationally. Lamar will discuss one of the central mysteries of writing: how does an author acquire a voice or develop a style? He will then read from his forthcoming novel, Close to the Bone, an interracial comedy that takes place during the O. J. Simpson murder trial. For background information, please consult www.cas.uiuc.edu or the Miller Events Line, 333-1118. In a related CAS/MillerComm98 presentation, Albert French, author of Billy, Holly, and Patches of Fire: A Story of War and Redemption will give a reading of his work on October 22, 7:30 p.m., Levis Faculty Center. SPONSORS: Office of the Chancellor, Office of the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and the Graduate College, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, The Council of Deans, The Center for Advanced Study, George A. Miller Endowment, George A. Miller Committee, Peggy Harris Memorial Fund, College of Communications, School of Art and Design, Department of English, Department of Philosophy, Department of Political Science, Afro-Americana Library, Afro-American Studies and Research Program, Center for African Studies, Creative Writing Program, Illinois Program for Research in the Humanities, Krannert Art Museum and Kinkead Pavilion, LAS/Humanities Council, African-American Cultural Program. Albert French: Discovering Myself Through the Power of Ideas and Words October 22, 1997 Wednesday 7:30 p.m. Third Floor Levis Faculty Center 919 W. Illinois St., Urbana The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Albert French Author of Billy, Holly, and Patches of Fire: A Story of War and Redemption "I want to put the stuff I see in my mind on the page. I want to draw it with words, draw the feelings of it, draw the feelings into little words...I can't stop writing; I don't want to, either." Self-taught author Albert French celebrates the human spirit through his words and stories. Twenty years after first surviving a terrifying tour of duty in Vietnam as a marine corporal and then a failed magazine venture in his home town of Pittsburgh, Pa., Albert French began to write--had to write-- about his life, the memories that haunted him and the sense of purpose which eluded him. The resulting works of fiction and nonfiction skillfully celebrate the triumph of the human spirit over the unrelenting horrors of life. "The best first novel by a black author since Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye in 1969" Billy--- Time "...Anguishing. Mr. French's subject remains the American interracial experience at mid century. ...The beauty of Mr. French's language is exceptional." Holly--- New York Times Book Review "A tautly introspective, impressionistic literary memoir that fills a gaping void in the literature of the American war in Vietnam by brilliantly illuminating the war and postwar experience of an African-American veteran." Patches of Fire---Kirkus Review A related CAS/MillerComm98 presentation, "Finding a Voice: A Reading by Jake Lamar" will be on Tuesday, October 21 starting at 4:00 p.m., Krannert Art Museum, 500 W. Peabody Drive, Champaign. Mr. Lamar is the author of Bourgeois Blues and The Last Integrationist. For background information, please consult www.cas.uiuc.edu or the Miller Events Line, 333-1118. SPONSORS: Office of the Chancellor, Office of the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and the Graduate College, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, Office of Affirmative Action, The Council of Deans, The Center for Advanced Study, George A. Miller Endowment, George A. Miller Committee, Peggy Harris Memorial Fund, Department of English, Department of History, Department of Political Science, Department of Speech Communications, Afro-American Studies and Research Program, Creative Writing Program, Unit One/Allen Hall, African American Cultural Center, Krannert Art Museum and Kinkead Pavilion, Psychological Services Center, Champaign Public Library, Champaign School District #4. Rethinking PanAfricanism for the Twenty-First Century October 30, 1997 Thursday 4:00 p.m. Third Floor Levis Faculty Center 919 W. Illinois St., Urbana The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Niara Sudarkasa President, Lincoln University of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania PanAfricanism is a set of ideologies and movements linking African people in the continent and the diaspora for their liberation and develop.m.ent which has had a complex history in this century, characterized by both successes and failures, and powerful commitments, connections, and contradictions. What does PanAfricanism mean for people of Africa and the African diaspora in this era of intensifying globalization and nationalism? Are the concepts of PanAfricanism still relevant or how must they change as we rapidly approach the twenty-first century? In 1987, Niara Sudarkasa became the first woman president of Lincoln University, the nation's oldest black college, and for much of its history, an all-male institution. She leads a school that has a long and distinguished history of training African American and African leaders. The Afro-American Studies and Research Program and the Center for African Studies join with other campus units to present the Inaugural W. E. B. Du Bois Lecture, in honor of the renowned African American and PanAfricanist intellectual and activist. For background information, please consult www.cas.uiuc.edu or the Miller Events Line, 333-1118. SPONSORS: Office of the Chancellor, Office of the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and the Graduate College, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, Office of Affirmative Action, The Council of Deans, The Center for Advanced Study, George A. Miller Endowment, George A. Miller Committee, Peggy Harris Memorial Fund, College of Education, Department of Anthropology, Department of English, Department of History, Department of Political Science, Department of Sociology, Afro-American Studies and Research Program, Campus Honors Program, Center for African Studies, Center for East Asian and Pacific Studies, Center for International Business Education and Research, Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, International Programs and Studies, Office of Women in International Develop.m.ent, University Library, Undergraduate Library, Women's Studies Program, African-American Cultural Program, Office of Minority Student Affairs. CITIZENSHIP, DEMOCRACY AND EDUCATION October 31, 1997 Friday 4:00 p.m. Illini Room A, Illini Union 1401 West Green Street, Urbana The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Carlos Alberto Torres Director Latino American Studies Center, UCLA Director, Paulo Freire Institute, Sao Paulo, Brazil President, Comparative International Education Society Carlos Alberto Torres' work on political philosophy, education, sociology and political science has made him one of the leading comparativists and Critical Pedagogues in the U.S. This Argentinean scholar who came to Stanford University 15 years ago, without knowing a word of English, to do graduate work, obtained a doctorate within three years and has since published more than 30 books and 150 research articles. His lecture will discuss the relationships between citizenship, democracy, and multicultural education exploring the key dilemmas of diversity, the politics of identity and democracy in multicultural societies. Dr. Torres will invite us to consider our commitments to democracy and multiculturalism in light of the challenges of our global era. For background information, please consult www.cas.uiuc.edu or the Miller Events Line, 333-1118. SPONSORS: Office of the Chancellor, Office of the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and the Graduate College, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, Office of Affirmative Action, The Council of Deans, The Center for Advanced Study, George A. Miller Endowment, George A. Miller Committee, Peggy Harris Memorial Fund, College of Education, Graduate School of Library and Information Science, Department of Anthropology, Department of Educational Policy Studies, Department of History, Department of Sociology, Department of Vocational and Technical Education, Afro-American Studies and Research Program, Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Center for Writing Studies, Institute of Communications Research, Latino/Latina Studies Program, Policy Studies Organization, Unit for Criticism and Interpretive Theory, Women's Studies Program, La Casa Cultural Latina, University of Illinois International and Comparative Education Students Association. African American Lesbian and Gay History: An Exploration November 6, 1997 Thursday 7:30 p.m. Third Floor Levis Faculty Center 919 W. Illinois St., Urbana The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Barbara Smith Black feminist writer and activist, George A. Miller Endowment Scholar Despite the institutionalization of Black studies and increasing academic recognition of lesbian, gay, "queer," and gender studies, the lives of Black lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and trans-identified people have been generally ignored. Currently, this history exists in fragments, in scattered documents, in fiction, in poetry and blues lyrics, in hearsay, and in innuendo. Barbara Smith discusses the challenges of documenting the pre-1960s history of Black lesbian and gay communities and the need to create an accurate analytical framework that incorporates the racial, class, political, and cultural factors that shape the histories of African Americans of varying sexualities. Barbara Smith is publisher emerita, Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press and the general editor of The Reader's Companion to U.S. Women's History (forthcoming February, 1997). Her book The Truth That Never Hurts: Collected Writing 1968-1998 will be published by Rutgers University Press in September, 1998. For background information, please consult www.cas.uiuc.edu or the Miller Events Line, 333-1118. SPONSORS: Office of the Chancellor, Office of the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and the Graduate College, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, Office of Affirmative Action, The Council of Deans, The Center for Advanced Study, George A. Miller Endowment, George A. Miller Committee, Peggy Harris Memorial Fund, Afro-American Studies and Research Program, Department of History, Department of Speech Communication, Unit for Criticism and Interpretive Theory, Unit One/Allen Hall, Women's Studies Program, Counseling Center, Office of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Concerns, Office of Women's Programs, A Women's Fund, OUTpost Community Center. My America....Or Honk If You Love Buddha, Fifteen years after Who Killed Vincent Chin? November 11-12, 1997 Room 66, Main Library 1408 West Gregory Drive, Urbana University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Renee Tajima-Pena Film Director, Writer and Producer A leading chronicler of the Asian-American scene, acclaimed filmmaker, Renee Tajina- Peña, shares her insights and processes with the audience following each evening's screening of one of her films. Each film runs approximately 80 minutes. My America....Or Honk If You Love Buddha Midwest premiere Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. November 11, 1997 A coming of age story for Asian American in an intoxicating and irreverent documentary... a must-see film about immigration, race, Multiculturalism and the American Road. Fifteen years after Who Killed Vincent Chin? Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. November 12, 1997 Revisiting the Academy-Award nominated investigation, Who Killed Vincent Chin?, fifteen years after the brutal murder of a young Chinese American engineer by two unemployed Detroit auto workers. For background information, please consult www.cas.uiuc.edu or the Miller Events Line, 333-1118. Renee Tajima-Pena will be on FOCUS 580 at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, November 12. SPONSORS: Office of the Chancellor, Office of the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and the Graduate College, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, Office of Affirmative Action, The Council of Deans, The Center for Advanced Study, George A. Miller Endowment, George A. Miller Committee, Peggy Harris Memorial Fund, University Library, School of Social Work, Department of Anthropology, Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, Department of Educational Policy Studies, Department of English, Department of History, Department of Sociology, Afro-American Studies and Research Program, Asian American Studies Committee, Illinois Program for Research in the Humanities, Latino/Latina Studies Program, Unit for Cinema Studies, Asian Pacific American Resource Committee, Office of the Dean of Students, Asian Pacific American Affairs. Fashioning a Culture of "Diligence and Thrift" - Savings and Frugality Campaigns in Modern Japan November 13, 1997 Thursday 4:00 p.m. Third Floor Levis Faculty Center 919 W. Illinois St., Urbana The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Sheldon M. Garon Department of History, Princeton University Sheldon Garon explores how the modern state and ordinary people in Japan have competed and cooperated throughout the twentieth century in pursuit of their own interests and goals, much as peoples and states have interacted elsewhere in the world. By revealing how the state and ordinary people negotiated and interacted to effect modern Japan's "culture" of savings, he provides an important service in correcting those culturalist stereotypes that portray the Japanese people as necessarily obsessed with savings due to some putative quality of their culture. For background information, please consult www.cas.uiuc.edu or the Miller Events Line, 333-1118. Sheldon Garon will be on FOCUS 580 at 11 a.m. on Friday, November 14. SPONSORS: Office of the Chancellor, Office of the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and the Graduate College, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, Office of Affirmative Action, The Council of Deans, The Center for Advanced Study, George A. Miller Endowment, George A. Miller Committee, Peggy Harris Memorial Fund, Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, Department of History, Center for East Asian and Pacific Studies, Center for International Business Education and Research, International Programs and Studies, Women's Studies Program. The Dual Agenda: The African-American Struggle for Civil and Economic Equality November 13, 1997 Thursday 7:30 p.m. Third Floor Levis Faculty Center 919 W. Illinois St., Urbana The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Dona Cooper Hamilton Sociology and Social Work, Lehman College, CUNY Charles V. Hamilton Wallace Sayre Professor of Government, Columbia University From the New Deal to the 1990s, Dona Cooper Hamilton and Charles V. Hamilton demonstrate the many ways in which the civil rights movement fought not only to end racial segregation and discrimination but also to support social and economic justice for all Americans. From the NRA and WPA to the Great Society and the War on Poverty, from the NAACP, National Urban League and A. Philip Randolph, to the Congressional Black Caucus and Marian Wright Edelman of the Children's Defense Fund and many others, the Hamiltons chart the changing strategies and describe the often fierce battle that civil rights groups fought over this "dual agenda." For background information, please consult www.cas.uiuc.edu or the Miller Events Line, 333-1118. Dona Cooper Hamilton and Charles Hamilton will be on FOCUS 580 at 11 a.m. on Thurs., November 13. SPONSORS: Office of the Chancellor, Office of the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and the Graduate College, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, Office of Affirmative Action, The Council of Deans, The Center for Advanced Study, George A. Miller Endowment, George A. Miller Committee, Peggy Harris Memorial Fund, School of Social Work, Department of History, Department of Human and Community Develop.m.ent, Department of Political Science, Department of Sociology, Afro-American Studies and Research Program, University Library, Women's Studies Program, African-American Cultural Program, Urban League of Champaign County. Una Mujer Sin Fronteras: Luisa Moreno and Latina Labor Activism November 17, 1997 Monday 7:30 p.m. Third Floor Levis Faculty Center 919 W. Illinois St., Urbana The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Vicki L. Ruiz Departments of History and Chicana/Chicano Studies, Arizona State University Luisa Moreno was a champion of civil rights for Spanish-speaking people in the United States throughout the 1930s and 40s. She was the vice president of the largest CIO union, the United Cannery, Agricultural Packing and Allied Workers of America and was the first Latina to hold a national union office. Vicki Ruiz has edited four anthologies including Unequal Sisters: A Multicultural Reader in U.S. Women's History. Her latest book, From Out of the Shadows: Mexican Women in 20th Century America, will be published this fall. This lecture is part of the series "What is Latina/Latino Studies?" sponsored by the UIUC Latina/Latino Studies Program. For more information on the series and the LLSP program contact www.lls.uiuc.edu or call 265-0038. For background information, please consult www.cas.uiuc.edu or the Miller Events Line, 333-1118. SPONSORS: Office of the Chancellor, Office of the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and the Graduate College, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, Office of Affirmative Action, The Council of Deans, The Center for Advanced Study, George A. Miller Endowment, George A. Miller Committee, Peggy Harris Memorial Fund, Department of History, Department of Anthropology, Department of Human and Community Develop.m.ent, Department of Political Science, Department of Sociology, Department of Spanish, Italian and Portuguese, Afro-American Studies and Research Program, Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations, Latina/Latino Studies Program, Women's Studies Program, La Casa Cultural Latina, Office of Minority Student Affairs, Office of Women's Programs, University YMCA. Our Toxic Legacy: Intellectual Impairments in Children Exposed to Industrial Pollutants November 19, 1997 Wednesday 7:30 p.m. Auditorium, Environmental and Agricultural Sciences Building 1101 West Peabody Drive, Urbana University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Joseph L. Jacobson Department of Psychology, Wayne State University PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls made compounds once widely used in electrical transformers and capacitors) are among the most ubiquitous and persistent environmental contaminants. Although banned in most western nations since the 1970s, PCBs continue to be found in a variety of foods, including fish, cheese, and fatty meats. Jacobson has found that exposure to surprisingly low levels of these compounds adversely affects intellectual function, particularly attention and reading skills, in school age children. For background information, please consult www.cas.uiuc.edu or the Miller Events Line, 333-1118. SPONSORS: Office of the Chancellor, Office of the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and the Graduate College, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, Office of Affirmative Action, The Council of Deans, The Center for Advanced Study, George A. Miller Endowment, George A. Miller Committee, Peggy Harris Memorial Fund, College of Agriculture, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, College of Medicine at Urbana-Champaign, Environmental Council, Department of Biochemistry, Department of Community Health, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, Department of Veterinary Biosciences, Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, Campus Honors Program, Division of Nutritional Sciences, Howard Hughes Program for Undergraduate Education in the Life Sciences, Interdisciplinary Environmental Toxicology Program, Medical Scholars Program, Neuroscience Program, Women's Studies Program.