ON CAMPUS: SUSTAINED DIALOGUE, COMMUNITY UPDATE SERIES, BI-CO MATHEMATICS COLLOQUIUM, PHILOSOPHY COLLOQUIUM, LECTURE ON SOUTH AFRICA

Sustained Dialogue Returns. A Diversity Conversation to be held this Friday, Oct. 8, from noon to 1 p.m. at the Multicultural Center, is titled "Sustained Dialogue: A Report and an Invitation." The program, which grew out of international peacemaking efforts, has been adapted with great success to issues of diversity and difference on college campuses. It brings together groups of eight or 10 people, each with two trained student moderators, who meet regularly over the course of a year to discuss issues of difference; organizers say that the program's duration fosters the development of trust among participants, allowing candid discussions of controversial issues that are often avoided. Assistant Dean Michelle Mancini, Heather Davis '06 and Maria Fernandes '06, who all participated in the program last year, will open the conversation with a discussion of last year's efforts and their hopes for continuing the program on the Bryn Mawr campus. All members of the community are invited; lunch will be served.

Community Update Series Continues. President Nancy J. Vickers will continue her series of Community Updates with students, faculty and staff after Fall Break. On Monday, Oct. 18, Vickers and Chief Advancement Officer Marc Diamond will meet with staff in Thomas Great Hall from 10 to 11:30 a.m. to present a progress update on the Plan for a New Century and the Challenging Women Campaign. Vickers and Diamond will take up the same topic with faculty on Thursday, Oct. 21, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. in the Ely Room of Wyndham.

On Wednesday, Oct. 20, at 7 p.m. in the Campus Center Main Lounge, Vickers, accompanied by a senior fundraising officer, will hold an extended, two-hour meeting with students to discuss her vision for the future of the College as well as Bryn Mawr's progress toward the goals of the Plan and the campaign that aims to fund it.

Bi-Co Mathematics Colloquium. Rice University Professor of Mathematics Tim Cochran will give a talk titled "Knot Theory: Groping in 3- and 4-Dimensional Space" on Monday, Oct. 18, from 4:15 to 5:15 p.m. in Park 328. Says Cochran: "I will consider knotted circles in 3-dimensional space and will define 'gropes,' which are a generalization of surfaces. I will explain how they are related to group theory and how they can be used to study knots and also used to study 4-dimensional manifolds. There will be a lot of pictures. I will outline how algebra and analysis can be used to study these highly geometric objects." The talk is free and open to all. For more information, call Becky Roeser at x5348.

Philosophy Colloquium Looks Eastward. On Wednesday, Oct. 20, the Philosophy Department Colloquium and the East Asian Studies Program will host Vassar Associate Professor of Philosophy Bryan Van Norden for a lecture titled "Three Approaches to the Study of Confucianism" in Thomas 224 from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Van Norden, who has edited three books on Confucianism and classical Chinese philosophy, has published widely on these topics and is the recipient of numerous research awards, including a Fulbright grant. The lecture is free and open to all; light refreshments will be served.

Lecture Focuses on South Africa's Democracy. The Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research and the Center for Ethnicities, Communities and Social Policy are presenting a lecture titled "The New South Africa: An Emerging Democracy" on Wednesday, Oct. 20, at 5 p.m. Eddie Daniels, South African activist, will be the speaker. The talk will be held in the School of Social Work Gymnasium, where all are welcome to attend; light refreshments will be served.

<<Back to Bryn Mawr Now 10/7/2004