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PSU Offers Free Noon Lectures by Visiting Professors
Author: Sarojni Ram (503-725-8763)
Posted: June 18, 2004

An annual series of free lectures at Portland State returns this summer. For over 20 years, Portland State has brought internationally renowned professors to campus to teach courses during Summer Session. The "Tour the World at Home" series highlights some of these individuals through a brown-bag lecture series, all of which are free, open to the public and held at noon in the Smith Memorial Student Union Multicultural Center (Room 228, 1825 SW Broadway). Call 503-725-5057 for more information on lectures, professors or courses. Additional information is also available at www.summer.pdx.edu.

Schedule of Events
Wednesday, June 23, Noon, "The Rescue of the Danish Jews During World War II: My Grandfather's Story," by Peter H. Fogtdal (Denmark)
Born in Copenhagen, Peter H. Fogtdal studied creative writing in Florida and playwriting in California, earning a degree from California State University, Fullerton. Several of his novels have been bestsellers in Denmark, including his 1999 novel The Dreamer from Palestine, on which his "Tour the World" lecture is loosely based.

Tuesday, June 29, Noon, "The Legacy of Anne Frank," by Laureen Nussbaum (PSU Professor)
Laureen Nussbaum, a professor emerita in PSU's Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, and Anne Frank were both born in Frankfurt, Germany, in the late 1920s. Their parents knew each other. Upon immigration to Amsterdam, The Netherlands, both families settled in the same neighborhood and shared many experiences. Nussbaum has published extensively on German writers in Dutch exile in general, and on the "Diary" and legacy of Anne Frank in particular. This lecture commemorates the 75th anniversary of Anne Frank's birth.

Wednesday, June 30, Noon, "Landscape and History in Four Oregonian Fictions," by John Davies (England)
One of England's foremost scholars on American literature of the Northwest, Professor Davies received his Ph.D. in English from Nottingham University and has taught several times at PSU. In his "Tour the World" lecture, Professor Davies considers the works of Oregonian authors Molly Gloss, Ursula LeGuin, Craig Lesley and Robin Cody in the context of landscape and history.

Wednesday, July 7, Noon, "The German Culture of Exiles During World War II," by Marcus Patka (Austria)
Professor Patka received his Ph.D. in Contemporary History and German Literature from the University of Vienna. Since 1994 he has served as curator of the Jewish Museum in Vienna, creating and organizing exhibitions on literature, contemporary history, art, photography, music and theater. His "Tour the World" lecture focuses on the life and work of German refugees in the 1930s and 1940s.

Wednesday, July 14, Noon, "Wild and Cultivated Mushrooms: Consumption Trends in Mexico and Central America," by Yésica Mayett (Mexico)
A professor of marketing in the School of Business Administration at the Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla, Mexico, Yésica Mayett earned an M.B.A. at the Universidad de LAS. Professor Mayett has extensive experience in the food industry and is an expert on the mushroom market in Mexico-the subject of her doctoral dissertation and of her lecture for this series.

Wednesday, July 21, Noon, Meet the Professors
Join us for an informal reception honoring visiting professors and visiting scholars. In addition to the faculty coming to teach at PSU each summer, PSU hosts about 100 scholars each year, some coming for a few weeks, others for a year or more. This is an opportunity to meet some of these visitors, ask questions about their teaching and research, and visit with the PSU faculty with whom they are collaborating. Dessert and beverages will be served.

Wednesday, July 28, Noon, "The Formation and Persistence of the European Social Model: Social Diversity and Convergence in Europe After World War II," by Béla Tomka (Hungary)
Béla Tomka, professor of Modern Economic and Social History at the University of Szeged, received his Ph.D. in Economic and Social History from Kossuth University in Debrecen, Hungary. Professor Tomka's thematic focuses are economic institutions and the process of economic growth, social policy, and demography and family. Some of these interests are reflected in the theme of his "Tour the World" lecture.

Wednesday, August 4, Noon, "From Paris to the Provinces: Life in France Today," by Michaël Vallée (France)
A professor of English at the University of Avignon in southern France, Michaël Vallée holds bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in English and Linguistics from the University of Poitiers. His "Tour the World" lecture, which closes the 2004 series, draws attention to life in France and some of the unique cultural characteristics that differentiate the Parisians from the Provinciaux.

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Source:
Dawn White (503-725-5057
PSU Office of International Affairs

PR-04-076