PSU Weekend

16 FREE Seminars + One walking tour!
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Smith Memorial Student Union, 1825 SW Broadway
Register for Saturday Seminars

Brew to Bikes: Portland's Artisan Economy
Saturday 9:30 a.m.
Charles Heying PhD, Associate Professor, Nohad Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning

Author Heying will provide a brief overview of his book, Brew to Bikes: Portland’s Artisan Economy and discuss a few of Portland’s signature artisan sectors (brew, bikes, fashion, food) and their contribution to our economy. What economic development strategies should local governments employ to take advantage of this artisanal Portland phenomenon?

Seed Banks: A root cause and potential solution to the current mass extinction
Saturday 9:30 a.m.
Dr. Ed Guerrant, Professor of Ex Situ Plant Conservation, and Director of the Rae Selling Berry Seed Bank and Plant Conservation Program, Department of Environmental Science and Management, PSU.

After more than 30 years in southwest Portland, the Berry Botanic Garden moved its world-famous seed bank to PSU in 2011 in order to preserve some threatened and endangered plant species. Conservation Director Guerrant says saving seeds is as old as civilization and as new as the daily headlines. His talk will trace the use of seed banks from before plants were domesticated.

The World of Partisan Politics
Saturday 9:30 a.m.
Melody Rose PhD, Vice Provost for Academic Programs and Instruction, Professor of Political Science, Hatfield School of Government

This highly regarded political scientist will discuss elections and the powers of the United State Congress in our highly charged partisan society. How can we make decisions?

Blue Planet, Green Neighborhood: Sustaining Urban Places by Engaging Citizens
Saturday 9:30 a.m.
Vivek Shandas PhD, Associate Professor, Nohad Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning , Research Assistant in the Center for Urban
Studies, Institute of Sustainable Solutions, PSU

This discussion will focus on efforts by PSU faculty, students, and staff to improve the places we live through citizen engagement. Professor Shandas will talk about how the role of technology, citizen participation, and information creates resilient, meaningful, and beautiful places in Portland and beyond.

Bibliophiles Buy Vinyl: The Future and Past of Publishing
Saturday 9:30 a.m.
Dan DeWeese MA ‘03, Writing Center Coordinator, PSU; Propeller Books Editor

Everyone involved in publishing--from local- to internationally-known authors, from small to huge publishing companies--is going through changes caused by the Internet and digital reading devices. This timely lecture will discuss the nature, products, and strategies of contemporary publishing, as well as consider our changing definition of "books," and how and where we read them.

Searching for Paradise, Searching for Home: A Novel Written between Two Cities
Saturday 10:30 a.m.
Diana Abu-Jaber PhD, Professor of English, PSU

This well-known and engaging author (Crescent, The Language of Baklava) will talk about the literary background of her newly-published novel, Birds of Paradise, including a short reading from the book.

Pushing Pedalers: What Drives Bicycling?
Saturday 10:30 a.m.
Jennifer Dill, PhD, Associate Professor, Nohad Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning; Director, Oregon Transportation, Research and Education Consortium

Lynn Weigand ‘07, PhD, Director, Initiative for Bicycle and Pedestrian Innovation, PSU

What motivates people to ride a bicycle for transportation or recreation? Find out what PSU researchers are learning about how policies, infrastructure and programs are encouraging bicycling and how Portland is becoming a model bicycling city.

Islamophobia Then and Now: An Alternative History of Race
Saturday 10:30 a.m.
Leerom Medovoi PhD, Director of the Portland Center for Public Humanities at PSU

What is at stake in some people calling Barack Obama, our first black president, a Muslim? This fascinating talk will look at the multi-century history of Islamophobia and anti-semitism to consider what connections they reveal about the ways that we connect race and religion.

Art and Social Practice
Saturday 10:30 a.m.
Harrell Fletcher MFA, Associate Professor, Art and Social Practice, Department of Art, PSU

The founder of PSU’s Art and Social Practice Program describes the history of this emphasis on participatory, public art works and outlines some exciting examples. The local history, social engagement, and pedagogy involved in this practice doesn’t always happen in traditional art contexts.

Genetically Modified Foods and How they Grew: Science, Policy, and Public Engagement
Saturday 10:30 a.m.
Lisa Weasel PhD, Associate Professor of Biology, PSU

Genetically modified foods have been the source of significant global controversy. This presentation, based on fieldwork in India, Zambia, Europe and the United States, will explore the controversies surrounding GM food relating to food security, human health, and the environment in the face of climate change and shifts in global diets and food cultures.

Prehistoric Geoarchaeology of the Oregon Coast: Changing Landscapes, Seascapes, and Records of Occupation
Saturday 10:30 a.m.
Curt Peterson PhD, Professor of Geology, Portland State University

This senior geologist examines the implications of regional tectonic strain, sea level rise, and sediment supply in cultural site occupation and discusses preservation potential and long-term impact on the Oregon coast.

Biodynamic Wine Making; Back to the Future
Saturday 11:30 a.m.
Rudy Marchesi, Winemaker, Proprietor, Montinore Estate, Forest Grove

We all know the Willamette Valley and environs is home to a thriving wine industry, but how much do we know about biodynamic wine making and why does it matter? Join Rudy Marchesi as he guides you through the experience of producing wine from this gorgeous estate in Forest Grove, with some samples so you can taste the difference!

Leading in Sustainable Business
Saturday 11:30 a.m.
Alison Dennis, Executive Director, Center for Global Leadership in Sustainability, PSU School of Business

What are the real-time challenges to sustainable ways of working and living? How are leaders on the front lines of sustainable business and community development meeting these challenges and what can we learn from them? Ms. Dennis will share inspirational lessons learned and calls to action from internationally-recognized business and organization leaders, innovators and entrepreneurs who are changing the way we live and work, here in Oregon and around the World.

Afghanistan: What's Next?
Saturday 11:30 a.m.
Grant Farr PhD, Associate Dean, PSU College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

This popular expert will review the recent events in Afghanistan from the perspective of the Afghan people. The NATO forces seem intent on withdrawing from the country, but what will be the consequences? Will discussions with the Taliban lead to an acceptable peace? Are there other acceptable outcomes?

Toward One Oregon....or Not!?!
Saturday 11:30 a.m.
Panel discussion with:
Ethan Seltzer PhD, Professor, Nohad Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning, PSU
Beth Emshoff, Metro Specialist, OSU Extension Service
Carl Abbott PhD, Professor, Nohad Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning, PSU
Richard Clucas, PhD, Professor, Political Science, Hatfield School of Government, PSU
Michael Hibbard, Professor Emeritus, Department of Planning, Public Policy, and Management, UofO

What makes a state in the 21st century? Are we, urban and rural Oregonians, joined by more than our choice of license plates? Can this relationship be saved? Join the authors of Toward One Oregon (OSU Press, 2011) for a spirited discussion of the state of our Oregon urban and rural union, and what we might make of it.

Stieg Larsson's Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Series and the New World Order
Saturday 11:30 a.m.
Marcia Klotz PhD, Assistant Professor of English, PSU

This talk compares Larsson's moral universe with that of Raymond Chandler's hard-boiled, WWII era detective Marlowe, and Ian Fleming's James Bond cold war thrillers. This expert in gender and history will suggest that in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, sexual violence against women has come to replace political ideology and greed as the evil threatening contemporary society and the understanding of human rights.

PSU Weekend is a unique community-wide event sponsored by the PSU Alumni Association that welcomes more than 1,200 friends, alumni, and neighbors to campus for an educational and entertaining weekend. For more information contact the PSU Alumni Association.