Lois Schadewald - From the Minds of Pseudo-Scientists

Abstract:

Worlds of Their Own: A Brief History of Misguided Ideas: Creationism, Flat-Earthism, Energy Scams, and the Velikovsky Affair is a collection of writings from the late Robert Schadewald, a science writer who spent much of his time debating with creationists and flat earthers in the name of science. The testimony of a thirty-year expert in the realm of debunking pseudoscience, "Worlds of Their Own" is proof that the world lost a great scientific mind in 2000.” (From Midwest Book Review, Oregon, WI)

“History is written by the winners, including that of science. Unorthodoxies that flourish at the grassroots are often beneath the contempt of historians. Zetetic astronomy (flat-Earth science) was a household term in Victorian England, but not a single reference to it is found in conventional histories. We ignore such histories at our peril. Since the beginning of time, con artists have promoted pseudosciences – these ideas usually die in obscurity. Before they do, they may cause genuine harm. So, how do we discern between pseudo and actual science? To fully understand what science is, we must understand what science is not.”

Source: Book jacket cover for Worlds of Their Own: A Brief History of Misguided Ideas: Creationism, Flat-Earthism, Energy Scams, and the Velikovsky Affair

About the Presenter:

Worlds of Their Own was compiled by Lois Schadewald, Bob's sister, an Iowa State University alum and science educator, and faculty in chemistry here at NCC. She spent her 2003-2004 sabbatical preparing Worlds of Their Own as a fitting tribute to her late brother.

Brian Wolff - Kuznets' Curve and America's Avifauna

Presented by Brian Wolff, Ph.D., Faculty in Biology

This Friday, November 6^th, from noon – 12:50 p.m.

Room C1095

Abstract:

Simon Kuznets won the Nobel Prize in 1971 for his work relating economic growth and development to changing social conditions. Among the many fruits of his labor is Kuznets’ environmental curve, which depicts the hypothetical relationship between environmental quality and economic growth. Proponents of Kuznets’ curve often claim we can grow our way out of our environmental problems. This hypothesis is implied, for example, in President George W. Bush’s claim that economic growth is the solution, not the problem with respect to global warming. I will discuss Kuznets’ environmental curve as it relates to one measure of environmental quality - avian diversity.

Background:

Brian Wolff earned his M.S. in Environmental Biology at the University of Minnesota, Duluth, and his Ph.D. in Conservation Biology at the University of Minnesota. He has been teaching biology, environmental biology, and ecology at the University of Minnesota and Normandale Community College since 1994. He is the author of several scholarly papers on topics ranging from acidic precipitation and agriculturally-driven environmental issues to taxonomy and utilitarian environmental ethics. Brian commonly describes himself as a theoretical ecologist, with an eclectic interest in environmental ethics and economics. He has been studying birds and recording his observations in Minnesota since 1977.

James Carr - The Farey Tree

What’s a “vulgar fraction”? Find out!

“The Farey Tree”

Presented by James Carr, Faculty in Mathematics

October 9th - from noon until 12:50

Room C1095

New Ideas and DiscussionNormandale Colloquium Series 2009 - 2010

James Carr's Biographical Statement:

I was born in southern Minnesota in the town of Blue Earth. I did undergraduate work at St. John’s University Collegeville, the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Metropolitan University in Minneapolis, Brown Institute (back in its Lake Street days), and St. Cloud State University finally getting a BA in Mathematics with a minor in Earth Science from St. Cloud State. I then worked for thirteen years for NCR Network Products Division in Roseville, Minnesota in communications software programming, technical support for marketing, and several management positions. I twice started in the graduate program in mathematics at the University of Minnesota without finishing anything and later did graduate work at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) getting an MA in Mathematics. I then continued at UWM in the doctoral program progressing to my current” all but dissertation” status. After that I taught at the Milwaukee School of Engineering for eight years and then returned to Minnesota to teach at Normandale Community College for the last two years. My research interests include the study of low-dimensional dynamics, for which I have some qualifications and little excitement, and questions involving prime number distribution, for which I am woefully under-qualified but have a grand passion. I have always loved the primes, even back when I was a kid in Blue Earth. Trying to understand prime numbers brought me into contact with the Farey mathematics which is the subject of my talk today.

A Celebration of the AFA in Creative Writing

Presented by Normandale Creative Writing Faculty
Friday, September 25^th, from noon – 12:50 p.m.
Room C1095

Abstract:

Join our Fall 2009 Creative Writing Faculty for a sampling of original poetry and prose, along with information on Normandale's newest AFA degree. Kris Bigalk, Alicia Conroy, Matt Mauch, Eric Mein, and Tom Maltman will share their work and host a Q and A session.

The Creative Writing faculty would like to bring to your attention Normandale's student literary magazine, The Paper Lantern.

For those interested in submitting original prose or poetry, please read the following guidelines:

Entrants must be currently enrolled at Normandale Community College.

Put your name and contact information on everything you submit for consideration. Keep your own copy of your work; materials will not be returned to you.

Poetry submissions should consist of one to five poems, typed. They may be single or double spaced.

Fiction submissions should be 10 pages or less, typed and double spaced, with page numbers.

Submissions, with names and contact information removed, will be evaluated by the Creative Writing Club in its bi-weekly meetings. Submissions are read on a rolling basis, and early submissions will receive the most focused attention.

Contributors will be notified whether their work has been accepted for publication shortly before the magazine goes to press late in the term.

For more information, email lynette.reini-grandell@normandale.edu

David Lake - Do Polygraph Lie Detector Tests Work?

Friday, September 11th, from noon – 12:50 p.m.
Room C1095

Abstract:
What do polygraph lie detector tests measure? How do they work? How would you try to beat one? How accurate are they? How are the test results used?

Wonder no more! Dave will explore the answers to these questions on Friday. His interest in polygraph lie detection stems from his graduate work at the University of Minnesota. His graduate advisor, Bill Iacono, is one of the most prominent researchers in the area of polygraph lie detection. David's doctoral thesis examined the degree to which polygraph test results influenced prospective jurors as they evaluated descriptions of criminal cases.

Presenter Bio:
Dave Lake received his B.A. in Psychology from Oberlin College, where he was a research assistant in a laboratory which focused on the processes of face recognition and the recognition of facial displays of emotion. After returning home to his native Madison, WI, in order to work in a medical sociology research lab and pursue as much Ultimate Frisbee as possible in as many states and continents as he could for two years, he moved to the Twin Cities to study Psychology at The University of Minnesota. While pursuing a Ph.D. in the Biological Psychopathology program at the University, he researched the emotional experience of people with schizophrenia and the ways that various physiological and neurological measurements could be used to identify those who have inherited a risk for schizophrenia. When not teaching at Normandale, he spends time with his wife and four cats (he’s not quite sure how they have accumulated so many), and studies Arabic percussion.

Charlotte Sullivan - Fairy Tales: A Wish Our Culture Makes

Abstract:

Heard the one about a girl in a red cape? She walks into the woods and meets a wolf? Or about the sooty servant girl who rides to a ball in a magic coach? Certain fairy tales permeate nearly every corner of our culture. But why have these particular fairy tales survived the centuries? Scholars such as Jack Zipes have recently suggested that these tales, originally transmitted through oral storytelling, behave like genes, which lodge in our brains and cultures as memes. Only the best stories that address specific individual and social needs survive. Like genes, these stories evolve in response to the shifts in the cultures that retell them, be they 17th century French aristocrats or 19th century African American slaves.

But recently, Cinderella and Little Red have had to scoot over to make room for the likes of Harry Potter, Lyra Silvertongue, Percy Jackson, and Meggie of Inkheart. These heroes of contemporary children’s fantasy, though frozen in time in literary texts, still reflect characteristics inherited from their fairy tale ancestors. Charlotte Sullivan, a writer of children’s fantasy (and closet fairy tale addict), will suggest culturally specific reasons why these new tales have not only exploded onto the publishing scene, but locked into our cultural DNA, and what this tells us about the stories of our own lives.

Presenter Bio:

Charlotte Sullivan teaches English at Normandale Community College, tutors at the Luther Seminary Writing Center, and critiques children’s fiction manuscripts for The Queue. Her thirteen-year teaching career includes experience in the Bloomington Public Schools, as well as five years as a faculty member at Crown College. She earned an MFA in fiction from Hamline University, an MS in Curriculum and Instruction (writing focus) from MN State University, Mankato, and has published both literary and personal essays and poetry in a number of journals and newspapers. Ms. Sullivan is currently at work on a middle grade fantasy novel, which may or may not include a toothless pirate ghost.

Kurt Burch - Fossil Fuel Fools: Energy and the Future

Abstract:
What will the energy future look like? Rapid population growth and industrialization means humans will burn ever-growing amounts of energy, thereby depleting existing resources and increasing pollution. Most of this energy in the next 40 years will be from fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas.

• How much fossil fuel is left?

• How long will it last?

• How much pollution will it create?

• Is “going green” the solution?

• What is the cost to begin and complete a transition to the energy sources, storage, distribution, application, and use that will prevail in the future?

Presenter Bio:

Burch earned his PhD in Political Science (Global Affairs) from the University of Minnesota in 1991, and he has been teaching college and university students since 1988. Burch is keenly interested in the global interplay of political and economic conditions/policies. Burch has helped create and refine global political-economic “forecasts” for corporations and authors.

Rodney Raasch - Co-Occurring Disorders, Substance Dependence, and Mental Illness

Abstract:
Recent shootings at various schools around the country have brought to our attention the dangerous mental health of some of our youth. Rates of major depression and suicide have been increasing dramatically. Drug use, after dropping during the early 1990s, is now on the rise, even among middle school age youth.

Individuals with a history of substance dependence, particularly those in early recovery and those who are older, can exhibit significant cognitive deficits. Individuals with major depression also have significant cognitive impairment. Understanding lectures is difficult enough for students with impaired concentration. The two together create twice the difficulties in thinking and learning.


Presenter Bio:
Rodney received his Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of North Dakota
and his Masters of Education in Counseling and Guidance, from North Dakota State University.
In addition he has doctoral level course work in Educational Psychology and Counseling from
the University of South Dakota.

He has twenty years professional experience as a Certified/Licensed Chemical Dependency professional. His positions have included direct service, clinical supervision, and program administration. He has been associated with both public and private agencies/programs serving adults, adolescents, families, minorities, homeless, as well as middle and upper socioeconomic levels.

He currently serves as a member of the Mental Health Advisory Committee as well as a past member of the Human Resources Council for Scott County, Minnesota. He also served as a member of a Mental Health Initiatives Committee at Century College. This was an Award for Excellence project designed to research the Mental Health and Chemical Dependency needs and resources of students, staff, and faculty and make recommendations for improvements, additions, and implementation.

He currently is an adjunct instructor at Normandale Community College teaching in Psychology.
Additionally, he teaches at Century College in Psychology and Chemical Dependency and at Minneapolis Community and Technical College, in Psychology.

AnDrea Cleaves - You May Take My Body, But Not My Soul: Sex, Murder, and ‘The Confession of Letitia Wigington…’

Abstract:
17th Century Britain was a deadly era for many of its citizens: Political and criminal violence were rife both on the streets and in the home, and offenses were prosecuted without ample protection for defendants – especially women. It’s no wonder, then, that single mother and businesswoman Letitia Wigington was tried and executed without provision of a forum for response. Yet, does this mean that working-class women were denied all opportunities to have their voices heard?

In this presentation we will consider a 17th century pamphlet, The CONFESSION AND EXECUTION of Letitia Wigington of Ratclif… through the lens of the pamphlet writing genre. In exploration of the possibility of the text’s female authorship, the research establishes a historical context for pamphleteering and provides evidence of middle class literacy. We will examine the 17th century pamphlet genre (specifically, the crime/scaffold speech pamphlet) within its historical context, the connections between women’s literacy and pamphleteering, and apply these connections to the deconstruction of Letitia’s confession pamphlet.

Related Links:

Original Pamphlet Text - "Confession and Execution of Letitia Wigington"
London School of Economics - Pamphlet Collection
Literacy
Feminist Rhetoriticians

Corrinne Bedecarré - Do We Have an Ethical Responsibility to Teach Our Young People How to Drink?

Abstract:

Corrinne Bedecarré is a philosopher of French and Irish heritage. Storytelling, socializing and literature are integral to her life and these cultures. They also bring with them their share of complex relationships with the fruit of the grape and the nectar of hops. As a mother, auntie and college professor, Bedecarré has been painfully and personally aware of the extreme dangers which current drinking practices bring. After determining that binge drinking wasn’t just an extended family systems problem, Bedecarré has been thinking about ways that philosophy can contribute to the contemporary discussions and problem solving about effective approaches to alcohol, especially for the young.

The focus of those inquiries has been her search to provide a viable response to the question:

Do we have an ethical responsibility to teach our young people how to drink?

Presenter Bio:

Bedecarré received her undergraduate philosophy degree at Sonoma State University in California where she, as an undergraduate, helped to organize critical thinking conferences which have continued with great success. Longtime member of the Society for Women in Philosophy, Midwest Division, Bedecarré received her Master’s and Doctorate from the University of Minnesota. A California transplant, she spent her sabbatical, 2007-2008, reviewing applied ethics in Marin County, California.

Related Links:

Scientific Facts on Alcohol

College Drinking Prevention

College Presidents Want to Lower Drinking Age

Ron Ward - Origins, Ecology, and Economy of Invasive Species in Minnesota

Abstract:

“You know, one of the most shocking things about it is to realize how easily we have lost a world that seemed so safe and certain.” (From “Day of the Triffids” by John Wyndham)

Throughout the history of human civilization people have facilitated the spread of many species of plants, animals and fungi, as well as bacteria, viruses and other pathogens.

The necessary conduit for the spread of these organisms, whether intentional or accidental, is the human economy. As global economic trade intensifies increasing numbers of species are moving from place to place. Most introduced species do not become established, or do become established and end up being benign members of their host ecosystems.

However, a small number of species introductions result in established populations of “invasive” pest species. As global economic interconnectedness intensifies, numbers of invasive species are expected to increase exponentially. By definition, invasive species end up “winners”, and in many instances out-compete native species that end up “losers”. In concert with habitat destruction and fragmentation and the loss of many native species, increasing numbers of invasive species represent a transition from the world we know to a world of ragweed, cockroaches, mice and pigeons – a world the natural history author David Quammen calls a “planet of weeds”.

Presenter Bio:

Ron Ward - a native Upper Midwesterner - is originally from Grand Forks. He now hails from Nordeast Minneapolis, where he lives with his wife of 12 years and his 5 year old son. He received his Bachelors in Geography from the University of Minnesota, and his Masters and PhD from the University of Georgia, where he specialized in biogeography and human-environmental relationships. His dissertation research, which he finished in 2002, is titled "Biogeomorphic Effects of Ligustrum sinense (Chinese privet) invasion on the Upper Oconee River Floodplain, North Georgia". He is still quite active among invasive plant researchers, but now needs a new project because last summer he finished the last of 7 years of follow-up on his research site at the Georgia State Botanical Gardens.

Related Links:

Minnesota DNR - Invasive Species

Invasive Species Information

Ben Maegi - The Curious Case of the Latvian Cotton Pickers: Writing the History of Immigration, Race and Labor in the Postwar Mississippi Delta

Abstract:

In 1948, hundreds of Latvian refugees arrived in the Mississippi Delta to work as cotton pickers on the region’s plantations. By the mid-1950s, only a handful of Latvians remained in the area. Why did white planters turn to this source of labor? And why did the Latvians leave the Delta so quickly? The refugees had arrived at an unsettled time, as white planters dealt with increasing mechanization, international competition, the out-migration of black labor and above all the growing challenge of the civil rights movement. White planters viewed the Latvian refugees as suitably white citizens who could help create a white majority once segregation and black disenfranchisement ended. The Latvians, for their part, resisted Americanization under the terms set by the white planters, instead forming their own distinctly Latvian-American communities both inside and outside the Delta.

In addition to discussing immigration, race and labor in the postwar Mississippi Delta, attention will also be paid to the process of how History gets written. While historians often claim objectivity and adopt an authoritative tone, privately they admit that their work is quite often subjective and profoundly ambiguous. The case of the Latvian cotton pickers reveals some of the ways in which the biases of historians and the limitations of their craft determine what kind of History gets written and, ultimately, remembered.

Presenter Bio:

Bernard “Ben” Maegi earned his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in 2008, where his advisors were the eminent historians of U.S. immigration, Rudolph Vecoli and Donna Gabaccia. A second-generation immigrant, Ben’s interest in History stemmed from his parents’ harrowing stories of their lives as Eastern European refugees during and after the Second World War. Ben has taught U.S., Minnesota and World History at Normandale since 2000.

Related Links:

Displaced Persons Camps

Forced Migration