23 April, 2010

Michael Bielmeier - The Faces of Evil in American Film

Presented by Michael Bielmeier, Faculty in English
Friday, April 23rd – from noon until 12:50
Room C1016

Abstract:
The Faces of Evil in American Film:  The conflict between Good and Evil has long been at the heart of many a plot within a variety of cinematographic genres.  Indiana Jones, James Bond, and Rocky Balboa are popular choices when it comes to naming heroes who overcome great malevolence in order to insure social well-being.  It is, however, the intriguing and varied face of evil that is the focus of this study.  In a power point presentation employing numerous film stills and video clips, evil will be discussed briefly from theological and philosophic perspectives, and then individual American films, both older and modern, will be examined.  A good time should be had by all (demonic forces notwithstanding).

Presenter Bio:
Dr. Michael Bielmeier has been a college English professor for over twenty years, having happily spent the last four at Normandale.  He earned his B.A. at St. Norbert College, his M.A. at Arizona State, and his Ph.D. at Marquette, specializing in Renaissance literature.  Although Dr. Bielmeier's primary scholarly focus has been Shakespeare, having published and presented on Bard's tragedies and existential philosophy, his academic avocation has always been film.  Dr. B and his wife Kathy, who teaches for NCC's Business Dept., have four children, six grandchildren, and a recently castrated golden doodle puppy who secretly prays for opposable thumbs.

06 April, 2010

Colloquia Greatest Hits - Tuesday, April 13th

Come one, come all, to five encore performances of past colloquium presentations!

Five colloquia are scheduled for Normandale's Community Success Day, which will be an all-day event on Tuesday, April 13th. Come for the colloquia, stay for all of the other great events on the 13th.

All five talks, below, will take place on the Normandale campus in room S2336.

10-10:50: Dave Lake (Psychology) - "Do Polygraph Lie Detector Tests Work?"

11-11:50: Creative Writing Faculty Members Read Original Poetry and Prose

12-12:50: Richard Brown (English) - "Tolstoy"

1-1:50: Carina Belinco (Biology) - "Do you really want to know your future? Issues surrounding predictive genetic testing in adults"

2-2:50: Tony Dunlop (Mathematics) - "Reason Dethroned: Why Logic Can't Answer Every Question and Computers Can't Solve Every Math Problem" 

"Educational Uses of Second Life"

Presented by: 
Jenny Hanson, Faculty in Theatre
Julie Johnson, Faculty in Physics
Hattie Dambroski, Faculty in Biology

Friday, April 9th, from noon to 12:50
Room C1016

Abstract:
This talk will begin with a brief introduction to the online game, Second Life. Launched in June 2003, Second Life consists of an online virtual world that currently boasts 18 million registered user accounts. Following a brief introduction to this popular game, the presenters will visit MnSCU island within the world of Second Life and meet with the island's administrator, Magdelena Wesley.  From there, they'll take you on a series of virtual field trips.  They'll visit a schizophrenia simulation, German language sims, the Sistene Chapel, one or more science sims, and religious/cultural sims.  If there is time, they'll visit more simulations based on the audience's interests.