Thomas Childers Book Signing

This Thursday, November 12, the Schemel Forum is hosting a lecture and book signing by University of Pennsylvania professor Thomas Childers, author of Soldier from the War  Returning: The Greatest Generation’s Troubled Homecoming from World War II.

The lecture will be held at 7:15pm on campus in Brennan Hall, Room 228, but you can also join Dr. Childers at a cocktail reception from 6-7pm at Catlin House (232 Monroe Avenue, Scranton) prior to the lecture.  Both the cocktail reception and lecture are free of charge.  For more information, contact Schemel Forum director Sondra Myers at myerss2 (at) scranton (dot) edu.

P.S. The Weinberg Memorial Library doesn’t have a copy of Soldiers from the War Returning quite yet, but you can borrow it from another library using Interlibrary Loan.  We do have some of Dr. Childers’ other books available in our own stacks, including The Formation of the Nazi Constituency, 1919-1933 and The Nazi Voter: The Social Foundations of Fascism in Germany, 1919-1933.

Interdependence Day 2009

The city of Scranton is celebrating Interdependence Day this year on Thursday, September 10.  Launched in Philadelphia in 2003, Interdependence Day was created in reaction to the events of September 11, 2001 and is meant to be a time to reflect on how all peoples of the world are connected.

Several interdependence events will be held throughout the city and Northeastern Pennsylvania this week.  On Thursday, Kevin Klose, dean of the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland, will give the keynote address entitled “We the iPhone People: A Revolutionary Interdependence” at 5:30pm at the William J. Nealon Federal Building.  While this event is by invitation only, University of Scranton community members are welcome to attend “All You Have to Do is Listen,” a talk by NPR commentator Rob Kapilow, planned for Wednesday, September 16 at 7:30pm in the Houlihan McLean Center.

Many thanks to Sondra Myers, co-founder of Interdependence Day, Senior Fellow for International, Civic and Cultural Projects at the University of Scranton, and director of the Weinberg Memorial Library’s  Schemel Forum, for coordinating this year’s Interdependence Day events.

P.S. Interested in learning more about interdependence?  Browse the Weinberg Memorial Library’s catalog and check out one of our books.

Update: The University’s Associate Provost for civic engagement and University mission, Dr. Steven Jones, wrote a column on interdependence for the 9/11/2009 Scranton Times Tribune.

Register today for University for a Day

The Second Annual University for a Day
Saturday, September 12, 2009
8:45 a.m. to 5:15 p.m.

Start the new season thinking! We invite you to join us for a day of listening to, reflecting on and talking about some ideas and people that have changed our world.  Take part in this feast for the mind at The Schemel Forum’s second annual University for the Day.

Full Schedule:

8:45am – 9:30am Registration

9:30am – 10:45am Toni Morrison’s A Mercy: A Paradigm and a Cautionary Tale of Interdependence in a New World (presented by Stephen Whittaker, Professor of English and Theater)

11:00am – 12:15pm Rosalind Franklin: Another Twist in the DNA Double Helix (presented by Janice Voltzow, Professor of Biology)

12:30pm – 1:30pm Buffet Luncheon

1:45pm – 3:00pm The Best Way to Rob a Bank is to Run it: White Collar Crime and the Global Financial Crisis (presented by David Friedrichs, Professor of Sociology and Criminal Justice)

3:15pm – 4:30pm Globalization: For Better and Worse (presented by Goodwin Cooke, Professor of International Studies at Syracuse University)

4:30pm – 5:15pm Reception

All this plus morning coffee, lunch and a closing wine reception in very good company for a very low price! Free to current Schemel Forum Members. $25.00 Schemel Forum Non-Members.  Reservations are required, so please register by contacting Kym Balthazar Fetsko, Schemel Forum Events Coordinator, at 570-941-7816 or fetskok2 (at) scranton (dot) edu.  Also be sure to check out the full Schemel Forum fall schedule!

University for a Day is made possible through the generous support of the Neighborhood Development Trust Fund and the Scranton Area Foundation.

Schemel Forum – Fall 2009

The Weinberg Memorial Library’s Schemel Forum has just released its Fall 2009 schedule, and as usual, there are several great opportunities for University and local community members to learn, think, share, and discuss.  This year, offerings include three evening courses, five luncheon seminars, and the second annual University for a Day.

One of the Forum’s highlights will be a lunch seminar on “U.S. Foreign Policy: Ten Months into the Obama Era,” presented by Scranton alum Harvey Sicherman of the Foreign Policy Research Institute.  (Side note: we couldn’t resist looking Dr. Sicherman up in the 1966 Windhover.  Not only was he a Dean’s List and Honors student, he also worked on the Aquinas and the Royals’ Historical Society’s semi-annual publication of Retrospect.)

We’re also looking forward to Atty. Morey Myers’ evening course on “Church & State or Church v. State?,” since his series last fall on the American Presidency was so engaging.

For more information or to register for Schemel Forum events, contact Kym Fetsko at 570-941-7816 or fetskok2 [at] scranton [dot] edu.

Schemel Forum Event: Democracy’s Challenge

There are only 10 spots left for Democracy’s Challenge: Reclaiming the Public’s Role, the latest event in our Schemel Forum series.  The session will be a discussion moderated by Steven Jones, Ph.D., the University of Scranton’s Associate Provost for Civic Engagement and Academic Mission.

The discussion will be held Monday, June 15th at 5pm.  It’s free to all participants, but since the number of participants is limited, reservations are required.

To register, contact our Schemel Forum Events Coordinator, Kym Fetsko, at 570-941-7816 or fetskok2 (at) scranton (dot) edu.

Image courtesy of Gwen’s River City Images, under a Creative Commons license.

Robert Kuttner on “Obama’s Challenge”

Robert Kuttner, founding co-editor of The American Prospect and Senior Fellow at DEMOS, a New York-based think tank, came to campus today to speak at the Schemel Forum luncheon.

Robert Kuttner speaking at the DeNaples Center

Kuttner, author of Obama’s Challenge: America’s Economic Crisis and the Power of a Transformational Presidency, criticized President Obama’s approach to economic stimulus, saying that current policy was equivalent to “reinflating the bubble.”   He advocated that Obama listen to dissenting voices, including FDIC chair Sheila Bair and Economic Recovery Advisory Board chairman Paul Volker.  Kuttner’s talk was well attended, and there were excellent discussion questions from the audience.

Sondra Myers, Senior Fellow of the University, with Robert Kuttner at the book signing

After the luncheon, Kuttner stayed to sign copies of his book.  If you’re interested in Kuttner’s perspective (or his signature!), you can find a signed copy of Obama’s Challenge in our University Archives.  Also check out two of Kuttner’s other books, The Squandering of America: How the Failure of our Politics Undermines our Prosperity and The Life of the Party : the Democratic Prospects in 1988 and Beyond – both are available in the Library.

Many thanks to Schemel Forum director Sondra Myers for hosting another excellent event!

Save the Date! Countdown to the Book & Plant Sale

Mark your calendars for April 25th and 26th!  We’re just 63 days away from the Weinberg Memorial Library’s annual Book and Plant Sale, and the Library’s already buzzing with plans for this year’s event, which will be held in the 5th floor Heritage Room.  As always, the Book and Plant Sale benefits the Friends of Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Memorial Library Endowment Fund.

Right now, we’re collecting donations of books, plants, and tag sale items.  If you’d like to donate, you can drop off your books or other contributions at the Library, in the boxes just inside the Monroe Avenue entrance.

Shoppers browse the 2008 Book Sale

We’re also looking for volunteers.  If you’d be willing to help us sort books and set up/take down the sale, please let us know!  Give Barb E. a call at 941-4078, and she’ll add you to the volunteer list.

This year’s sale starts on Friday, April 24th with a special “Preview Sale” for current Friends of the Library and Schemel Forum members (and current University of Scranton students – bring your Royal Card!) from 4pm – 9pm.  The sale is open to the public on Saturday, April 25th from 9am – 9pm and on Sunday, April 26th from 12pm – 4pm.  We’ll see you there!

The Schemel Forum – Spring 2009

This Spring, the Weinberg Memorial Library’s Schemel Forum is offering a wealth of cultural enrichment opportunities, including three evening courses, a national issues forum, two luncheon seminars, and a piano recital.  Check out the Forum schedule (and the incredible range of the topics to be discussed) here.

At the April 29th Schemel Forum Luncheon Seminar, Parag Khanna, author of The Second World, will speak on “A 21st Century Look at Global Politics and Economics.”

What is the Schemel Forum?  According to the Forum’s director, University Senior Fellow and author Sondra Myers, “It is a noncredit, continuing education program for cultural enrichment at the University of Scranton, named for the late Rev. George Schemel, S.J., who was respected within the U.S. and abroad for his spiritual and educational talents… Schemel Forum courses are intergenerational and participatory.”* The class sizes are small, so discussion is encouraged (and lively!).

Why is the Forum important? Here’s Sondra again: “The Schemel Forum enriches the environment by stimulating people to think beyond their own fields of knowledge and create new ground for interaction, for envisioning the future, making new friends, and enjoying new experiences with old friends.”*

The Forum is open to the whole Scranton community – and University students, staff, and faculty are encouraged to get involved.   If you’re interested, check out the course offerings, and then contact Kym Fetsko at 570-941-7816 to register.

*Both quotations are from “Talk of the Times with Sondra Myers,” an article by Patrice Wilding in the September 3, 2008 Scranton Times-Tribune.

Update from the Schemel Forum

It’s now week three of this semester’s Schemel Forum on the American Presidency, and the debates just keep getting more interesting.  Today, we were talking about the extents of executive power, and two of the philosophers present mentioned John Locke’s views on the power of a sovereign.  Locke wrote in his Treatises of Government that a sovereign could act beyond the law under certain conditions – for example, if no laws yet existed to provide rules for a certain circumstance, or if the preservation of the public welfare were at stake.  The hope was that the sovereign would be a wise enough ruler that these decisions could safely be left up to his discretion.  We talked about how this idea could apply to the American presidency today – how far can the president go beyond stated laws in a time of emergency to protect the public?

We only have two weeks left, and lots of material left to cover.  I’m anxious to hear the debates about executive privilege and “signing statements.” The last session on Guantanamo Bay also promises to be intriguing.

If you’re interested in the Schemel Forum, now is a great time to sign up for two of the upcoming Forums — Dr. William V. Rowe from the University of Scranton’s philosophy department will present a five-week forum in October on “Think World: Reflections on our Times,” and Father McKinney, also from the philosophy department, will present a three-week forum in November called “The Role of Drama in the Jesuit Tradition.”  For more information, or to sign up to participate, contact Kym Fetsko at 570-941-7816.

The American Presidency – Schemel Forum

One of the unique programs that the Weinberg Memorial Library offers is the Schemel Forum, a series of lectures and courses that are open to members of the Scranton community.  The idea is that people from all different generations can continue their educations by discussing new ideas together.

There are several different courses being offered this Fall (see the full offerings on the Schemel Forum website) – the one I’m participating in is The American Presidency, taught by Morey Myers.  We just had the first of five sessions this evening on the third floor of the Library, and the room was PACKED – Morey’s reputation preceded him!

Our focus tonight was on the role of the President of the United States, as defined in the Constitution in Article II and Amendments XII and XXV. A lot of good questions came up — what exactly is executive power and how far does it extend?  Can a legal case be made that John McCain, who was born in the Canal Zone, is not eligible to be President?  Could (and should) the Electoral College system be eliminated in favor of direct election by the people?  I also learned a few new tidbits of American history: I never knew that Benjamin Franklin was actually the President of Pennsylvania, or that George Washington has been called the father of the modern expense account.  I had never even heard of Peyton Randolph before tonight!

The best part of the evening, though, was just being in a room with so many interesting people from the community.  The participants included 11 doctors, 6 lawyers, and the CFO of the new Scranton medical school – and I also spotted interim CAS Dean Paul Fahey.  I’m looking forward to meeting more of my fellow students in the next sessions.

Next Wednesday, we’ll be discussing the Federalist Papers.  Care to read along?