From the Diversity Project's website:

“The Diversity Project seeks to create a large piece of yarn-art as a visual representation of the diversity and identity of the LGBT community in Lexington, Kentucky. It is being produced by Catherine Brereton, a student at the University of Kentucky, Gaines Fellow, and member of Lexington’s LGBT community, and in collaboration with the Gaines Center for the Humanities.”

Please join the Diversity Project by attending the next knit-in.  Participants only need to bring knitting needles as there will be plenty of donated yarn on hand to make squares for the project.  There will also be people on hand to offer instruction to those new to knitting.

You can follow the Diversity Project on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/#!/UKDiversityProject

For more information about the Diversity Project, please visit the website at http://ukdiversityproject.wordpress.com/

Deborah Weiner, director of the Jewish Museum of Maryland, will give a public lecture on “Insiders and Outsiders:  Jewish Communities in the Appalachian Coalfields”.  Sponsored by the UK Jewish Studies program, UK Appalachian Studies program and Appalachian Center.  Free and open to the public.  Reception following the lecture at W T Young Library Gallery

Every first Friday of the month, UK College of Agriculture Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems Working Group hosts a networking forum for faculty, students, staff, and members of the community, including sustainability advocates, growers, business owners, market managers, chefs, etc. (see http://www2.ca.uky.edu/safs/ for more information). It is our hope that through our speakers, we’ll be able to start some lively discussions and maybe get some project ideas flying. Download the flier.

For this month’s First Friday on November 4, we have invited a panel of 3 A&S faculty members to talk about: “Does Culture Matter in Sustainable Agriculture?” 

First Friday: November 4

7:30 am - 9:30am

E.S. Good Barn

A Panel Discussion: Does Culture Matter in Sustainable Agriculture?

Jeff Rice, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, UK Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and Digital Media

Ann Kingsolver, Ph.D.
Director, UK Appalachian Center

Doug Slaymaker, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Japanese, UK Department of Modern and Classical Languages, Literatures, and Cultures

In recent years, "cultural sustainability" has been increasingly emphasized in the literature of sustainable agriculture as the fourth leg of sustainability (three legs are economic, ecological, and social sustainability). Books and documentary films which emphasize the need for localizing food economy and making agriculture more sustainable have become very popular. One can argue the idea of "sustainability " has become part of the lexicon that reflects and shapes our lifeworld and everyday practices. Through a lively debate on the question of “culture”, we hope to inquire the notion of "cultural sustainability" and explore opportunities for collaboration among faculty in Ag and A&S colleges.

A breakfast of locally-produced foods will be served starting at 7:30 a.m. There is no charge for the breakfast, but donations will be accepted gladly to help offset the costs a bit. The program will begin at 8:15 and last until 9:30 a.m. If you need to leave before 9:30, please come anyway.

The Cottrill-Rolfes Chair of Catholic Studies will be sponsoring two lectures in early November.  The speaker will be Fr. Justin Sinates, a monk of St. Catherine's monastery in the Sinai Desert, Egypt, and a native of Texas.  St. Catherine's was founded in the sixth century by the Byzantine emperor Justinian and is the oldest Christian monastery in continual existence in the world.  St.Catherine's has a extensive collection of ancient manuscripts , surpassed only by the Vatican.  Fr. Justin has spearheaded an innovative effort to digitize all of the manuscripts in the library's collection, beginning with the famous Codex Sinaiticus.  Saint Catherine's also has a unique collection of Greek and Russian icons, which owe their existence to the monastery's isolated location and distance from the problem of Iconoclasm.

Here are some links to articles written about Fr. Justin and his work:

http://justinmartyr.blogspot.com/2009/02/father-justin-sinaites.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/04/technology/at-a-mountain-monastery-ol…

http://articles.latimes.com/print/2007/feb/20/local/me-gettymonk20

http://www.parade.com/articles/editions/2005/edition_05-15-2005/feature…

Please join us for a screening and discussion of "Raising Victor Vargas" (Dir. Peter Sollett, USA 2002, 88 min) in the Young Auditorium on Tuesday, October 25th at 6:00pm.

"Raising Victor Vargas" is a comedy about the trials (and errors) of being a testosterone-laden teenager in New York. The film tells the story of a young immigrant struggling to find a place among his peers. Caught up in amorous encounters with the likes of "Fat Donna" and "Juicy Judy," Victor navigates contesting ideals of Latino masculinities in hopes of finding the secret of what it means to actually be Victor Vargas.

Commentary by Betsy Dahms, PhD Candidate, Hispanic Studies

Fall 2011 Working Papers

All the working paper will be in the Commonwealth House, Gaines Center, upstairs seminar room. 

1. Arnold Farr (Philosophy): In Search of Radical Subjectivity: Re-reading Marcuse After Honneth

Thursdsay, October 6th, 6:30-8:00 or 8:30 pm

Click here to see paper

2. Akiko Takenaka (History): Postmemorial Conservatism: Mobilizing the Memories of the War 

Dead in Contemporary Japan.      

Thursday, Oct. 27th, 6:30-8:00 or 8:30 pm  

3. Jacqueline Couti (French-MCL): Colonial Democracy and Fin de Siècle: The Third Republic andWhite Creoles' Dissent in Martinique.

Thursday, Nov. 17th, 6:30-8:00 or 8:30 pm  

A discussion by two respondents: Jeremy Popkin (History) and Joe O'Neil (German) and a general discussion with all present will take place.

These discussions are always stimulating and we welcome your participation, so try to make it. Wine and light snacks.