Lyceum Lecture Series
Every quarter, Centralia College's Office of Student Life schedules free, open lectures on topics of widespread interest. These lectures are open to all.
Fall 2024 Lyceum Lectures
Lyceum lectures are held at 1pm on the Wednesdays listed below in Washington Hall room 103.
Oct. 2 - All the Rage: How American Politics Boiled Over
Name-calling, shouting matches, cutting off relatives, and even violence born of intense disagreements—there is bipartisan agreement that the current state of politics in the United States is troubling. How did we get here, and what can we, as a society and as individuals, do about it?
Professor Steven Stehr investigates the roots and consequences of the dysfunction that characterizes the current state of politics in America. Stehr leads a conversation that asks, how did our political spaces become war zones? To what extent is the lack of civility and policy gridlock driven by long-term trends in American society? Is contemporary America somehow different than the way it was in the past? Was there ever a “golden age” of bipartisanship and civility in the United States?
Using historical examples and contemporary cases, Stehr shows audiences how the erosion of civil discourse harms democracy, and what can be done to combat it. Dr. Steven Stehr is the Sam Reed Distinguished Professor in Civic Education and Public Civility at Washington State University.
Oct. 9 - Malawi: The Warm Heart of Africa
Julie Nurse, Dean of Library, Testing and Teaching & Learning and Lisa Spitzer, math professor will share photos and stories from their two-week adventure in Malawi, visiting colleagues at Centralia College’s partner college, the University of Livingstonia.
Oct. 16 - La Causa
In the late 1960's a new movement changed the lives of Latin American farm workers who fought for civil rights, battled racism and indecent working conditions. Experience this chapter of American history as one young woman balances the demands of her family and culture and fights to see her people free of poverty. Presentation by Living Voices.
Oct. 23 - Secretary of State Steve Hobbs
Steve Hobbs is Washington’s 16th Secretary of State. He began his tenure in 2021 and was elected by the people of Washington in 2022. He is the first person of color to serve as Secretary of State and only the second in state history who was born in Washington. Secretary Hobbs will be talking about what the Secretary of State does and about our civic responsibility.
Oct. 30 - Pacific Northwest Ghosts: Fact, Fiction, or Fun?
Whether you believe in ghosts or not, everyone loves to hear a good ghost story. What make a ghost story good? Facts. Ghost stories can tie us into the lives of past people and events in a very real way. Pacific Northwest author and researcher Jeff Davis will talk about ghost stories from across the Pacific Northwest, including Centralia, looking at facts, but keeping it fun. Presenter is Jeff Davis – Ghost and Strange Critters of PNW.
Nov. 6 - The 2024 Election is Over. Now What?
TBD
Nov. 13 - A Tale of Two Georges, A Tale of Two Cities
George Bush, a mixed-race Black man, came across the Oregon Trail in 1844, to what is now Tumwater, Washington in the same wagon train that brought the more well-known Michael T. Simmons. George Washington, a mixed-race Black man, came across the Oregon Trail in 1850, to what is now Centralia, Washington. Both men were wealthy pioneers, and both were prominent farmers and homesteaders before the Washington Territory was created. Their stories have been combined, confused, and conflated by people, local histories, and multiple news and journal articles. Whatever their similarities, Bush and Washington were distinctly different men who founded and supported distinctly different pioneer towns.
Presentation will be given by Heather Beaird. Heather has done intensive research on both Georges. Her senior thesis at WSU-Vancouver was a comparison on the two men’s lives in an effort to create a clear delineation between them.
Nov. 20 - Radical Inclusion: What I Learned at Burning Man
Every year, 70 thousand people travel to Black Rock City for a weeklong event in the desert. Burning Man is not a festival. It’s a community, a temporary city. It’s a global cultural movement based on 10 practical principles. In this Lyceum, I will discuss the principle ‘Radical Inclusion.’ What does it mean to create a city where everyone is truly welcome? Where radical self-expression is encouraged and diversity is celebrated. What can we learn about inclusion from this temporary community? This presentation will be given by Teneal Gustafson, Associate Professor of Nursing.
Nov. 27 - Conspiracy Theory Belief
Adjunct faculty, Casey Lytle wrote a book Conspiracy Theory Belief by presenting the topic, from a "Project Management Approach" to conspiracy beliefs to consider what it would really take, step by step, to carry out a conspiracy, and using this to put conspiracies on a spectrum from logical and possible to illogical and impossible. An example of "possible" is Jeffrey Epstein having been killed in jail rather than taking his own life. An example of "impossible" is the idea of covertly planting explosives throughout the World Trade Center building to intentionally bring them down. Casey is currently an adjunct faculty teaching sociology and psychology. He has a TikTok account where he covers deception, true crime, conspiracy theories and pop culture.
Dec. 4 - The Oldest Hatred: Coming to Terms with Antisemitism
In 2021, 82 percent of American Jews said antisemitism had risen over the last five years, while only 44 percent of the general public believed that to be the case. How can we account for this striking difference?
Antisemitism is sometimes called “the oldest hatred,” and this talk will show how religious and racial prejudice shaped Jewish experience over millennia and came to unite diverse Jewish people around the world. Topics will include the origins of Jewish stereotypes, how antisemitism intersects with white nationalism, and the difference between critiques of the Israeli government and discrimination against Jews. Attendees will gain new knowledge and understanding about antisemitism along with strategies to address it. Presenter: Dr. Nancy Koppelman, professor of American Studies and Humanities at The Evergreen State College.
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