Dr. Cynthia Woodburn of the PSU Math Dept will present “Apocalypse 2012? What do Mayan Calendars and Mathematics Tell Us” this Thursday, Sept. 15 at 2:00 p.m. in Yates Hall 215
History is replete with examples of doomsday predictions; from an Assyrian clay tablet predicting the end of times in 2800 BC to Y2K to Harold Camping’s prediction that the world would end on May 21, 2011. Another example is the claim that the Mayan calendar ends in 2012 corresponding to the world ending in an apocalypse. Hollywood even jumped on the bandwagon with the disaster movie “2012”. We’ll take a look at what the mathematics and calendars of the Mayans have to say about 2012 and the end of the world as we know it.
Students are encouraged to attend.
There will be cookies and conversation afterwards in Yates 210.
Category Archives: current events
Extra Credit: Nuclear Energy?
Dr. Robert Pavlis will be speaking on “Nuclear Energy — Is it all that bad?” Thursday, April 28, starting at 7:30 p.m. in the Prairie Room of the Overman Student Center. The lecture is free and open to the public.
Chinese of Today: “We Chinese”
Fascinating art and culture project by M. Scott Brauer photographing and interviewing Chinese citizens to get a better sense of what China is like today and might be in the future. You can view a large collection of the pictures and excerpts of the interview material at the We Chinese website.
Extra Credit: Gender-Based Violence
THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATION AND THE DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, AND SOCIAL SCIENCES PRESENT:
MAGGIE FLEMING (PSU BA Comm ’01, MSc U Edinburgh ’06)
AFRICA ADVOCACY OFFICER FOR THE INTERNATIONAL RESCUE COMMITTEE
SPEAKING ON THE SUBJECT OF “GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE”
FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2-3PM IN THE GOVERNOR’S ROOM OF THE STUDENT CENTER
LIGHT RECEPTION TO FOLLOW IN THE HERITAGE ROOM, 3-4PM
Ms. Fleming, Former aide to Sen. (now Gov.) Sam Brownback of Kansas, has served three tours in Africa, including DR Congo, Tanzania, and Togo
Early Modern Information Overload
Harvard Historian Ann Blair has a new book out about information management and overload anxiety in Early Modern Europe. In this IHE interview, she’s mostly making comparisons with the present, but there’s some fascinating material there.
Extra Credit: Kansas Supreme Court Justices
On March 14, two justices from the Kansas Court of Appeals will be giving a public lecture on the principles of law at Pittsburg State University. The Honorable Richard D. Green, Chief Justice, and the Honorable Karen Arnold-Burger will be presenting their lecture at 10:00 A.M. in the Governor’s Room of the Student Union. The justices will also be available after the lecture to meet with students interested in careers in law.Contact dbsamson@pittstate.edu for more information.
Extra Credit Opportunity: Democracy and Revolution in the Middle East
The Department of History, Philosophy, and Social Sciences and the The International Studies Program Proudly Present “Democracy and Revolution in the Middle East,” a Faculty Roundtable Discussion. Thursday, March 10, 3:00-4:30 p.m. Governors Room, Overman Student Center, PSU. Faculty, students, and community welcome. Discussion open to floor
The faculty panelists will be:
- Steve Harmon (History), Egypt, Algeria if applicable
- Paul Zagorski (Political Science), Libya, Tunisia
- Kahmis Siam (Chemistry), Palestine, Syria
- Maj. George Johnson (Military Science, History), Emirates, Saudi if applicable
As usual, extra credit requires writing a 1-2 page summary and reaction paper.
Frank Fenner, co-inventer of 20th Century Immunology
Sometimes you don’t realize how important a person is until you look back at their life: Frank Fenner just passed away. Fenner was one of the discoverers of the immune response system, a key figure in the development and deployment of multiple vaccines, and someone who integrated environmental and biological science at a very high level. The complete eradication of smallpox from human populations, our first complete victory over an infectious disease, was in large part his work.
Why dirty campaigning works and antibacterial products are really, really popular
What do brain scientists and metaphorical thinking have to do with history? The language of nationalism is about purity; the language of imperialism is making subjects less than fully human. When the Nazis wanted to denigrate the Jews, they called them ‘rats’ and likened them to a ‘plague.’ There’s lots more examples, if you think about it.
Aerial photography and intelligence in WWI
A short but fascinating discussion of WWI aerial photography and its use by historians.