Notable Lectures And Performances At Colorado College

David Broder is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, author, television talk show pundit and university professor. He writes a political column for The Washington Post and teaches at the University of Maryland, College Park. Broder won his Pulitzer for commentary in 1973 and has been the recipient of numerous awards and academic honors. The longtime columnist is informally known as the "dean" of the Washington press corps and the "unofficial chairman of the board" by national political writers. For many years he has appeared on "Washington Week," "Meet the Press" and other current affairs television programs. He is the author of several books about contemporary politics. Recorded on April 1, 2008.

World-renowned author of "Midnight's Children," "The Satanic Verses," "Shalimar the Clown" and many other books will discuss his work. Recorded October 21, 2007.

Bill McKibben, environmentalist, author and scholar in residence at Middlebury College, is the author of many books including "The End of Nature" (the first book for a general audience about climate change) and most recently "Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future," a critique of economic growth and call for a transition to more local-scale enterprise. He founded stepitup07.org, which organized rallies in hundreds of American cities and towns to demand that Congress enact curbs on carbon emissions.

Jeffrey Lent is the author of two highly acclaimed novels, "In the Fall" and "Lost Nation." These are extraordinary novels of historical sweep in the tradition of William Faulkner, Toni Morrison and Cormac McCarthy. Lent, who lives with his family in rural Vermont, is currently working on two new novels. Recorded May 9, 2007.

National Book Award winner and Zen master Matthiessen is author of, among others, "The Snow Leopard," "At Play in the Fields of the Lord," "Far Tortuga" and "Wildlife in America." He writes about vanishing cultures, oppressed people and exotic wildlife and landscapes, combining scientific observation with lyrical, intellectual prose. Matthiessen co-founded the Paris Review and was its first fiction editor. Recorded May 2, 2007.

David Mason, a writer and CC associate professor of English, celebrates the publication of his new verse novel, "Ludlow." Recorded April 5, 2007.

Why do some artists become famous, while others labor in obscurity? In this presentation, art historian Erika Doss will trace the construction of art world celebrity from Jackson Pollock's feature spread in Life magazine in 1949 through Andy Warhol's Factory fame, to the present art world infatuation with Matthew Barney. Doss is professor of art history at the University of Colorado, where she specializes in American, modern and contemporary art, visual culture studies, and cultural history. Recorded November 30, 2006.

Donna Brazile is founder and managing director of Brazile and Associates, LLC, chair of the Democratic National Committee's Voting Rights Institute (VRI) and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University. She also is a senior political strategist and former campaign manager for Gore-Lieberman 2000 - the first African American to lead a major presidential campaign. Brazile is a weekly contributor and political commentator on CNN's Inside Politics and American Morning. A veteran of numerous national and statewide campaigns, Brazile has worked on several presidential campaigns for Democratic candidates, including Carter-Mondale in 1976 and 1980, Rev. Jesse Jackson's first historic bid for the presidency in 1984, Mondale-Ferraro in 1984, U.S. Representative Dick Gephardt in 1988, Dukakis-Bentsen in 1988, and Clinton-Gore in 1992 and 1996. Recorded April 2, 2007.

The author of more than 250 articles and book reviews in professional and popular journals, Sandy Levinson also is the author of four books: "Constitutional Faith" (1988, winner of the Scribes Award); "Written in Stone: Public Monuments in Changing Societies" (1998); "Wrestling With Diversity" (2003); and, most recently, "Our Undemocratic Constitution: Where the Constitution Goes Wrong (and How We the People Can Correct It)" (2006). Levinson joined the University of Texas Law School in 1980. Recorded March 5, 2007.

Randy Udall, director of the Aspen-based Community Office for Resource Efficiency, presents the third in the lecture series "Energizing the Rockies: Energy Challenges in Global, National and Regional Perspectives." CORE works with government officials at the local, state and federal levels to promote forward-thinking energy and green building policy. Recorded February 27, 2007.

All creatures are defined ecologically by how they fit into a food chain. For humans, food industrialization has obscured this once-plain fact; most Americans are only dimly aware that their food represents their most profound engagement with the natural world. Michael Pollan, author of "The Botany of Desire" and "The Omnivore's Dilemma," both New York Times best sellers, conducted a series of personal explorations of the food chain: growing a genetically modified potato, tracing an organic TV dinner from grocery freezer to farm and buying and following a steer from insemination to steak. Pollan will tell these stories to tease out conclusions about what's gone wrong with the industrial food system and its implications for our health. He'll also explore healthier alternatives to industrial food. Recorded February 8, 2007.

Camille Paglia, the electrifying critic whose books include "Sexual Personae: Art and Decadence from Nefertiti to Emily Dickinson"; "Sex, Art, and American Culture"; "Vamps & Tramps: New Essays" and "Break, Blow, Burn," presents the 2007 Colorado College Cornerstone Arts Lecture. Paglia is professor of humanities and media studies at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. She also has written "The Birds," a study of Alfred Hitchcock. Recorded February 6, 2007.

Colorado College President Dick Celeste speaks at an American Civil Liberties Union forum. Celeste is a former U.S. ambassador to India and Peace Corps director. His talk is followed by an open discussion about human rights in the world. Recorded January 24, 2007.

Michael Berube, author of "Higher Education Under Fire: Politics, Economics, and the Crisis of the Humanities" and the newly published book, "What's Liberal About the Liberal Arts? Classroom Politics and 'Bias' in Education" argues against the common notion that higher education is a bastion of the left. Berube has written for The New Yorker and Village Voice. He is the Paterno Family Professor in Literature at Pennsylvania State University. Recorded November 2, 2006.

Rev. Jim Wallis, author of "God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It," will present the Daniel Patrick O'Connor Memorial Lecture. Part of the CC Symposium on Religion and Public Life: Why Be Afraid?, running Oct. 18-21. Recorded October 18, 2006.

Mark Bauerlein, author of the National Endowment for the Humanities report "Reading at Risk," argues that computers are one of the reasons kids don't read, and why the humanities are at risk. Bauerlein is a professor of English at Emory University. Recorded September 14, 2006.

CC Distinguished Lecturer and Legal Scholar-in-Residence Phil Kannan says Hispanics have been the victims of discriminatory laws and policies in almost every part of their lives in the U.S. including housing, voting, employment, medical care and education. Hispanics in the Southwest turned to federal courts to challenge state and local laws, and policies regarding education. This presentation will look at the most significant of those court battles. Recorded September 13, 2006.

Marker is the co-founder and executive director of the Cheetah Conservation Fund in Namibia, Africa. Marker and the CCF staff work with local farmers, schools, governments, and non-government organizations to help increase the understanding of, and appreciation for, the cheetah. CCF activities include numerous innovative conservation and management strategies designed to reduce the conflict between humans and cheetahs. Recorded May 3, 2006.

Clay Jenkinson, the cultural commentator, author, and first-person impersonator, appears in character as John Wesley Powell and offers contemporary comments on Powell's reactions to the challenges facing the Rocky Mountain region today. Jenkinson is the scholar behind the Thomas Jefferson of public radio's The Thomas Jefferson Hour and winner of the Charles Frankel Prize. Recorded April 13, 2006.

Part of the annual State of the Rockies Conference. Dan Dagget, environmentalist, discusses "The New Ranch: A Means Toward Equal Protection for the Land." Student researcher Andrew Yarbrough presents the results of the ranching report card, and a panel consisting of ranchers Doc and Connie Hatfield, of Country Natural Beef; rancher Dale Lasater, of Lasater Grasslands Beef; Brian Rohter, chief executive officer of New Seasons Market; and rancher John Schiffer, Wyoming state senator, discuss ranching in the Rockies. Recorded April 11, 2006.