January 16, 2019
Presenter: Julian C. Lee
Title: Creatures of the Maya
Description: We will explore the role of amphibians and reptiles in the secular and religious life of the ancient Maya. These animals were represented in the thought, mythology, and religion of the indigenous people of southern Mexico. Snakes are ubiquitous in all aspects of Maya artistic expression, but turtles, crocodiles, lizards, frogs, and toads also appear in varied contexts. It is common for a codex page, carved monument, glyph panel, or funerary ceramic to include representations of these animals. Amphibians and reptiles were also of practical significance to the Maya as a source of food, raw materials for the manufacture of various items, and possibly a source of psychoactive chemicals used in religious ritual.
Biography: Julian grew up in Bloomington, Indiana and San Francisco, California. He studied biology at UC-Davis, took a Master’s at San Diego State, and his Ph.D. at the University of Kansas. During his undergraduate years he was a seasonal employee with the U. S. Forest Service, working on a hotshot firefighting crew in southern California. He taught biology at the University of Miami for thirty years and is author of two books on the amphibians and reptiles of the Yucatan Peninsula, both published by Cornell University Press. He and his wife, Dr. Lynn Haugen, a fellow biologist, moved to Silver City in 2006.
Free and open to the public. 12:00-1:00 in the ABC room of the Global Resource Center at corner of 12th & Kentucky. For more info call 575-538-6835 or browse here.
January 23, 2019
Presenter: Brian Dolton
Title: The Deliberate American: Becoming a Citizen by Choice
Description: As with most countries, citizenship in the USA is not restricted only to those born in the country. We hear a lot about immigration (legal and otherwise), asylum, internment and more. Brian will attempt to clarify the process of applying for and gaining the right to live in the USA (both as a permanent resident - a Green Card holder - and as a citizen).
Biography: Brian Dolton is an Englishman who has lived in Silver City for almost ten years and who became a naturalized US citizen in 2018, although he shortly stands to lose his citizenship rights in more than two dozen European countries. These facts are not related.
Free and open to the public. 12:00-1:00 in the ABC room of the Global Resource Center at corner of 12th & Kentucky. For more info call 575-538-6835 or browse here.
January 30, 2019
Presenter: Sam Schramski
Title: Get With the Program: Maladaptation to Climate Change
Description: There's been a great deal of discussion in recent decades about what constitutes successful human and ecosystem adaptation to the effects of global climate change, but the public has not often heard about its doppelganger. The IPCC (2015) defines maladaptation as "an adaptation that does not succeed in reducing vulnerability but increases it instead." Sam will discuss just exactly what is meant when policy measures and everyday routines are classified as maladaptive"—and why classification may not be as easy as you think! Biography: Sam Schramski, Ph.D. is a Research Affiliate at WNMU whose interests include climate change adaptation, socio-ecological transformations, and food security. He has primarily conducted research in the developing world but has extensive experience in the Southwest USA, including tenure as director of The Commons: Center for Food Security and Sustainability here in Silver City.
Free and open to the public. 12:00-1:00 in the ABC room of the Global Resource Center at corner of 12th & Kentucky. For more info call 575-538-6835 or browse here.