Lesley-Ann Dupigny-Giroux, Professor of Climatology
Tuesday, January 27, at 5:00pm
Waterman Memorial Lounge
Title: Climate Justice and Vulnerability: Learning from Katrina, Irene, and Sandy
Synopsis: Hurricanes Katrina, Irene, and Sandy were historic, not only in leading to billion-dollar disasters across the U.S., but also for the vulnerabilities they revealed both culturally and socioeconomically. Ten years later, are we better equipped to prepare for and respond to climate hazards, especially in the face of a changing climate?
Dr. Lesley-Ann Dupigny-Giroux is a professor in the Geography Department at the University of Vermont, and the Vermont State Climatologist. She obtained her M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Climatology from McGill University (Montreal). She works extensively with colleagues in state and federal ggencies to help plan for and adapt to climate change. Dr. Dupigny-Giroux is an expert in floods, droughts, and severe weather and the ways in which these affect Vermont's landscape and people. She is the lead editor of Historical Climate Variability and Impacts in North America, the first monograph to deal with the use of documentary and other ancillary records for analyzing climate variability and change. One of her NSF-funded projects involves working with K-12 teachers and students to bring the use of satellites and understanding climate to all levels of the pre-university curriculum.
Joseph T. Acquisto, Professor of French
Tuesday, February 10, at 5:00pm
Waterman Memorial Lounge
Title: The Fall Out of Redemption: Writing and Thinking beyond Salvation in Charles Baudelaire
Synopsis: In the nineteenth century and continuing to our own day, many atheist and agnostic writers have borrowed from a theological framework while refuting tenets of Christianity, especially the existence of a benevolent God and the possibility of redemption. Mid- nineteenth-century poet Charles Baudelaire goes further than many contemporary thinkers in identifying the consequences of refusing to entertain the possibility of salvation of any kind, whether by art, politics, or divine intervention. One important consequence is that he is able to create the possibility of a new, antimodern, ethics.
Joseph Acquisto joined the University of Vermont in 2003. He specializes in nineteenth- and twentieth-century French literature, with particular emphasis on lyric poetry and the novel. He is the author of numerous articles and several books, including his most recent, The Fall out of Redemption: Writing and Thinking Beyond Salvation in Baudelaire, Cioran, Fondane, Agamben, and Nancy (Bloomsbury, 2015). His teaching focuses on modern French literature and intermediate and advanced language courses. He serves as faculty director of the Global Village Residential Learning Community.
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Please note: All lecture speakers, topics, start times, and locations are subject to change.