The Cincinnati Observatory Center, affiliated with the University of Cincinnati, complements its astronomy programs with an annual lecture series: "Humanities @ The Observatory.". The lectures are a natural extension of the Observatory's efforts to highlight its historic setting and broaden its audience. The lectures will focus on subjects that may be historic or philosophic in nature, but are somehow linked to the history of Cincinnati and/or science.
The 2008-2009 series.
Xavier University: History, Mission and Community Since 1831
by Fr. Michael Graham, President of Xavier University
Date: March 25, 2008
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Place: Cincinnati Observatory
3489 Observatory Place
Cincinnati, Ohio 45208
Cost: $10 ($5.00 students & Observatory Members)
Xavier is an educational community dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge, to the orderly discussion of issues confronting society; and, as would befit an American institution grounded in the humanities and sciences, Xavier is committed unreservedly to open and free inquiry. Xavier’s 34th president is Michael J. Graham, S.J., who was inaugurated in fall 2001. Graham has been with Xavier for nearly 20 years, beginning his work here as an adjunct professor of history. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1978 and was ordained as a priest in 1988.
Using the Best of the Past to Build a Future
Roxanne Qualls, Cincinnati Council Member
April 22, 2008 7:30pm.
Ms. Qualls previously served three terms as Mayor of the City of Cincinnati from 1993-1999 After leaving office due to term limits, Roxanne went to Harvard University where she served as a fellow in the Institute of Politics, a Loeb Fellow in the Graduate School of Design, A Malcolm Weiner Fellow in Social Policy at the Kennedy School of Government, and in 2002 earned a Masters degree in Public Administration. She returned to Cincinnati in 2004 and taught in the Masters of Public Administration program at NKU and served as Director of Public Leadership Initiatives. Prior to serving in elected office, Ms. Qualls served as director of the Cincinnati office of Ohio Citizen Action, Director of Women Helping Women, and Director of the Northern Kentucky Rape Crisis Center. She is also supports the Harmony Garden.
Thane Maynard, Director Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Gardens
September 23, 2008 7:30pm
Thane Maynard is Executive Director of the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. The mission of his work teaching and writing is to tell the story of biological diversity, natural history, and wildlife conservation to the general public. Thane is best known as a writer and host of numerous wildlife programs, including the daily National Public Radio series The 90-Second Naturalist, which airs on stations across North America. He has been featured on “Good Morning America”, the “Today” show, and “CBS This Morning”, and has been a regular wildlife expert on “Late Night With Conan O’Brian”.
Aaron Betsky, Director Cincinnati Art Museum
Spring 2009
Since 2001, Betsky has been the director of the Netherlands Architecture Institute and was the architecture, design, and digital arts curator at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art from 1995 to 2001. Betsky will stay involved in architecture and design, “through writing and teaching,” he said, noting that will also teach architecture and design at the University of Cincinnati, just as he did more than 20 years ago. Date & topic to be announced.
Distinguished Speakers from Previous Lectures
Lost Cincinnati: Why Buildings Die
by Beth Sullebarger
Historic Preservation Consultant
Former Director, Cincinnati Preservation Association
The Planets: Lecture & Booksigning
Dava Sobel
Author of the best sellers, "Longitude" and "Galileo's Daughter"
Populating Heaven: The Sky and the Gods and Heroes who Live There
by Tom Burns
Professor of English at Ohio Wesleyan University
Director; Ohio Wesleyan's Perkins Observatory
Member Cincinnati Observatory Center's Advisory Board
The History of Computing at UC: the Astronomy Twist
Paul Herget (Cincinnati Observatory Director 1943-1978) on left with an early IBM
by Russell McMahon
University of Cincinnati, College of Applied Sciences, Information & Technology
Cincinnati: A Dynamic Art Center 1830-1865
by Denny Young
Denny Young is a former curator for the Cincinnati Art Museum. Her talk describes the aspirations and personalities of Cincinnati's patrons whose commitment to the fine arts inspired them to build a city that would rival the established centers of the East.
The Patrons and the Poltroons:
The Visionaries and Adversaries of Cincinnati's Quest for a Public University
by Greg Hand
Greg Hand is the Associate Vice President for Public Relations at the University of Cincinnati. His talk explores the colorful characters who contributed to the creation of Cincinnati's university, as well as the rogues who made that early history so interesting.
In its definition of the humanities, Congress includes: Archaeology, Comparative Religion, Ethics, History, Languages & Linguistics, Literature, Jurisprudence, Philosophy, the History, Theory, and Criticism of the Arts, and certain aspects of the Social Sciences which use historical or philosophical approaches. As fields of study, the humanities emphasize analysis and exchange of ideas rather than the creative expression of the arts or the quantitative explanation of the sciences.
Humanities@ the Observatory is generously funded in part by the Ohio Humanities Council.