13 Upcoming Public Lectures with UBC – October 2018

This fall, expand your mind by checking out some public lectures with UBC. All of these talks feature fascinating speakers, and regardless of your interests, you’ll be able to find something that speaks to you. Here is our top 13 picks for October 2018.


1. October 3 – Visualizing Fascism

Visualizing Fascism might seem an easy endeavour. Uniformed men on the march, children performing in sports arenas, the dictator in his uniformed splendor, likely figure in this repertoire. Yet when we rely on this image bank that oscillates between the unique One and the undifferentiated Many, we are replicating Fascism’s own point of view. This talk disrupts these habits by going into the crowd to examine faces taken from everyday life. It asks us to consider other ways of visualizing Fascism, and other ways of utilizing the archives we now have to bring forth other faces of Fascism and the Fascist era that still find relatively scant representation. Speaker Ruth Ben-Ghiat is Professor of History and Italian Studies at New York University.

Where: Buchanan Tower, Room 997

When: 3:00 – 4:30 pm

2. October 4 – Building Happier, Healthier Communities with Charles Montgomery

How can we build happiness and wellbeing into the neighbourhoods at the University of British Columbia? You are invited to take part in this important discussion presented as part of the Stadium Neighbourhood public consultation (Phase 3). Join Happy City author Charles Montgomery for an evening of fascinating science and stories of transformation from cities around the world.

Where: Robert H. Lee Almuni Centre

When: 5:30 – 8:00 pm

3. October 9 – Social Media, the Arab Spring and a Journalism Revolution

Andy Carvin, journalist-in-residence at Green College, will talk about his pioneering work using social media to cover the Arab Spring. From 2010 to 2013, Andy served as a “virtual correspondent” for NPR, embedding with revolutionaries and rebel groups across the Middle East, all while connecting with them via a computer in Washington DC. His unorthodox methods demonstrated the power of using social media to cover social movements and breaking news, earning him the moniker “The Man Who Tweets Revolutions.” Andy will tell the story of how social media became an integral part of the Arab Spring, both for the revolutionaries involved and the journalists covering it, and explore how social media has become integral to journalism ever since – for better or worse.

Where: Green College, Coach House

When: 5:00 – 6:30 pm

4. October 11 – ‘Writing Dissent: Taking Radical Ideas from the Margins to the Mainstream

In 2001, Robert Jensen published the book Writing Dissent: Taking Radical Ideas from the Margins to the Mainstream, offering a model of radical writing for mass media that can engage rather than alienate. Since then, political alienation has spiked and engagement seems more difficult, while mass media struggle to compete with social media. In this lecture, Jensen will distinguish between radical and reactionary, and argue for a continued commitment to reasoned argumentation in civic life.

Where: Caseroom – Liu Institute for Global Issues

When: 12:00 – 2:00 pm

5. October 15 – Uncivil discourse: What is everyone so angry about?

The world seems more divided than ever. This environment has enabled populist movements to rise and hashtag activism to thrive. Are these divisions new, or have they just become more visible? How can we overcome the most cynical manifestations of anger, such as name-calling and tribalistic thinking? Join our panel of UBC and community experts in the Lower Mainland for an important conversation about the growing divide of public discourse.

Where: UBC Robson Square – Room C300

When: 6:30 – 9:00 pm

6. October 16 – Wildfire: States of Emergency

The UBC Faculty of Forestry in partnership with alumni UBC invite you to hear from experts at the forefront of wildfire research, fire risk identification and mitigation, and wildfire policy. Learn why British Columbia has experienced two record-setting fire seasons in a row, how climate change is influencing the likelihood of wildfires, and how our province can learn from California’s past decade of fighting megafires. Be part of the discussion during the Q&A with the audience, and then continue the conversation afterwards during the reception.

Where: Forest Sciences Centre

When: 6:30 – 9:00 pm

7. October 22 – 2018 International Gairdner Symposium

Hosted by Dr.Michael Hayden, Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, UBC, the 2018 Vancouver Gairdner symposium will feature speakers Dr. Christopher J. L. Murray, recipient of the 2018 Canada Gairdner International Award, and Prof. Azim Surani, recipient of the 2018 John Dirks Canada Gairdner Global Health Award.

Where: Life Sciences Institute – LSC2

When: 3:30 – 6:00 pm

8. October 22 – The Rules We Vote By: Rationales for Electoral Reforms in BC and Beyond

BC is about to have its third referendum on electoral reform within fifteen years. Electoral referenda are rare moments, which allow citizens to vote on the very rules by which legislators get elected. This talk will explain the rationale behind this third BC electoral referendum as well as electoral referenda more generally and discuss their merits and demerits with respect to some of the fundamental purposes we want electoral systems to fulfill. Most importantly, it provides information to help everyone interested in the current BC referendum understand what the options for electoral rules on the table could entail. Speaker Henrik Jacobsen is a second-year PhD Student in the Department of Political Science at UBC.

Where: Green College, Coach House

When: 8:00 – 9:00 pm

9. October 24 – FHIS Research Seminar: Jo Labanyi

The relatively new field of the history of the emotions has made us aware that feelings, and the way they are conceptualized, are culturally specific. But this is a layered history of overlaps between emotional regimes that belong to different time frames and of returns, in new contexts, to ways of thinking about feeling from the past. The talk will consider how the history of the emotions can help us appreciate the non-linearity of historical processes.

Where: Buchanan Tower, Room 799

When: 3:00 – 4:30 pm

10. October 30 – Irrationality in Law and Life: Heuristics and Biases in Legal Decision Making

This talk addresses new discoveries in the science of subconscious decision making and how they are changing our conception of legal advocacy, persuasion and judicial decision making. Do judges really round murderers’ sentences to the nearest even-numbered year? Do parole decisions turn on the timing of judges’ meals? Are taller people really considered to be more truthful in court? The answers to these questions involve unconscious, “fast and frugal” decision processes known as “heuristics,” and their implications for the rule of law might make us all uneasy.

Where: Green College, Coach House

When: 5:00 – 6:30 pm

11. November 6 – Elon Musk, President of Mars?

Who owns Outer Space? Could Elon Musk become President of Mars? How would one negotiate a treaty with aliens? Space is becoming a very busy place, with 90 orbital launches occurring in 2017 alone. Many of the governance challenges that currently exist on Earth will soon exist in Space. Yet the unique conditions of Space, including extremes of danger, distance and time, will necessarily require fundamental changes to the conduct of international relations and the content of international law.

Where: Green College, Coach House

When: 5:00 – 6:30 pm

12. November 8 – Making Sense of Being an Indigenous Scholar

The speaker will share her reflections about her career in Indigenous Education, focusing on what it meant for her to be one of the very few Indigenous scholars in the academy. She will tell stories about her mentors, milestone moments, and key challenges related to her faculty and leadership positions at UBC. Core themes will include making systemic changes in the academy, creating space for Indigenous knowledge systems, working with Indigenous communities and organizations, and facilitating opportunities for reconciliation. Lessons learned from Raven, Eagle, Coyote, and Thunderbird will be included in these reflective stories.

Where: Green College, Coach House

When: 5:00 – 6:30 pm

13. November 14 –  The challenges of infectious diseases: from anticipation of emergences to adaptation of control methods

This free event is hosted by Distinguished Professor Brett Finlay in partnership with the Michael Smith Laboratories as part of the lecture series, The Microbes In and Around Us. Speaker Philippe Sansonetti is one of Europe’s leading microbiologists. His research mainly focuses on the understanding of several aspects of the pathogenesis of Shigella, a Gram-negative bacterium causing severe diarrhea. This work spans a large set of disciplines in biology and medicine and ranges from molecular genetics, to cell biology, immunology and the development of vaccines against dysentery. He also actively contributes to the development of vaccine candidates against the major shigellae causing dysentery in the developing world.

Where: Woodward Instructional Resources Centre – IRC 2

When: 2:00 – 4:00 pm


Looking for something other than a talk? Check out events.ubc.ca for events going on at UBC, and follow @UBCevents on Twitter for up-to-date info.