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U.S. election, chemicals, archaeology, secularism - Issues and Experts
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October 20, 2004
Understanding the US presidency...With the US election race underway, professor emeritus Alan Aberbach's talk to participants of his popular seniors' program is timely. On Oct. 23 at 1 p.m. at the Harbour Centre campus he'll talk about the US electoral college system, why the system was created and "how different presidents, by defining the phrase 'executive power,' used, failed to use, or abused that power." Meanwhile, SFU historian Nicholas Guyatt can also look at the election race. The new faculty member spent the past seven years south of the border and has been following the issues.
They may be natural but you're just as dead...The great myth today is that chemicals (meaning man-made chemicals) are deadly, and responsible for society's problems, everything from pollution and cancer, to terrorism and stock market crashes. Yet the scientific facts do not support this assumption. Most toxins in food, some of the most deadly of all, are naturally occurring, produced by healthy plants and animals, and are organic. Dr. Penny LeCouteur, dean of arts and sciences at Capilano College will give a talk on Toxin or tonic - It may be natural but you're just as dead, on Thursday, Oct. 21 at 7:00 pm, room 7000, SFU's Harbour Centre campus.
The presentation will include a look at the chemicals of witchcraft -- chemical compounds in nature that probably accounted for many of the superstitions that developed and some of the bizarre events that occurred during more than three centuries of witch-hunts in Europe.
Iceman revisited...Research on the well-preserved ancient human body recovered from a glacier in northwest BC found he was likely a coastal dweller who had moved inland during the last few months of his life, and that he lived as long as 550-660 years ago. Details of the studies on Kwaday Dan Ts'inchi, or Long Ago Person Found, were published this summer. A team from SFU, including entomologists Gail Anderson and Niki Hobischak, and biologists John Webster and Bruce Leighton, was involved in the research, led by University of Glasgow professor James Dickson. He is wrapping up a three-month tour of Western Canada and will be at SFU on Thursday, Oct. 21 to talk about the project.
Citizenship and the common good....Citizenship in Canada is undergoing change, raising numerous questions related to secularism. A one-day conference on Oct. 29 at SFU's Harbour Centre campus will look at the role of active citizens, recent cases involving religious freedom in Canada, and the accommodation of religion in Canadian society. Participants will include Paul Reed, senior social scientist with Statistics Canada; Iain Benson, executive director of the Centre for Cultural Renewal; John Russell, president of the BC Civil Liberties Association; Cristina Alancon, Pharmacists for LIFE; Jim Lane, former president, BC Medical Association, and Donald Grayston, a lecturer with SFU's institute for the humanities. Grayston says the conference will carry on the discussions from a session two years ago at McGill University on pluralism, religion and public policy. He can look at what came from those talks and what to expect from the latest round of discussions.
- Alan Aberbach, 604.291.7973; alan_aberbach@sfu.caNicholas Guyatt, 604.291.4110; nsguyatt@sfu.ca
They may be natural but you're just as dead...The great myth today is that chemicals (meaning man-made chemicals) are deadly, and responsible for society's problems, everything from pollution and cancer, to terrorism and stock market crashes. Yet the scientific facts do not support this assumption. Most toxins in food, some of the most deadly of all, are naturally occurring, produced by healthy plants and animals, and are organic. Dr. Penny LeCouteur, dean of arts and sciences at Capilano College will give a talk on Toxin or tonic - It may be natural but you're just as dead, on Thursday, Oct. 21 at 7:00 pm, room 7000, SFU's Harbour Centre campus.
The presentation will include a look at the chemicals of witchcraft -- chemical compounds in nature that probably accounted for many of the superstitions that developed and some of the bizarre events that occurred during more than three centuries of witch-hunts in Europe.
- Media and Public Relations, 604.291.3210 (604.291.5100 to reserve a seat)
Iceman revisited...Research on the well-preserved ancient human body recovered from a glacier in northwest BC found he was likely a coastal dweller who had moved inland during the last few months of his life, and that he lived as long as 550-660 years ago. Details of the studies on Kwaday Dan Ts'inchi, or Long Ago Person Found, were published this summer. A team from SFU, including entomologists Gail Anderson and Niki Hobischak, and biologists John Webster and Bruce Leighton, was involved in the research, led by University of Glasgow professor James Dickson. He is wrapping up a three-month tour of Western Canada and will be at SFU on Thursday, Oct. 21 to talk about the project.
- Bruce Leighton, 604.291.5586; bruce_leighton@sfu.caEldon Yellowhorn, archaeology, 604.291.6669
Citizenship and the common good....Citizenship in Canada is undergoing change, raising numerous questions related to secularism. A one-day conference on Oct. 29 at SFU's Harbour Centre campus will look at the role of active citizens, recent cases involving religious freedom in Canada, and the accommodation of religion in Canadian society. Participants will include Paul Reed, senior social scientist with Statistics Canada; Iain Benson, executive director of the Centre for Cultural Renewal; John Russell, president of the BC Civil Liberties Association; Cristina Alancon, Pharmacists for LIFE; Jim Lane, former president, BC Medical Association, and Donald Grayston, a lecturer with SFU's institute for the humanities. Grayston says the conference will carry on the discussions from a session two years ago at McGill University on pluralism, religion and public policy. He can look at what came from those talks and what to expect from the latest round of discussions.
- Donald Grayston, 604.291.5516; donald_grayston@sfu.ca