Nassau notes
Supreme Court Justice Scalia to give lecture
Antonin Scalia
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia will give an address on “The Role of the Courts in a Liberal Democracy” at 8 p.m. Friday, March 7, in McCosh 50. The lecture is free, but is a ticketed event open primarily to University students, faculty and staff, with a limited number of tickets available to the general public.
Scalia was invited to campus by the American Whig-Cliosophic Society, which will present the justice with its 2008 James Madison Award for Distinguished Public Service — the highest distinction bestowed by the student organization. Founded in 1765, the American Whig-Cliosophic Society is the nation’s oldest literary, political and debating society. The event is cosponsored by the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions.
“We chose to honor Justice Scalia with the James Madison Award in recognition of his dedication to the rule of law and public service, as well as his significant contributions to American legal thought,” said sophomore Joel Alicea, director of special events for Whig-Clio. “Justice Scalia has distinguished himself as someone whose imprint on the understanding of the Constitution will long be remembered by history, and there is no greater tribute to the spirit of public service than this notable accomplishment.”
Scalia was nominated to the Supreme Court by President Reagan in 1986, and is the second most senior associate justice on the court.
Whig-Clio President Molly Alarcon, a sophomore, will present the James Madison Award to Scalia following his address. Past recipients of the annual honor include President Clinton, Supreme Court justices Earl Warren and Sandra Day O’Connor, and Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir. James Madison, the fourth president of the United States and Princeton’s first graduate alumnus, was one of Whig-Clio’s early members.
Robert George, the McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and founding director of the James Madison Program, will give introductory remarks at the event. Following his address, Scalia will answer questions submitted by Whig-Clio members.
Ticket holders must arrive by 7:45 p.m. the day of the event. Unfilled seats will be available at the door on a first-come, first-served basis. The talk will not be transmitted on the University cable channel, but will be simulcast live to overflow locations in McCosh 62, 64 and 66. No ticketing is required for the overflow locations.
Tickets will be available to University students, faculty and staff beginning at noon Monday, March 3, at University Ticketing in the Frist Campus Center. Tickets will be distributed while supplies last from noon to 6 p.m. through Friday, March 7. One ticket will be given per University ID, and each student, faculty or staff member may present up to two IDs when picking up tickets.
A limited number of tickets for the general public will be available from noon to 2 p.m. Thursday, March 6, at the Richardson Auditorium ticket office in Alexander Hall. Members of the general public may pick up a maximum of two tickets per person.
Final President’s Lecture set
In the final talk in this year’s President’s Lecture Series, philosopher and literary scholar Alexander Nehamas will examine representations of friendship in art and literature at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 4, in 101 Friend Center.
Nehamas’ lecture, titled “‘Because It Was He, Because It Was I’: The Good of Friendship,” will explore the difficulty of portraying friendship and its value in works of art, especially the novel. He will address this subject through a variety of works, including the writings of philosophers Aristotle and Montaigne, literary works such as Yasmina Reza’s play “Art” and films such as “Thelma and Louise.”
Nehamas is the Edmund N. Carpenter II Class of 1943 Professor in the Humanities and professor of philosophy and comparative literature. His interests include Greek and European philosophy, philosophy of art and literary theory.
The President’s Lecture Series was started by President Tilghman in 2001 to bring together faculty members from different disciplines to learn about the work others are doing in a variety of fields. The talks will be webcast; for viewing information, visit www.princeton.edu/webmedia.
Symposium explores energy, climate
Princeton experts in climate change and its consequences will join technology, policy and industry leaders for a symposium on energy, climate and the environment from 2 to 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 4, in the Friend Center Convocation Room.
The symposium, which is free and open to the public, is an annual regional meeting of the National Academy of Engineering and will feature introductory remarks by Charles Vest, the academy’s president and the former president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Following remarks by Vest and H. Vincent Poor, dean of Princeton’s School of Engineering and Applied Science, other speakers will address the interplay of science, technology and policy in climate change.
A full program and abstracts of the talks are available at engineering.princeton.edu/news/nae.
Evangelicals’ rise to power is topic
Sociologist D. Michael Lindsay will deliver a lecture based on his recent book, “Faith in the Halls of Power: How Evangelicals Joined the American Elite,” at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 4, in 16 Robertson Hall.
Lindsay, who earned his Ph.D. from Princeton in 2006, is an assistant professor of sociology at Rice University who specializes in issues surrounding leadership, religion and culture. As a graduate student, Lindsay conducted the largest and most comprehensive study on the significance of faith in the lives of America’s societal leaders.
The event is sponsored by the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and the Center for the Study of Religion as part of the “Crossroads of Religion and Politics” series.
Kennedy to read from ‘Sellout’
Legal scholar and University Trustee Randall Kennedy will read from his new book, “Sellout: The Politics of Racial Betrayal,” at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, March 6, in the Chancellor Green Rotunda.
Following his controversial bestseller, “Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word,” Kennedy grapples in his new book with another stigma of America’s racial discourse. Kennedy explores how usage of the term “sellout” bedevils blacks and whites, while revealing the effects it has on individuals and on society as a whole.
Kennedy’s book “Race, Crime and the Law” won the 1998 Robert F. Kennedy Book Award for works that best represent the slain politician’s commitment to justice.
Kennedy, a 1977 Princeton graduate, is the Michael R. Klein Professor of Law at Harvard University. He is serving his second term as a Princeton trustee and is a member of the advisory council of the Center for African American Studies, which is sponsoring the reading.
Los Lobos (photo: James Minchin III)
Los Lobos coming to McCarter Theatre Center
A major force in American pop music for more than 30 years, Los Lobos will bring their blend of rock, R&B, Tex-Mex, blues, and traditional Spanish and Mexican influences to the McCarter Theatre Center on Thursday, March 6. The three-time Grammy Award winners continue to redefine and expand their unique sound without straying from their musical roots and traditions.
For ticket information, call the McCarter box office at 258-2787 or visit www.mccarter.org.
CARE president to discuss poverty
Helene Gayle, president of CARE USA, will present a talk on “Building a Movement to End Global Poverty” at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, March 6, in 16 Robertson Hall.
CARE USA is one of the world’s largest private international relief and development organizations. Gayle, a physician, joined the organization as president in 2006.
Previously, Gayle directed the HIV, tuberculosis and reproductive health program for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and served in leadership roles with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and with the U.S. Agency for International Development. Gayle also has been a health consultant to international agencies such as the World Health Organization, UNICEF and the World Bank.
The event is sponsored by the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and the Office of Graduate Career Services.
(courtesy of Successió Miró/Artists Rights Society, New York/ADAGP, Paris)
Rare book with Miró woodcuts exhibited
An exhibition in Firestone Library’s Milberg Gallery highlights the acclaimed illustrations by Catalan artist Joan Miró in the French poet Paul Éluard’s book, “À Toute Épreuve.” The rare book includes 79 original woodcuts by Miró, which are described as “one of the most triumphant feats of book illustration in our century.”
To mark the exhibition’s opening, Elza Adamowicz, professor of French and visual culture at Queen Mary, University of London, will present a lecture titled “The Surrealist Artist’s Book: Beyond the Page” at 3 p.m. Sunday, March 9, in Betts Auditorium, School of Architecture.
