Notable Lectures and Performances at Colorado College

Betty Bright is a Minneapolis-based curator and critic of the book arts. In this slide-illustrated talk, she will explore the role of The Press at Colorado College on the national book arts scene. Bright's discussion will focus on the work of James Trissel at The Press between 1978 and 1998. Her lecture is the final event in Pressfest 2008, a celebration of the work of The Press at Colorado Colleg...

A high-profile senior analyst for CNN and staff writer for The New Yorker, Jeffrey Toobin is one of the country's most esteemed experts on politics, media and the law. The author of critically acclaimed New York Times bestsellers, Toobin's 2007 book The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court, delves into the historical, political and personal inner workings of the Supreme Court and its...

Former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins was the 2008 commencement speaker. Collins became a household name when, in 2001, he was named Poet Laureate of the United States, a position he held for two years. He subsequently served as New York State Poet Laureate from 2004 to 2006.

Gale Norton served as the 48th Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior from 2001-2006. The first woman to head the 153-year-old department, Norton made what she calls the Four C's the cornerstone of her tenure: Consultation, Communications, and Cooperation, all the the service of Conservation. At the heart of the Four C's is the belief that for conservation to be successful, the governmen...

John Riker, professor of philosophy at Colorado College, is the author of "Human Excellence and an Ecological Conception of the Self" and "Ethics and the Discovery of the Unconscious." Recorded March 6, 2008.

Legendary singer, songwriter, actress and human rights activist Odetta will perform as part of CC's Black History Celebration. Dubbed by Martin Luther King, Jr. as the "Queen of American Folk Music", she has been cited as the main influence of artists such as Janis Joplin, Bob Dylan, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Tracy Chapman, Carly Simon and Jewel. Her most recent album, "Gonna Let it Shine," receive...

Accomplished comedienne, writer, actress and singer Sandra Bernhard presents the 2008 Cornerstone Arts Week performance. Defying neat categorization, Bernhard is irreverent, intellectual, bawdy, and above all, wildly entertaining. With laser-sharp insight, Bernhard addresses issues ranging from the war in Iraq to the endless media coverage of minor starlets. Through music, storytelling and comment...

Bill Ritter Jr. was elected as Colorado's 41st governor in 2006 -- the first Colorado-born governor in more than 35 years. The sixth of 12 children, Gov. Ritter was raised on a small farm in Arapahoe County. He was a member of the first graduating class of Gateway High School (1974), and earned his bachelor's degree in political science from Colorado State University (1978) and his law degree from...

Joel Salatin is on the forefront of what may be the most important global issue facing the world today: How to create a world food system not enslaved by multinational corporations and governmental subsidies. Named the most innovative farmer in the nation, he is an articulate voice of the natural food movement, whose holistic approach is environmentally, socially and economically sustainable. Sala...

Greg Mortenson, author of the New York Times best-selling book "Three Cups of Tea," will discuss his experiences in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Since 1997, Mortenson's Central Asia Institute has raised funds to build 64 schools in remote tribal areas of the two countries. Mortenson puts a fresh -- and effective -- face on international security and the potential of one person as a force of positive...

David Broder is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, author, television talk show pundit and university professor. He writes a political column for The Washington Post and teaches at the University of Maryland, College Park. Broder won his Pulitzer for commentary in 1973 and has been the recipient of numerous awards and academic honors. The longtime columnist is informally known as the "dean" of t...

World-renowned author of "Midnight's Children," "The Satanic Verses," "Shalimar the Clown" and many other books will discuss his work. Recorded October 21, 2007.

Bill McKibben, environmentalist, author and scholar in residence at Middlebury College, is the author of many books including "The End of Nature" (the first book for a general audience about climate change) and most recently "Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future," a critique of economic growth and call for a transition to more local-scale enterprise. He founded stepitup07...

Jeffrey Lent is the author of two highly acclaimed novels, "In the Fall" and "Lost Nation." These are extraordinary novels of historical sweep in the tradition of William Faulkner, Toni Morrison and Cormac McCarthy. Lent, who lives with his family in rural Vermont, is currently working on two new novels. Recorded May 9, 2007.

National Book Award winner and Zen master Matthiessen is author of, among others, "The Snow Leopard," "At Play in the Fields of the Lord," "Far Tortuga" and "Wildlife in America." He writes about vanishing cultures, oppressed people and exotic wildlife and landscapes, combining scientific observation with lyrical, intellectual prose. Matthiessen co-founded the Paris Review and was its first fictio...

David Mason, a writer and CC associate professor of English, celebrates the publication of his new verse novel, "Ludlow." Recorded April 5, 2007.

Donna Brazile is founder and managing director of Brazile and Associates, LLC, chair of the Democratic National Committee's Voting Rights Institute (VRI) and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University. She also is a senior political strategist and former campaign manager for Gore-Lieberman 2000 - the first African American to lead a major presidential campaign. Brazile is a weekly contributor a...

Why do some artists become famous, while others labor in obscurity? In this presentation, art historian Erika Doss will trace the construction of art world celebrity from Jackson Pollock's feature spread in Life magazine in 1949 through Andy Warhol's Factory fame, to the present art world infatuation with Matthew Barney. Doss is professor of art history at the University of Colorado, where she spe...

The author of more than 250 articles and book reviews in professional and popular journals, Sandy Levinson also is the author of four books: "Constitutional Faith" (1988, winner of the Scribes Award); "Written in Stone: Public Monuments in Changing Societies" (1998); "Wrestling With Diversity" (2003); and, most recently, "Our Undemocratic Constitution: Where the Constitution Goes Wrong (and How We...

Randy Udall, director of the Aspen-based Community Office for Resource Efficiency, presents the third in the lecture series "Energizing the Rockies: Energy Challenges in Global, National and Regional Perspectives." CORE works with government officials at the local, state and federal levels to promote forward-thinking energy and green building policy. Recorded February 27, 2007.

All creatures are defined ecologically by how they fit into a food chain. For humans, food industrialization has obscured this once-plain fact; most Americans are only dimly aware that their food represents their most profound engagement with the natural world. Michael Pollan, author of "The Botany of Desire" and "The Omnivore's Dilemma," both New York Times best sellers, conducted a series of per...

Camille Paglia, the electrifying critic whose books include "Sexual Personae: Art and Decadence from Nefertiti to Emily Dickinson"; "Sex, Art, and American Culture"; "Vamps & Tramps: New Essays" and "Break, Blow, Burn," presents the 2007 Colorado College Cornerstone Arts Lecture. Paglia is professor of humanities and media studies at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. She also has wri...

Colorado College President Dick Celeste speaks at an American Civil Liberties Union forum. Celeste is a former U.S. ambassador to India and Peace Corps director. His talk is followed by an open discussion about human rights in the world. Recorded January 24, 2007.

Michael Berube, author of "Higher Education Under Fire: Politics, Economics, and the Crisis of the Humanities" and the newly published book, "What's Liberal About the Liberal Arts? Classroom Politics and 'Bias' in Education" argues against the common notion that higher education is a bastion of the left. Berube has written for The New Yorker and Village Voice. He is the Paterno Family Professor in...

Rev. Jim Wallis, author of "God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It," will present the Daniel Patrick O'Connor Memorial Lecture. Part of the CC Symposium on Religion and Public Life: Why Be Afraid?, running Oct. 18-21. Recorded October 18, 2006.