(Ashland, Ore.) – Southern Oregon University continues discussing this year’s campus theme “Civility” with a fascinating series of spring term presentations. The feature presentation is May 17 when Dr. Andrew Bacevich, Professor of International Relations and History at Boston University will discuss “The Sources of American Conduct.” Dr. Bacevich is a retired career officer in the United State Army, a vocal critic of the U.S. occupation of Iraq, and is the author of “The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism.”

All presentations are free and open to the public.

Theatre: Civil and Uncivil

Often seen as a progressive art form today, theatre has a rich history of communicating cultural values and reflecting public life. This lecture will explore the many functions of theatre as both an expression of cultural civility and as the uncivil messenger of the oppressed. The discussion will include classicism as a vehicle of religious and cultural dogma, modernism as a culturally oppositional art form, and postmodern theatre as an attempt to observe and reflect in a consciously subjective world.
Presenter: Dr. Eric Levin, Associate Professor of Theatre Arts, SOU
Wednesday, April 11, 2012 • 7:00 pm
 Meese Auditorium, Art Building, SOU Campus

Civility, Religion and Politics

In the United States, it is not an exaggeration to say that there has been an uneasy relation between religion and politics from the founding to the twenty-first century. Public discourse about this subject is contentious and sometimes less than civil. Presidential election seasons seem to spotlight the topic, whether it is John Kennedy’s Catholicism or Mitt Romney’s Mormonism. This discussion aims to clarify some thorny issues that muddle the debate and provide a forum for a civil conversation between religion and politics in our culture.
Presenter: Ted Bennion, Multi-stake Public Affairs Director of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for the southern Oregon region 
Thursday, April 19, 2012 • 7:00 pm
Meese Room, Hannon Library, SOU Campus

Going Global: Developing Empathy in Young Readers through Global Literature

Global literature transports readers to places they might never visit otherwise, to moments in history they can experience vicariously. Reading and interacting with global literature connects young people intellectually, imaginatively, and emotionally with multidimensional characters and events. For young readers, emotional engagement in fiction and non-fiction sparks curiosity and lights the flame of consciousness that leads to empathy for others.
Presenters: SOU Professors Charlotte Hadella and Steve Thorpe, who co-teach a course for English and Education majors in Teaching Global Perspectives through Children’s Literature
 Thursday, May 3, 2012 • 7:00 pm
 Meese Auditorium, Art Building, SOU Campus

The Sources of American Conduct Co-sponsored by The Frank J. Van Dyke Endowed Lecture Series

In 1947, George Kennan published a famous article called “The Sources of Soviet Conduct.” In the article he tried to explain why the Soviets did what they did in the world, while suggesting a US response. This lecture will try to do something comparable for the United States in the present moment, emphasizing (as Kennan did) ideology and “circumstances,” i. e., geopolitics, along with a third factor that Kennan did not include, namely entrenched habit.
Presenter: Dr. Andrew Bacevich, Professor of International Relations and History at Boston University
 Thursday, May 17, 2012 • 7 pm 
Music Recital Hall, Music Building, SOU Campus
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