Fall 2009, January 2010 Speaker Series

The life of author Ernest Hemingway, Freakonomics, inspirational classroom teaching and cultural diversity are just some of the topics to be discussed by prominent scholars, authors and media professionals visiting Illinois State University in the coming months.  Speaker events are free and open to the public unless otherwise indicated.

"Hemingway's Personal Farewell to Arms" will be the subject of a presentation by scholar Susan F. Beegel on Thursday, Sept. 3 at 6:30 p.m. on the sixth floor of Illinois State's Milner Library.  Beegel's presentation is in conjunction with the traveling display "Picturing Hemingway: A Writer in his Time," on display at Milner Library through Sept. 30.  Beegel is the editor of The Hemingway Review, a scholarly journal on the work and the life of Ernest Hemingway.  Her presentation is sponsored by the Alice and Fannie Fell Trust Fund.

Steven D. Levitt, author of Freakonomics, will speak about his book on Thursday, Sept. 17 at 7 p.m. in Braden Auditorium.  The event is sponsored by the Sage Trust Fund.  Levitt is a professor of economics at the University of Chicago and published Freakonomics in 2005.  The book, which has been described as a melding of pop culture and economics, has been hailed by critics and readers alike.  The book spent more than two years on the New York Times bestseller list, having sold more than three million copies worldwide.

"An Evening with Morgan Spurlock" will take place on Wednesday, Sept. 30 at 7 p.m. in Braden Auditorium.  The Academy Award nominated director will discuss his film, television, theatre and literary career.  Spurlock's first feature film, the documentary Super Size Me, was one of the highest grossing documentaries of all time.  The film focused on Spurlock's experiment of eating only fast food for a month.  His subsequent book, Don't Eat This Book, continued his examination of eating habits and obesity in America.   His presentation is sponsored by the University Program Board, the College of Applied Science and Technology and Milner Library.

Author Louise Erdrich will discuss her books and take questions from audience members on Thursday, Oct. 22 at 3 p.m. on the main floor of Milner Library and again that evening at 7 p.m. in Illinois Wesleyan University's Presser Hall.  Her presentations are part of the Ames/Milner Visiting Author Program.  Erdrich is the author of twelve novels, as well as volumes of poetry, children's books and a memoir of early motherhood.  Her novel, Love Medicine, won the National Book Critics Circle Award. 

National Teacher of the Year Award winner Rafe Esquith will present "Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire" on Monday, Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. in Braden Auditorium.  Esquith has been called "the most interesting and influential classroom teacher in the country" by The Washington Post.  For the past two decades he has taught fifth grade at a public school in a Los Angeles neighborhood plagued by guns, gangs and violence.  Despite social and economic disadvantages, his students excel in academics, music and arts.  The event is sponsored by the College of Education. 

CNN anchor and special correspondent Soledad O'Brien will speak on "Diversity: On TV, Behind the Scenes and In Our Lives" on Friday, Jan. 22, 2010 at 6 p.m. in the Bone Student Center Brown Ballroom.  For ticket information call (309) 438-8790.  In CNN's 2008 Black in America documentary series, O'Brien reported on a variety of issues facing the black community and the culture of black families in the U.S.  She is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.