University College rolls out Saturday Seminars

By Andy Clendennen

University College in Arts & Sciences, and more specifically the Master of Liberal Arts (MLA) program, is once again hosting a series of Saturday Seminars in February. The theme this year is "Empires and After."

Four faculty members will present lectures and take questions every Saturday in February from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Lectures will take place in Goldfarb Auditorium, Room 162, in McDonnell Hall and are free and open to the public.

Information Series Before the Feb. 9 lecture, an information session for those interested in learning more about the MLA and other master's degree programs will be held at 10 a.m. in January Hall, Room 20. Coffee and donuts will be provided.

Steven N. Zwicker, Ph.D., the Stanley Elkin Professor in the Humanities and professor of English in Arts & Sciences, will get the ball rolling with a Feb. 2 lecture titled "Imagining the Imperium in the Midst of Disaster."

Despite the timing, University College Dean Robert E. Wiltenburg, Ph.D., said this topic was decided upon months ago.

"We'd been discussing various topics for quite a while," Wiltenburg said, "and we came up with this just before 9-11 took place, so it is not something that is absolutely in response to this."

Other lecturers and their topics:

Robert E. Hegel, Ph.D., professor of Asian and Near Eastern languages and literatures and chair of comparative literature, both in Arts & Sciences, will give a Feb. 9 lecture titled "Ends of Chinese Empires, 17th and 19th Centuries";

Timothy H. Parsons, Ph.D., assistant professor of history in Arts & Sciences, will present "End of Empire: Transfer of Power in Africa" Feb. 16;

Andrew C. Sobel, Ph.D., associate professor of political science in Arts & Sciences, will talk about "Globalization or Americanization? The Global Political Economy," in the series' Feb. 23 conclusion.

"Every year we think to ourselves, 'What would be interesting to do?'" Wiltenburg said. "If you look at it historically, empires are one of the earliest forms of human political organization, and they are remarkably persistent.

"Particular empires have lasted for centuries; they all eventually decline, but on the other hand, new ones are being created as well."

The lecture series benefits several people.

"The goal of the Saturday seminars is to open up University College and the MLA program to as wide an audience as possible," said Carroll Hilles Balot, Ph.D., assistant dean for graduate programs at University College. "We want to give Washington University and the St. Louis community an opportunity to see what we are doing in University College and in the MLA program -- and in our other master's programs -- and to give the intellectuals that work here at the University an audience for their work that extends beyond the full-time graduate and undergraduate students.

"That way we can make the resources at the University available to the people who live in St. Louis. And it gives the faculty a chance to be public intellectuals without actually having to go on Larry King Live to speak to people who live in their own neighborhoods and communities."