Friday Forums Fall 2024
All Friday Forums will be held in CUB260. Lunch will be available on a first come, first served basis.
September 6, 2024
Amy Dailey, Annie Douds, Linus Nyiwul, Joe Radzevick, and Char Weise
Discussion of Two Proposed New Majors: Finance, Public Health Policy
The Management and Economics departments propose a new Finance major. Many of our current and prospective students express interest in this field of study. A major in Finance will give students interested in Business or Economics the opportunity to take more courses in Finance that will give them the skills to succeed in their chosen career paths and give them a better understanding that the role financial markets, institutions, and practices play in the business world and economy. A Finance major will be a distinctive addition to Gettysburg College’s curriculum with the promise helping the college attract and retain students. Please contact Char Weise (cweise@gettysburg.edu) or Joe Radzevick (jradzevi@gettysburg.edu) if you would like an electronic copy of the draft proposal before the forum.
The Health Sciences and Public Policy departments have joined together to propose a new Public Health Policy major. With growing student interests in both public health and public policy, we have designed a major that brings together foundational coursework from both departments and encourages students to take relevant elective courses across campus. We welcome feedback on the proposal and ideas about courses faculty may want to contribute. Please be in touch with Amy Dailey (adailey@gettysburg.edu) if you would like an electronic copy of the draft proposal before the forum.
September 20, 2024
Tim Funk
Vaccines, Synthetic Fats, and Bourbon: A Sabbatical Story
Almost five years ago, COVID-19 changed our lives. A year later, mRNA vaccines helped us get back to normal. The novel technology—which was not new in the world of nucleic acid therapies—introduced the general public to the importance of delivering genetic material into cells. A few months before the pandemic was declared, I began collaborating with Vince Venditto, a Gettysburg College graduate and professor at the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy. Our goal was to synthesize new lipids (fat-like molecules) for use in vaccines. Our collaboration continued through the pandemic, and I spent my 2023-2024 sabbatical developing new lipids and spending time in his lab in Kentucky. The story of our collaboration, the role of Gettysburg College students in it, and my new appreciation of bourbon will be discussed.
October 4, 2024
Junjie Luo
Texts and/as Data
Drawing on my experience teaching DS 220: Cultural Analytics, this talk explores the possibility of linking texts to data and viewing texts as datasets. By investigating the intersections between textual analysis and data science, we can foster connections between the humanities and sciences and open up new avenues for interdisciplinary collaboration.
October 18, 2024
Chris Oechler
Tilting at AI Windmills and Cervantes's Pen
Miguel de Cervantes published his masterpiece Don Quixote in two parts, the first in 1605 and the second in 1615. In this Friday Forum I'll discuss why the 10-year gap, what my students and I learned during our Don Quixote class in Spring 2024, and what the novel can tell us about our current AI dilemmas.
November 1, 2024
Natasha Gownaris, Megan Benka-Coker, Kirby Farah
Going Global: Conducting International Research Across Disciplines
Join us on a whirlwind tour of recent fieldwork by three Gettysburg College faculty. Tasha Gownaris (Environmental Studies) will talk about her work on the waterbirds of an understudied and threatened African lake and Important Bird Area, Lake Turkana in Kenya. Megan Benka-Coker (Health Sciences) will discuss a recent project on measuring air pollution and sustained cooking interventions in Northern Ghana. Kirby Farah (Anthropology) will discuss her first season of archaeological research at a Classic period (200-900 C.E.) Maya courtyard in western Belize. We will discuss the challenges inherent in international fieldwork projects, the opportunities they provide for training students and local researchers, and the importance of building community partnerships in these contexts.
November 15, 2024
Anne Ehrlich
Conversations for Change: Creating the Conditions for Dialogue Across Difference In and Out of the Classroom
The Middle East. Elections. Abortion. All of these topics elicit strong visceral reactions, and our instinct may be to shy away from them with our students--they are too risky. But with great risk comes great reward, and research suggests that challenging conversations serve as a catalyst for holistic learning. Learn the basics of how we can safely and effectively cultivate spaces for meaningful dialogue across difference.