February 2015 at the UAA Campus Bookstore

All UAA Campus Bookstore events are informal, free and open to the public. There is free parking for bookstore events in the West Campus Central Lot (behind Rasmuson Hall), the Sports Lot and the Sports NW Lot. For more information call Rachel Epstein at (907) 786-4782, email repstein2@uaa.alaska.edu or visit the bookstore website.

Note: UAA Campus Bookstore podcasts are posted in iTunes or iTunes U-just search UAA or UAA Campus Bookstore.

Classical pianist Edvinas Minkstimas presents "Lithuanian Legacies" Monday, Feb. 2, 7:30-9:30 p.m. Fine Arts Building, Room 150

Classical pianist Edvinas Minkstimas will perform "Songs of the Vilnius Ghetto," as well as compositions by Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis and Anatolijus Senderovas, and virtuoso selections by Chopin, Liszt, Mozart, Schubert and Gershwin.

Edvinas Minkstimas earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from The Juilliard School, the Artist Diploma from the Paris Conservatory and degrees from Lithuanian Academy of Music. He recently joined the faculty of the Washington Conservatory of Music. He is an honored Steinway Artist and winner of eight international piano competitions.

This free event is sponsored by the Honorary Consul from the State of Alaska to the Republic of Lithuania, Congregation Beth Sholom, UAA Campus Bookstore, UAA Department of Music, UAA Department of History, Alaska Jewish Museum, Chilkoot Charlie's and others.

"Cultural Roots of Lithuanian and Jewish History" Tuesday, Feb. 3, 5-7 p.m. UAA Campus Bookstore

Lithuanian history, music, poetry and culture will be highlighted at this special event. Guest speakers include classical pianist Edvinas Minkstimas, Rabbi Michael Oblath (Congregation Beth Sholom), Curtis Murphy (UAA Department of History), Leslie Fried (Alaska Jewish Museum) and Svaja Worthington (Honorary Consul of the Republic of Lithuanian).

This event is sponsored by the Honorary Consul from the State of Alaska to the Republic of Lithuania, Congregation Beth Sholom, UAA Campus Bookstore, UAA Department of Music, UAA Department of History, Alaska Jewish Museum, Chilkoot Charlie's and others.

"Cinema, Aesthetics and Industrial Disappearance in China" with professor Hai Ren from University of Arizona Wednesday, Feb. 4, 5-7 p.m. UAA Campus Bookstore

The Chinese economy in recent years has been shifting from a manufacture-based ("made in China") to a creativity-based ("created in China") model. How does Chinese cinema address the disappearance of factories? Professor Hai Ren's presentation will address the different kinds of cinematic engagements with the Chinese factory. Hai Ren is associate professor of East Asian Studies and Anthropology at the University of Arizona. This event is sponsored with the UAA Confucius Institute.

Rachael "Ray" Ball presents "It's Good to be the King: Advice and Statecraft in Early Modern Europe" Thursday, Feb. 5, 5-7 p.m. UAA Campus Bookstore

In 1543, before his departure from Spain to fight the French, Emperor Charles V left detailed guidance for his 15-year-old son Philip. The detailed written instructions, called Como Ser Rey, have been transcribed by Rachael Ball and Geoffrey Parker in a bilingual critical edition.

These secret letters include frank assessments of officials and instructions on how kings should comport themselves and treat their subjects. Charles V reminded his son of his many duties, including how to deal with his various kingdoms and peoples with diverse languages, customs and regional identities-an issue that continues to resonate today in the Catalan Independence movement.

Ray Ball is an assistant professor of early modern European and world history at UAA. She earned her doctorate in early modern European history from Ohio State University.

Julie Raymond-Yakoubian presents "Alaska Native Knowledge, Beliefs and Experiences of the Supernatural Environment" Monday, Feb. 9, 5-7 p.m. UAA Campus Bookstore

At this event, guest speaker Julie Raymond-Yakoubian will share her collaborative work with tribes in the Bering Strait region of Alaska on the topic of knowledge, beliefs and experiences of the supernatural environment. Julie is the social science program director at Kawerak Inc. in Nome, Alaska. Kawerak has recently initiated a new research project on the "Supernatural Environment" with 15 tribes. Phenomena that can be described as supernatural include, among others, things such as sea monsters, little people, wild babies, unexplained lights, animals that can change into other things and invisible sea birds.

Julie's recent work includes projects relating to traditional knowledge of Bering Strait ocean currents, salmon and non-salmon fish, ice seals and walruses. These projects focused on documenting indigenous knowledge and integrating it with western science and regional concerns to create practical applications for marine policy and planning in the Bering Strait region.

"Wildlife and Alaskans: Life Amongst Complex Relations" Tuesday, Feb. 10, 5-7 p.m. UAA Campus Bookstore

Author Bill Sherwonit and Professors Audrey Taylor and Matthew Reimer will discuss their relationship with wildlife. The aim of the event is to highlight the various ways wildlife is central to each person's work and how that work­-for data, scientific observation and nature writing-changes their relationship to the wild. The speakers are:

• Audrey Taylor, assistant professor of environmental studies at UAA, whose research involves shorebirds, wildlife conservation, climate change and using citizen scientists as observers for data.
• Matthew Reimer, assistant professor in economics at UAA, whose research involves environmental and natural resource economics, with a focus on fisheries and fishing policies.
• Bill Sherwonit, author of more than a dozen books "whose writings explore the complicated relationships we humans have with wildlife." His newest book is Animal Stories: Encounters with Alaska's Wildlife.

Allan Barnes, Ph.D., presents "Is the Lecture Dead?" Wednesday, Feb. 11, 5-7 p.m. UAA Campus Bookstore

Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) is a student team-based teaching technique. It stresses cooperative learning through a discovery-based team environment. At this event, Allan Barnes will share his pedagogy research with POGIL and his Justice classes.

Allan Barnes is a professor in the Justice Center at UAA. He received his Ph.D. from Florida State University and has been with UAA since 1984. Barnes has been a police officer, prison psychologist, administrator for a treatment facility for young adult offenders and director of the Alaska Justice Statistical Analysis Center. His professional interests include criminology, crime prevention and program evaluation.

Francisco Miranda: "Magic Realism in Literature" Thursday, Feb. 12, 5-7 p.m. UAA Campus Bookstore

Francisco Miranda, Spanish professor in the UAA Department of Languages, will discuss magic realism in literature and how it is used to illustrate social environment and cultural values. The book Red Sorghum by Mo Yan will serve as a reference point. This event is co-sponsored by the UAA Confucius Institute and the UAA Department of Languages.

Mouhcine Guettabi presents "Health Disparities and Urban & Regional Economics" Monday, Feb. 16, 5:30-7 p.m. UAA Campus Bookstore

Mouhcine Guettabi teaches in the UAA Department of Economics and belongs to the UAA Institute of Social and Economic Research faculty. At this event, he will examine the interconnections between health disparities and economics. Mouhcine Guettabi received his Ph.D. in economics from Oklahoma State University. He has been with UAA since 2012.

Heather Brook Adams presents "Secrets, Sex, Shame and Blame: What Hidden Stories of 1960s Women Can Teach Us" Monday, Feb. 17, 5-7 p.m. UAA Campus Bookstore

Heather Brook Adams explores the recent history of unwed pregnancy in the United States and the rhetorics of shame and rhetorical silences that are part of this gendered history. Her talk focuses are the stories of the women themselves and the rhetorical implications of this history.

Heather Brook Adams teaches in the UAA Department of English. She earned her Ph.D. in English from Penn State University and holds master's degrees from the Bread Loaf School of English (Middlebury College) and the University of Maryland, College Park.

Margritt Engel and Karen Willmore present "G.W. Steller's Trek Through the Wilds of Siberia" Thursday, Feb. 19, 5-7 p.m. UAA Campus Bookstore

After translating the highly acclaimed book, Steller's History of Kamchatka; Collected Information Concerning the History of Kamchatka, Its Peoples, Their Manners, Names, Lifestyles, and Various Customary Practices, Margritt Engel and Karen Willmore are working together again on newly found diaries of naturalist and explorer Georg Wilhelm Steller.

Margritt Engel translated Steller's Journal of a Voyage with Bering, 1741-1742 with O.W. Frost in 1988. She is professor emerita in the Department of Languages at UAA.

"Writing About Climate Change" Monday, Feb. 23, 5-7 p.m. UAA Campus Bookstore

Philosopher and writer Kathleen Dean Moore, singer-songwriter Libby Roderick, human rights attorney Robin Bronen and journalist Yereth Rosen come together to discuss the challenges in writing about climate change and global responsibility. This event is co-sponsored by the UAA Campus Bookstore, 49 Writers, UAA Office of Sustainability and UAA Department of English.

Philippe Amstislavski presents "Climate Change Impacts on Access to Health Care" Tuesday, Feb. 24, 1-3 p.m. UAA Campus Bookstore

Philippe Amstislavski is associate professor of public health (Department of Health Sciences) at UAA. His research focus is on the interactions between natural and social systems, particularly between climate change and community adaptation and resilience in the Circumpolar North.

Amstislavski's credentials are impressive: He received his Ph.D. in the Earth and Environmental Sciences Department, CUNY; his M.E.M. in the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University; and a master's in environmental design, sustainable materials development, from the School of Architecture at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Everyone is invited to learn about new ways of looking at climate change.

Jifeng Peng presents "Renewable Energy Systems: Wind Energy" Wednesday, Feb. 25, 5-7 p.m. UAA Campus Bookstore

What does research tell us about wind energy? Come find out at this informative event with Jifeng Peng.

Jifeng Peng is an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at UAA. He has a Ph.D. in bioengineering from California Institute of Technology; a M.S. in mechanical engineering from Stony Brook University; and a B.S. in mechanical engineering from University of Science and Technology of China.

What's new in renewable energy? Is the answer blowing in the wind? Come find out.

Dr. Lyn Freeman and Dr. Rebecca White present "Pain and Neuroplasticity, Part 2" Thursday, Feb. 26, 5-7 p.m. UAA Campus Bookstore

This event is part two of "Why Won't the Pain Stop?" Did you know: many chronic pain patients fail to manage their pain with medication. Some struggle with pain even after undergoing surgical procedures intended to alleviate the cause of their pain. This is because the brain can learn to generate pain signals even in the absence of the originating cause.

At this event, Dr. Freeman and Dr. White will explain from the medical and psychological/behavioral perspectives why and how the brain learns to experience pain when it no longer serves a survival purpose. The pair will explain a new treatment approach based on the principles of neuroplasticity and describe other approaches that compete with pain signals.

Guest speakers are: Lyn Freeman, Ph.D., BCLPC, Mind Matters Research, LLC Alaska Institute of Surgical & Medical Specialties; and Rebecca White, M.D., Arctic Skye Family Medicine.

January Archive