Lecture series offers viewpoints, learning

Spring term is now a distant memory. But you, dutiful student,resisted the sultry call of summer and are now enrolled in classes.Or perhaps last term left you with some burning questions about,say, life in France or the consumption patterns of the wildmushroom in Mexico and Central America? Well, hats off to you! TheVanguard knows first hand the importance of satisfying intellectualindulgences such as these-even during the summer. Which is why forthe past 20 years, Portland State has brought internationallyrenowned professors from all over the world for a series of freenoontime lectures. This year, dear brainiacs, is no different.

The series kicked off on June 23rd with bestselling author PeterFogtdal of Denmark who spoke about “The Rescue of Danish JewsDuring WWII.” The lectures will be held every Wednesday at noon inthe Smith Memorial Student Center through the first week in August.Though it’s too late to hear Peter Fogtdal, Markus Patka, curatorof the Jewish Museum in Vienna, Laureen Nussbaum, a professor inPSU’s Foreign Languages Department, or Professor John Davies ofEngland, who has also been known to teach at PSU in the EnglishDepartment, you can still catch the three remaining speakers:

-Y�sica Mayette, M.A., professor in the school ofBusiness Administration at the

Universidad Popular Aut�noma del Estado de Puebla, willtalk about the subject of her doctoral thesis, “Wild and CultivatedMushrooms: Consumption Trends in Mexico and Central America”today.

-There will be a “Meet the Professors” reception July 21st whereremaining questions will be answered by the speakersthemselves.

-On July 28th, Professor B�la Tomka of Hungary willaddress “The formation and Persistence of the European SocialModel: Social Diversity and Convergence in Europe After WWII.”

-Wrapping up the tour is Dr. Michael Vall�e of France whowill give the audience a glimpse of life in France by explainingthe cultural differences of Parisians and the Provinciaux on August4th in a session called “From Paris to the Provinces: Life inFrance Today.”

Luckily, the Vanguard also understands free, so with a name likethe “Tour the World at Home” lecture series, you won’t have to bebitter about missing out on that road trip to Vegas on account ofthose pesky midterms.