Dear Colleagues:

Vera Tobin of the College of Arts and Sciences has kindly written much of the blurb for this week’s Friday Lunch (as part of another announcement):

“When John Krich of The Wall Street Journal selected ten “great reads” on Asia published in the last year or so, one of his choices was A Tibetan Revolutionary: The Political Life and Times of Bapa Phüntso Wangye, by Melvyn C. Goldstein (John Reynolds Harkness Professor of Anthropology), Dawei Sherap, and William R. Siebenschuh (Professor and Chair, Department of English). Krich described the book as “a true tale of a genuine idealist” who “endured 18 years of solitary confinement for trying to broker a deal between Chairman Mao and the Dalai Lama, only gaining his freedom in 1978.” Krich continued, “This handsome new paperback edition deserves attention for helping bring to light the much-ignored predicament of those Tibetan patriots who linked their hopes to working with, and within, China’s regime.” Professor Goldstein will be the guest speaker for the Public Affairs Discussion Group on Friday, February 23.”

As, indeed, he will.  Professor Goldstein, a social anthropologist, is co-director of the Center for Research on Tibet.  His current projects include an oral history of Tibet, the history of Tibet in the 1950s, the history of the Cultural Revolution in Tibet, and a longitudinal study of the impact of China’s reform policies on Tibetan nomads and farmers.  For decades he has observed China’s efforts to solidify its position in Tibet, and few people in the world are as qualified to assess how that is working within Tibetan society.  He will talk about “Why China is Winning,” and that is sure to be the basis for a lively discussion.

The Friday Lunch will gather in Crawford Hall, Room 9, from 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. on Friday, February 23.  Room 9 is within the Inamori Center, on the basement/lowest level of Crawford Hall.  Cookies are kindly provided by generous donors, and hot beverages by the Office of University Communications.  The Friday Lunch is open to all.

A NOTE ON PARKING:  On most Fridays, five or six spaces are available in the lot next to the information booth, off Euclid Avenue.  Attendees can inform Ms. Walker at the booth that they are coming for the Friday Lunch.  We hope this informal system will be used by people who have the most need to park nearby.  Unfortunately, this particular Friday there will be a meeting of the Board of Trustees, so no space will be available.

Best regards,
Joe White

More About Our Guest

Dr. Goldstein is a social anthropologist specializing in Tibetan society, history, and contemporary politics as well as in anthropology and history, cross-cultural gerontology, population studies,  polyandry, cultural ecology and economic development/change. He has conducted research in Tibet (Tibet Autonomous Region of China) on a range of topics including nomadic pastoralism, the impact of reforms on rural Tibet, family planning and fertility, modern Tibetan history, and socio-economic change. His has also conducted research in India (with Tibetan refugees), in Nepal (population and kinship among Tibetan border peoples), Mongolia (nomadic pastoralism) and China (modernization and the elderly).

Dr. Goldstein’s current projects include: an oral history of Tibet , the history of Tibet in the 1950’s, the history of the Cultural Revolution in Tibet, and a longitudinal study of the impact of China’s reform policies on rural Tibet (nomads and farmers). A new study is beginning in May 2006 to investigate modernization and changing patterns of intergenerational relations in Tibet. For more information on the Tibet Oral History Project see: Tibet Oral History and Archive Project.

Spring Semester Schedule

Beginning on February 2, the Friday Lunch will move back to Crawford Hall, in ROOM 9. Room 9 is within the Inamori Center, on the basement level of Crawford.

It is very kind of Bill Deal, Director of the Inamori Center, to make this room available on a regular basis. Thank you, Bill!

Room 9 seats 35, with a central table and also chairs along the wall. It should be a better setup than Guilford. If we expect a large crowd, we may be able to open a partition and join up with Room 11.

There will, however, be a class in the room until 12:20. Therefore it will not be possible to get there much before the lunch begins. On the other hand, people who are a bit early should be able to hang out in the Tomlinson food court. I believe the underground passage from Tomlinson to Crawford will be restored when construction is finished.

Coffee will be provided from the SAGES Cafe’. Which should mean very good coffee.

The tentative schedule of speakers, so far:

January 26: Phil (Perkins Professor of Physics-Case Western Reserve University) and Sarah Taylor, Wind Power and All of It’s Aspects – Environmental, Energy,  Economic, Aesthetic, and Maybe More.

February 2: Ken Grundy, Marcus Hanna Professor Emeritus of Political Science, on subject to be determined

February 9: Paul Schroeder, Visiting Lecturer in Political Science and from Families of the Fallen for Change, on what to do in Iraq

February 16: Mark Turner, Professor of Cognitive Science, on cognition and politics

February 23: Mel Goldstein, Professor of Anthropology, on why the Chinese are winning in Tibet

March 2: Susan Helper, Professor of Economics, on strategies for American workers within the current global competition.

March 9: Baiju Shah, President, Bioenterprise Corporation, on the new economic prospects in Cleveland.

March 16: Break

March 23: Mike Aronoff of Cuyahoga County on the evaluation of sexual predators for the courts―are they really dangerous, and can we predict if they will reoffend?

March 30: Barbara Morrison, Assistant Professor of Nursing, on how current patterns of care for Moms and newborns deny them the peace and quiet and bonding they need.

April 6: Horst von Recum, Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering; Insoo Hyun, Assistant Professor of Bioethics; and Greg Eastwood, Interim President of Case Western Reserve University on Stem Cell Research.

April 13: Marixa Lasso, Assistant Professor of History: Drugs, War, and Coffee in Colombia

April 20: Mark Joseph, Assistant Professor, Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences: Mixed-Income Development as an Approach to Addressing Urban Poverty

April 27: Christine Cano, Associate Professor of French, on the French elections (this date falls between the first round and the runoff election)

Parking: For those people who seek to make special arrangements about parking, the contact person now will be Fay Alexander.  Her phone number is 368-4440, and her e-mail is fabrienne.alexander@case.edu.