February 23, 2001: "The State of Black Milwaukee"

STANLEY BATTLE, Sullivan-Spaights Professor, Schools of Social Welfare and Education, and Assistant Chancellor for Student and Multicultural Affairs
JUDITH ROZIE-BATTLE, Assistant Professor, Department of Social Work

Professors Stanley Battle and Judith Rozie-Battle will discuss their research experiences relating to the production of two books published last year by the Milwaukee Urban League: The State of Black Milwaukee, edited by Stanley Battle, and The State of Black Milwaukee: Through the Eyes of Children, edited by Stanley Battle and Judith Rozie-Battle. The first title presents sixteen articles by scholars, city officials, and community leaders on the chronic underdevelopment of black Milwaukee; the second presents seventeen essays by Milwaukee middle school and high school students about their life plans, their feelings about safety in their schools and communities, and their vision the future.

March 30, 2001: "María Gertudis Hore y Ley de Fleming: An Eighteenth-Century Spanish Poet"

PIERRE ULLMAN, Professor Emeritus, Department of Spanish and Portuguese

Professor Ullman will discuss his most recent research on the work of eighteenth-century Spanish poet María Gertudis Hore y Ley de Fleming, especially her poem "El nido." Although she was a noted poet during her lifetime, no complete volume of her poetry has ever been issued. "El nido" was not published until 1872 and did not reappear again until 1975. Professor Ullman will discuss Hore y Ley in the context of her times, and he will offer an analysis of "El nido," including a translation, in comparison with the visual arts and music of its day.

April 27, 2001: "The Role of Human Initiative in Mortality Reduction"

BRUCE FETTER, Professor, Department of History

Professor Fetter will discuss his most recent work on the public policies which have reduced mortality levels in the last hundred years. Understanding the role of human initiative in mortality reduction requires a knowledge of both the natural world and human agency. Making use of historical demography, Professor Fetter weaves together information from diverse sources to offer a broad perspective on human efforts to modify mortality, including the relationship of our bodies to the biosphere, how our medical systems deal with illness, and how we fund our healing.