CAMARILLO — Discrimination against employees who need to care for parents or kids is becoming more common, but largely unreported. Lindsey O’Connor, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Sociology will speak about this growing phenomenon in one of 19 free lectures in libraries across Ventura County.
Family Responsibility Discrimination or FRD is just one of the subjects being covered during CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) Spring Lecture Series. Other lectures include everything from outcomes for English learners in Santa Paula to the plastics in our oceans and sea life. Each presentation is given by a member of the CSUCI faculty with expertise in the area.
Blanchard Community Library, 119 North 8th St., Santa Paula
Tuesdays, 6:30 to 8 p.m.
March 13
“Standardized Testing and Student Learning: Outcomes for English Learners in Santa Paula.”
English learners make up a significant subset of Santa Paula’s P-12 student population. An examination of the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) scores for English Arts/Literacy and Mathematics indicate an urgent need for more support for English learners. Chemistry Lecturer Brittnee Veldman, Ph.D. and Associate Librarian Monica Pereira of CSUCI will join Anacapa Middle School Bilingual Educator Jennifer Figueroa to explain pathways toward success for English learners. The lecture will also be given April 10.
May 1
“¿Para Arriba? The Rise of Latino Middle-Class Neighborhoods in Southern California.”
The Latino population has increased substantially since the 1980s and will continue to expand the country’s racial and ethnic diversity. A considerable amount of research on Latina/os in the U.S. focuses on immigrants or those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, but little research has been done on middle class Latina/os who had enjoyed socioeconomic upward mobility.
CSUCI Assistant Professor of Sociology Luis A. Sánchez, Ph.D., will share his research on Latina/o middle class neighborhoods, what defines them, where they are located, and other characteristics that may surprise you.
Camarillo Public Library, 4101 Las Posas Rd., Camarillo
Mondays, 6:30 to 8 p.m.
Feb. 26
“Contemporary Film, Climate Change and Climate Refugees.”
CSUCI English Lecturer Kyndra Turner, Ph.D. will explore how life imitates art through Neill Blomkamp’s 2009 science fiction thriller “District 9.” Turner will show how the story has many implications for the 21stcentury, especially in terms of climate change and displaced people on the move from uninhabitable places.
March 26
“Using Mathematics to Understand Biological Systems.”
When we study biological events, such as the spread of the Zika virus, or the dynamics of sleep, for example, mathematical models are critical elements of that research. CSUCI Assistant Professor of Mathematics Selenne Banuelos, Ph.D. will explain mathematical biology, and the valuable perspective it provides for scientists.
April 23
“Unrecognized and Unreported: Family Responsibility Discrimination.”
Discrimination against employees with family responsibilities now has its own acronym: FRD. And it’s a widespread and growing problem. CSUCI Assistant Professor of Sociology Lindsey O’Connor will discuss the results of a recent experiment she conducted into whether an employee’s characteristics, such as race, gender or social class, affect whether they are discriminated against for needing time to care for children or elderly relatives.
May 7
“CSUCI Computer Science Students to Defend Medal in NASA Robotics Competition.”
The CSUCI robotics team programmed a swarm of robots to collect samples on Mars and won third place in the NASA Swarmathon Robotics competition at Kennedy Space Center in Florida last year. This year, they return to defend their victory. Computer Science Lecturer Kevin Scrivnor will explain the details of the competition, the team’s approach, and the results.
Ojai Library, 111 E. Ojai Ave., Ojai
Saturdays, 1 to 2:30 p.m.
Feb. 10
“Ocean Litter and Microplastics: A new wave of research.”
The microplastics littering our beaches and oceans is finding its way into our food chain. Assistant Professor of Environmental Science & Resource Management Clare Steele, Ph.D. will talk about the latest research into this global concern and what we can do to reduce its impact.
March 10
“Beaches on the Edge.”
California’s coast is under threat, with over 80 percent of our beaches actively eroding. Assistant Professor of Environmental Science & Resource Management Kiki Patsch, Ph.D. will explain how human interference and climate change is making the problem worse, and how we can plan for a resilient future.
April 14
“The Spirituality of Imperfection at Work.”
Nobody likes to feel as if they’ve failed in their work life any more than they want to feel failure in their personal lives. CSUCI Professor of Management Andrew Morris, Ph.D. will talk about the human condition of being imperfect and how some organizations like Google are reframing the idea of failure into a necessary stage of growth and development. “Thoughtful failure” is a type of spirituality of imperfection that may serve us well in the workplace.
May 12
“Touching Dirt: Humankind’s forgotten dependence on the ceramic medium, and how a return to clay could help shape our future.”
For thousands of years, human beings have shaped clay, with this ceramic medium helping us develop our agriculture, medicine, and even space exploration. CSUCI Assistant Professor of Art Marianne C. McGrath will guide the audience through clay’s often overlooked historical role and its recent resurgence in popularity.
Oxnard Public Library, 251 S. “A” St., Oxnard
Tuesdays, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 6
“Look What I discovered! Latin@x Communities in European Atlases and Maps of the New World.”
Maps and atlases created during 16th century maritime exploration of the Americas gave us a rich and complex understanding of history, but could be incomplete, or based on secondhand knowledge or guesswork. Assistant Professor of Art History Theresa Avila, Ph.D., takes a closer look at maps and atlases from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries to find important historical narratives about the development of Latin@x communities. (Latin@x is a gender-neutral reference used in place of Latina/o.)
March 6 (Spanish presentation)
“Qué hace un burro o jumento en la obra mas celebrada del Español, ‘El Quijote de la Mancha.’” (What a burro or donkey does in the most celebrated work in Spanish: “El Quijote de la Mancha.”)
CSUCI profesora de español Acela Barrón-Camacho discutirá cómo Cervantes usó el asno de Sancho Panza en su obra maestra “Quijote de la Mancha”, también conocido como “El Quijote”, también escrito en 1605.(CSUCI Spanish Lecturer Acela Barrón-Camacho will discuss how Cervantes used Sancho Panza’s donkey in his masterpiece “Quijote de la Mancha,” also know as “El Quijote,” (also Don Quixote) written in 1605.)
April 3
“Classical Music in Films.”
Many of the familiar tunes in some of our most popular movies come from the classical music genre, such as the 2010 release “The King’s Speech,” when Colin Firth’s King George recites his first wartime radio broadcast to the strains of the Second Movement of Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony. Stanley Kubrick’s iconic “2001: A Space Odyssey” familiarized the world with “Also Sprach Zarathusa” by Richard Strauss. Assistant Professor of Performing Arts and Music Kuanfen Liu will explore the introduction of classical music into the early years of cinema and look at the top ten classical moments in motion pictures.
Thousand Oaks Grant R. Brimhall Library, 1401 E. Janss Rd., Thousand Oaks
Wednesdays, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 21
“Cannabis and Commerce in Ventura County”
Recreational marijuana is now legal in California, which opens the gates to cannabis entrepreneurship, which is projected to bring in $1 billion in California tax revenue annually.
CSUCI Business Lecturer Panda Kroll, Esq., will discuss the new regulations and California’s first Chief of the Bureau of Cannabis Control, Lori Ajax. She will also review lessons learned from Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and other local governments that have embraced the cannabis business.
March 21
“Artificial Intelligence—a Threat? How Computers Learn.”
They’re in our homes, running our cars, our computers, and many aspects of our lives. Computer Science and Mathematics Lecturer Ron Rieger will discuss how computers learn, and how artificial intelligence is used successfully. Rieger will also talk about some concerns about artificial intelligence as it becomes more and more sophisticated.
May 16
“Public Pedestals: Confederate Monuments and their Legacies.”
In recent years, Confederate monuments have fallen under greater scrutiny than ever before, with some being removed from public places. Assistant Professor of History Jacqueline Reynoso, Ph.D., will put the monuments in historical context and examine the circumstance of their creation, some of which are less than a decade old.
For additional information visit: https://www.csuci.edu/academics/artsandsciences/library-lecture-series.htm.
About California State University Channel Islands: CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) is the only four-year, public university in Ventura County and is known for its interdisciplinary, multicultural and international perspectives, and its emphasis on experiential and service learning. CSUCI’s strong academic programs focus on business, sciences, liberal studies, teaching credentials, and innovative master’s degrees. Students benefit from individual attention, up-to-date technology, and classroom instruction augmented by outstanding faculty research. CSUCI has been designated by the U.S. Department of Education as a Hispanic-Serving Institution and is committed to serving students of all backgrounds from the region and beyond. Connect with and learn more by visiting CSUCI’s Social Media.