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Back to Class with Brown Faculty Podcasts
The Brown Alumni Association offers faculty programs that take you back into the classroom with active scholars on the cutting edge of fascinating topics. Selected Back to Class with Brown Faculty presentations are made available here for you to enjoy at your convenience.
The BAA would like to thank our colleagues in Advancement Information Services for capturing these events.
Podcast Topics:
- Dirty Rotten Secrets of Health Reform - Professor James Morone
- America’s Continuing Problem with Evolution - Professor Kenneth Miller ’70
- The Quantum Mechanics of Global Warming - Professor Brad Marston
- The Story of Global Health at Brown - Dean Edward J. Wing
- The Continuing, Growing Financial Crisis - Professor Ross Levine
- Navigating the Ever-Changing Landscape of College Admissions - Dean James Miller ’73
- Recounting and Forecasting Election 2008 - Assistant Professor Jennifer Lawless
- Democratic Rights - Associate Professor Corey Brettschneider
- Saints and Sinners in American Politics - Professor James Morone
- Election 2008 - Professor Darrell West
- Race, Immigration Reform and the 2008 Election - Associate Professor Matthew Garcia
- Brown’s Impact on the HIV/AIDS Crisis in Kenya - Assistant Professor E. Jane Carter
- Children At Play: An American History - Professor Howard Chudacoff
- How a Compliant Congress Empowered a Reckless President - Visiting Fellow Lincoln D. Chafee ’75
- Architecture of the Night - Professor Dietrich Neumann
- Intellectual Diversity and the Essence of Brown - Professor John Tomasi
- Using 3D X-Ray Video to Visualize Bones and Joints in Motion - Professor Elizabeth Brainerd
- Mass Incarceration and American Ideals - Professor Glenn Loury
- Reflections on Brown's Steering Committee on Slavery and Justice - Associate Professor James Campbell
These lectures are presented as part of the intellectual discourse that characterizes Brown's commitment to learning through an open dialogue of diverse opinions. The opinions of the speaker are his/her own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Brown University or the Brown Alumni Association.
Dirty Rotten Secrets of Health Reform
James Morone, Professor of Political Science
In this talk, Professor of Political Science James Morone offers both historical and current perspectives on health reform.
Watch the videoDarwin, God, and Design - America's Continuing Problem with Evolution
Kenneth Miller '70, Professor of Biology
Is it time to replace “Darwinism” with ideas like “intelligent design” or, at the very least, to introduce criticisms of evolution into our educational system? In this presentation Kenneth Miller ’70, Professor of Biology, assessed the state of this conflict in America today and suggested ways in which the scientific and educational communities can respond.
The Quantum Mechanics of Global Warming
Brad Marston, Professor of Physics
Quantum mechanics plays a crucial, albeit often overlooked, role in determining the Earth’s climate. Professor Marston presents a simple physical picture of what will happen to the Earth as the concentrations of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide continue to increase.
Changing the World: The Story of Global Health at Brown
Edward J. Wing, Dean of Medicine and Biological Sciences
Dean Edward Wing described how Brown faculty and students are changing the world today, and his vision of the future of global health at Brown. A veteran of international medicine, Dr. Wing talked about programs in Kenya, the Dominican Republic, India, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Russia that provide direct care to patients while offering educational opportunities.
The End of the Beginning: The Continuing, Growing Financial Crisis
Ross Levine, Professor of Economics
The financial crisis has affected world financial markets and is likely to have acute and enduring implications. In this presentation, Professor Levine describes the current state of affairs, offers some thoughts about where things are headed, and discusses options available to the Obama Administration.
On the Inside Track: Navigating the Ever-Changing Landscape of College Admissions
James Miller ’73, Dean of Admission
Dean of Admission James Miller ’73 addresses many of the recent changes in the college admissions process. Gender balance, shifts in geographic representation, the elimination of early admissions at select institutions, the role of alumni volunteers, and changes in financial aid policies are some of the topics covered.
Fourteen Months Down, 72 Days to Go: Recounting and Forecasting Election 2008
Jennifer Lawless, Assistant Professor, Political Science and Public Policy
In this presentation, Jennifer Lawless, assistant professor of political science and public policy, examines the dynamics of the 2008 election, highlighting the good, the bad, and the ugly, and she will assess the prospects for victory and governing for each candidate.
Democratic Rights
Corey Brettschneider, Associate Professor of Political Science
In this talk, Professor Brettschneider offers an alternative to the traditional divide between procedural theories of democracy and substantive theories of justice. He argues that democracy itself is fundamentally about a core set of values: political autonomy, equality of interests, and reciprocity with both procedural and substantive implications.
Hellfire Nation: Saints and Sinners in American Politics
James Morone, Professor of Political Science
How did America become a nation with the soul of a church? In this talk, Professor Morone shows how religious and moral fervor ignites our fiercest social conflicts -- and how it moves dreamers to fight for social justice. Moral crusades inspired abolition, women’s suffrage and civil rights even as they led Americans to hang witches, enslave Africans and ban liquor.
Election 2008
Darrell West, Professor of Political Science
Darrell West has been at Brown since 1982 and recently left the University to become vice president and director of governance studies at the Brookings Institution. In this talk, and subsequent conversation, he describes Election 2008 as an important turning point in American history and shares his prediction of the election results.
Race, Immigration Reform and the 2008 Election
Matthew Garcia, Associate Professor of American Civilization, Ethnic Studies and History
Professor Garcia is currently working with the Smithsonian Institution and the Center for History and New Media to create a web-based oral history archive and traveling exhibition about the Bracero program, a temporary guest worker program for Mexican workers from 1942-1964. He also reflects on proposals for immigration reform in Congress leading up to the 2008 Elections.
Many Hands, One Dream: Brown's Impact on the HIV/AIDS Crisis in Kenya
E. Jane Carter, Assistant Professor of Medicine
The Brown/Kenya Program began in 1996 and Brown has been an integral part of the ASSANTE Consortium. In this presentation, Dr. E. Jane Carter describes in vivid and captivating detail the efforts of this program, and its impact on the HIV/AIDS Crisis.
Children At Play: An American History
Howard Chudacoff, Professor of American History and Urban Studies
Professor Chudacoff’s new book, Children At Play: An American History, has been featured twice in The New York Times and has generated considerable debate on radio talk shows across the country. Focusing on the tensions between what adults wanted children to do and what children wanted to do for themselves, Chudacoff traces the history of how children have played and raises questions about how much freedom children have had, and should have, in their play.
Against the Tide: How a Compliant Congress Empowered a Reckless President
Lincoln D. Chafee ’75, Visiting Fellow at the Watson Institute for International Studies
Former Senator Lincoln D. Chafee ’75, distinguished visiting fellow at the Watson Institute for International Studies, delivers his perspective on the following major political occurrences during his seven-year periodin teh Senate; the vote to go to war in Iraq, Bush’s tax cut program, the 2004 election and the return of Congress to a Democratic majority.
Architecture of the Night
Dietrich Neumann, Professor, History of Art and Architecture
Dietrich Neumann, professor of history of art and architecture, explores the history of architectural illumination since the introduction of electric light as a "new building material," showing both historic and contemporary examples and discussing the interesting theoretical debates that accompanied this development.
Professor Neumann studied Architecture at the Technical University in Munich, and at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London. He came to Brown in 1989. His research concentrates mostly on late 19th and early 20th Century Architecture. He has published on the history of building materials, German skyscrapers of the 1920s and the history of film set design and architectural illumination, as well as curated a number of exhibitions.
Watch video of Professor Neumann’s remarks to the Brown Club of Columbus on October 4, 2008.
(44 minutes)
*Video best viewed with Flash.
**Right-click or ctrl+click to download audio file to your computer.
Intellectual Diversity and the Essence of Brown
John Tomasi, Associate Professor of Political Science
Professor John Tomasi is Director of the Political Theory Project - a vibrant new research center at the University. The mission of the Political Theory Project (PTP) is to broaden and deepen the discussion of social and political issues at Brown University. He believes students at America’s colleges and universities need exposure to a full range of opinions and viewpoints to establish their own independent thinking about fundamental political questions. The PTP creates intellectual spaces on campus where students of good faith and diverse viewpoints can gather to debate one another, freely and passionately, about the most pressing political problems of our day.
Tomasi received his B.A. from Colby College, his M.A. from the University of Arizona, and his B. Phil., D. Phil. from Oxford University. He has had previous appointments at Princeton University and Stanford University. His specializations are political theory and ethics and public policy.
Watch video of Professor Tomasi’s remarks to the Brown Club of France on May 27, 2008.
(23 minutes)
*Video best viewed with Flash.
**Right-click or ctrl+click to download audio file to your computer.
Using 3D X-Ray Video to Visualize Bones and Joints in Motion
Elizabeth Brainerd, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Brown University researchers are creating a technology that will allow doctors and scientists to do the seemingly impossible: see inside living humans and animals and watch their bones move in 3-D as they run, fly, jump, swim and slither. This high-resolution, high-speed imaging system will contribute to better treatments for knee, shoulder, wrist and back injuries and help scientists understand the evolution of complex movements, from the flight of birds to the leap of frogs. Professor Elizabeth Brainerd is overseeing development of the new system.
Brainerd came to Brown in 2005. She has an A.B. in Biology and a Ph.D in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology from Harvard.
Watch video of Professor Brainerd’s remarks to the Brown Club of Southern California on March 9, 2008.
(62 minutes)
Please note, audio distortions in the beginning of this podcast are remedied after approx. 5 minutes
*Video best viewed with Flash.
**Right-click or ctrl+click to download audio file to your computer.
Mass Incarceration and American Ideals
Glenn Loury, Professor of Economics
In this presentation, Professor Glenn Loury argues that Americans should recognize a kind of social responsibility for the massive expansion of the incarceration complex in American life over the past two generations. Society at large is implicated in the wrongful acts freely chosen by individual persons, because we have acquiesced in - perhaps actively supported, through our taxes and votes, words and deeds - arrangements which shape his consciousness and sense of identity in such a way that the choices he makes, which we may condemn, are nevertheless an entirely understandable response to circumstance.
Loury has contributed to a variety of areas in applied microeconomic theory: welfare economics, game theory, industrial organization, natural resource economics, and the economics of income distribution. His essays and reviews on racial inequality and social policy have appeared in journals of public affairs in the U.S. and abroad.
Watch video of Professor Loury’s remarks to the Brown club of Boston on March 13, 2008.
Lecture (55 minutes):
Q & A (20 minutes):
*Video best viewed with Flash.
**Right-click or ctrl+click to download audio file to your computer.
'A Long Time Ago': Reflections on Brown's Steering Committee on Slavery and Justice
James Campbell, Associate Professor of American Civilization, Africana Studies and History
In 2003, Brown University President Ruth Simmons appointed a Steering Committee on Slavery and Justice to investigate the University’s historical relationship to slavery and the slave trade. The committee was also charged to organize public programs that would help the Brown community reflect in a serious, sustained way about the complex historical, political, legal and moral questions that this history raises. The committee presented its final report to President Simmons and the Brown community in October 2006.
In this presentation, Professor James Campbell, who chaired the Steering Committee, discusses the committee’s findings and entertains questions, comments, criticisms, and suggestions about its work. The final report is available online, along with an archive of historical documents and video excerpts of committee-sponsored programs.
Campbell received a Ph.D. from Stanford University and a B.A. from Yale University. His research focuses on African American history and the wider history of the Black Atlantic. His most recent book, Middle Passages: African American Journeys to Africa, 1787-2005, was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in History. In 2009, James T. Campbell returned to his alma mater, Stanford University, as the Edgar E. Robinson Professor in United States History.
Watch video of Professor Campbell’s remarks to the Brown Club of Georgia on January 31, 2007.
Segment 1: Why the Committee was created; its goals (16 minutes)
Windows Media | QuickTime | iPod Download (191 MB)
Segment 2: Overview of the Committee's work and discoveries (11 minutes)
Windows Media | QuickTime | iPod Download (135 MB)
Segment 3: Voyage of the slave ship "Sally"; conclusions (19 minutes)
Windows Media | QuickTime | iPod Download (228 MB)
About the BAA Podcasts
The BAA would like to thank our colleagues Bandith Vorasane, Senior Web Designer, and Stephen Crocker, Video & Web Content Editor in Advancement Information Services for capturing these events.
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