Popular 'Mind and Memory' public lecture series will begin Jan. 24

By Franklin Crawford

David Feldshuh, Cornell professor of theatre, film and dance and artistic director of the university's Center for Theatre Arts (CTA), will launch the popular "Mind and Memory" lecture series Monday, Jan. 24, from 2:55 to 4:10 p.m. in Uris Auditorium. Feldshuh's lecture, free and open to the public, is titled "Creativity and the Actor."

"Mind and Memory: Explorations of Creativity in the Arts and Sciences," directed by Diane Ackerman, poet and author and visiting professor in the Society for the Humanities, is a four-credit course that features public lectures by Cornell faculty members and guests on Monday afternoons throughout the spring term. As the course title suggests, the lectures explore the nature of creativity in art as well as science and the dynamic role of memory in learning and discovery.

In addition to the lectures, students participate in discussion and studio/workshop sections, while the public is invited to attend a noncredit community discussion group held on Fridays at 1 p.m., in Room 201 of the A.D. White House. Community discussions will be led by Jane Hardy, author, editor and educator, and will often be attended by the professor or guest lecturer for that week. The community discussions are made possible through a grant from the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation.

"Mind and Memory" is cross-listed in several departments, including: English; Society for the Humanities; Theatre, Film and Dance; Art; and Music. Two of the six discussion/workshop sections for students will be taught by faculty who were awarded Cornell Council for the Arts grants: Mary Gilliland, director of walk-in services for the John S. Knight Writing Program at Cornell; and Joyce Morgenroth, associate professor in dance.

For more information about the community discussion groups or the series, call 255-9274.

The following is a list of guest lecturers for the Spring 2000 "Mind and Memory" series. All lectures take place on Mondays at 2:55 p.m. in Uris Auditorium. (Note: There is no lecture on March 20 during spring break):

• Jan. 24 -- David Feldshuh, artistic director and professor of theater at the CTA, actor, playwright, physician: "Creativity and the Actor."
• Jan. 31 -- Thomas Eisner, entomologist, musician, professor of chemical ecology, neurobiology and behavior: "What's in a Species?"
• Feb. 7 -- Katharine Payne, visiting fellow at Cornell Lab of Ornithology, biologist, musician: "Why Listen to the Other Animals?"
• Feb. 14 -- Joseph Burns, professor of astronomy: "Creative Observations."
• Feb. 21 -- Roberto Sierra, composer, professor of music: "Soundscapes."
• Feb. 28 -- Paula Horrigan, associate professor of landscape architecture: "Creating Landscape Narratives."
• March 6 -- Joyce Morgenroth, associ
  ate professor of theater arts, choreographer, dancer: "Developing Intuition."
• March 13 -- Bruce Levitt, professor of theater arts, director, actor: "Caretakers of Wonder: The Relevance of an Education in the Creative and Performing Arts."
• March 20 -- Spring Break.
• March 27 -- George Rhoads, painter, kinetic sculptor; and Marcelle Toor, graphic designer: "Making Art."
• April 3 -- Jerrold Meinwald, professor chemistry, musician: "Drawing Inspiration from Molecules."
• April 10 -- Diane Ackerman, visiting professor, Cornell Society for the Humanities, poet, essayist, naturalist: "Creating Minds."
• April 17 -- Michael Spivey, associate professor of psychology, cognitive neuroscientist: "The Probability of Thought."
• April 24 -- Paul West, novelist, essayist: "The Castle of Indolence."
• May 1 -- Student performances and show of artwork.