The Tompkins County Public Library will host "What Makes Ithaca Human?" – a panel and public discussion on empathy and the impacts of science and technology – Thursday, Aug. 26, from 6-8 p.m. in the library's Borg-Warner Community Room.

The panel is held in conjunction with the Community Read of the 2010 Cornell New Student Reading Project selection, Philip K. Dick's "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?"

Topics will include the need for empathy and human bonds in a functioning society, and connections and disconnections tied to technology and science. Community readers will be asked to discuss: "On the topic of empathy, what in 'Androids' really hit home for you? And should Ithaca and Tompkins County be more empathetic? If so, how?"

The panelists are:

• Bruce Lewenstein, Cornell professor of science communication and the 2010 chair of the Societal Implications of Science and Engineering section of the American Association for the Advancement of Science;
• Anke Wessels, executive director of the Center for Transformative Action, which calls for a need to stay free from "us vs. them" strategies that often exacerbate social problems;
• Peter Bardaglio, author, senior fellow at Second Nature, coordinator of the Tompkins County Climate Protection Initiative, and former provost and vice president of academic affairs at Ithaca College.

The program is free and open to the public, and will be moderated by Gary Stewart, director of community relations at Cornell. For more information, contact Carrie Wheeler-Carmenatty at 607-272-4557, extension 248, or cwheeler@tcpl.org.

The 2010 Community Read is made possible by the Brooks Family Foundation and Cornell.