N A S S A U   N O T E S

Art Museum exhibit

"Park Avenue/59 Street South, New York," a photograph by German artist Thomas Struth, is part of the "New German Photography" exhibit at the Art Museum through March 24. The exhibit, featuring 15 photographic works made during the past two decades, is being presented in conjunction with another exhibit, "From Klinger to Kollwitz: German Art in the Age of Expressionism," which runs through June 9 at the museum.

Pinker explains nature of language

Bestselling author and psychologist Steven Pinker will discuss his latest book, "Words and Rules: The Ingredients of Language," at 8 p.m. Monday, Feb. 11, in McCosh 50.
    In the book, Pinker, a professor of psychology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, explores the nature of language how it works, how it changes over time and how children pick it up. He looks at linguistic phenomena from the vantage points of psychology, biology, history, philosophy, linguistics and child development.
    "Words and Rules" was a finalist for the 2000 Eleanor Maccoby Book Award from the American Psychological Association. Pinker's bestselling book, "How the Mind Works," was a finalist for both a Pulitzer Prize and a National Book Critics' Circle Award in 1998. His other bestseller, "The Language Instinct," was named one of the 10 Best Books of 1994 by The New York Times Book Review and received the 1995 William James Book Prize of the American Psychological Association.
    Pinker's talk is designated as the Louis Clark Vanuxem Lecture and is part of the University's Public Lectures Series. It will be Webcast; for viewing information, visit WebMedia/.

Freedom is topic of Feb. 11 talk

Freedom: Past and Present" is the title of a talk to be presented Monday, Feb. 11, by Herbert London, the John Olin Professor of the Humanities at New York University.
    London, a renowned scholar and social critic whose writings have appeared in many major newspapers, will deliver the lecture at 4:30 p.m. in 104 Computer Science Building. A reception will follow.
    London's talk will deal with the evolution of freedom as a concept from the 1950s to the present. He says it will be "part autobiographical, part philosophical and part practical."
    London also is president of the Hudson Institute, a public policy research organization that forecasts trends and develops solutions for governments, businesses and the public. His research interests include cultural affairs, higher education, urban policy and social theory. He is the author of several books, including "Decade of Denial: A Snapshot of America in the 1990s," "Myths that Rule America" (with Al Weeks), "Military Doctrine and the American Character" and "Armageddon in the Classroom."
    His talk is part of the Alpheus Mason Lectures in Constitutional Law and Political Thought sponsored by the James Madison Program. This year's lecture series is made possible by John Hansel, class of 1946.

Sprinzak explores rise of 'hyperterrorist'

Ehud Sprinzak, dean of the Lauder School of Government, Policy and Diplomacy at the Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya, Israel, will present a lecture titled "2001: The Rise of the Hyperterrorist" at 4:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 11, in Bowl 1, Robertson Hall.
    Sprinzak previously served as the academic director of the Raoul Wallenberg Scholarship Program and as a professor of political science at Hebrew University of Jerusalem from 1992 until 2001. He has taught and written extensively on public affairs, Israeli society, violence, terrorism and religious fundamentalism and is one of Israel's leading authorities on these subjects.
    The lecture is sponsored by the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.

Ecologist to present lectures

Ecologist Peter Vitousek of Stanford University will deliver a series of three lectures at 8 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, Feb. 12-14, in the large auditorium of the Computer Science Building.
    Vitousek, who is Stanford's Clifford Morrison Professor in Population and Resource Studies, will speak on three topics related to ecology:
    • "Beyond Global Warming: Human Alteration of Biochemical Cycles," Feb. 12;
    • "Biological Invasion as an Anthropogenic Global Change," Feb. 13; and
    • "The Hawaiian Islands: A Model System for Understanding How the World Works," Feb. 14.
    Vitousek, who has taught at Stanford for 18 years, has studied natural and human-dominated ecosystems in the continental United States, Costa Rica, Brazil, Mexico and Hawaii. Recently, he has focused on Hawaii as a model for understanding how ecosystems are structured and how they function.
    The talks are sponsored by the Princeton Environmental Institute and Princeton University Press. A reception will follow the Feb. 12 lecture.

Author Styron to read Feb. 13

William Styron, author of novels such as "Sophie's Choice" and "The Confessions of Nat Turner," will read from his work during a program Wednesday, Feb. 13.
    He will speak at 4:30 p.m. in the Stewart Film Theater, 185 Nassau St., following an introduction by Toni Morrison, the Robert F. Goheen Professor in the Humanities.
    Styron made his debut at age 26 with "Lie Down in Darkness" (1951). He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1968 for "The Confessions of Nat Turner." "Sophie's Choice," which garnered the 1980 American Book Award, was made into a popular movie starring Meryl Streep.
    Styron's more recent works have included "Darkness Visible: A Memoir of Madness" (1990), "A Tidewater Morning: Three Tales from Youth" (1993) and "Fathers and Daughters: In their Own Words" (1994 with Mariana Ruth Cook). In 1993, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts.
    The event is part of the Creative Writing Program's Althea Ward Clark Reading Series.

Former diplomat focuses on Russia

Jack Matlock Jr., former ambassador to the Soviet Union and the John Weinberg/Goldman Sachs & Co. Visiting Professor of Public and International Affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School, will present a lecture Wednesday, Feb. 13.
    Titled "America and Russia in the World Today," it will begin at 4:30 p.m. in Dodds Auditorium, Robertson Hall.
    Matlock served in the U.S. foreign service from 1956 to 1991 and was ambassador to the Soviet Union from 1987 to 1991. Following his retirement, he was a consultant to the American Broadcasting Co. and a faculty member at Columbia University and at the Institute for Advanced Study. He is the author of a book on the Soviet collapse, "Autopsy on an Empire," and of numerous articles on foreign policy, international relations and Russian literature and history.

Chang predicts collapse of China

Corruption, Chaos and Cure: A Short History of the End of the Chinese State" is the title of a talk to be presented Wednesday, Feb. 13, in 202 Jones Hall.
    Gordon Chang, author of "The Coming Collapse of China" (Random House, 2001), will deliver the address at 4:30 p.m. It will be preceded by refreshments at 4 p.m. The event is sponsored by the East Asian Studies Program.
    Chang has lived and worked in China and Hong Kong for the last two decades. Most recently, he served as counsel to the American law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison in Shanghai, specializing in major corporate finance transactions involving China's state-owned enterprises.
    In testimony last August before the U.S.-China Commission, Chang called China "a weak giant, not a strong one" and predicted that "the Communist Party of China will fall from power within a decade." He said that China was not prepared for entry into the World Trade Organization, which was formalized late last year, and that the country's state-owned businesses and banks are not ready for increased competition. He said the economy is stalling, workers and peasants are discontented and the central government's finances are questionable.
    "China ... will tip when something, and probably just an inconsequential event, goes wrong," Chang predicted. "In some small village or large town, events will get out of control."

Talk set on NYC fiscal challenge

The former president and chief executive officer of the Bond Market Association will present a lecture titled "New York City's Fiscal Challenge Post-Sept. 11" at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 14, in Bowl 1, Robertson Hall.
    Heather Ruth, who earned her master in public affairs degree from the Woodrow Wilson School in 1967, left her position of 18 years after overseeing a period of unprecedented growth in the scope and effectiveness of the association. She has been consulting and traveling while writing a book since May 2001. The Bond Market Association represents securities firms and banks that underwrite, trade and sell debt securities in the United States and internationally.
    The lecture is sponsored by the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs' Office of Graduate Career Services.

Israeli novelist to reflect on writing

Israeli novelist Ronit Matalon will speak at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 14, in 202 Jones Hall. The title of her address is "Out of Place, Inside Time: Reflections on Place, Identity and Writing."
    Matalon teaches literature at the University of Haifa and is a journalist for the daily Ha'aretz. Her critically acclaimed first novel, "The One Facing Us" (1995), is a portrait of an Egyptian Jewish family set in Cairo, Tel Aviv and Cameroon.
    Sponsors of the lecture include the Department of Near Eastern Studies, the Humanities Council, the Program in Near Eastern Studies and the Program in Jewish Studies.

Jazz night set at Art Museum

Members of the University community and their families are invited to "The Art of Jazz," the second in a series of programs at the Art Museum, on Friday, Feb. 15. The Gordon James Quartet will perform from 8 to 10 p.m.
    Admission is free, refreshments will be served and the galleries will be open. For more information, call 258-3788.

Community House plans extravaganza

Community House will sponsor its annual Black History Month Extravaganza from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 15, at the Third World Center.
    Members of the University and local communities are invited to attend the free event, which will feature food, arts and crafts for children and performances. This year, La Troupe Makandal, a well known group from New York City, will teach Haitian history through traditional music, drumming and dance.
    For more information, contact Community House at 258-6136.

Spring Dance Festival

"Sharing of the Water," choreographed by faculty member Ze'eva Cohen, is among the pieces that will be performed in the annual Spring Dance Festival presented by the Program in Theater and Dance Friday and Saturday, Feb. 15-16, in Richardson Auditorium, Alexander Hall. The festival will feature 30 students performing works by Cohen, guest artists Christopher Caines and Daniel Gwirtzman and 12 student choreographers. For ticket information, contact the Richardson box office at 258-5000.