N A S S A U   N O T E S

Feinberg

Richardson Auditorium

Pianist Alan Feinberg will perform the melodrama, "Tennyson's Enoch Arden, Opus 38," by Richard Strauss in a concert at 8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 17, in Richardson Auditorium, Alexander Hall. Narrating the piece will be Nathan Randall, artistic director of Princeton University Concerts. "Enoch Arden is one of the most unusual works we've ever presented," Randall said. "Basically, a melodrama is a sort of 19th-century, pre-radio soap opera. Strauss has written music to accompany Tennyson's epic poem." Tickets are available at the Richardson box office at 258-5000.

U.S. foreign policy is topic for Jan. 20

Before and After: U.S. Foreign Policy and Sept. 11" is the title of a lecture to be presented Sunday, Jan. 20.
    Phyllis Bennis, fellow and director of the New Internationalism Program of the Institute for Policy Studies, will speak at 4 p.m. in 302 Frist Campus Center.
    Bennis has been a writer, analyst and activist on Middle East issues for 25 years. At the Institute for Policy Studies, a progressive think tank in Washington, D.C., she focuses on Palestinian rights, the peace process and the role of the United States within the United Nations.
    The lecture is sponsored by the Princeton Middle East Society, International Center, Transregional Institute for the Study of the Middle East and North Africa and Princeton Committee on Palestine.

	DeForest Soaries

Soaries to keynote King observance Jan. 21

The University will observe Martin Luther King Day on Monday, Jan. 21, with a tribute that will include a keynote address, a choir performance and the presentation of awards to essay and poster contest winners from area schools.
    The program will begin at 1:30 p.m. in Richardson Auditorium, Alexander Hall.
    "This seems an especially important year to rededicate ourselves to the goals of Dr. King," said Robert Durkee, vice president for public affairs, whose office organizes the event. "We hope as many as possible, on campus and in the community, will attend."
    Giving the address at this year's tribute will be DeForest Soaries, New Jersey secretary of state.
    As secretary of state, Soaries oversees New Jersey's Martin Luther King Jr. Commission. He also is senior pastor of the First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens in Somerset. Internationally renowned as a speaker, author and advocate for youth, he was invited by Coretta Scott King to be the keynote speaker for the Year 2000 Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Commemorative Service in Atlanta.
    Soaries was sworn in as New Jersey's secretary of state on Jan. 12, 1999, and leads a department devoted to preserving and promoting the story of New Jersey through the state's arts, history and culture. A well-known advocate for at-risk youth, Soaries established the state's Center for Youth Policy and Programs and launched a program called V-Free, a statewide effort designed to prevent incidents of youth violence, vandalism and victimization in New Jersey's schools and communities.
    The Praise Ensemble from the First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens in Somerset will perform during the event.
    The theme for this year's essay and poster contests centers on the importance of increased understanding and respect among all races. Students in grades seven through 12 from area schools were invited to write essays in the form of a letter to Gov.-elect James McGreevey, advising him what he could do to help New Jersey achieve King's goals particularly in light of the Sept. 11 events and aftermath.
    Fourth- through sixth-graders were asked to address the same topic by creating posters that could hang in the new governor's office. Many of the posters will be displayed during the program.
    Prizes will be awarded for the best posters and essays. Excerpts from the essays will be posted on the University's Martin Luther King Jr. Day Web site at <http://www.princeton.edu/pr/mlk/>.

McCarter Theatre

Three acclaimed African-American tenors, Victor Trent Cook, Rodrick Dixon and Thomas Young, will combine forces in a performance titled "Three Mo' Tenors" at 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 2, in McCarter Theatre. The theatrically staged evening of vocal music will span opera, Broadway, jazz, blues, gospel, soul and spirituals.
    For ticket information, call 258-2787 or visit <http://www.mccarter.org>.

'Russian Winter Fest' scheduled

A five-session program titled "Russian Winter Fest" will be presented on Thursdays in February and March by the Alumni Council.
    The program, which is open to members of the University community, will focus on Russian poetry, literature, culture and politics. All sessions will be led by faculty members in the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures.
    Each lecture will begin at 6:30 p.m. in Maclean House. The schedule is:

• Feb. 7 -- "Tchaikovsky and the West" with Caryl Emerson.

• Feb. 21 -- "Russian Poets and Politics" with Michael Wachtel.

• Feb. 28 -- "What Russian Culture Teaches Us About Post-Sept. 11 Life, or 20th-Century Russian Literature and the Resilience of the Human Spirit" with Ellen Chances.

• March 7 -- "What Reading Means: Readers in Russian Fiction" with Olga Hasty.

• March 14 -- "A Voyage through Slavic Studies in America" with Charles Townsend.

The cost is $15 per session or $65 for all five lectures. To register or for more information, contact Christine Hollendonner at <mailto:chollen@princeton.edu> or 258-5854.

Nominations sought for teaching awards

The Office of the Dean of the Faculty invites members of the University community to submit letters of nomination for the 2002 President's Award for Distinguished Teaching.
    The awards, presented annually at commencement, are intended to recognize excellence in undergraduate and graduate teaching by Princeton faculty members. All current full, associate and assistant professors, lecturers on continuing appointment, senior lecturers and lecturers who have served at least half time for three or more years are eligible for nomination.
    Letters of nomination should be sent by Friday, Feb. 15, to the Office of the Dean of the Faculty, 9 Nassau Hall.

Alumni course looks at holy war

The Princeton Alumni Council is offering an Alumni Studies course this spring titled "Jihad, Just War, Holy War." Faculty and staff members are invited to join alumni and parents in exploring this timely topic.
    "Obviously, the events of Sept. 11 provoked the interest in treating this subject," said course leader Carl Brown, the Garrett Professor in Foreign Affairs Emeritus and professor of Near Eastern studies emeritus. "But, in a sense, we're trying to take one step back from these terrible events to ask how different people, different religious groups, have addressed the larger issue of war -- when people are justified in getting into a war and how they should act in the conduct of that war."
    Princeton faculty offering special lectures include Eric Gregory, Paul Heck, William Jordan, Bernard Lewis and Paul Sigmund plus Rutgers Professor James Turner Johnson. "By studying the approaches to war in the Jewish, Christian and Muslim religious traditions, we will find interestingly different emphases but also more commonalities than people might expect," said Brown, who is the author of the book, "Religion and State: The Muslim Approach to Politics."
    "All societies, all religious communities, have addressed and will always address the question of warfare -- under what circumstances is engaging in warfare justified and what restraints, if any, are imposed in warfare," he continued. "In addition, there's the tough old question of to what extent do the religious teachings influence practice on the ground."
    Each household that enrolls receives a course syllabus, reading packet, lectures on audiotape and access to an optional e-mail discussion group. Those who wish to hear the nine lectures live can attend on-campus sessions on March 8-9 and May 3-4.
    The course is scheduled to begin Feb. 10 with the first e-mail discussion, but participants may enroll at any time during the semester.
    The cost of basic registration is $100 per household. On-campus sessions are an additional fee. For more information, see the course Web site at <http://alumni.princeton.edu/Education/Spring2002.asp>. Or, contact Christine Hollendonner at the Alumni Council, <mailto:chollen@princeton.edu>, 258-5854.

		People helping people Members of the University community showed their holiday spirit last month by participating in a number of volunteer projects.     Faculty and staff members donated more than 2,300 items during a drive to benefit the Hire Attire Boutique, a New Brunswick-based organization that collects "gently used" business clothes for men and women entering or re-entering the workforce after completing a New Jersey job training program. Scott Bollwage, worksite instructor, presented a certificate of appreciation to Blanche Scioli, left, and Karen Woodbridge, right, in the Office of Community and State Affairs, which sponsored the drive with the Office of the Vice Provost.     Staff members in the development office helped sort items and stock shelves at the food bank of the Crisis Ministry of Princeton and Trenton. Helping the ministry's Ted Tamborino, left, at the bank's East Hanover location were development staffers, from left, Berle Pizzuti, Irene Helgesen and Aleida Rios.     Also in December, a campuswide food drive sponsored by the Council of International Graduate Students and the Center for Community Service netted 1,007 items for the Mercer Street Friends Food Cooperative.