Cochise seminar series begins Sept. 23

Beginning Tuesday, Sept. 23, Cochise College and Phi Theta Kappa honor society will present a series of free seminars on the theme The Paradox of Affluence: Choices, Challenges, and Consequences. The seminars are delivered via satellite in the Horace Steele Conference Room on the Sierra Vista Campus.

The series begins with “Lessons from Abroad: Opportunities in a Borderless World,” presented by Dr. Richard Heinzl, founder of Doctors Without Borders, the Nobel Prize-winning humanitarian medical relief organization. Heinzl will make the point that travel should be part of everyone's education. Using anecdotes, perspectives and lessons from his work and visits to more than 75 countries, he will detail the stories of people caught up in war and poverty and argue that students from all disciplines have a role to play. He will also reveal how borderless the world truly is and show how this unprecedented change demands innovation and creative thinking from students. His presentation begins at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 23.

Seminars also are set for the following dates. The seminars are broadcast via satellite and produced by Phi Theta Kappa, the international honor society for two-year college students, and the National Collegiate Honors Council. For additional information, call (520) 515-5315. Anyone needing an accommodation in order to attend should contact the Disability Services Office, (520) 515-5337 or (520) 417-4023, at least 72 hours in advance.

• Tuesday, Oct. 7 – “Pathways out of Poverty through Green Collar Jobs: The Role of Scholarship in Improving Quality of Life for Urban Residents,” with Dr. Raquel Pinderhughes, professor of urban studies at San Francisco State University. Pinderhughes has conducted research in the United States; Havana, Cuba; Curitiba, Brazil; and Rajasthan, India. She is president of the board of directors of the Ecology Center, which runs the city of Berkeley’s recycling and farmers’ market programs, and Rising Sun Energy Services, operators of programs to reduce residential energy and water consumption in the Bay area. During a presentation beginning at 4:30 p.m. she will show that green collar jobs represent an important category of workforce opportunities for adults with barriers to employment.
  
• Tuesday, Oct. 21 – “The Geography of Bliss,” is presented at 4:30 p.m. by veteran foreign correspondent Eric Weiner, who has worked on several award-winning teams for National Public Radio, been a business reporter for The New York Times, and is author of The Geography of Bliss: One Grump’s Search for the Happiest Places in the World, a memoir of his travels to countries that are known for their happy people. His presentation will journey from America to Iceland to India and ask why Asheville, N.C. is so happy? He provides surprising insights into why and how place matters in our search for happiness.
  
• Tuesday, Nov. 18 – “Archaeological Evidence for the Origins of Affluence,” presented at 5:30 p.m. by Dr. Michael Galaty, associate professor of anthropology at Millsaps College. Galaty has conducted archaeological research in Mississippi and Virginia, Greece, Hungary, and Albania. In his presentation, he will investigate and discuss the first paradox of affluence: why did humans leave millions of years of egalitarian social relations behind?