The Normandale Community College Richard Brown Colloquium Series will celebrate its 20th anniversary this fall with 26 different speakers presenting 12 different sessions every Monday from 2-3 p.m. in Partnership Center Room P 2842 from September 21 to December 7.
All sessions are free and open to the public and campus community.
The first session, which takes place Monday, September 21 at 2 p.m. in P 2842, will be part of a collection of events surround the Japanese Garden’s 50th Anniversary Celebration on Saturday, September 19.
The session is titled Celebrating Two Forums for Contemplation: Normandale's Japanese Garden and the Richard Brown Colloquium Series. The conversation will interweave two important aspects of Normandale's history and emphasize the value of community. The Richard Brown Memorial lecture celebrates together the 50th anniversary of Normandale's Japanese Garden and the 20th anniversary of the Richard Brown Colloquium Series. Presenters will include Jason Brown, Medtronic Senior Principal Statistician and Technical Fellow, Jane Fenton, Executive Director of Normandale's Foundation, Jack Norton, Normandale History faculty, and Cece and Steve Cope of the Friends of the Japanese Garden volunteer group.
"The Colloquium Series was meant to provide additional learning and discussion opportunities outside the traditional classroom setting for Normandale students and the general public,” said Richard Brown’s son Jason Brown. “My dad would be honored and thrilled that the series continues to this day in his name."
The Colloquium Series is an important part of the living history of Normandale. It is a welcoming platform for sharing ideas in free talks given by a variety of speakers, usually but not exclusively faculty.
It originally ran from 2006-2018 and was renamed the Richard Brown Colloquium Series by the English Department to honor the faculty member who largely ran it. Brown passed in 2020. The series was revived across 2023-2024. Since that 2023 revival, more than 20 faculty in English, Art, Music, History, Theatre, and World Languages have all participated.
The following is a list of the 11 additional sessions that will run from September 28 to December 7.
Monday, September 28 from 2-2:250 p.m., Partnership Center Room P 2842.
Title: Going to the Well: Wisdom literature that built your life philosophy.
Presenters: Sarah Clowes, Roy Guzman, Mary Hammerbeck, Matt Mauch, Tom Maltman and Patrick O'Donnell, English faculty, along with Deb Kellogg, World Languages faculty.
Monday, October 25 from 2-2:250 p.m., Partnership Center Room P 2842
Title: Giving Birth Astride a Grave: Understanding the compassion transcending the absurdity of Samuel Beckett's masterpiece, Waiting for Godot.
Presenter: Patrick O'Donnell, English Faculty.
Monday, October 12 from 2-2:250 p.m., Partnership Center Room P 2842
Title: "In 1655 AD, Minnesota Was Crowded” - The Wilderness Had Blossomed - exploring Indigenous presence.
Presenter: Susan Krook, retired Anthropology faculty.
Monday, October 19 from 2-2:250 p.m., Partnership Center Room P 2842
Title: A Historian's Viewpoint on AI and Fascism.
Presenter: Jack Norton, History faculty.
Monday, October 26 from 2-2:250 p.m., Partnership Center Room P 2842
Title: Protest in Music and Art.
Presenters: Rob Gronemann, Music faculty, and Molly Skjei, Art faculty.
Monday, November 2 from 2-2:250 p.m., Partnership Center Room P 2842
Title: The Verve in Your Verse: How bringing the kinetic energy of verse poetry into your writing can upend traditional narrative structures and deepen the story.
Presenters: Tom Maltman, English faculty and Sonia Greenfield, English faculty.
Monday, November 9 from 2-2:250 p.m., Partnership Center Room P 2842
Title: Evolution: Neanderthals, Humans, and More Cousins.
Presenters: Hattie Dambroski, Biology faculty, and Steve Wiley, retired Anthropology faculty.
Monday, November 16 from 2-2:250 p.m., Partnership Center Room P 2842.
Title: E.T. Phone Home: Depictions of Technology in Fiction.
Presenter: Steve Woodward, English faculty.
Monday, November 23 from 2-2:250 p.m., Partnership Center Room P 2842.
Title: Duende: Finding Authenticity in an Artificial Age in the work of Spanish poet, Federico García Lorca.
Presenters: Loli Dillon, English faculty, and Eric Mein, English faculty.
Monday, November 30 from 2-2:250 p.m., Partnership Center Room P 2842
Title: The (Legally Distinct) Fantastic Four: Family, Fandom, Performance, and Play How openly performing fandom within family -- including practices such as play -- can strengthen both the individual person and the bonds between family members. Presenter: Alicia Utecht, Communication faculty, Teaching Studio.
Monday, December 7 from 2-2:250 p.m., Partnership Center Room P 2842. Title: Building social connection: Tips for casual conversations to enhance relationships. Presenter: Carly Byrnes, Communication faculty, Teaching Studio.
top
