October Lectures Will Cover A Variety Of Topics

Well-known authors, scholars and government officials will speak at Baylor University on a variety of topics during the fall semester. With subjects ranging from religion to quilting to history, the lectures will feature something for everyone. Following is a sampling of lectures scheduled for October.

Dr. John Polkinghorne, winner of the 2002 Templeton Prize, will speak during the Parchman Lectures from 3 to 5 p.m. Sept. 30 and at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. Oct. 1 in Paul Powell Chapel at George W. Truett Theological Seminary. The lectures are free and open to the public.
Polkinghorne enjoyed a distinguished career as a professor of physics at Cambridge University before leaving academic life to become an Anglican priest. In 1986 he was appointed Fellow, Dean and Chaplain of Trinity Hall, Cambridge, and in 1989 he was appointed President of Queens' College, from which he retired in 1996. He was appointed KBE (Knight Commander of the order of the British Empire) in 1997. He is the author of numerous books, including "Faith, Science and Understanding," "Faith in the Living God: A Dialogue" and "The God of Hope and the End of the World."
For more information, call Truett Seminary (254) 710-3755.

The department of sociology and anthropology will sponsor two lectures in its Sociology of Religion Colloquium Series at 3 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, Oct. 8-9, in room 345 at the Draper Academic Building. Dr. David Sikkink, assistant professor of sociology at the University of Notre Dame, will present "The Public Lives of Private Schoolers: Religion and School Sector Differences in Parental Civic Participation" on Oct. 8, while Dr. Michael O. Emerson, associate professor of sociology at Rice University, will discuss the topic "Understanding Racially Integrated Religious Congregations" on Oct. 9.
The lectures are free and open to the public. For more information, call the department of sociology at (254) 710-1165.

Those interested in art in general and quilts in particular will enjoy a lecture by Lynn Lewis Young, editor of "Art/Quilt Magazine," at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 9, in room 149 of the Hooper-Schaefer Fine Arts Building. Young, who has been involved in many aspects of quilting since 1977 and served as a juror for Quilt Visions 2002, will discuss "The Art Quilt" and also will present a slide show on the Katherine Watts collection of quilts, designed and created by Louisiana artist Anna Williams and on display through Oct. 12 in the Martin Museum of Art.
For more information, contact Dr. Mary Ruth Smith at (254) 710-6386.

Acclaimed historian Shelby Foote will deliver the annual Beall-Russell Lecture in the Humanities at 3:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 14, in Jones Theater of the Hooper Schaefer Fine Arts Building. The lecture is free and open to the public.
Born in Greenville, Miss., in 1916, Foote published his first novel, "Tournament," in 1949. He went on to write several more novels, including "Follow Me Down" (1950) and "Shiloh" (1952). Between 1954 and 1974 he composed the acclaimed three-volume, 1.2 million-word history, "The Civil War: A Narrative." In 1990, Foote enjoyed a new kind of fame after his featured appearances in producer Ken Burns' popular television documentary series, "The Civil War." The lecture is free and open to the public. For more information, visit https://www.baylor.edu/Beall-Russell .

African-American author Ernest Gaines will deliver the inaugural Ferguson-Clark Author Lecture at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 17, in Jones Concert Hall at the Glennis McCrary Music Building. The event is sponsored by the University Libraries with proceeds benefiting student-centered library projects.
Best known for his books The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman and A Lesson Before Dying, Gaines is the author of eight novels, most of which are set in the general area of Louisiana where he was raised. His honors include a National Humanities Medal in 2000, the National Governors Association Award for Lifetime Contribution to the Arts in 2000 and a Southern Book Award for Fiction and a National Book Critics Circle Award, both in 1994. He was named a MacArthur Foundation Fellow in 1993, and in 1996 the government of France designated him Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters.
Tickets are $50 for patrons, $15 general admission and $10 for students and are available at the Baylor Ticket Office. For ticket information, call the Baylor Ticket Office at (254) 710-3210.

Baylor's political science department will host its annual Robert T. Miller Professorship Distinguished Lecture Series at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 21, in Jones Theater at the Hooper-Schaefer Fine Arts Center. Dr. Ronald Flowers, the Weatherly Professor of Religion at Texas Christian University and a noted authority on constitutional law and church-state issues, will deliver the keynote address.
Flowers received a bachelor of arts from TCU in 1957, a bachelor of divinity in 1960 from Vanderbilt Divinity School and a doctorate in religion from the University of Iowa in 1967. He has been teaching at TCU since 1966 and also served as chairman of the religion department. He is the author of "That Godless Court?: Supreme Court Decisions on Church-State Relationships" and "To Defend the Constitution: Religion, Conscientious Objection, Naturalization, and the Supreme Court," which will be published in January 2003. He also co-edited, with Miller, "Toward Benevolent Neutrality: Church, State, and the Supreme Court."
For more information, contact the political science department at (254) 710-3161.

Former Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott will serve as speaker for the fall's President's Forum at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 25, in Barfield Drawing Room at the Bill Daniel Student Center. In addition to Talbott's lecture, some of the leading scholars on China will participate in two panel discussions earlier in the day. The panels will focus on "U.S.-China Relations in the 21st Century," a topic selected as a prelude to the scheduled meeting between President George W. Bush and Chinese President Jiang Zemin at Bush's Crawford ranch later that week.
Both the lecture and panel discussions are free and open to the public. For more information about the President's Forum, contact the Baylor office of public affairs at (254) 710-1421.
Check back often to https://pr.baylor.edu for information on other upcoming lectures and events.