Lakehead University offering In Conversation speaker series at the Waverley Library

October 14, 2016 – Thunder Bay, ON

Lakehead University has once again partnered with the Thunder Bay Public Library to offer the In Conversation Speaker Series.

This series provides an opportunity for the general public to learn about research happening at Lakehead University and to experience an academic-style lecture.

Experts from Lakehead University will give free presentations in the Waverley Library Auditorium at 2 pm on the following dates.  

Saturday, Oct. 15 – Homo floresiensis: The So-Called ‘Hobbits’ of Human Evolution

Dr. Matt Tocheri, Canada Research Chair in Human Origins, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, will discuss what we know so far about the extinct human species known as Homo floresiensis or the so-called “hobbits” of human evolution.

Saturday, Nov. 26 – Privacy, Security and Secrecy

Do we have to sacrifice our privacy in order to ensure public security? As the debate is presently framed it seems, unfortunately, that we do. Reframing it in terms of secrecy, however, points the way to a happier resolution. Join Dr. D. Anthony Lariviere from Lakehead’s Department of Philosophy for this discussion.

Saturday, Feb. 11, 2017 – Life and Death and Nitrogen

Chemist Fritz Haber invented a process that doubled agricultural output; a few years later he supervised the gassing of Canadian troops at the 2nd Battle of Ypres. This talk will discuss Haber's nitrogen-fixation process and legacy on the 100th anniversary of World War I. Join Dr. Craig MacKinnon from Lakehead’s Department of Chemistry for this talk.

Saturday, March 11, 2017 – The Other "F" Word: Fat Oppression and Finding Ways to Fight It

It is a rare day that we do not encounter rhetoric about the “obesity epidemic.” A staple of media, public health campaigns, and advertisements for the hugely profitable weight loss industry, we are constantly told that fat is unhealthy and that only thin bodies are beautiful. Presenter Dr. Connie Russell, Faculty of Education, will unpack such messages, describe the impacts of fat shaming, and point to different ways we might combat weight-based oppression so that everybody can flourish. 

Saturday, April 1 – The Other End of the Line: Stories from Inside India's Call Centres

With approximately 350,000 employees, India’s call centres employ less than 0.1 percent of India’s estimated 470 million strong work force. Yet stories about Indian call centres are everywhere – in print, on screen, and online.  Who is really at the other end of the line?  And what can call centre stories tell us about the impact of globalization on everyday life? Dr. Anna Guttman from Lakehead University’s Department of English will host this talk.

Saturday, May 20 – What does the Free, Prior and Informed Consent of Indigenous Peoples Mean for Resource Development? 

The Supreme Court of Canada has clearly spelled out that governments have a duty to consult with Indigenous peoples if they are undertaking any activity – including natural resource development – that may infringe constitutionally protected Aboriginal and treaty rights. Now Canada is promising to uphold the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples requiring the free, prior and informed consent of Indigenous peoples before development occurs. What does this mean for natural resource development? Dr. Peggy Smith from Lakehead’s Faculty of Natural Resources Management will host this talk.

 

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Media: For more information or to arrange interviews, please contact Brandon Walker, Media Relations Officer, at (807) 343-8372, or mediarelations@lakeheadu.ca.

 

 

 

Lakehead University has about 9,700 full-time equivalent students and 2,000 faculty and staff in 10 faculties at two campuses in Orillia and Thunder Bay, Ontario. Lakehead is a fully comprehensive university: home to Ontario’s newest Faculty of Law in 44 years, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, and faculties of Engineering, Business Administration, Health & Behavioural Sciences, Social Sciences & Humanities, Science & Environmental Studies, Natural Resources Management, Education, and Graduate Studies.

Maclean’s 2016 University Rankings place Lakehead University second in Ontario and among Canada’s Top 10 undergraduate universities, and first among Ontario’s undergraduate universities for Total Research Dollars, Social Sciences & Humanities Grants, and Library Expenses. In 2015, Re$earch Infosource ranked Lakehead first among Canada’s undergraduate universities.

Visit www.lakeheadu.ca.