Lunch Colloquiums
Lunch Colloquiums are generally held twice monthly at the Luce Center and feature a wide range of faculty from all parts of the university.
Colloquiums usually take place every first and third Monday or Tuesday from 11:30 a.m.–1:00 p.m. unless otherwise noted.
Many of our colloquiums are recorded. Click on a title link to view the session.
All meetings are hybrid, except as noted.
In-Person: 130 The Luce Center | 825 Houston Mill Road, Atlanta 30329
ZOOM: Information will be emailed to all registrants before the meeting.
Tuesday, September 10 Patrick Allitt explains why American railroads faced a bankruptcy crisis in the 1970s that led many observers to believe that they no longer served any useful purpose and should be abandoned. He'll discuss how the railroads reinvented themselves between 1980 and 2010, enabling them to revive, becoming more profitable, powerful, and useful than ever before. Monday, September 23 Tuesday, October 8 The three tenets of Jainism are: Ahimsa (absolute nonviolence), Aparigraha (minimal possession and consumption), and, most importantly, Anekadwad (tolerance for alternative perceptions). These three tenets are more relevant today than ever before as we struggle with environmental sustainability, growing violence, the rise of non-communicable diseases such as hypertension and stress, a crisis of multicultural values, and the search for a purpose-driven life. Jainism has no concept of God. Instead, it encourages self-understanding, self-control, and self-actualization through the right vision, the right path, and the right conduct to liberate the soul from the recurring cycle of birth and death (reincarnation). It is the journey of longevity and personal well-being (both physical and mental) through intermittent fasting, detoxification, and seven-day fasting. Monday, October 21 The time-for-change forecasting model provides a tool for predicting the outcomes of US presidential elections with a high degree of accuracy several months before Election Day based on three key factors—the incumbent president’s popularity, economic conditions, and the number of terms that the president’s party has held the White House. I will explore the implications of the model for the 2024 presidential election, the relationship between the model’s prediction and the results of recent public opinion polls, and the outlook for the all-important electoral vote. Monday, November 4 This talk will consider the relationship between the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and jazz. It might seem that these two repertoires would have nothing to do with each other, since Bach worked in Germany in the first half of the eighteenth century, and the origins of jazz date to around the beginning of the twentieth century in the US. But through a series of vignettes—including music by Dave Brubeck, the Modern Jazz Quartet, Oscar Peterson, and Nina Simone—Crist will unfold a taxonomy of the various ways in which jazz musicians have responded to the music of Bach and demonstrate that they aren’t strange bedfellows at all. Monday, November 18 | 2:00–4:00 p.m. Climate-induced hazards have been increasing in frequency and intensity and are projected to worsen in the next decades, even under stringent climate mitigation policies. However, understanding of climate responses globally and in conflict-affected countries in particular is limited. Much of the attention from academics and practitioners focuses on government responses at the national level or on the implementation of climate agreements and treaties. The roles of many other actors, from traditional authorities and community leaders to armed groups and criminal organizations, are still poorly understood. Despite a large literature on rebel governance, there is currently little recognition of the fact that rebel groups engage in environmental governance and how their actions are impacted by climate change. Danielle Jung builds on existing knowledge of alternative governance to introduce, theorize, and empirically examine climate governance by rebel groups using novel data on rebel environmental governance. Monday, December 2 Seeking speakers/readers among our members to suggest titles and authors they have enjoyed and think others might enjoy too. We’ll be recruiting people willing to offer brief presentations on favorite books (or perhaps book series).2024–2025 Programs
Patrick Allitt, Cahoon Family Professor of American History
“The Resurrection of American Railroads”
Ron Gould, Goodrich C. White Professor of Mathematics Emeritus
“Discussing Student Protests”
Jagdish Sheth
Charles H. Kellstadt Professor of Marketing
“Jainism: The Most Contemporary Ancient Religion”
Alan Abramowitz, Alben W. Barkley Professor of Political Science
“What to Expect on November 5th: Lessons from the Time-for-Change Forecasting Model”
Stephen Crist, Professor of Music History and Chair of the Department of Music
"Bach and Jazz: Strange Bedfellows?"
Danielle Jung, Associate Professor, Political Science
“Rebel Governance in the Age of Climate Change”
BookFest: "Recommendations for Fall Reading"