Every first Friday of the month, UK College of Agriculture Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems Working Group hosts a networking forum for faculty, students, staff, and members of the community, including sustainability advocates, growers, business owners, market managers, chefs, etc. (see http://www2.ca.uky.edu/safs/ for more information). It is our hope that through our speakers, we’ll be able to start some lively discussions and maybe get some project ideas flying. Download the flier.

For this month’s First Friday on November 4, we have invited a panel of 3 A&S faculty members to talk about: “Does Culture Matter in Sustainable Agriculture?” 

First Friday: November 4

7:30 am - 9:30am

E.S. Good Barn

A Panel Discussion: Does Culture Matter in Sustainable Agriculture?

Jeff Rice, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, UK Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and Digital Media

Ann Kingsolver, Ph.D.
Director, UK Appalachian Center

Doug Slaymaker, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Japanese, UK Department of Modern and Classical Languages, Literatures, and Cultures

In recent years, "cultural sustainability" has been increasingly emphasized in the literature of sustainable agriculture as the fourth leg of sustainability (three legs are economic, ecological, and social sustainability). Books and documentary films which emphasize the need for localizing food economy and making agriculture more sustainable have become very popular. One can argue the idea of "sustainability " has become part of the lexicon that reflects and shapes our lifeworld and everyday practices. Through a lively debate on the question of “culture”, we hope to inquire the notion of "cultural sustainability" and explore opportunities for collaboration among faculty in Ag and A&S colleges.

A breakfast of locally-produced foods will be served starting at 7:30 a.m. There is no charge for the breakfast, but donations will be accepted gladly to help offset the costs a bit. The program will begin at 8:15 and last until 9:30 a.m. If you need to leave before 9:30, please come anyway.

The Cottrill-Rolfes Chair of Catholic Studies will be sponsoring two lectures in early November.  The speaker will be Fr. Justin Sinates, a monk of St. Catherine's monastery in the Sinai Desert, Egypt, and a native of Texas.  St. Catherine's was founded in the sixth century by the Byzantine emperor Justinian and is the oldest Christian monastery in continual existence in the world.  St.Catherine's has a extensive collection of ancient manuscripts , surpassed only by the Vatican.  Fr. Justin has spearheaded an innovative effort to digitize all of the manuscripts in the library's collection, beginning with the famous Codex Sinaiticus.  Saint Catherine's also has a unique collection of Greek and Russian icons, which owe their existence to the monastery's isolated location and distance from the problem of Iconoclasm.

Here are some links to articles written about Fr. Justin and his work:

http://justinmartyr.blogspot.com/2009/02/father-justin-sinaites.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/04/technology/at-a-mountain-monastery-ol…

http://articles.latimes.com/print/2007/feb/20/local/me-gettymonk20

http://www.parade.com/articles/editions/2005/edition_05-15-2005/feature…

The Cottrill-Rolfes Chair of Catholic Studies will be sponsoring two lectures in early November.  The speaker will be Fr. Justin Sinates, a monk of St. Catherine's monastery in the Sinai Desert, Egypt, and a native of Texas.  St. Catherine's was founded in the sixth century by the Byzantine emperor Justinian and is the oldest Christian monastery in continual existence in the world.  St.Catherine's has a extensive collection of ancient manuscripts , surpassed only by the Vatican.  Fr. Justin has spearheaded an innovative effort to digitize all of the manuscripts in the library's collection, beginning with the famous Codex Sinaiticus.  Saint Catherine's also has a unique collection of Greek and Russian icons, which owe their existence to the monastery's isolated location and distance from the problem of Iconoclasm.

Here are some links to articles written about Fr. Justin and his work:

http://justinmartyr.blogspot.com/2009/02/father-justin-sinaites.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/04/technology/at-a-mountain-monastery-ol…

http://articles.latimes.com/print/2007/feb/20/local/me-gettymonk20

http://www.parade.com/articles/editions/2005/edition_05-15-2005/feature…

Beijing or Bust

November 15, 2011 - 5:00pm

Whitehall Classroom Bldg 118

Bejing or Bust

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0791066/

Beijing or Bust is a documentary that follows six American-born Chinese as they leave their lives in the United States for new ones in Beijing. The film, which is documentary maker Hao Wu’s first, was released in 2005. In 2006, while producing a different documentary Wu was detained by PRC officials for nearly 5 months.