One of the MSU Alumni Association’s long-standing featured offerings, the Coffee with the Profs series highlights research and work done by some of the university’s finest faculty and staff.
The cost is $75 for 5 sessions and includes coffee and parking. All presentations begin at 10:00 a.m. and take place at the Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center. Please note that this is a series, so registration is for the series only, not individual presentations.
Each presentation from the series is livestreamed and then placed in our livestreamed archive so you can watch them at any time after the original presentation.
Monday, March 11
HISTORICAL AND PROJECTED FUTURE CLIMATIC TRENDS IN THE GREAT LAKES REGION
Jeffrey Andresen, professor, Department of Geography, Environment, and Spatial Sciences and state climatologist for Michigan
Climate in the Great Lakes region of North America has varied widely in the past, and further changes are projected in the future. This presentation will explore long-term historical trends and patterns, recent observed trends including warmer mean temperatures and greater annual precipitation totals, projections of future climate, and some potential impacts associated with the climatic trends.
Monday, March 18
THE PROMISE OF RADICAL BLACK POLITICAL THOUGHT: 18TH CENTURY LESSONS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY
Tacuma Peters, assistant professor, James Madison College
Examining 18th century Black radical political thought, including slave narratives of the late 1780s and the Haitian Revolution, we can interrogate the precarities and promises of Black life and resistance in the present time. Among other themes, the presentation will address the histories of slavery, colonialism, gender inequality, and Black resistance and their many connections to our contemporary moment.
Monday, March 25
RAILWAYS: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE – MSU ON TRACK AND ALL ABOARD!
Nicholas Little, director, Center for Railway Research and Education
Railways are almost 200 years old, yet are still adopting new technologies. Today’s rail network is a result of history, competition and survival. Fierce competition from cars and trucks has taken its toll, but opportunities abound. This presentation will look at what made today’s railways, what they are, and explore what MSU can contribute in terms of research and education.
Monday, April 1
OUR NOVELS, OURSELVES
Zarena Aslami, associate professor, Department of English
The literary genre of the novel is generally considered to be one of the primary unique accomplishments of modern western European culture, and it has origins not only in ancient cultures, but also in nonwestern cultures. This presentation will look at different theories of the history of the novel, which is credited with helping shape the modern western individual, and can thus also show us how our very senses of self emerge from transcultural and transhistorical exchanges.
Monday, April 8
HOW CHINESE ARE YOU? THINKING ABOUT CHINESE ADOPTEE IDENTITIES
Andrea Louie, professor, Department of Anthropology
Chinese adoption creates families whose origins span national borders. Thinking about U.S. families with children adopted from China enables us to consider important questions relating to the cultural and racial identities of transnationally and transracially adopted children. In this talk, I’ll discuss my anthropological research conducted with Asian American and white adoptive parents of children from China, focusing on how white parents who try to instill a sense of Chinese cultural heritage in their children approach the issues of race and culture, and how this may differ for Asian American adoptive parents. I’ll also discuss the various ways that adopted teens assert their own identities as they come of age within the shifting U.S. politics of race, ethnicity, and identity.
Each presentation from the series is placed in our livestreamed archive so you can watch them at any time.