CSUCI hosts lecture series


Cal State Channel Islands will hold its fall Library Lecture Series at the following local libraries. The talks are given by CSUCI faculty volunteering their time and expertise.

For more information, visit go.csuci.edu/librarylectureseries.

Lectures at the Camarillo Public Library, 4101 E. Las Posas Road, are from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on the following Mondays.

Oct. 9: “Fake News! Read All About It!” by Brian Thoms, assistant professor of computer science: The concept of “fake news” has been around for centuries. Thoms will give a brief history of fake news, the deliberate publication of misinformation and hoaxes in the mainstream media.

He will offer tips for verifying information and sources, and explore how social media has affected the “fake news” phenomenon.

Nov. 13: “Work and Labor in the 21st Century” by Elizabeth Sowers, assistant professor of sociology: Work and labor activity underwent significant changes from the mid-1900s in most advanced capitalist countries including the U.S. with unionized, stable, manufacturing jobs giving way to temporary employment in the service sector.

Are we all entitled to a basic standard of living? Should the minimum wage be raised? What role should unions play in protecting workers? Sowers will discuss changes in work and unions.

Dec. 11: “Living Together but Worlds Apart: Examining Ventura County’s Youth and Aging Population” by Luis Sánchez, assistant professor of sociology: In addition to changes in racial and ethnic composition, one of Ventura County’s most profound shifts involves age. Birth rates have dropped since 1990 while the county’s population of those age 65 and older grows.

This lecture will provide a portrait of Ventura County’s youth and elderly population. Sánchez will share data on the changing circumstances of these two age groups and discuss how groups at opposite ends of the age spectrum may differ from each other though their lives are linked.

Lectures at the Grant Brimhall Library, 1401 E. Janss Road, Thousand Oaks, are from 7 to 8 p.m. on the following Wednesdays.

Oct. 18: “Environmental War and Peace: Environmental Conflict Management and Policy Development” by Traceylee Clarke, associate professor of communication, will cover communication when it involves conflicts over environmental policy.

Clarke will use case studies from Ventura County to explain the National Environmental Policy Act and how differing sides can collaborate to reach a resolution.

Clarke is an environmental mediator who works with the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service and National Parks Service.

Nov. 15: “To Infinity and Beyond: Paradoxes of the Infi- nite” by Jesse Elliott, professor of mathematics: Guests will be introduced to mathematicians and philosophers through the centuries who have tried to solve the mystery of infinity, including Zeno of Elea, a Greek philosopher; German mathematician Georg Cantor; British Nobel laureate Bertrand Russell; and Austrian mathematician/ logician Kurt Gödel.