Noted legal scholar to discuss religious roots of equality

George Fletcher, the Cardozo Professor of Jurisprudence at the Columbia University of School of Law, will deliver the 1999 Robert M. Litowitz Lecture in Ethics and Public Policy on Monday, April 12. His lecture, titled "In God's Image: The Religious Roots of Equality Under Law," will be held at 4 p.m. in Rm. A-51 of the School of Management, 60 Sachem St. It is free and open to the public.

Fletcher writes primarily about criminal law, torts and legal philosophy. His published writings include "Rethinking Criminal Law," which received an honorable mention from the Order of the Coif as the best law book published in the period 1976-78; "A Crime of Self-Defense: Bernhard Goetz and the Law on Trial," which received the Silver Gavel Award from the American Bar Association; "With Justice for Some: Victims' Rights in Criminal Trials"; "Basic Concepts of Criminal Law"; "Loyalty: An Essay on the Morality of Relationships"; and "Basic Concepts of Legal Thought." He has taught at numerous universities, including Yale, and appears regularly in the media as a commentator on legal affairs and as a professional moderator of Socratic dialogs.

Fletcher's experience includes prosecuting cases in Los Angeles, running workshops for Eastern European lawyers in Budapest and founding and editing a magazine on Jewish philosophy. He lectures regularly in German, French, Hebrew, Spanish, Russian and English.

The Litowitz Lecture is sponsored by the Program in Ethics, Politics and Economics.

Film director/novelist to be guest at master's tea

Film director, novelist and playwright Andrew Bergman, who wrote the screenplay for "Blazing Saddles," will be the guest at a tea on Tuesday, April 13, at 4 p.m. in the Davenport College master's house, 271 Park St. The event is free and open to the public.

Bergman's other film credits include "The In-Laws," "Fletch," "Soapdish," "So Fine," "The Freshman," "Honeymoon in Vegas," "It Could Happen to You," "Striptease" and the upcoming "Isn't She Great." He was awarded the Writers Guild of America Award in 1975 for best original screenplay for "Blazing Saddles."

Bergman's novels are "The Big Kiss-Off of 1944," "Hollywood and Levine" and "Sleepless Nights." He also has written two plays, "Social Security" and "Working Title."

Group to describe its anti-corporate hijinks

Members of RTMark (more formally known as ®TMark), a group that supports the "informative alteration of corporate products" by using public capital to support such projects as the Barbie Liberation Organization, will speak on the topic "21st Century Investing Strategies" on Tuesday, April 13. Their talk is part of the lecture series "...With Technological Means: Artists, Theorists and Curators Working in New Media," sponsored by the Digital Media Center for the Arts.

The talk will begin at 6:30 p.m. in Hastings Hall of the Art & Architecture Building, 180 York St. It is free and open to the public.

Since its inception in the early 1990s RTMark has been responsible for funding numerous high-profile, anti-corporate hijinks. In 1994, for example, 80,000 copies of the computer game Simcopter were shipped to stores around the country before the game's producer, Maxis Inc., realized that one of its programmers had added surprise erotic content to the game. The programmer, who was fired from the company, collected a $5,000 payment from RTMark for his action.

Connecticut attorney general to talk about tobacco industry

Richard Blumenthal, attorney general of the state of Connecticut and an alumnus of the Law School, will speak on "The Continuing Battle Against Big Tobacco" during public health grand rounds on Wednesday, April 14. His talk, which is free and open to the public, will begin at noon in Winslow Auditorium of the Laboratory of Epidemiology and Public Health, 60 College St. The event is sponsored by the department of epidemiology and public health.

Blumenthal was re-elected to an unprecedented third term as Connecticut's attorney general in 1998. He has been a leader in the fight against the tobacco industry, initiating legal action, legislation and other measures to combat what he claims is deceptive marketing. He also has advocated a comprehensive national plan through the courts and Congress to reduce teen tobacco use and reimburse taxpayers for medical costs related to smoking. In addition to his concerns about public health, he also has been an advocate for consumers, the environment, children, and the civil rights of Connecticut citizens.

Blumenthal was a member of the Connecticut State Senate 1987-90 and was a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives 1984-87. He also has served as United States Attorney for Connecticut (1977-81), volunteer counsel for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun and as a sergeant in the United States Marine Corps Reserves.

Misuse of placebos in clinical trials is topic of talk

Paul Lauritzen, professor of religious studies and director of the Program in Applied Ethics at John Carroll University in Cleveland, will address the topic "Where Use of Placebos Puts Patients at Risk: What Price Knowledge?" in two talks on Wednesday, April 14. His talks are sponsored by the Institution for Social and Policy Studies (ISPS) and Yale Hillel as part of a seminar series on bioethics and public policy.

Lauritzen's first talk will take place at noon in the lower-level conference room of ISPS, corner of Prospect and Trumbull streets. This talk is open to members of the Yale community. Lauritzen will repeat the lecture at 7:30 p.m. at the Joseph Slifka Center, 80 Wall St. A reception will follow this event, which is free and open to the public.

Lauritzen contends that the growing use of placebos in trials where the placebo exposes subjects to serious risk is morally unacceptable. Yet, he says, "institutional review boards are approving such studies without adequate moral justification." In his talk, Lauritzen will examine the use of placebos that put patients at risk and will discuss his belief that institutional review boards do not yet have an appropriate framework for handling such cases.

Expert on infectious diseases to give Horstmann Lecture

Dr. Kenneth McIntosh, chief of the division of infectious diseases at Boston Children's Hospital, will deliver the eighth annual Dorothy M. Horstmann Lecture on Wednesday, April 14. His talk, titled "Respiratory Syncytial Virus: Pathogenesis, Prevention and Treatment," will begin at noon in Fitkin Amphitheater, 330 Cedar St. The event is open to the Yale community, free of charge.

McIntosh, a world-renowned expert on viral respiratory infections in children, is also a professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and director of diagnostic virology at the Boston Children's Hospital. He has published extensively on the epidemiology and pathogenesis of respiratory infections in developing countries and has received many awards for his work on the rapid diagnosis of viral infection. His research and clinical interests also focus on HIV infection in infants and children, transmission of HIV from mother to child, and pediatric AIDS.

The endowed lecture McIntosh will deliver honors Dr. Dorothy M. Horstmann, the John Rodman Paul Professor Emeritus of Epidemiology and Pediatrics, for her contributions as a biomedical scientist, clinician and teacher. Horstmann is best known for her work on poliomyelitis and rubella, and played a major role in developing and evaluating vaccines for these two diseases. The Horstmann Lecture is presented as part of pediatric grand rounds, and is cosponsored by the departments of pediatrics and epidemiology and public health.

Benedictine monk to talk about contemplative prayer

Dom Laurence Freeman, O.S.B., a Benedictine monk of the Monastery of Christ the King in Cockfosters, London, and the director of the World Community for Christian Meditation, will give a talk titled "Universal Call to Contemplative Prayer" on Wednesday, April 14. His talk, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 6 p.m. at St. Thomas More Catholic Center at Yale,
268 Park St.

A graduate of Oxford University, Freeman worked in the United Nations, in merchant banking and in journalism before becoming a monk at Ealing Abbey in London. He received his monastic training from John Main, his spiritual teacher and friend, and during the mid-1970s assisted Main in establishing the first Christian Mediation Centres in London and Montreal. After Main's death in 1982, Freeman succeeded him and began to travel extensively, teaching meditation on six continents through retreats and talks. In addition, he has always meditated with those whom he is teaching. In 1991, the World Community for Christian Meditation was formed with Freeman as its spiritual guide.

Freeman is the editor of the journal Monastic Studies and is the author of many books and tapes, including "Light Within," "The Selfless Self," "A Short Span of Days," "Christian Meditation," "Your Daily Practice" and "Web of Silence." He also has edited works by John Main.

Ethics of science and activism is focus of talk

"The Ethics of Science and Activism: The Best Science Money Can Buy" is the title of a talk being given on Friday, April 16, by Kristin Schrader-Fréchette, director of the Program in Science, Technology and Values and the Alfred C. DeCrane Jr. Professor of International Studies in the department of philosophy at Notre Dame University. Her talk, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 4 p.m. in Bowers Auditorium of Sage Hall, 205 Prospect St. The event is part of a lecture series titled "Other Voices: Alternative Perspectives on Environmental Problems," sponsored by the Institute for Social and Policy Studies and the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.

Schrader-Fréchette is also a professor of biological sciences at Notre Dame. She has written or edited numerous books on ethical problems in science. These include "Nuclear Power and Public Policy: Social and Ethical Problems with Fission Technology," "Environmental Ethics," "Burying Uncertainty: Risk and Case Against Geological Disposal of Nuclear Waste," "The Ethics of Scientific Research" and "Technology and Values" (coedited with L. Westra). She also is coauthor, with L. Persson, of the forthcoming "Radiation Protection and Ethics."

For more information, visit the series website at pantheon.yale.edu/~mmf24/
Other_Voices.html.

Graphic designer to deliver Paul Rand Lecture

Award-winning graphic designer Kyle Cooper, an alumnus of the School of Art who is a renowned designer and director of sequences for feature film titles, broadcast projects and commercials, will deliver the Paul Rand Lecture in Design on Friday, April 16. His talk, titled "Movement v. Moment," will begin at 6 p.m. in the lecture hall of the Yale University Art Gallery, corner of Chapel and High streets. The event is free and open to the public.

Cooper has won top graphic arts, film and television, and art awards for his various motion and stationary designs. His feature film credits include the main title designs for "The Island of Doctor Moreau," "Ghosts of Mississippi," "Braveheart," "The Joy Luck Club," "Free Willy," "True Lies," "101 Dalmatians," "Mouse Hunt," "The Horse Whisperer," "Mighty Joe Young" and "The Mask of Zorro," among many others. He also has designed print programs, signage systems, corporate logos and entertainment branding packages. These include motion graphics projects and corporate identity designs for Xerox, HBO and Visa Gold. In addition, he has directed live action commercials for Target, Reebok and Charles Schwab, among other companies.

Cooper studied with Paul Rand at the School of Art . From 1992-96, he was creative director at RGA/LA, where he built the company's design department. In 1996, he became one of the founders of Imaginary Forces. He and his design team at Imaginary Forces redesigned the animation for the Netscape browser and are currently working on the Netscape channel redesign.

Noted sarod player to perform Indian classical music

The South Asian Society at Yale will host an Indian classical music recital on Saturday, April 17, featuring Anirban Das Gupta, one of Indian's most prominent sarod players. He will be accompanied by Jakir Hossain on the tabla. The recital will take place at 7 p.m. in Rm. 102 of Linsly-Chittenden Hall, 63 High St. Admission is free, and the public is invited.

Hindustani classical music is one of the oldest forms of music in the world, with origins dating back to ancient religious texts known as the Vedas. Anirban Das Gupta is one of India's most well-known classical musicians and players of the sarod, an ancient Hindustani stringed instrument with a metal fingerboard. He has performed extensively in India, playing duets with his father and mentor, Buddhadev Das Gupta, and at numerous solo recitals. In 1984, he won the All India Radio National Music Competition, and has been rated an "A Grade" artist with All India Radio since then.

His accompanist, Jakir Hossain, has studied with Samar Saha, one of India's top tabla players, and has accompanied many of India's most well-known classical musicians.

The South Asian Society at Yale is an organization of intellectual, cultural and social exchange for anyone with a special interest in South Asia. Founded in 1985, the group hosts various events throughout the year to celebrate and promote interest in South Asian culture.

Cognitive scientist will deliver Tanner Lectures

Cognitive scientist Steven Pinker will give the 1999 Tanner Lectures on Human Values on Tuesday and Wednesday, April 20 and 21. Pinker, who is professor of brain and cognitive sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and director of M.I.T.'s Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, has gained international acclaim for his interdisciplinary work exploring the nature of language, cognition and consciousness.

In his lectures, Pinker will review his most recent work and preview his current research. The Tuesday lecture is titled "How the Mind Works." The Wednesday lecture will explore "The Blank Slate: The Denial of Human Nature in Modern Life," titled after Pinker's forthcoming book. Both lectures will take place at 4 p.m. in the auditorium of the Whitney Humanities Center (WHC), 53 Wall St. They are free and open to the public. A reception in Rm. 208 of the WHC will follow the first lecture, from 5:15-6:15 p.m.

Pinker first gained international attention for his work on language acquisition. His book "The Language Instinct" was named one of the Ten Best Books of 1994 by the New York Times and won awards from the Linguistics Society of America and the American Psychological Association. His 1997 book, "How the Mind Works," was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in Nonfiction, a National Book Critics' Circle Award and the Winship Book Prize of PEN New England. A critic for the New Yorker wrote that the work "marks out the territory on which the coming century's debate about human nature will be held."

Pinker is also author of two other books and has edited three, including "Connections and Symbols" (with Jacques Mehler).

T H I SW E E K ' SS T O R I E S

Actress to talk about her art in Maynard Mack Lecture
Older workers help Yale Program on Aging reach out . . .
Campus honors man who gave Yale its name
What's in a name?
Endowed Professorship: Physicist Grober is appointed to Barton Weller chair
Policymakers to consider prospects for economic and social development . . .
Alumna Congresswoman to speak at AACC's anniversary event
Feminist Friedan will take part in 'Women and Freedom' conference
Conference to examine how life has changed in Connecticut
Music student recitals to be held off-campus

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