*Walk-in for Mornings with the Professors, $15.00 for individual session pay at the door.

March 27, April 3, 17, 24, May 1 (Friday) No class April 10
9:30-11:30 am

U.S. TAX SYSTEM & SOME REFORM PROPOSALS TO MAKE IT FAIRER

Friday, March 27

This lecture will highlight some of the features of the current U.S. tax system, both at the federal and state levels. It will invoke some philosophical and practical arguments for certain kinds of taxes. Learn of various weaknesses of the current tax system and some proposals to make the current tax system simpler and fairer for all.

Bibek Adhikari, Assistant Professor of Economics, ISU

MISTER ROGERS FOR GROWNUPS: WELCOME TO HIS NEIGHBORHOOD

Friday, April 3

Fred Rogers became an American icon for his sensitivity in dealing with children’s wonderings and worries. (“No, you can’t go down the bathtub drain!”) Might his ways of relating to children offer guidance to us adults as well? Maybe it’s never too late to learn more about being a neighbor.

Richard and Charline Watts, Social Justice Advocates

MARTIN LUTHER: SAINT OR SINNER?

Friday, April 17

Martin Luther famously described humans as being simultaneously saints and sinners. He was very much both, and he left an ambivalent legacy. He reformed the church, resolved an existential crisis and laid the foundation for the modern German language; but he also split the Western church, subordinated the church to the state and was a vicious anti-Semite.

John Freed, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of History, ISU

WHAT I LEARNED AT SHAKESPEARE CAMP FROM 1993 TO 2020

Friday, April 24

Artistic Directors of major Shakespeare Festivals often have backgrounds in acting, directing and even arts management, but seldom do they come from the production/design side of the discipline. However, that has been Stark’s path. Learn what makes that unique and what makes the Illinois Shakespeare Festival his artistic home.

John Stark, Artistic Director, Illinois Shakespeare Festival

CRUISING AROUND THE HISTORICAL BLOC: ORIGINS & SOCIAL MEANING OF ROCK-N-ROLL

Friday, May 1

The ethnic, class, racial and urban industrial roots of this musical form will help to understand the tensions and contradictions inherent in post-World War II American culture. Attendees will listen to music from Lonnie Johnson, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, the Carter Family, Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, “Big Mama” Thornton, Sam Cooke, Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley.

April Schultz, Professor of History, Illinois Wesleyan University