Schedule
Below is the schedule of the Fall 2009 Pandora’s Box Film and Speaker Series. All classes start at 12:30 p.m. in the Katy Campus CyberLounge unless otherwise indicated. Pandora’s Box Film and Speaker Series is a free continuing education class. Registration is available in the CyberLounge at each session.
Part I
Tues, Sept 15
Speaker: John Holleman of Homeland Preparedness Project discusses hurricane and disaster readiness, community emergency response teams (CERT), and the medical reserve corps, including pandemic preparations for the H1N1 (swine) flu.
Wed, Sept 16
Speaker: Raylene Cotter, infectious disease representative from Memorial Herman Hospitals, will update students on H1N1 (swine) flu, the H1N1 vaccine, and what can be done locally in the face of a potential pandemic.
Tues, Sept 22
Speaker: Walter Kase, holocaust survivor, discusses his boyhood experiences in a Nazi concentration camp, his liberation by American soldiers, and his immigration to America.
Wed, Sept 23
Film: Pray the Devil Back to Hell chronicles the remarkable story of how thousands of Liberian women, both Christian and Muslim, came together to end a bloody civil war and bring peace to their shattered country.
Tues, Sept 29
Film: Ten Trillion and Counting traces the politics behind the staggering U.S. national debt and investigates what some say is a looming crisis that makes our current financial situation pale in comparison.
Wed, Sept 30
Speaker: Lilly Chu, program coordinator for the Houston Better Business Bureau, discusses “Life after School,” a practical look at the prospects and possibilities facing current graduates entering the greater Houston job market.
Tues, Oct 6
Film: Guns in America looks at the story of America’s connection with guns through the eyes of its citizens, from gangs, to local law enforcement, to gun hobbyists, to a young mother.
Wed, Oct 7
Film: Two Million Minutes takes an in-depth look at how the three economic superpowers of the 21st Century—China, India, and the U.S.—prepare their students for the future by following two students, a boy and a girl, from each country.
Tues, Oct 13
Speaker: Dr. Roger Newman, of Columbia University in New York, discusses the current state of “Civil Liberties, Surveillance, and Terrorism.”
Wed, Oct 14
Film: Money Driven Medicine offers a behind-the-scenes look at the $2.6 trillion, for-profit, largely unregulated U.S. healthcare system, how it went so terribly wrong, and what it will take to fix it.
Part II
Tues, Oct 20
Film: Backlash: Being Muslim in America explores the challenges Muslims have always faced fitting their religion into the American lifestyle and the new challenges they have encountered since 9/11.
Weds, Oct 21
Film: Flow investigates the growing privatization of the world’s dwindling fresh water supply with a focus on politics, pollution, human rights, and the emergence of a potential world water cartel.
Tues, Oct 27
Film: Whale Wars follows “eco-pirates” as they hunt in icy Antarctic waters to stop by any means necessary Japanese “research” ships that hunt endangered whales and sharks for profit.
Wed, Oct 28 Film: Till Death Do Us Part serves as an after-the-fact trial defense for 13 California women sentenced to life in prison for murdering their spouses. All victims of “battered woman syndrome,” they were unable to explain their actions before sentencing.
Tues, Nov 3
Film: Growing Up Online looks at the very public private worlds that kids create online, raising important questions about how the internet transforms childhood in ways that parents are slow to understand or embrace.
Wed, Nov 4
Speaker: Nancy Barry, author of When Reality Hits: What Employers Want Recent College Graduates to Know, will discuss what managers say, the importance of “soft skills,” what will drive bosses crazy, professional communication, and much more.
Tues, Nov 10
Film: Killer at Large examines America’s obesity problem and why this has grown from a public health issue to a national calamity, killing over 100,000 per year and costing taxpayers more than $117 billion a year.
Wed, Nov 11
Film: The War Briefing takes an in-depth look at Afghanistan, a deadlier battleground than Iraq. Can this war be won? What are the president’s options? The film’s producer, Marcela Gaviria, will speak the following Tuesday.
Tues, Nov 17
Speaker: Marcela Gaviria, award-winning filmmaker who has produced 15 documentaries for PBS Frontline, including six films on post-war Iraq. Born in Bogota, Colombia, she will speak on working in the Middle East and on documenting current issues.
Wed, Nov 18
Film: Taking Root tells the inspiring story of a Kenyan woman, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Wangari Maathai, whose simple act of planting trees grew into a nationwide movement to protect the environment, human rights, and Kenyan democracy.
If you’d like to browse through our past programs, take a look at our archives.
Spring 2009 Part II: March 24 – April 22
Tuesday, March 24
Speaker: Andrew Bacevich, Boston University. Historian and former army colonel, speaks on his book, “The limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism.”
Wednesday, March 25
Film: End of America, in a stunning indictment of sweeping policy changes during the Bush Administration, author Naomi Wolf makes a chilling case that American democracy is under threat.
Tuesday, March 31
Speaker: Robert M. Stein, Rice University, Political Scientist, will speak on “The 2008 Elections and the Obama Administration’s Agenda.”
Wednesday, April 1
Film: Consuming Kids. This documentary focuses on the explosive growth of child marketing after deregulation, the film shows how marketers have used psychology, anthropology, and neuroscience to transform American children into consumers and how this has impacted their health and well-being.
Tuesday, April 7
Film: Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. Humorist Ben Stein rejects the notion that “the case is closed” on evolution and claims the existence of widespread persecution of scientists and educators who pursue scientific views opposed to reigning orthodoxy of Darwinism.
Wednesday, April 8
Film: Flock of Dodos: The Evolution-Intelligent Design Circus. Filmmaker, surfer, and evolutionary biologist Dr. Randy Olson humorously explores the controversy, which challenges evolution’s authoritative role in science classes and warns evolutionists that they ignore the controversy at their own peril.
Tuesday, April 14
Film: White Light, Black Rain. The Destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This documentary revisits the bombings and shares the stories of the only people to have survived a nuclear attack.
Wednesday, April 15
Film: The Power of Forgiveness. This documentary examines the psychological and physical effects of forgiveness on individuals and within relationships under conditions ranging from petty insults to violent assaults.
Tuesday, April 21
Speaker: David Guggenheim, Marine Biologist, speaks on “Oceans and Humans are Inextricably Linked.” As part of his “50 Years- 50 States – 50 Speeches Expedition,” Guggenheim travels from city to city and school to school in pursuit of creating an enduring wave of renewed interest in the oceans by its next generation of explorers, scientists and stewards.
Wednesday, April 22
Film: Addicted to Plastic. A global investigation looks at what we really know about the material of a thousand uses and why it’s so prolific. It also examines the world wide scope of plastics’ pollution, investigates its toxicity and explores solutions.
SPRING 2009 Part I
Tuesday, February 10
Speaker: Micheline Slattery, former child and domestic slave from Haiti tell her story and others’: “21st Century slavery: Living Proof.”
Wednesday, February 11
Speaker: Robert M. Stein, prominent Rice University Political Scientist and
author, discusses “The 2008 Elections and What We Might Expect
from the Obama Administration.”
Tuesday, February 17
Film: Change You Can Dance To: Obama Music Videos
Not since JFK has a US President inspired such spontaneous creative expression from around the world. Bring your dance shoes!
Wednesday, February 18
Film: Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick
Do we all have an equal chance at health care? Documentary explores
racial and socioeconomic divides in U.S. health care system.
Tuesday, February 24
Speaker: Jill Carroll, Rice University Religious expert and author, looks at
coexistence among peoples of different religions: “Religious
Intolerance in the Middle East and in the U.S.A.”
Wednesday, February 25
Film: Tulia, Texas: Scenes from the Drug War. This documentary explores the effects of a 1999, racially motivated drug bust of 41 people in this tiny Texas town.
Tuesday, March 3
Film: A Fist Full of Dollars: Kiva Loans
How many times have you wasted $50? $25? $10? Don’t ask? See
what this money can do in the world and how much you could make
a difference.
Wednesday, March 4
Speaker: Joe Stiles, a local businessman, offers tips on how to keep your
identity and money safe: “Stolen IDs: Preventions and Cures … a
Personal Story.”
Tuesday, March 10
Film: Where in the World is Obama Bin Laden?
The producer of Super Size Me, while risking life and limb in the
Middle East and Afghanistan to uncover the truth and whereabouts
of the world’s most wanted man, discovers something larger.
Wednesday, March 11
Film: New Year Baby
A daughter’s discovery of her parents nightmare flight from the Khmer Rouge genocide in Cambodia, their immigration to Dallas, and the real story about her siblings.
FALL 2008
Wednesday, September 17th
Film: Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore? (82 min) Inspiring story of a modern-day Mr. Smith’s quixotic campaign to win a primary with little more than political savvy, tireless work, and passionate leadership over a committed group of grassroots volunteers.
Tuesday, September 23rd
Speaker: Bert Coxe, Houston Oil Company Executive, looks at our gas prices and answers, “Why Am I Paying $3.50 a Gallon and What Can I Do about It?”
Wednesday, September 24th
Film: You Only Live Twice: Virtual Reality Meets Real World in Second Life (47 min) grapples with overlapping in-world/real-world issues ranging from cybersex, intellectual property rights, fraud, and schizophrenia in the cyber site Second Life.
Tuesday, September 30th
Film: Uncounted (80 min) ) examines the many new causes and effects of vote count inconsistencies in the 2004 and 2006 elections and what has and has not been done to protect voters’ ballots in 2008.
Wednesday, October 1st (1 p.m.)
Speaker: Dr. Richard Murray, U of H, Regional expert in polling will describe “The Texas Political Landscape and Fall Election Predictions Based on Statistics.” On Campus Voter Registration.
Tuesday, October 7th
Film: Fighting Goliath: The Texas Coal Wars (34 min) follows the story of Texans fighting a high-stakes battle for clean air. A panel of participants in the power plant fight follows: Eric Mayer, Lawyer; Elena Marks, Mayor White’s Office; and ranchers Robert and Jo Cervenka.
Wednesday, October 8th
Film: Power of Forgiveness (60 min) examines the psychological and physical effects of forgiveness on individuals and within relationships under conditions ranging from petty insults to sexual assault.
Tuesday, October 14th
Speaker: Austin Davis, professional comedian, corporate trainer, and personal safety expert, addresses difficult issues such as stalkers in “Laughing in the Face of Danger.”
Wednesday, October 15th
Film: Big Time Losers (60 min), told through the stories of six athletes, examines the price colleges and athletes pay when sports become big business.
Thursday, October 16th
Speaker: Joe Doherty, Democratic Challenger for U.S. Congress, Texas Congressional District X, Katy Campus’ District, will discuss his positions on issues.* On Campus Voter Registration
Tuesday, October 21st
Speaker: Matt Finkel, Challenger for U.S. Congress, Texas Congressional District X, Katy Campus’ District, will discuss his positions on issues.* On Campus Voter Registration.
Wednesday, October 22nd
Film: Cocalero (94 min) follows Evo Morales, a coca leaf farmer and Aymara Indian, on his unconventional path to become Bolivia’s first indigenous president.
Tuesday, October 28th
Film: Blood and Oil (52 min) calls for a re-thinking of US energy policy, warning that unless we change direction, the U.S. stands to be drawn into successive oil wars as the global hunt for diminishing petroleum supplies accelerates.
Wednesday, October 29th
Speaker: Dr. Shere Abbott, Director of Science of Sustainability at UT Austin, a leader in national efforts to form ecological, political, and business coalitions, discusses “The Buzz and the Biz of Sustaining Our Planet.”
Tuesday, November 4th
Film: Bhutan (57 min) examines the lofty goals of the young, new King of Bhutan: preserving its heritage, stewarding its environment, and developing its economy according to GNH: Gross National Happiness.
Wednesday, November 5th
Film: Taxi to the Dark Side (106 min), Oscar winner for best documentary, explores the introduction of torture as a U.S. interrogation technique and its effects on locals through the unraveling of the murder mystery of an Afghan taxi driver.
Tuesday & Wednesday, November 11th & 12th
Film: What Would Jesus Buy? (91 min) follows Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping Gospel Choir as they go on a cross-country mission to save Christmas from the Shopocalypse: the end of mankind from consumerism, over-consumption and fires of eternal debt!
Monday, November 24th
Speaker: Michael McKinley, independent producer and director of the most watched documentary on PBS, discusses “The Challenge of Filming Religious Topics in the Middle East.”
* Incumbent U.S. Congressman, District X, Michael McCaul has not yet committed to attend this event.