Humanities (Video)

Ernst Lubitsch’s controversial anti-Nazi political satire "To Be or Not To Be" is celebrated as one of the most subtle meditations on power, politics, and performance to emerge from Hollywood during the war. Professor Emily Carman (Film and Media Arts, Chapman University) joins Carsey-Wolf Center Director Patrice Petro for a discussion about the original ambivalent reviews and how perceptions have changed since its 1942 release. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Show ID: 33093]

Author, Tova Mirvis, discusses her book, The Book of Separation, which describes a woman who leaves her Orthodox Jewish faith and her marriage and sets out to navigate the terrifying, liberating terrain of a newly mapless world. She is the author of three novels and her essays have appeared in various anthologies and newspapers. Series: "Herman P. and Sophia Taubman Endowed Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Show ID: 33053]

Deborah Tannen discusses how interacting over social media is changing and challenging relationships, amplifying both the risks and the gifts of voice-to-voice conversations. Tannen is on the faculty of Georgetown University’s Department of Linguistics. Series: "UC Berkeley Graduate Lectures" [Show ID: 32999]

Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Deborah Tannen, University Professor, Georgetown University, for a discussion of her intellectual odyssey. Topics covered include: formative experiences; the concept of conversational style; the skills and temperament desirable for work in linguistics; the examples of applying concepts in her work in understanding communication between men and women and in her work in understanding the erosion of civic discourse; and using linguistics to understand the 2016 Presidential campaign. Series: "Conversations with History" [Show ID: 33090]

"Short Tales from the Mothership" celebrates an elegant genre by presenting condensed stories from fellow futurists, time-travelers, inventors, artists, and writers. This evening is inspired by the short postcard stories that magazine editor George Hay encouraged in the 1970’s. He dared such authors as Arthur C. Clarke to send sci-fi stories that easily fit onto a postcard. In that spirit, Geisel Library invited writers to submit fantasy or science fiction pieces of no more than 250 words, to be read aloud. Series: "Writers" [Show ID: 32844]

In discussing his new book, “Dirt is Good: The Advantage of Germs For Your Child's Developing Immune System,” author and UC San Diego Professor of Pediatrics and Computer Science & Engineering Rob Knight explains how the microbiome works and offers guidance for parents on boosting their children’s health. Knight is presented by the Library Channel at UC San Diego. Series: "The Library Channel" [Professional Medical Education] [Show ID: 32845]

Arlie Hochschild describes her journey from Berkeley, her own liberal cultural enclave, to Louisiana, a conservative one. She explores her choice of research site, her effort to remove her own political alarm system, and during five years of research, to climb over what she calls an “empathy wall.” She focuses on her concept of the “deep story” – a version of which underlies all political belief, she argues, and will end with the possibilities of finding common ground across the political divide. Series: "UC Berkeley Graduate Lectures" [Show ID: 32997]

Deborah Tannen draws on her interviews with eighty women, ranging in age from 9 to 97, and on years of research examining how ways of talking affect relationships, to explore the role of talk among friends, with particular focus on women’s friendships, how they compare to men’s, and the consequences of such differences. Tannen is on the faculty of Georgetown University’s Department of Linguistics Series: "UC Berkeley Graduate Lectures" [Show ID: 32998]

Renowned Tibetan Buddhist scholar and Columbia University Professor Robert A.F. Thurman is joined in conversation by his colleague Isa Gucciardi and UCSF's Eve Ekman and David Bullard. They explore Buddhist understandings about consciousness and death. Series: "The UC Wellbeing Channel " [Show ID: 32673]

For more than a half century, John Lithgow has been delighting audiences on stage, in movies and on television. In a lively discussion with Peter Gourevitch, distinguished Professor Emeritus of Political Science at UC San Diego, Lithgow reflects on his preparations for the wide diversity of roles that have shaped his career and influenced the larger culture, from his star turn in “The World According to Garp” to his SAG-award-winning role as Winston Churchill in the Netflix original series “The Crown.” Series: "Helen Edison Lecture Series" [Show ID: 32265]