Sydney Ideas

Ordinary atoms that make up the visible universe, from the smallest molecules to planets and stars, constitute only 5% of all matter and energy in the cosmos. The remaining 95% is invisible, and comprises two mysterious components commonly dubbed dark matter and dark energy.

In this talk Professor Manfred Lindner (Director at the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics and a professor at the faculty for physics and astronomy of Heidelberg University, Germany) reviews what we currently know about the 'dark side' of the universe, and discuss the state-of-the-art of the ongoing hunt for the dark matter being pursued in underground laboratories, using satellites in space, and at CERN's Large Hadron Collider.

More info:http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2016/professor_manfred_lindner.shtml

The Mexican Revolution (1910–20) gave birth to a radical regime which, during the 1920s and 1930s, innovated in terms of state-building, social reform, and cultural policy, thus becoming a magnet for foreign journalists and intellectual tourists.

But while American cultural commentators (John Reed, Frank Tannenbaum, Carleton Beals and others) were often sympathetic, the British – D H Lawrence, Graham Greene, Aldous Huxley, Evelyn Waugh, and Malcolm Lowry – were highly critical.

This talk by Professor Emeritus Alan Knight (University of Oxford) focuses on the British, asking why they were so negative, what they objected to, and what they tell us about the Mexican revolutionary project – or about themselves, and the interwar British society to which they belonged.

More info: http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2016/professor_alan_knight.shtml

Professor Rajesh Thakker FRS FMedSci from the University of Oxford delivers a lecture in the 21st Century Medicine series of public lectures.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people comprise 27% of the prison population but represent only 3 % of the Australian population. Justice health professionals often grapple with providing culturally competent care to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in custody. However these clinical challenges cannot be viewed in isolation without interrogating broader organisational, societal and political structures and attitudes.

Efforts to reduce Indigenous prison numbers and provide meaningful correctional health care require a multi-levelled approach across a variety of sectors with an accompanying honest socio-political discourse. This presentation by Dr Stephane Shepherd, Fulbright Postdoctoral Scholar in Cultural Competence will canvas some of the broader societal influences underpinning Indigenous imprisonment and consider potential medico-legal and community responses to address these issues.

More info: http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2016/NCCC_stephane_shepherd.shtml

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people comprise 27% of the prison population but represent only 3 % of the Australian population. Justice health professionals often grapple with providing culturally competent care to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in custody. However these clinical challenges cannot be viewed in isolation without interrogating broader organisational, societal and political structures and attitudes.

Efforts to reduce Indigenous prison numbers and provide meaningful correctional health care require a multi-levelled approach across a variety of sectors with an accompanying honest socio-political discourse. This presentation by Dr Stephane Shepherd, Fulbright Postdoctoral Scholar in Cultural Competence will canvas some of the broader societal influences underpinning Indigenous imprisonment and consider potential medico-legal and community responses to address these issues.

More info: http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2016/NCCC_stephane_shepherd.shtml

Professor Rajesh Thakker FRS FMedSci from the University of Oxford delivers a lecture in the 21st Century Medicine series of public lectures.

The educational landscape today is marked by numerous texts for teachers that identify ‘what works’ in the classroom and ‘best practices’ for bolstering student achievement in different subjects. Although these guides may provide valuable information for educators, they frequently ignore a central imperative of critical studies in education to situate educational knowledge within the contexts in which it is produced.

This lecture by Professor Frances Vavrus (Program in Comparative and International Development Education at the University of Minnesota) draws upon research at the intersection of postcolonial studies, anthropology of education, and global and comparative education to address a vital question: How do different epistemologies and material conditions of teaching affect educators’ conceptions of ‘good teaching’ and its potential enactment in their schools?

A Sydney Ideas event for the Education and Social Work Dean's Lecture Series http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2016/ESW_deans_lecture_series_2016.shtml

The educational landscape today is marked by numerous texts for teachers that identify ‘what works’ in the classroom and ‘best practices’ for bolstering student achievement in different subjects. Although these guides may provide valuable information for educators, they frequently ignore a central imperative of critical studies in education to situate educational knowledge within the contexts in which it is produced.

This lecture by Professor Frances Vavrus (Program in Comparative and International Development Education at the University of Minnesota) draws upon research at the intersection of postcolonial studies, anthropology of education, and global and comparative education to address a vital question: How do different epistemologies and material conditions of teaching affect educators’ conceptions of ‘good teaching’ and its potential enactment in their schools?

A Sydney Ideas event for the Education and Social Work Dean's Lecture Series http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2016/ESW_deans_lecture_series_2016.shtml

For our 2016 Chaser lecture we bring you Indonesia’s first female Muslim stand-up comedian and freedom of expression advocate, Sakdiyah Ma’ruf (winner of the 2015 Vaclav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent).

In conversation with Julian Morrow from The Chaser, Sakdiyah talks comedy, religion and where to draw the line.

MORE ABOUT THE SPEAKER:

Sakdiyah Ma‘ruf is a standup comedian based in Jakarta who has become known in her country and around the world as one of the most distinctive voices of Indonesian Muslim women. She was named one of the Laureates of Vaclav Havel International Prize for Creative Dissent for her work in comedy, joining various unknowns such as Ai Weiwei, Pussy Riot and Aung San Su Kyi. She holds a Masters Degree in American Studies and does research and academic writing with specific interests in women, identity, minority, comedy, humor, and pop culture. Her work as an interpreter has gained her trust from international organisations such as UNFPA, ICRC (International Committee for Red Cross), Save the Children, VECO, and many others.

More event information http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2016/chaser_sakdiyah_maruf.shtml

For our 2016 Chaser lecture we bring you Indonesia’s first female Muslim stand-up comedian and freedom of expression advocate, Sakdiyah Ma’ruf (winner of the 2015 Vaclav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent).

In conversation with Julian Morrow from The Chaser, Sakdiyah talks comedy, religion and where to draw the line.

MORE ABOUT THE SPEAKER:

Sakdiyah Ma‘ruf is a standup comedian based in Jakarta who has become known in her country and around the world as one of the most distinctive voices of Indonesian Muslim women. She was named one of the Laureates of Vaclav Havel International Prize for Creative Dissent for her work in comedy, joining various unknowns such as Ai Weiwei, Pussy Riot and Aung San Su Kyi. She holds a Masters Degree in American Studies and does research and academic writing with specific interests in women, identity, minority, comedy, humor, and pop culture. Her work as an interpreter has gained her trust from international organisations such as UNFPA, ICRC (International Committee for Red Cross), Save the Children, VECO, and many others.

More event information http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2016/chaser_sakdiyah_maruf.shtml