Guest lecture, 'plant' conference are upcoming campus theme events
As part of this year’s campus interdisciplinary theme, “Sustainability and the Environment,” Western Carolina University will welcome Alaska attorney Barrett Ristroph for a guest lecture, followed by a question-and-answer session, at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 30.
The event will take place in Room 130 of the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center. Ristroph’s lecture is titled “Are Remote Rural Communities Sustainable in the Modern Era? From Alaskan Villages to Appalachia.”
Ristroph, who has a doctorate in urban and regional planning, has worked extensively with Alaskan native villages. She will not only draw from her work with those remote indigenous communities, but also will give examples of the sustainability of other remote, rural areas, such as Appalachia.
Another sustainability event will take place on Friday, Nov. 15. Students in an English 498 senior seminar class have organized a “Plant Your Thoughts” conference. Academic papers, creative writing and art that support the campus theme will be presented. The host speaker, School of Music instructor Tyler Kinnear, will present his research on “Sonic Art and the Environment.”
