The Spring 2013 Fairhaven Lecture Series has the theme “Food for Thought” and will have us thinking about our relationships with food. Yes, we need food to sustain us, but it has cultural, environmental, economic, and political aspects. All lectures in this series are free, open to the public, and take place on Mondays at 3 p.m. in Fellowship Hall of the Fairhaven Retirement Community (435 West Starin Road, Whitewater). Faculty from all across campus are delivering these interesting talks! If you can’t attend in person, eventually the podcasts are available online (from the web page linked above).
The series kicked off on January 28, and if you missed the first two talks you can watch the videos! Videos from other lectures will be posted shortly after they occur.
- Jan 28: Food in literature: Memory and social connection (by Mary Pinkerton, Dean, College of Letters & Sciences)
- Organic farming at Standard Process (by Christine Mason, Manager at Standard Process)
- Feb 11: The health benefits of vacuum tumbling foods (by John Ejnik, Chemistry Dept.)
- Feb 18: Atlantic counterpoint: Foods that changed the world (by Tony Gulig, History Dept., and Seth Meisel, School of Graduate Studies & Continuing Education)
- Feb 25: The role of corn in indigenous Mexican cultures (by Bert Kreitlow, History Dept.)
- Mar 4: Blue-plate special: Foodborne illness (by Donna Vosburgh, Occupational and Environmental Safety and Health Dept.)
- Mar 11: The flavor of Wisconsin: An informal history of flood and eating in the Badger State (by Liz Hachten, College of Letters & Sciences)
- Mar 18: American culture: “Big Food” and our health (by Michael Oldani, Sociology, Anthropology, & Criminal Justice Dept.)
- Apr. 1: Beer Matters (by Karl Brown, History Dept.)
- Apr 8: Ramadan: The Islamic month of fasting (by Jala Nawash, Physics Dept.)
- Apr 15: Health eating simplified (by Ann Wertz Garvin, Health , Physical Education, Recreation,and Coaching Dept.)
- Apr 22: The essence of food: The evolution and nourishing source of life (by Sharon Roy, Marketing Dept.)
And did you know? Andersen Library has cookbooks! Search 
Leonard, author of 
Of Mice and Men
On February 6, 1937, John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men was published, a book that he also made into a play. I vividly remember seeing a production of the play at the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis as a school trip. It was a fantastic experience, which is why I’m glad UWW also provides productions for school groups.
Steinbeck wrote other works, and he received the Pulitzer Prize for The Grapes of Wrath. That novel became a classic film that won a couple of Academy Awards (although Henry Fonda did not win the Best Actor Oscar).
If you’ve never read these works, I highly recommend them (but not as lighthearted reading). Andersen Library has both titles:
The Literary Reference Center database can reveal more about Steinbeck and his works.
Please ask a librarian if you’d appreciate assistance with finding additional materials.