23rd Annual International Festival - “Protecting the Earth and Our Future”

Thursday, April 5

Keynote Address: Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein Graff
"Demystifying the Academic Game: Studying Shakespeare's 'Tempest' in a Multicultural World"
9:30 a.m., Bonnell Building, Large Auditorium, BG-10
In their lecture “Demystifying the Academic Game: Studying Shakespeare's 'Tempest' in a Multicultural World,” Gerald Graff, president-elect of the Modern Language Association, and his collaborator Cathy Birkenstein Graff, will defend the value of academic controversies to engage college students in debates that affect them. At Community College of Philadelphia, faculty and administrators debate whether all students need to study any literature for a two-year degree. Debating whether “The Tempest” is about universal themes of death, imagination, and art—or about the international history of racism and marriage politics—can lead students to understand the cultural forces that shape their own assumptions and values.

Now associate dean for Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Gerald Graff’s theories have been discussed in multiple articles and textbooks since his publication of “Beyond the Culture Wars: How Teaching the Conflicts Can Revitalize American Education” in 1992. Cathy Birkenstein Graff, who recently received her Ph.D. from Loyola University of Chicago, is now lecturer at the University of Illinois at Chicago. In 2006, Dr. Birkenstein Graff Co-authored “They Say / I Say: The Moves that Matter in Academic Writing,” a textbook now assigned by many Community College of Philadelphia faculty.
*Co-sponsored by Dr. Fay Beauchamp, professor of English and Humanities coordinator

Film: “Silent Killer” (2005)
11 a.m., Bonnell Building, Large Auditorium, BG-10
“Silent Killer” begins in the 100-degree heat of South Africa's Kalahari Desert. Three members of the Khomani San tribe – commonly called Bushmen – search for, and find, the Hoodia, a cactuslike plant with appetitesuppressant properties. The razorthin San use the cactus to fend off hunger, but now, a pharmaceutical firm has patented the appetitesuppressant properties of Hoodia and is using it to make a diet product for obese Americans and Europeans. The Hoodia is a metaphor for a world where some people have too much food, but millions of others have far too little.

Can we end hunger or will it always be with us? Why should we try? What will it take? What are we doing now? How do U.S. efforts to end hunger compare with those of other developed countries? Can biotechnology play a role, and if so, how? Is hunger just a problem of distribution or do we still need to produce more and better crops? These are the questions addressed in Silent Killer.” Compelling stories and characters raise and answer these questions in a powerful, exquisitely photographed documentary that will get people talking again about an international crisis that keeps haunting the world.
-from www.silentkillerfilm.org

Film: “Monsieur Ibrahim et les fleurs du Coran” (2003)
11 a.m., Bonnell Building, Small Auditorium, BG-11
*French with English Subtitles*
In a street called Blue in a very poor neighborhood in Paris, Monsieur Ibrahim (Omar Shariff) is an old Muslin Turkish owner of a small market. He becomes friend of the teenager Jewish Moises, tenderly nicknamed Momo (Pierre Boulanger), who lives with his father in a small apartment on the other side of the street. Monsieur Ibrahim gives paternal love and teaches the knowledge of the Koran to the boy, receiving in return love and respect.
- from www.imdb.com
*Presented as part of National French Week.

Lei Making Demonstration
12:30 – 2 p.m., Bonnell Building, BG-16 A/B
Mrs. Vilai Sungdamrong is an expert leimaker from Thailand who also owns the “Fresh Flower Shoppe” in Philadelphia. She is renowned in the region for creating exquisitely beautiful and colorful leis of orchids. As spring approaches, come and transport yourself to tropical lands and benefit from her talent and expertise and possibly walk away with a beautiful lei.

The lei custom was introduced to the Hawaiian Islands by early Polynesian voyagers, who took an incredible journey from Tahiti, navigating by the stars in sailing canoes. With these early settlers, the lei tradition in Hawaii was born.

Leis were constructed of flowers, leaves, shells, seeds, nuts, feathers, and even bone and teeth of various animals. These garlands were worn by ancient Hawaiians to beautify themselves and distinguish themselves from others. The Maile lei was perhaps the most significant. Among other sacred uses, it was used to signify a peace agreement between opposing chiefs. In a heiau (temple), the chiefs would symbolically intertwine the green Maile vine, and its completion officially established peace between the two groups.

Come to this informative and interactive session to see this beautiful art come to life!

Exhibition and Reception: “April is Art” Student Art Exhibit
3 – 5 p.m., Mint Building Rotunda
Student art will be on display throughout the month of April.
*Presented by the Art Department.