January

We will have coffee and a variety of tempting foods to nibble on while we converse with friends.

We are accustomed to think of Jason Lee as solitary figure, one fueled by the desire to convert indigenous peoples to Christianity. Yet, his arrival in this territory cannot be understood outside the relationships with indigenous peoples in the area, the colonial conflict with Great Britain for supremacy in the region, the conflict with other religious denominations in the area, and the conflict with others over access to land. Lee, sent by the Methodists, was instrumental in the construction of a Manual Labor Training School for indigenous youth. When that project failed, Lee focused his efforts on the newly-imagined school for the children of the white missionaries. This presentation re-examines the life of Lee and seeks, by placing Lee and the early history of Willamette into this broader context, to understand how we have come to see Lee as we do.

Dr. Jennifer Jopp earned her Ph.D. at Binghamton University. At Willamette University, where she has taught for 28 years, she offers courses in Colonial Latin America, American Legal History, What is a Just Society?, and Comparative Revolutions. Her current research focuses on 19th-century Oregon.

Dr. Jopp will finish her presentation about 12 PM and then Sally Schriver will introduce the current ICL Board.

The global power balance is rapidly evolving, leaving the United States at a turning point with respect to its level of engagement and the role of its military. Some argue for an “America First” paradigm, with a large military to ensure security, while others call for a more assertive posture overseas. Some advocate for a restoration of American multilateral leadership and a strengthened role for diplomacy. Still others envision a restrained U.S. role, involving a more limited military. How does the military function in today’s international order, and how might it be balanced with diplomatic and foreign assistance capabilities?

The author of this chapter from the Great Decisions booklet is Gordon Adams, Professor Emeritus of International Relations at the School of International Service, American University, and a Distinguished Fellow at the Stimson Center in Washington, DC.

This lecture is about two very different men who were brought together by a revolution. The two men are Johannes Brahms and Eduard Reményi. Both were world-class musicians, though their careers could not have been more different. Brahms spent the bulk of his career as a Vienna-based composer, while Reményi was an itinerant violin virtuoso. The revolution that brought them together took place in Hungary in 1848 and 1849. The story behind this lecture is just how this revolution brought Brahms and Reményi together and the life-changing, career-making impact their meeting had on Brahms.

Robert M. Greenberg is an American composer, pianist, and musicologist who was born in Brooklyn, New York. He has composed more than 50 works for a variety of instruments and voices, and has recorded a number of lecture series on music history and music appreciation for The Great Courses.

Following Professor Greenberg’s tantalizing view into the source of Brahms’ love for gypsy music and its stylistic influence on his entire musical output, we will spend this hour enjoying many other examples, from his Hungarian dances, to string quartets, symphony movements, and of course the beloved Zigeunerlieder (Gypsy Songs), Opus 103, composed in 1887.

Dr. Holmquist majored in voice and organ at St. Olaf College in Minnesota, singing with the renowned St. Olaf Choir. She holds a Master’s degree in Music Education from Western Oregon University, and a DMA in Music Education and Choral Conducting from the University of Oregon. She is a distinguished member of the Institute for Continued Learning.

Willamette College of Law Professor Warren Binford was one of a small handful of experts from around the country who was recently granted government clearance to interview immigrant children and families, including those who had been forcibly separated. She was also permitted to inspect and report on the conditions in which the children and their parents were being detained. This month for the first time, she has agreed to describe what she witnessed by relying on now publicly available court records, and has made meeting with Willamette Law alumni a priority in light of our shared values exemplified by our motto, “Not Unto Ourselves Alone Are We Born.” In addition to providing background on the Flores case on which she has been working pro bono, she will provide an overview of the humanitarian aid crisis at the border, the legal challenges we face, and how you can get involved.

Professor Warren Binford was appointed to the Willamette University College of Law faculty and became director of Willamette's Clinical Law Program in 2005. She immediately reconstructed the law school's experiential offerings in both the Clinical Law Program and the Externship Program. Binford was selected as the Inaugural Fulbright Canada-Norlien Foundation Distinguished Visiting Chair in Brain Science, and Child and Family Health and Wellness at the University of Calgary where she conducted research during the fall 2015 semester. Binford has actively worked throughout her career as a child advocate. Prior to law school, Binford was a licensed teacher with experience teaching in South Central Los Angeles, Boston and London.

In his presentation “The Big Cats Of The World” Lester described the behavior of three of Africa’s largest predators, the Lion, Leopard and Cheetah. Today Lester will introduce us to some of the other animals that live in Southern Africa as well as provide information on the land features and birds of the area.

Lester Reed has been a member since 2015. He is a retired Air Force Colonel and has a Ph.D. in Educational Management from The University of Texas, Austin. Retiring from his second career as a senior college administrator he had time to pursue his outside interests. They include travel, wildlife photography, classical music, opera, and theater. As a member of ICL he has presented on a variety of topics including Korea The Longest War, On The Brink Of Nuclear War - The Cuban Missile Crisis, The Big Cats of The World, How We Elect A President, and The Story Of Bears. Lester currently serves, with his wife Ingrid Brandt, as ICL’s Co-Director of Finance.

This talk will take you on a field trip with Will into the canopies of some of the most interesting forests in the world, from Oregon to Africa to the Spice Islands. Through the lens of a personal journey showcasing photos and videos gathered first person, this talk will examine the assumptions underlying the way we manage trees in human occupied environments. If you have an interest in trees and the way we manage them but don’t have years to travel the world working on them, then this talk will attempt to give you the abbreviated version.

Will Koomjian is a professional tree climber and arborist based out of Portland, Oregon. Over his 15 year career in the trees he has worked in 12 different countries on 5 continents, from the urban Banyan forests of Hong Kong to the rainforests of Madagascar and many places in between. As an arborist, he has worked on projects as diverse as dangerous tree removals, large tree pruning, heritage tree preservation and tree biomechanics research. As a renowned tree climbing expert he has worked on canopy-level chimpanzee studies, lemur nest studies, epiphyte sampling and pioneering new tree traversing methods, and is a frequent lecturer on advanced tree climbing techniques for arborists. Will is owner and principal of Emergent Tree Works, an independent arboricultural services and contract climbing company.

Iran’s nuclear activities are of concern by most of the countries in the region and elsewhere. Entering a deal with this country or punishing it are both for insuring Iran will not have access to nuclear weapons. News cover political aspects of the deals and sanctions; few discuss their consequences for Iranian population. Looking back to the history of sanctions against countries such as Syria, Iraq and Iran, this talk will discuss the impacts of these sanctions on Iranians’ daily life.

Saghar Sadeghian started her higher education in Iran at the Baha’i Institute of Higher Education (BIHE). She received her MA in Historical Research at Lancaster University, U.K., and her Ph.D. in History at Sorbonne Nouvelle, France. Saghar came to the U.S. as a postdoctoral associate of Iranian Studies, Yale University, where she also received the Rice Faculty Fellowship. Saghar is now a History assistant professor at Willamette University. She is also the associate director of Yale Iranian History Internet Archives (YIHA). Sadeghian’s primary research focuses on minority groups and the concept of citizenship in the Middle East. She is writing her book on “Iranian Non-Muslim Communities: Navigation and Negotiation of Space during the Constitutional Revolution.” Her new research on Environmental History focuses on “Forestry and Exploitation of Caspian Forests of Northern Iran in the 19th and 20th Centuries.”

Lee will show the movie: Big Money Agenda: Democracy on the Brink followed by a discussion of the problems that result from the lack of adequate health care for many classes of American citizens.

Lee Mercer is currently President of Health Care for All Oregon-Action and on the Executive Team (and former Director) of the Main Street Alliance of Oregon. For 18 years he has done legislative advocacy, outreach and education on poverty, hunger and economic issues with Main Street Alliance, Oregon Center for Public Policy and Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Cruz County (California). Before entering the nonprofit world, Lee was a business owner for 20 years, owning and operating movie theaters in California and Nevada. He is also a writer and has done video and film production.