NewsPress Release - 2/8/2000

MARLBORO, VT -- The third in a series of Faculty Forums at Marlboro College this semester will feature mathematics professor Dr. Joe Mazur presenting "Credibility, Persuasion, and Proof: Stages of Knowing," at 4 p.m. Wednesday, March 1.

The discussion will focus on an investigation of how one feels persuaded and how credibility emerges from organized investigation, according to Mazur. "We will explore, compare, and trace stages of knowing the guilt or innocence of a defendant with the truth or falsity of a mathematical argument," he says. No knowledge of math is needed.

Mazur enjoys surprising his students with the revelation that, in Aristotle's time, the word mathematics meant "any subject worthy of knowledge." But according to Mazur's vision of mathematics, it is no surprise. "Mathematics does not exist only to serve science as a language," he claims. "The fact is, mathematics was an integral part of life. Today, too, it pervades everything."

Mazur's own recent research has included an investigation of the influences of ancient mathematics on Greek and Western culture. He has been teaching at Marlboro since 1972.

On Wednesday, March 29, writing and literature faculty member T. Hunter Wilson and sculpture and drawing faculty member Tim Segar will present "An Ordinary Evening in New Haven: A Poem by Wallace Stevens." The discussion will focus on the poem and what it has meant to each of them. Copies of the poem will be available a week beforehand.

The final forum in this series will feature English literature faculty member J. Birjepatil, who will present "Re-Reading and Re-Presenting Shakespeare" at 4 p.m. Wednesday, April 19. Birjepatil's lecture will focus on a critique of Post-Structuralist approaches to Shakespeare's texts and a critical evaluation of some recent productions of Shakespeare's plays.

The Faculty Forum series has been organized as a new opportunity for faculty members to share aspects of their work outside of the classroom with each other and interested students, staff, and community members.

All of the forums, which are free and open to the public, will take place in the Apple Tree building, which is fully accessible. For more information, please call (802) 257-4333. The Marlboro events calendar can be found on-line at www.marlboro.edu/calendar/calendar.html.