Cultural Life Series Brings ‘Glass Castle’ Author Walls, Animal Behaviorist Grandin & More to JWU

Memoirist and former MSNBC gossip columnist Jeannette Walls, animal behaviorist Temple Grandin and documentary film producer Sut Jhally will all be speaking at JWU as part of the university’s 2015-16 Cultural Life Series, sponsored by the College of Arts & Sciences.

Memoirist/Author Jeannette Walls
Tue, Oct 6, 7pm
Schneider Auditorium
261 Pine St.

Author Helene Wecker
Wednesday, Oct. 28, 1:45pm
Harborside Academic Center Amphitheater

Helene Wecker is the author of “The Golem and the Jinni,” an immigrant tale that combines elements of Jewish and Arab folk mythology.

Wecker grew up in Illinois, and received her bachelor’s degree in English from Carleton College in Minnesota. She later moved to New York to pursue a master’s degree in fiction at Columbia University.

Media Literacy Expert Sut Jhally
Wed, Feb 3, 11:35am
Pepsi Forum

Sut Jhally is a professor of communication at the University of Massachusetts Amherst whose work focuses on cultural studies, advertising, media, and consumption.

A producer of over forty documentaries on media literacy topics, Jhally is also the founder and executive director of the Media Education Foundation, which produces and distributes films that inspire critical reflection on the impact of American mass media.

Animal Behaviorist Temple Grandin
Wed, Mar 16,11:35am
Schneider Auditorium

Diagnosed with autism at age 3, Grandin didn’t speak until she was 3 ½. Her parents were told to institutionalize her. Instead, she was raised in the 50s by her patient mother who insisted that she learn social skills, along with academics. She teaches at Colorado State University and speaks around the world on both autism and cattle handling.

Grandin developed her talents into a successful career as a livestock-handling equipment designer, one of very few in the world. A 2009 HBO movie titled “Temple Grandin” earned Clare Danes her first Emmy Award for her portrayal of Grandin.

Author Jesmyn Ward
Tue, April 12, 11:35am
Schneider Auditorium

Jesmyn Ward, an American novelist and an associate professor of English at Tulane University. She won the 2011 National Book Award for Fiction and a 2012 Alex Award with her second novel "Salvage the Bones," a story about familial love and community in the days before, during and after Hurricane Katrina. Prior to teaching at Tulane, Ward was an assistant professor of Creative Writing at the University of South Alabama.

Reserve Your Spot
All events are free and open to the public on a limited basis, but attendees must have reservations. Contact the College of Arts & Sciences at 598-1400 for more information.