News & Events @EKU Libraries

The Encyclopedia of the First Amendment comprehensively examines the political, historical, and cultural significance and development of freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, the right to peaceably assemble, and the right to petition the government. The first work of its kind, this new and exciting reference exclusively focuses on the most basic of the liberties provided by the U.S. Constitution.

Featuring more than 1,400 entries, the Encyclopedia traces expressive, religious, and political rights throughout U.S. history, including the colonial era. In discussing the protections afforded by the First Amendment, it examines popular culture and the arts, social movements, religious and political organizations, landmark legal cases and doctrines, important legislation, and the men and women whose actions have left a mark on the opening tenets of the Bill of Rights. It also considers the tensions between individual freedom and maintenance of political and public order, covering such issues as censorship, prisoners’ rights, immigration and security, campaign finance, and media access. Among other perennial topics addressed are abortion, evolution, public aid to parochial schools, and pornography and obscenity.

Click here to access the trial.

Trial ends: December 11, 2009

Let us know what you think! Leave a comment below or submit feedback by e-mail.

Derek Nikitas is a faculty member in the Creative Writing MFA program, and author of two recent mystery novels:

• The Long Division (2009)
• Pyres (2007)

Derek’s first novel was nominated for the prestigious Edgar award, and has been optioned for film adaptation by Vox3 Films. His second novel, The Long Division, is receiving rave reviews.

Hear what Derek Nikitas has to say about his scholarship in his first interview for the Focus on Scholarship webcast series [opens in Windows Media Player].

Read more about Nikita’s writing in the EKU Press release.

EKU Libraries is currently offering a trial of a recommender service which provides article suggestions via the library “Get More” button.  During the trial period, after you click the “Get More at EKU” button for an article that interests you, you may notice a list of articles at the bottom of the menu.  The next time you’re looking for articles and click on the “Get More” button, please try out this new service for us and fill out this brief (5 minute) survey to let us know what you think.  The trial ends December 10^th.

Everyone is invited to join us on selected Friday afternoons at 3:30 p.m. in Crabbe Library Room 201 for a hour of informal, moderated discussion over articles of various topics selected by EKU faculty. Refreshments will be provided by EKU Student Government Association.

Dr. Laura Newhart will moderate this week’s discussion of Where the Wild Things Are:

In the philosopher’s picture, the good life is won through direct assault. Heroes use reason to separate virtue from vice. Then they use willpower to conquer weakness, fear, selfishness and the dark passions lurking inside. Once they achieve virtue they do virtuous things. In the psychologist’s version, the good life is won indirectly. People have only vague intuitions about the instincts and impulses that have been implanted in them by evolution, culture and upbringing. There is no easy way to command all the wild things jostling inside.

For more information about the series, please click here.

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Of related interest: The ‘Next Big Thing’ in Ideas (NPR);  The New New Philosophy (NY Times); The X-Philes (Slate); The Moral Instinct (NY Times); Experimental Philosophy (Bloggingheads.tv); First Person Plural (The Atlantic); Experiments in Ethics (Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews); Do You Know What You’re Doing? and Follow-Up (On the Human); Know Thyself (Perspectives on Psychological Science)

Tuesday, November 17, 6:30pm in Crabbe Library 108 — Followed by discussion in the Library Cafe

FOR MY FATHER (Israel, 2009, 100 minutes)

For more information, please click here.

Everyone is invited to join us on selected Friday afternoons at 3:30 p.m. in Crabbe Library Room 201 for a hour of informal, moderated discussion over articles of various topics selected by EKU faculty. Refreshments will be provided by EKU Student Government Association.

Dr. Matthew Winslow will moderate this week’s discussion of Empathy in the Virtual World:

If Socrates could wander the halls of our workplaces or visit our homes, he would be amazed by the advance of our multimedia computers over the primitive technology of his cave with its statues and firelight.  Technology, however, never bestows its bounty freely, and Socrates might make us a bit uncomfortable with questions about the role that machines play in modern life…

For more information about the series, please click here.

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Of related interest: Rise of Internet, social networking threatens actual social interaction on campuses and beyond (The Eastern Progress); Exploring How We Connect, and What It Means (NPR); How the Internet enables intimacy (TED Talks)

EKU Libraries and the Office of Graduate Education and Research are raising awareness for scholarly and creative achievements through the launch of a new series of webcasts, “Focus on Scholarship”.

Each 10- to 15-minute “Focus on Scholarship” webcast will feature an Eastern community member discussing scholarship, how it informs their teaching, and, as appropriate, the supportive role of the Libraries and Graduate Education and Research. At least one interview will be released each month during the fall and spring semesters, and be regularly featured in the EKUpdate and on the EKU Libraries website. The EKUpdate will also continue listing current faculty and staff publications.

The series kicks off with Dr. Michael Austin, associate professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religion, author of “Wise Standards: Philosophical Foundations for Christian Parenting” and editor and one of 18 contributors to “Football and Philosophy: Going Deep”, a collection of essays that examine the popular sport through a philosophical lens. The Austin interview, and all subsequent programs, can be seen at Focus on Scholarship and at mms://media.eku.edu/mdr/media/library/fos1009.wmv.

Other interview subjects in the series will include:

• Derek Nikitas, author of “Pyres” and “The Long Division”
• Dr. Linda Frost, editor of “Conjoined Twins in Black and White: The Lives of Millie-Christine McKoy and Daisy and Violet Hilton”
• Dr. Tammy Horn, author of “Bees in America: How the Honeybee Shaped a Nation”
• Dr. Vic Kappeler, who ranks third nationally in the production of books related to criminal justice

Conducting the interviews will be Carrie Cooper, Dean of the Labraries, along with Dr. Pogatshnik, Dean of Graduate Studies, and Dr. Jaleh Rezaie, Associate Dean of Graduate Education and Research. The series, produced by EKU Media (formerly the Media Production Center), will also be made available at the Power of Maroon YouTube channel.

On Monday, November 9th at 6pm in room 108, the Madison County Chapter of Kentuckians for the Commonwealth will be screening COAL COUNTRY, a documentary about mountain-top removal coal mining.  It will be introduced by activist Teri Blanton, who is featured in the film.

For the film trailer, please click here.

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The Madison County Chapter of Kentuckians for the Commonwealth Facebook page.

Everyone is invited to join us on selected Friday afternoons at 3:30 p.m. in Crabbe Library Room 201 for a hour of informal, moderated discussion over articles of various topics selected by EKU faculty. Refreshments will be provided by EKU Student Government Association.

Rob Sica will moderate this week’s discussion of what is estimated to be the most widely read New York Times Magazine article in its history, What Do Women Want?, a survey of perplexing and controversial research on sex differences in the burgeoning field of sexual psychophysiology.

For more information about the series, please click here.

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Of related interest: Conversation with sexologist Meredith Chivers and article author Daniel Bergner (Charlie Rose); Conversation with Chivers (The Agenda with Steve Paikin); Emily Bazelon and Ann Althouse (Bloggingheads); Perversion, and the Mystery of Sexual Desire (Psychology Today); Rape, Fantasies, and Female Arousal (Slate); What Do Women Really Want? (Big Think)