May Highlights

Martha Nussbaum

Office of the Provost
33rd Annual Nora and Edward L. Ryerson Lecture
5:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 14

Martha Nussbaum, the Ernst Freund Distinguished Professor of Law & Ethics in the Law School, Philosophy Department and the Divinity School, will give a lecture entitled “Equal Respect for Conscience: the Roots of a Moral and Legal Tradition.” The lecture is related to her recent book, Liberty of Conscience: In Defense of America’s Tradition of Religious Equality, and will discuss the “philosophical underpinnings of the struggle for religious liberty in the American colonies.” The Ryerson lecture is the most prestigious honor that the University faculty bestows on a fellow member and gives an opportunity to convey scholarship to the University community. The lecture is free to the public, and a reception will follow.
International House, 1414 E. 59th St.

Photo by Michael Brosilow Cynthia Kaye McWilliams stars in The First Breeze of Summer, opening Thursday, May 15 at Court Theatre.

Court Theatre
The First Breeze of Summer
Thursday, May 15 to Sunday, June 15

Obie Award winner and Tony-nominated Leslie Lee’s rarely seen, powerful drama, The First Breeze of Summer, explores a turbulent time in three generations of an African-American family in the 1970s. One hot June weekend, the family matriarch reflects on the lessons of her own youth and the three lost love affairs that shaped her life and her family while the conflict between her two discontented grandsons and their stern, overworked father comes to a head. Resident Artist Ron O.J. Parson will direct the classic tale of growing up and growing old. Tickets range from $10 University student to $38 general admission, but tickets are $10 with student ID and $20 for faculty and staff on Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday nights. For more information, call (773) 753-4472.
5535 S. Ellis Ave.

Jonathan Harr

Committee on Creative Writing
Jonathan Harr lecture
5 p.m. Tuesday, May 13

Jonathan Harr, the 2008 Robert Vare Nonfiction Writer-in-Residence, is the author of two books: A Civil Action, the national best-seller and winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction, and The Lost Painting, a New York Times bestseller. A Civil Action is required reading at many law schools across the country, in courses on civil procedure, ethics, torts, trial practice and environmental law. It was the basis of a film starring John Travolta and Robert Duvall. The Lost Painting has been translated into 19 languages. Harr is a former staff writer at the New England Monthly and has written frequently for The New Yorker and The New York Times Magazine. For more information, visit http://varewir.uchicago.edu.
Rosenwald Hall, 1101 E. 58th St., Room 405

International House
Jimmie Briggs lecture
6 p.m. Thursday, May 15

Jimmie Briggs, a New York-based writer, teacher and freelance journalist, will talk about his book, Innocents Lost: When Child Soldiers Go to War. The book provides an important perspective on the global tragedy of child soldiers, 250,000 of whom have fought in three dozen conflicts, from Colombia to Sri Lanka. Northwestern University presented him the John Bartlow Martin Award for his story about the Gulf War’s impact on children, and he was a finalist for a National Magazine Award. He is the first African American to be appointed Goodwill Ambassador and Special Envoy for Children and Armed Conflict by WAFUNIF at the United Nations. Briggs served as an advisor on the movie Blood Diamond and is currently completing a book on rape as a weapon of war. For more information, visit http://ihouse.uchicago.edu.
1414 E. 59th St.