"Thinking About the End Times: From Ancient
Israel to the New Millennium"
  January 19, 2000
Maucker Union Expansion
7:00 P.M.*
  What does the end of a period or age mean for human life and history? What is behind beliefs like the apocalypse and Armageddon? Professor Jerry Soneson, from UNI's Department of Philosophy and Religion, examines the ancient tradition of thinking about end times-first initiated in ancient Israel by the rich reflection of the great prophets-and suggests how such thinking can still be meaningful as we move into the new millennium.

  "A View of the Millennium from 1776"
  February 22, 2000
Maucker Union Expansion
7:00 P.M.*
  American patriots in 1776 envisioned far more than a system of democratic self-rule. The Revolutionaries had no doubt of their moral superiority to Old World tyranny. The Declaration of Independence itself held apocalyptic power. Professor Andrew Burstein, from UNI's Department of History, argues that our country's founders believed in the revolution as revelation, asserting their millennial imagery to claim faith that a new world order patterned on America's enlightened political experiment was inevitable.  

  "Statistics and the Search for Truth:
The Trinity of Chance, Variability and Risk"
  March 6, 2000
Room 244/45, Schindler Education Center
7:00 P.M.*
  The growth and development of statistical theory and methods is one of the great scientific achievements of the 20th century- an integral part of our lives from consumer marketing to crop research, from quality control in industry to decision making in government. Syed Kirmani, Professor of Mathematics, reflects upon the millennium from the context of statistics and probability, explaining how the science of statistics can put chance to work in the service of humanity.  

  "Jive and Kickin': The State of Poetry in the Year 2000"
  April 3, 2000
Slife Ballroom, Commons Dining Center
7:00 P.M.*
  As the long-anticipated Year 2000 arrives, many people think that poetry is dead. But, according to Vince Gotera, poet and Professor in English Language and Literature, nothing could be further from the truth. Poetry is not dead, it is scintillatingly alive-perhaps in ways the academic mainstream has not traditionally valued. Dr. Gotera illustrates through a variety of contemporary poems the vitality and vigor of poetry in the new millennium. A poetry reading by various members of the UNI community will follow.  

  "Eight Hours for What We Will"
  April 25, 2000
Davis Hall, Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center
7:00 P.M.*
  At the turn of the 19th century, trade unionists fought hard for eight-hour workdays, which would allow them leisure time to "feel the sunshine and smell the flowers." What is this thing called leisure and what role does it play in terms of human existence and the quality of life? Susan D. Hudson, Professor of Leisure Studies, contends the fight for leisure is as much an on-going struggle today as we head into the 21st century and the new millennium as it was during the Industrial Revolution.  

*Each Millennium Lecture will be followed by a reception. For locations and dates of Fall 2000 lectures, call UNI Public Relations at (319) 273-2761, or check UNI's website at www.uni.edu

Off-campus visitors who are not UNI faculty, students or staff can contact the UNI Department of Public Safety, Gilchrist Hall 102, (319) 273-2712, for a free parking permit for the Millennium Lecture events.