Past Events
Poetic Odysseys - November 2020
All who are interested in writing, reading or listening to poetry are welcome.
Contacts:
Philip Resnick (Professor Emeritus, Political Science - philip.resnick@ubc.ca)
and George McWhirter (Professor Emeritus, Creative Writing).
Film Group November 23
After a COVID-19 imposed hiatus, we will re-activate the Film Group by taking advantage of the European Film Festival.
The films (with links to each film description and information on how to purchase each movie, viewing dates and the time of the planned Zoom discussion also indicated):
Angelo (Austria – directed by Markus Schleinzer, 111 minutes): Nov 21-22 – Zoom: Monday, November 23 at 4pm
Helene (Finland – directed by Antti Jokinen, 122 minutes): Nov 29-30 – Zoom: Monday, November 30 at 4pm
You will need to purchase the film yourself for $12 and watch the film within the indicated 48 hour window. Click on the link of the movie and you will find more information on how to purchase the movie. You can also buy a pass. More information is available on the EU website.
When: November 19, 23 and 30 at 4pm
Where: Zoom – Please register by email at manager@emerituscollege.ubc.ca
November 23 – Angelo
Based on the extraordinary true story of Angelo Soliman (1721-1796), a Nigerian born into slavery, the sophomore feature of Markus Schleinzer (whose acclaimed debut, Michael, arrived in 2011), Angelo is a stylish, quietly incendiary drama about power and race.
At the age of 10, Angelo is taken by force from his homeland. Surviving the arduous journey across the Atlantic, Angelo is purchased by a European countess in Vienna, who decides to turn him into the subject of an educational experiment. As time passes, Angelo grows closer to the Hapsburg society elites, becoming their costumed court curio and storyteller, telling exotic tales of faraway Africa to entertain this 18th century ‘enlightened’ Viennese high-society. To the shock of his ‘owners,’ he also secretly (and scandalously) marries a white woman, which will test not only the limits of Angelo’s social mobility, but Viennese society’s notions of itself as progressive.
For its limpid, austere visual style, Angelo has drawn favourable comparisons to the work of both Stanley Kubrick and Michael Haneke (Schleinzer worked with Haneke as a casting director). Despite its 18th century setting, this impressive, daring film is as timely and relevant as ever in its dramatic depiction and critique of race relations.
When: Monday, November 23 at 4:00 pm
Where: Zoom link by request to manager@emerituscollege.ubc.ca
Virtual Common Room Nov 20
Connection and camaraderie are foundation stones of the UBC Emeritus College.
College members are connected to our university by a number of threads that can be as slender or robust as we make them individually. These connections bring a parcel of benefits to us all, from library and email access to support for continuing scholarly activities. But interpersonal connections and the camaraderie that stems from familiarity, shared experiences and interests, and trust are also vital to a happy retirement, and precisely because they are less institutional, they are more vulnerable to attenuation in this time of COVID-19, when it is difficult for us to meet in person in groups of any size.
To combat this, we are opening a Virtual Common Room for Emeritus College members. It will be open – on Zoom – in term one, from 3:30 to 5 pm each Friday afternoon from September 18th to December 4th. Participation will be capped at 20. There will be no agenda. The intent is that you drop in (as some might once have to the Faculty Club of yore) to see who is there and share thoughts and conversations. One week we might talk about books – or about how the Canucks (almost) won the Stanley Cup; another about global affairs or the challenges of exercising during a COVID winter. Just show up and join in. Make new acquaintances, meet old friends, and (if you will) raise a glass to postretirement life (secure in the knowledge that you don’t have to drive – or cycle – home).
Register in advance for these meeting (at any point in the term).
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. There is no commitment to attend regularly or frequently. But only those who register as above will receive instructions for the Zoom meeting We will send an email reminder with registration details every couple of weeks.
I look forward to seeing you on my screen.
Graeme
Film Group November 19
After a COVID-19 imposed hiatus, we will re-activate the Film Group by taking advantage of the European Film Festival.
The films (with links to each film description and information on how to purchase each movie, viewing dates and the time of the planned Zoom discussion also indicated):
Snu (Portugal – directed by Patricia Sequeira, 94 minutes): Nov 18-19 – Zoom: Thursday, November 19 at 4pm
Angelo (Austria – directed by Markus Schleinzer, 111 minutes): Nov 21-22 – Zoom: Monday, November 23 at 4pm
Helene (Finland – directed by Antti Jokinen, 122 minutes): Nov 29-30 – Zoom: Monday, November 30 at 4pm
You will need to purchase the film yourself for $12 and watch the film within the indicated 48 hour window. Click on the link of the movie and you will find more information on how to purchase the movie. You can also buy a pass. More information is available on the EU website.
When: November 19, 23 and 30 at 4pm
Where: Zoom – Please register by email at manager@emerituscollege.ubc.ca
November 19 – Snu
Part love story, part political thriller, Patrícia Sequeira’s Snu is a fascinating biographical drama inspired by actual events that both scandalized and transformed Portugal in the 1970s. The film revolves around the elegant, fearless Danish publisher Ebba Merete Seidenfaden, who became known as Snu Abecassis, a woman who would challenge and confront Salazar’s dictatorship. After moving to Lisbon with her husband Vasco Abecassis in the 1960s, Snu devotes herself to building her new publishing house. She repeatedly releases controversial books, defying the PIDE (the nation’s International and State Defence Police) and, consequently, attracting its menacing attention. If that weren’t enough, her life will soon change utterly from the moment she meets an interviewee for a new book, in the person of prominent politician and future Prime Minister Francisco Sá Carneiro. Almost instantly, he becomes the great love of her life. Their affair shocks the conservative Portugal of the ’70s, and their public romance soon leads them into dangerous places and toward a mysterious, controversial fate.
When: Thursday, November 19 at 4:00 pm
Where: Zoom link by request to manager@emerituscollege.ubc.ca
The Canadian, American and Global Economies: Current Challenges and the Prospects for the Future
This session will focus on economic performance and set the scene for the subsequent two sessions:
- The prospects for recovery of the Canadian and global economies: What sectors may do well? not so well?
- The stock markets and the economy...is there a dangerous disconnect?
- What are the major uncertainties regarding economic recovery? Inflation? Recession?
- What potential measures might the Bank of Canada and the Federal and Provincial governments implement to address the mounting deficit and debt?
- What are the Implications for your pension and personal investments?
Speaker: Dr. Michael Devereux, UBC Vancouver School of Economics.
Dr. Devereux is a distinguished economist specializing in International Macroeconomics and International Finance. He is an invited speaker at numerous universities and has had connections with various central banks and financial organizations.
He has been at UBC since 1992, and currently he is a Professor in the Vancouver School of Economics. His research activity is in the area of exchange rate determination, the link between exchange rates and prices, and international aspects of monetary and fiscal policy. Recently, he has also worked on international financial linkages and their role in the global financial crisis.
Moderator: Dr. Alfred Hermida, Director UBC School of Journalism, Writing and Media
Alfred Hermida, PhD, is an award-winning online news pioneer, digital media scholar and journalism educator. He is director and full professor at the University of British Columbia School of Journalism, Writing, and Media, and was a founding member of the award-winning BBCNews.com website.
In 2017, he co-founded and launched The Conversation Canada with his UBC Journalism colleague, Mary Lynn Young, bringing academics and experienced journalists together to share timely analysis and commentary drawing from research, evidence and insights.
Session 2: RETIREMENT INCOME OPTIONS AND THE UBC FACULTY PENSION PLAN
A Special Session for Retired UBC Faculty/Librarians
Webinar with Lorraine Heseltine, UBC Faculty Pension Plan
Tuesday, 8 December 2020 - 10:00am to 11:00am
Please click on link for more information and link to Zoom-registration
Thursday, 19 November 2020 - 11:00am to 12:15pm
Council Meeting - November 18
The Council will meet online.
Wednesday, 18 November 2020 - 10:30am to 12:30pm