Farquhar College to Hold Companion Events Prior to Lecture by Jack Kevorkian, M.D.

The Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences is holding numerous companion activities prior to the Distinguished Speakers Series presentation by Jack Kevorkian, M.D.:

Immortality: Science Fact or Fiction
The Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences Division of Math, Science, and Technology will host a faculty panel titled “Immortality: Science Fact or Fiction,” on Monday, Feb. 2, 2009, from 6 to 8 p.m. in rooms 1048 and 1049 of the Carl DeSantis Building. Faculty members from the division, including Paul Baldauf, Ph.D., associate professor; Josh Loomis, Ph.D., assistant professor; and Robin Sherman, Ph.D., associate professor and division associate director, will discuss the current biological evidence for immortality. Mark Jaffe, D.P.M., assistant professor in the division, will moderate the discussion. Kathy L. Cerminara, J.S.D., professor from the Shepard Broad Law Center, will discuss the ramifications of human immortality from a health-law perspective.

Euthanasia and the Law
Jessica Garcia-Brown, J.D., assistant professor in the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences, will speak on “Euthanasia and the Law,” as part of the college’s Faculty Lecture Series, on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2009, from noon to 1:00 p.m. in room 240 of the Parker Building. The lecture will introduce the legal ramifications behind euthanasia and also question whether the United States is actually protecting a person's right to life or violating their right to death with dignity.

"In Search of the 'Funeral March' Codes"
The Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences Division of Performing and Visual Arts will present a piano recital and lecture titled “In Search of the ‘Funeral March’ Codes: Exploring the Possibility of Implied Hidden Themes of Life, Love, and Death in Frederic Chopin’s Sonata in B-flat minor, Op. 35, ‘Funeral March’.” The event will take place on Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2009, at noon in the University Center, room 309. Michael Caldwell, D.M.A., director of the college’s Division of Performing and Visual Arts, will explore whether the Sonata is a “Poem to Death” or “Hymn to Life,”  and examine clues pointing to insights into Chopin’s personal views on life, love, and death.

Euthanasia: Mercy or Murder?
The Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences Division of Humanities will host a discussion titled “Euthanasia: Mercy or Murder?” on Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2009, from 5 to 6 p.m., in the Parker Building, room 123B. Vicki Toscano, Ph.D., assistant professor, and Gary Gershman, J.D., Ph.D., associate professor in the college’s Division of Humanities, will discuss the heated issue and its implications.

For more information on each of these events and on Dr. Kevorkian’s visit on Feb. 5, visit www.fcas.nova.edu/articles/dss/jackkevorkian.