Calendar highlights

Sociologist Portes to speak
Distinguished sociologist Alejandro Portes, from Princeton University, will deliver the William H. Sewell Memorial lecture at 3:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 7, Pyle Center, speaking on “The Second Generation and the Future of American Society.”

The lecture is sponsored by the Departments of Sociology and Rural Sociology and honors the memory of William H. Sewell, who died June 24. Sewell, a member of the departments for 55 years, continued to play an active role in research for more than 20 years beyond his retirement.

Portes, a graduate of the Department of Sociology and a student of Sewell, is one of the world’s leading sociologists, internationally known for his work on race, ethnicity, and migration. Among his many honors are the Presidency of the American Sociological Association, Membership in the National Academy of Sciences, and Honorary Doctorate from UW–Madison. This event will also include remarks on Bill Sewell offered by Cora Marrett, another distinguished student of Sewell who now serves as vice president of the UW System.

Looking at primary care
Kevin Grumbach, the 2001 Eugene and Linda Farley Professor in the Department of Family Medicine, will present a lecture, “Primary Care: The Best of Times/Worst of Times,” in G5/119 Clinical Sciences Center at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 5.

Grumbach is a professor of Family and Community Medicine and the director of Institute for Health Policy Studies at the University of California, San Francisco. Along with his scholarly work in health policy issues which address access, health disparities, the medically underserved and primary care, Grumbach is also the chief of family and community medicine at San Francisco General Hospital and Vice Chair of the Department.

The Farley professorship honors the contributions of Eugene and Linda Farley to the growth of the Department of Family Medicine.

Forum: Islamic fundamentalism
Sharon Hutchinson, professor of anthropology, will give the lecture, “The U.S. and Islamic Fundamentalism: The War in Sudan,” at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 4, in the Main Hall of the Monona Community Center, 1011 Nichols Rd, Monona. Hutchinson focuses her research on Sudan, where a brutal civil war has been raging since 1983 between an Arab Muslim majority population in the North and an African and Christian minority in the South. Fluent in Arabic and Nuer, a southern Sudanese language, Hutchinson has conducted many years of field investigations. Information: 222-6127.