Distinguished Lecture Series announced

The 2004-05 Distinguished Lecture Series will kick off Oct. 27. Designed to give students the chance to invite provocative speakers to campus, manage and promote their appearances, and get to know them up close and personally, this year’s lineup includes:

• Wednesday, Oct. 27: Karen Armstrong, perhaps today’s most renowned expert on the role of religion in the modern world. Armstrong will cover the history of fundamentalism in Christianity, Judaism and Islam.
• Monday, Nov. 22: Eric Schlosser, whose national best sellers include “Fast Food Nation” and “Reefer Madness,” has earned the reputation as one of America’s leading cultural critics.
• Wednesday, Dec. 1: Robert Novak, nationally syndicated conservative columnist whose “Inside Report” appears in more than 150 newspapers nationally.
• Monday, Jan. 31: Chuck Palahniuk is best known for the book “Fight Club,” which later was made into a Hollywood blockbuster. Palahniuk’s work and social commentary has generated almost a cult-like following.
• Wednesday, Feb. 2: Jean Kilbourne is an internationally recognized writer and lecturer who examines alcohol and tobacco advertising, as well as the image of women in advertising.
• Tuesday, Feb. 15: Sister Helen Prejean is best known for her book “Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the United States,” a best seller developed into a major motion picture.
• Monday, April 11: Robert Siegel, who served as editor-in-chief of The Onion from 1996-2003.

All lectures begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Wisconsin Union Theater.

Tickets will be available at the Union Theater Box Office. The first tickets are reserved for students, faculty, staff and Union members with a valid UW–Madison or Wisconsin Union ID one week before each lecture. Any remaining tickets will be available to the general public the Thursday before each lecture. Tickets are valid until 7:20 p.m., after which empty seats will be available to patrons without tickets. If attendance exceeds theater capacity, a video simulcast will be offered in another room.

For more information, contact Adam Diederich, 262-2216.