ITHACA, NY--“Light Fantastic”--a 12-week series of free fall lectures at Ithaca College—will explore light from the diverse perspectives of the arts, humanities and sciences.

 

The series will begin on Thursday, Aug. 31, with “Portrait of Light,” an overview lecture by Mara Alper, associate professor of television-radio and organizer of the series.

 

“We turn on a light, sunbathe, eat vegetables, or watch a film--light permeates our lives yet we usually take it for granted,” Alper says. “Light is a fascinating subject because it spans art, science and spirit. It defines life in many ways, with inter-connections we rarely acknowledge. This lecture series will explore light from the diverse perspectives of the arts, humanities and sciences.”

 

The lectures will include “a Brief History of Light” by Dava Sobel, best-selling author of “Longitude,” “Galileo’s Daughter,” and most recently “The Planets.” In laymen’s language, Sobel will touch on the historical highlights of understanding the nature of light. Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo Galilei, Isaac Newton, William Herschel, and Albert Einstein will feature prominently in her talk.

 

Ithaca College faculty will present the remaining lectures. Topics include art history with Carolyn Straughan and Gary Wells, mathematics and spirituality with Dani Novak, psychology and perception with Nancy Rader, physics and astronomy with Luke Keller and Beth Ellen Clarke Joseph , theater lighting with Steve TenEyck, and light as metaphor in film with Meg Jamieson.

 

Other series highlights include a talk by installation artist Itty Neuhaus about her light sculpture in the college’s Handwerker Gallery. Williams College Professor Emeritus David Park will speak about the nature and meaning of light based on his book “Fire Within the Eye.”

 

A schedule with full details is listed below.

 

The Division of International and Interdisciplinary Studies, Humanities and Sciences Honors Program, and the Roy H. Park School of Communications sponsor the series. For more information on lectures and locations, contact Mara Alper at (607) 274-1280.