The campus community is  invited to UTC PERSPECTIVES 2002:  The Raymond B.
Witt Lecture Series which will examine Perspectives on  Popular Culture,
January 22-24.  Three daytime events will be held in the Chattanooga Rooms
of the UTC University Center.  Faculty  members are encouraged to bring
their classes to these events.

On Tuesday, January 22 at 1:30 p.m., Dr. Charles Reagan Wilson of the
Center for Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi will
speak.  His lecture will focus on "The culture of pop; the new culture of
the South."
One of the favorite proverbs of former Center director William Ferris is
"When an old man dies, a library burns to the ground." The Center for the
Study of Southern Culture seeks to preserve and disseminate knowledge about
the South that might otherwise be lost.

Along with Ferris, Wilson edited The Encyclopedia of Southern Culture,
which was 10 years in the making and involved more than 800 scholars and
writers in many fields. The University of North Carolina Press published
the reference work as a 1634-page, hardcover volume in 1989 and Anchor
Books issued it in four paperback volumes in 1991. U.S. News & World Report
recognized the Encyclopedia as "the first attempt ever to describe every
aspect of a region's life and thought, the impact of its history and
politics, music and literature, manners and myths, even the iced tea that
washes down catfish and cornbread."

A phenomenal publishing success, the work won the American Library
Association's Dartmouth Medal and other awards.

On Wednesday, January 23rd at 1 p.m., Kenneth Paulson, Senior Vice
President of the First Amendment Center of Freedom Forum will have a
conversation regarding History, Pop Culture and the 1st Amendment, and he
will be accompanied by singer-songwriter Bill Lloyd.

The First Amendment Center works to preserve and protect First Amendment
freedoms through information and education. The center serves as a forum
for the study and exploration of free-expression issues, including freedom
of speech, of the press and of religion, the right to assemble and petition
the government.
The First Amendment Center, founded by John Seigenthaler, has offices at
Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., and Arlington, Va., and is an
independent affiliate of The Freedom Forum and is associated with the
Newseum. Its affiliation with Vanderbilt University is through the
Vanderbilt Institute for Public Policy Studies.

On Thursday, January 24th at 10:50 a.m. Robert Bernhardt, Music/Artistic
Director & Conductor of the Chattanooga Symphony & Opera will speak about
how pop culture applies to music.

Equally at home in all genres, from Opera, to Symphony, to Pops, to
Education, Bernhardt has brought a sense of fun and accomplishment to one
of the Southeast's oldest musical organizations, and an enthusiasm and love
for his work that is infectious.

Concurrent with his CSO tenure, Bernhardt holds the additional title of
Principal Pops Conductor of the Louisville (KY) Orchestra with which, for
most of the decade of the 80s, he was Associate Conductor.

In the 2000-2001 season, his guest conducting assignments included his
subscription debuts with the Nashville Symphony and the Iceland Symphony
Orchestras, his continuing relationship with the Tuscon Symphony, and the
Nashville Opera.

Born in Rochester, NY, Robert Bernhardt holds a Master's Degree
with Honors from the University of Southern California School of Music. He
was a Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude graduate of Union (NY) College, where
he was an Academic All-American Baseball Player.