The 1999 Michael Douglas Distinguished Visiting Artist Paula Vogel In Praise of Aphra: Short Notes on Women as Playwrights/Women as Subjects Thursday, April 8 / 4 p.m. / UCSB Hatlen Theatre / Free Playwright Paula Vogel won the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for Drama with her play How I Learned to Drive, which chronicles a young woman’s seduction by her uncle. The Obie-winning author of The Baltimore Waltz, The Mineola Twins and Hot ‘n’ Throbbing, Vogel is lauded for dealing with controversial subject matter including incest, prostitution, gay parenting and AIDS.

Film & Filmmaker Morgan J. Freeman screens Desert Blue Friday, April 9 / 7 p.m. / UCSB Campbell Hall Winner of the best director, best cinematography and audience choice awards at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival for his debut feature Hurricane Streets, UCSB alumnus Morgan J. Freeman will introduce and answer questions about his new film, which he wrote and directed: Desert Blue. In a tiny California desert town, off-beat pastimes, a toxic waste spill and budding romance occupy a posse of rebellious teenagers. Stars Brendan Sexton III, Christina Ricci, Casey Affleck, Kate Hudson, Sara Gilbert and John Heard. (1999, 87 minutes)

Regents’ Lecturer in the UCSB Department of Communication Arthur Allan Seidelman Private Morals and Public Art: The Artist’s Struggle to Maintain Individuality in a Homogenized World Wednesday, April 21 / 4 p.m. / UCSB Hatlen Theatre / Free You Are What You Watch and You Watch What You Are: The Media in Contemporary Society Wednesday, April 28 / 4 p.m. / UCSB Hatlen Theatre / Free Four-time Emmy Award-winner Arthur Allan Seidelman has directed over 35 feature and television films including The Summer of Ben Tyler and Harvest of Fire. Last fall, he directed the UCSB Theatre Artists Group production of Richard Alfieri’s The Sisters. He is an active participant in the television industry’s ratings board.

David Mas Masumoto An Evening with the Author Monday, April 26 / 8 p.m. / UCSB Corwin Pavilion / Free Central California organic peach and grape farmer David Mas Masumoto captivated readers with his book Epitaph for a Peach in 1995. In his new book Harvest Son: Planting Roots in American Soil, he integrates the history of land and family—from his Japanese grandparents’ immigration in 1899 and World War II internment to the rigors and joys of small-scale farming. He’ll read from and discuss his work.

The 36th Annual Edwin and Jean Corle Memorial Lecture Sandra Cisneros An Evening with the Author Wednesday, May 5 / 8 p.m. / UCSB Campbell Hall / Free Sandra Cisneros’ first novel The House on Mango Street earned her a Before Columbus Foundation American Book Award and her collection of short stories Woman Hollering Creek won the Lannan Foundation Literary Award. Recipient of a MacArthur Foundation “genius” grant. She is also the author of poetry, a bilingual children’s book and the forthcoming novel, Caramelo.

The Inaugural Ruben Salazar Memorial Lecture Frank Del Olmo Beware Drive-By Journalism: Latinos, Politics and the Media Thursday, May 13 / 4 p.m. / UCSB Corwin Pavilion / Free Los Angeles Times associate editor Frank Del Olmo recently headed the team that increased coverage of Latino issues in the newspaper. He is the recipient of a Times Editorial Award for his commentary on the Rodney King/LAPD/Daryl Gates case and a Pulitzer Prize Gold Medal for meritorious public service for his series Southern California’s Latino Community.

The Herman P. and Sophia Taubman Foundation Symposia in Jewish Studies Arthur Hertzberg Jews: The Essence and Character of a People Monday, May 17 / 8 p.m. / UCSB Campbell Hall / Free One of the country’s most influential theological minds, Rabbi Arthur Hertzberg is a professor at New York University and a prolific author. In this enlightening lecture rescheduled from winter, he will refer to his body of work, which includes Jews: The Essence and Character of a People, The Jews in America, The Zionist Idea and At Home Only with God.

Eric Foner The Story of American Freedom: Liberty and Its Discontents from the American Revolution to the Present Saturday, May 22 / 10 a.m. / UCSB Hatlen Theatre / Free Columbia University historian Eric Foner last year authored The Story of American Freedom, a comprehensive account of the changing meaning of freedom in our country—from the American Revolution to Reagan-era invocations. His book Reconstruction: America’s Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877 won the Bancroft Prize and Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Foner is president-elect of the American Historical Association. Part of the one-day conference American Freedom.

The 44th Annual UCSB Faculty Research Lecture James S. Langer Complexity and Predictability in the Physics of Atoms and Earthquakes Monday, May 24 / 4 p.m. / UCSB Chemistry Building Auditorium, Room 1179 / Free Professor James Langer is an international leader in condensed matter and materials physics whose recent work has focused on fracture dynamics and the modeling of earthquakes. President-elect of the 40,000-member American Physical Society, he served for six years as director of the Institute for Theoretical Physics at UCSB. The Faculty Research Lectureship is the highest honor bestowed upon UCSB professors by their peers.

Film & Filmmaker Steven Seagal screens Fire Down Below Tuesday, May 25 / 7 p.m. / UCSB Campbell Hall Since his debut in Above the Law, action film star and martial arts master Steven Seagal has captivated audiences worldwide. He has produced, directed and/or acted in many films including On Deadly Ground, Under Siege and Out for Justice. He will introduce Fire Down Below, an environmental action epic, and, following the screening, he will participate in a conversation with UCSB Film Studies faculty and answer audience questions.

The UCSB Bookstore will have copies of the authors’ books for purchase and signing at these events.

Spring lectures and special events are presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures; UCSB Interdisciplinary Humanities Center; Center for Chicano Studies; Departments of Chicano Studies, Dramatic Art and Dance, Film Studies and Religious Studies; Hillel; UCSB Library; MultiCultural Center; Women’s Center; Writing Program; and Herman P. and Sophia Taubman Foundation.