Upcoming events at the UC Berkeley J-School

Here's the latest from the UC Berkeley J-school. -Mia

D.T. Max | Every Love Story Is a Ghost Story: A Life of David Foster Wallace

Presented by the Knight Center in Science and Environmental Journalism and the Department of English at UC Berkeley

When: Wednesday, November 7,  12:00 PM

Where: North Gate Hall Library

David Foster Wallace was the leading literary light of his era, a man who not only captivated readers with his prose but also mesmerized them with his brilliant mind. In this, the first biography of the writer, D.T. Max sets out to chart Wallace’s tormented, anguished and often triumphant battle to succeed as a novelist as he fights off depression and addiction to emerge with his masterpiece, Infinite Jest.

Since his untimely death by suicide at the age of forty-six in 2008, Wallace has become more than the quintessential writer for his time—he has become a symbol of sincerity and honesty in an inauthentic age.  In the end, as Max shows us, what is most interesting about Wallace is not just what he wrote but how he taught us all to live. Written with the cooperation of Wallace’s family and friends and with access to hundreds of his unpublished letters, manuscripts, and audio tapes, this portrait of an extraordinarily gifted writer is as fresh as news, as intimate as a love note, as painful as a goodbye.

Refreshments will be served.

Adam Hochschild and T.J. Stiles | Riveting History

When:  Saturday, November 10,  8:00 PM

Where: Sibley Auditorium, Bechtel Engineering Center

Prize-winning authors Adam Hochschild and T.J. Stiles compare notes on the high art of taking historical facts and transforming them into potent narratives.  

The American Academy of Arts and Letters honored Hochschild for his work, which has ranged from depictions of a fraught relationship with his father to brutality in colonial Africa and opposition to the First World War.  

Stiles won both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award for his biography of Cornelius Vanderbilt.  He has also written about Jesse James, and is now researching the life of George Armstrong Custer.  

Julia Flynn Siler, a veteran Wall Street Journal writer and herself the author of two narrative histories, will guide the conversation.

This event is open to the public and sponsored by UC Berkeley Extension.

REPORTING FROM ISRAEL: THE US ELECTIONS, THE ARAB SPRING AND JOURNALISM IN THE DIGITAL AGE

Aluf Benn, Editor-in-Chief, Haaretz Daily Newspaper

When: Thursday, November 15,  6:00 PM

Where: North Gate Hall Library

Israeli journalist and author Aluf Benn on Israel – U.S. post-election relations, Israeli response to the Arab Spring and how journalism is changing in Israel.

During his 23 years at Haaretz, Aluf Benn covered six Israeli prime ministers from Yitzhak Rabin through Binyamin Netanyahu and reported on Israeli-Arab wars and peace efforts since the Oslo Accords in 1993.  In his roles as diplomatic correspondent, chief news editor and opinion editor at the paper he has become an expert on the country’s leadership, foreign policy and national security. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Foreign Affairs, Newsweek, and The Guardian.

Presented by Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, Institute of Israeli Law Ethics and Society at UC Berkeley, the Israel Center of the Jewish Community Federation, the Jewish Community Relations Council and the Consulate General of Israel to the Pacific Northwest

RSVP REQUIRED
2012 Presidential Election Recap

Co-sponsored by the University Library, the Media Studies Group major, the Institute of Governmental Studies and the Berkeley Political Review

When: Friday, November 16

Reception: 5:30 PM (North Gate Hall Library)
Discussion: 6:00 PM (Sutardja Dai Hall)

Where: Banatao Auditorium, Sutardja Dai Hall

The panel of experts will look at election results, voting patterns, the influence of money and digital technology, prospects for election reforms and, of course, what happens next.  

 
Ron Elving, MJ '79, Senior Washington Editor, NPR
Michelle Quinn, MJ '92, Silicon Valley-based technology correspondent, Politico
Lisa Garcia-Bedolla, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science at UC Berkeley and the Berkeley Graduate School of Education

David Kennedy, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, Stanford University
Bruce Cain, Professor of Political Science, Stanford University

Moderated by Susan Rasky, Senior Lecturer, Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism

RSVP: juliehirano@berkeley.edu

********** EVENTS OF INTEREST **********

Berkeley Entrepreneurs Forum: 8th Annual Intel Global Challenge

When:  Thursday, November 8,  5:30 PM

Where: Andersen Auditorium, Haas School of Business

The Lester Center for Entrepreneurship at the Haas School of Business has partnered with Intel to create the premier global business plan competition focused on technology. This year, nearly 30 teams from almost as many countries are expected to compete. Hear pitches from the top eight finalist teams at the Berkeley Entrepreneurs Forum. Participating teams, representing universities and programs in Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and the U.S., bring with them some of the brightest and innovative technology ideas in the world and will be vying for $100,000 in prizes. 

The Forum is free to UC Berkeley faculty, staff, and students. Registration is required via the link above. All pre-registrants receive one free drink.