The Alaska Quarterly Review presents UAA Creative Writing & Literary Arts graduate student Dawnell Smith and professor Sherry Simpson this month at Snow City Cafe.

The AQR First Friday Reading Series is presented in conjunction with the First Friday Art Walk in Anchorage. The reading series brings together vital, creative voices at work in the Anchorage area and across Alaska. Each program begins at 6:30 p.m. on the first Friday of September, October, November, December, February, March, April and May.

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The University of Alaska Geography Program and the UAA Department of Geography and Environmental Studies hosted author Rory Stewart Monday, March 3, 2008. Stewart authored The Prince of the Marshes and the 2006 New York Times bestseller The Places in Between.

In this podcast, Stewart tells stories of his time spent in Iraq working as deputy governor of the province of Maysan and senior advisor in the province of Dhi Qar. In August 2003, Stewart, a Farsi-speaking British diplomat, took a taxi ride from Jordan to Baghdad and spent the next 11 months negotiating hostage releases, holding elections and splicing together some semblance of an infrastructure for a population of millions teetering on the brink of civil war.

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The final round of the Cabin Fever Debates, UAA’s Intramural debating tournament, contemplates one of the most pressing issues of the day: should the U.S. pull out of Iraq?

The promised drawdown of troops following last year’s “surge” seems stalled, with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates joining Gen. David Petraeus in suggesting that the planned withdrawal be suspended to assess the security of Iraq. Given looming questions about the long-term role of U.S. troops in Iraq and the number of families in Alaska affected by these decisions, this debate promises to resonate with local audience.

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The 2008 Cabin Fever Debates, UAA’s intramural debating tournament, nears the end with its semifinal rounds.

The second semifinal round focuses on whether the U.S. should boycott the Beijing Olympics. Given Steven Spielberg’s recent decision to give up his post as an artistic advisor to the Beijing Olympics and ongoing concerns about China’s human rights record, the political message inherent in this high-profile sporting event cannot be overlooked.

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The 2008 Cabin Fever Debates, UAA’s intramural debating tournament, nears the end with its semifinal rounds.

Following the recent decision of the Australian parliament to issue a formal apology to its Aboriginal peoples, the issue of how the U.S. should interact with its Native peoples is again at the forefront. The first semifinal round concerns whether the U.S. Federal Government should apologize to Native Americans.

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