University College at Fairfield University offers April mini-series seminars | Press Releases

Fairfield University professors will use their recent books to complement seminars on politics, the Catholic church, and love and war, in three Faculty Publication seminars offered by University College at Fairfield University this April.

America's modern obsession with celebrities grows everyday, allowing the role of the celebrity to broaden. Professor of Politics John Orman, Ph.D., will lecture about his book "Celebrity Politics" (Prentice Hall 2003), on Friday, April 2, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. The primary focus of the seminar will be to "examine the impact of celebrities on the political system and the disturbing trend of politicians as celebrities," Dr. Orman said.

Participants will look at the interesting movement of celebrities as politicians and politicians as tabloid celebrities. Dr. Orman will offer insight into how celebrities get involved in elections through financial means, and how celebrities' platforms impact the general public and the new trend of celebrity politics.

"The Liberation of the Laity: In Search of An Accountable Church" (Continuum 2003) will be the subject of a seminar running Friday, April 16, from 1 p.m to 3 p.m. Paul Lakeland, Ph.D., professor of Religious Studies, will delve into issues concerning the laity of the Catholic church, from the sex abuse crisis to the poor leadership that it revealed. "I try to trace the history of the problems to make some constructive suggestions for how the Catholic Church might deal with the problems by taking seriously the adulthood of the laity," explained Dr. Lakeland. He will discuss the idea that a poor understanding of what it means to be a layperson has historically plagued the Catholic Church and continued to cause problems for Catholicism today.

Love and war on the exotic island of Malta is what Nicholas Rinaldi uses to lure in and captivate his audience in his newest novel, "The Jukebox Queen of Malta," (Simon & Schuster 1999). On Friday, April 23, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., participants will be drawn into the world of a man from Brooklyn caught in the crossfire of romance and war during the 1942 bombardment of Malta. The novel received high critical acclaim. The New York Times wrote: "Joseph Heller, William Styron, Norman Mailer... Mr. Rinaldi belongs in their company."

The three seminars together are $50. To register by phone, call (203) 254-4288; for more information, call (203) 254-4307 or visit University College at www.fairfield.edu.