NEWS

UNC professors to discuss medicine, security and the arts

CHAPEL HILL – Ancient medicine, country music, homeland security and folk art will be the topics of four speeches in Chapel Hill next month by faculty members at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Dr. Clay Whitehead, a psychoanalyst, and music professor Dr. Jocelyn Neal will speak at Binkley Baptist Church as part of an "Issues of Today" series presented by Peer Learning, a retirees' group. Only members may attend, but new members may join at the lectures.

Whitehead’s speech, "Behind the Egyptian Pyramids: The First Medical Report in History," will be Nov. 5 at 1:30 p.m. Neal will speak about the orgins of country music Nov. 8 at 11 a.m. The church is at 1712 Willow Drive, Chapel Hill. Call 962-1993 for more information.

On Nov. 6, Dr. Eric Myln, an adjunct associate professor of international studies, will discuss homeland security at 1:30 p.m. at the Carolina Meadows retirement community off of Mount Carmel Church Road. For more information, call 942-4014.

Anthropology professor Dr. Glenn Hinson, folklore curriculum chair, will discuss North Carolina's folk art traditions at 3 p.m. Nov. 10 at the Chapel Hill Public Library, off Estes Drive near Franklin Street. Call 968-2777 for more information.

Myln and Hinson's talks will be free and open to the public.

Whitehead, an adjunct professor of psychiatry, will share his interests in the art and science of psychotherapy, the history of medicine and mythology. He has written on the theory and practice of psychotherapy, psychohistory, medical identity, substance abuse, hospital design, nuclear terror and evolution.

In 1985, Whitehead was elected a Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. He is a trustee of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis.  Neal created a course on the history of country music that several hundred students take each year. She has written on early 20th-century country musicians including Jimmie Rodgers and Ernest Stoneman, as well as more contemporary developments in the music, its culture and its social implications.

Her research focuses include the rich, live-music traditions of North Carolina’s bluegrass festivals, alternative country bands and honky tonk clubs, through which she explores Southern culture. Neal also teaches courses in music theory and analysis.

Mlyn, also an adjunct associate professor of public policy at Duke University, has taught courses in international studies and the curriculum on peace, war and defense at UNC. He wrote several books and articles on international security issues.

Currently he directs the Robertson Scholars Program of Duke and UNC, in which students take courses on both campuses.

In his speech, "Voices of the Soul: Folk Artistry in North Carolina," Hinson will seek to define folk art by examining the lives and work of two African-American woodcarvers in North Carolina. The two work in different styles and bring different histories to their artistry, Hinson said. He will illustrate his talk with slides and carvings.

Hinson has studied the culture of the South for 25 years. His interests range from gospel music and barbecue to oral poetry. His projects to enhance public education have included developing programs for the Smithsonian Institution, producing compact discs by regional musicians and working to integrate traditional North Carolina music into fourth-grade curricula. His publications include the book "Fire in My Bones: Transcendence and the Holy Spirit in African American Gospel," written with members of the gospel community.

All of the November talks were arranged by Carolina Speakers at UNC. The program brings more than 90 faculty members to civic, business and community groups across the state. The speakers share their expertise on more than 150 topics, including 46 on North Carolina and the South.

For more information or to schedule a Carolina Speaker, contact Sandy Roberts at 919-962-1993 or sandy_roberts@unc.edu, or visit the Carolina Speakers web site at www.unc.edu/depts/uncspeak.

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Contact: Sandy Roberts, 962-1993, sandy_roberts@unc.edu