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Tuesday, February 18, 2025

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Songs of a Generation: Understanding Taylor Swift

Overview

Taylor Swift is one of the most famous and acclaimed artists of her generation, with a massive portion of her influence being due to her songwriting. Her ability to connect with her audience on a personal level and her distinctive methods of songwriting that blend autobiographical elements with character-driven prose make her a compelling and iconic artist. In this two-hour showcase lecture, we will break down the key elements of her songwriting style: her use of imagery and symbolism, her character-driven songs, her narrative storytelling, and the personal and emotional themes woven into her work. This workshop will give participants a deeper understanding and appreciation of her music and and songwriting.

About the Lecturer

Kalle Mattson is a Juno & Polaris Music Prize nominated singer/songwriter based in Canada. Since 2009 he has released four full-length albums & two EPs to critical & commercial acclaim. His first music video for ‘Thick As Thieves’ gained over 1,000,000 views & was covered by Time Magazine, NPR & The Huffington Post. It was followed in 2014 by Mattson’s third full-length studio album, the Polaris Music Prize-nominated ‘Someday, The Moon Will Be Gold’, which was inspired by his hometown on the Canadian/U.S. border and the death of his mother five years prior. It received glowing reviews from Pitchfork, Pop Matters, Rolling Stone, & Exclaim called it – “simply, a benchmark in fearless songwriting.” It was promoted by multiple tours across Canada, the US & Europe.

August 2015 saw the release of a new EP, ‘Avalanche’, which Mattson described as a mini-LP concerning the twenty-something miasma of “anxiety, nostalgia, the past, the future.” The music video for ‘Avalanche’ received widespread media attention & was nominated for a 2016 Juno Award, a 2016 Much Music Video Award & won the 2016 Prism Prize. On 2018’s ‘Youth.’, Mattson set out to make a coming-of-age album about the in-between days of post-adolescence and pre-adulthood. It was released to rave reviews with Dominionated saying – “file it under instant classic.”

His newest project ‘summersets’, a duo with longtime collaborator Andrew Sowka, debuted in 2020 with a collection of narrative driven songs set in small town Northern Ontario centred around two characters who meet as summer is coming to end. Their debut full-length, ‘small town story’ was released in 2023. Mattson currently teaches at Carleton University.

Cancer Biology: The War Within: Understanding Cancer at the Cellular Level

Overview

This lecture takes a closer look at the molecular and cellular mechanisms behind cancer development. We’ll dive into the genetic mutations, signaling pathways, and cellular processes that set the stage for cancer to form. The course will explore the tumor microenvironment, metastasis, and how cancer cells dodge the immune system. We’ll also discuss various interventions to combat cancer, offering insights into strategies to tackle it at the cellular level.

About the Lecturer

Rowida Mohamed currently works as an instructor the biology, chemistry and health science departments at Carleton University. She is also a Research Associate at the Institution of Biochemistry at Carleton. She received teaching excellence in science 2022 and EDI in teaching excellence in 2023.

Film Music: How it Elevates Emotional Storytelling

Overview

Through an exploration of how music is used in short examples from over 10 film scenes over the past 70 years of international cinema, this lecture will give casual listeners and film lovers new tools to interpret film music and new concepts to listen for in analyzing how and why film music is so emotionally powerful.

Examples to be experienced and analyzed in this lecture will be drawn from On the Waterfront (1954), Anatomy of a Murder (1959), North by Northwest (1959), The Good, The Bad and the Ugly (1967), Malcolm X (1992), Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), Slumdog Millionaire (2009), If Beale St. Could Talk (2018), Black Panther (2018), Bootlegger (2021) and more.

About the Lecturer

Jack has worked as a performer, composer and producer throughout the past two decades. He has composed and recorded over 75 songs in genres including jazz, folk, opera, orchestral, funk, and electronic. His music has been featured in videos, podcasts, and in performance. Jack currently works as Composer-in-Residence for both OperOttawa and Voices Dance Project. Jack’s debut solo album Shining Suns was released in 2022 and is available on Spotify. A graduate of Carleton’s Master of Arts in Music and Culture program, Jack currently works as a Contract Instructor in Carleton’s music department, where he teaches courses on popular music and film music. Hear more at jackhuilitster.com.

Cinderella & Sexism

Overview

Fairy tales, Feminist themes. Feminist theorists: Joan Toronto, Philippa Foot, Gloria Steinem.

In this workshop, we will explore feminist themes in Cinderella. The classic fairy tale. We will explore whether Cinderella reinforces or challenges negative attitudes toward femininity.  Various versions of the Cinderella story, including the 1950 animated Disney film, will be considered. Philosophers Joan Toronto and Philippa Foot, as well as feminist Gloria Steinem, will also be discussed.

About the Lecturer

Rebecca Robb is a PhD candidate in Ethics and Public Affairs at Carleton University. She holds a Bachelor of Philosophy from the University of Victoria and a Master of Philosophy from Carleton University. Her teaching philosophy centres on an interdisciplinary approach to ethics. While ethics is a branch of philosophy, Rebecca finds it can also be approached through theology, literature, history, or other academic disciplines. At its most basic, the study of ethics is the study of what makes an action morally right or wrong. Rebecca especially enjoys connecting with students new to the discipline. Her focus is always on engaging students in dialogue and encouraging them to bring their life experience to the study of philosophy.

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