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Zócalo at ArcLight Hollywood

Wednesday, June 18, 7:30 pm at ArcLight Hollywood

Zócalo and the Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West
Present

Gay L.A. vs. Gay San Francisco

Moderated by J. Edwin Bacon, Jr., Rector at All Saints Church

To many a Californian, Los Angeles and San Francisco exist in perpetual rivalry. Los Angeles is nouveau glitz to San Francisco's substance. Or San Francisco is the radical metropolis to L.A.'s more mainstream moderation. For gay and lesbian Americans, both cities have been destinations for decades. And yet what Los Angeles and San Francisco have offered gay Americans—and what they have allowed—have been strikingly different.

Join us for an exploration of the gay and lesbian past of California's great urban rivals. Historians Nan Boyd and Daniel Hurewitz, as well as demographer Gary Gates, visit Zócalo to discuss the long history of gay activities in the two cities. What corners of each city seemed amenable to a gay presence? What factors shaped acceptance or repression? The panelists will also examine the policing of gay men and women—the different tactics and approaches used in each city—and the different impact that those policies had. And because California gave birth to the national gay rights movement, the panel will explore the emergence of a gay political constituency within both cities and the country as a whole, trying to understand how and why it was California came to play such a central role. (This event is made possible, in part, by a grant from the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation of Los Angeles.)

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Zócalo in Miracle Mile

Tuesday, June 17, 7:30 pm at Goethe-Institut Los Angeles

How Will China Emerge from the Rubble?

Moderated by Michael Woo, former Los Angeles City Councilman

The earthquake in Sichuan Province and its aftershocks produced widespread devastation and incalculable human tragedy on the eve of the Olympic Games in Beijing. Instead of marking the unblemished emergence of China as a world power, the ongoing human tragedy paints a more complicated portrait of the evolution which has brought China to this point and the changes which may come in the future. Chengdu natives Zhu Yanfeng and Liu Jin, Deputy Governor of the Futian District and Deputy Director of the Shenzhen Science, Technology, and Information Bureau, respectively, KAZN Radio talk show host Cat Chao, and Linda Bourque and Virginia Li of UCLA School of Public Health visit Zócalo to explore how the earthquake is likely to change Chinese society and politics.

To Reserve a Free Seat at Goethe-Institut Los Angeles Click Here




Zócalo at The Skirball

Wednesday, June 25, 7:30 pm at The Skirball Cultural Center

Carl Zimmer, "The Oracle in the Gut: E. Coli and the Meaning of Life"

New York Times science writer Carl Zimmer visits Zócalo to discuss how an ordinary microbe, E. coli, is revealing the deepest secrets of life itself. In his new book, Microcosm: E. coli and the New Science of Life, Zimmer explores how this microbe, known to most of us for its deadly outbreaks, is actually leading scientists to a new understanding of what it means to be alive. From altruism to death, genetic destiny versus individualism and the possibility of life beyond our planet, E. coli can answer many of our deepest questions about existence. As engaging and insightful as he is knowledgeable, Zimmer discusses how E. coli has played a pivotal role in the history of biology, and continues to lead the way in the search for life-saving drugs, clean fuel, and a deeper understanding of our own genetic makeup and the history of life.

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