This luncheon lecture and performance will focus on love songs from the 1920's through the 1990's. These love songs cover all aspects of love, from initial infatuation through mature love. Also, many love songs are focused on relationships that did not work. A shift in the topics covered from the early Tin Pan Alley days of the 1920's to more contemporary treatments will be described. Three genres will be represented: Jazz standards, blues and country.

Betty Jean will show the fun of creating a murder mystery series.The writer invents a town - Witherston in north Georgia - with eccentric inhabitants, who have pets (dogs, cats, birds, goats, donkeys, and chickens), cars, houses, jobs, and love interests. She draws a map. She explores Witherston's past, to show how the past influences the crimes of the present. For each of the novels she concocts a homicide. Along the way she develops the characters so that the reader likes everybody, or rather, almost everybody.

Human-caused climate change is arguably one of the greatest existential threats facing humanity. While many possible causes have been considered (e.g. solar activity, Earth's orbit, deforestation, etc.), the scientific data is now clear. The emission of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels has been the primary driver of climate change for at least the past fifty years. One solution that has been put forward is to place a fee on the production of CO2 and to let the economics of the free-market drive down future carbon emissions. Dr. Farmer will discuss the causes of climate change as well as possible solutions.

Dr. Shepard - an expert on climate change - will discuss how cities affect the weather and climate. Dr. Shepherd explores the fascinating ways that urban spaces affect heat, biochemical and water cycles, rainfall, storms, and even the climate systems. He has been recognized by the White House and by the American Meteorological Society for his work on urban climate.

Why did Congress pass the Indian Removal Act by a mere five votes in May 1830, launching the first state-sponsored mass deportation in the modern era? Why did some Americans, white and native, insist that the Republic had betrayed its values with the passage of the act? And why did they believe that the policy marked a turning point for indigenous nations and the United States? In telling the full story of this systematic, state-sponsored theft, Saunt will reveal how expulsion became national policy, abetted by Southern slave owners and financed by Wall Street. The consequences of this vast transfer of land and wealth still resonate today. Dr. Saunt will be available afterwards to sign previously purchased copies of Unworthy Republic.

By popular demand, Professor Carlson returns to give us a new inside look at court cases that have captured recent headlines. Discussion will range from high-profile murder trials to legal aspects of hot-button public issues like Georgia's abortion law. Carlson will provide insight into some of the human dynamics that projected modern legal disputes into the news.

Last year marked the 40th anniversary of the publication of Michael Thurmond's book, A Story Untold: Black Men and Women in Athens History. The book details the valuable contributions by African-American men and women to Athens' rich history. An expanded version of the book was recently reissued by Athens Historical Society. There is currently renewed historical interest in the experiences and contributions of African-Americans in Athens, and we are honored that Mr. Thurmond will be here to discuss this important book.

Southern universities that were in existence before the Civil War were invariably built by enslaved people. And so it was that the origins of UGA were also bound up with the institution of slavery. Fred Smith Sr. will relate the painful events unfolding after the discovery of human remains during the renovation of Baldwin Hall in 2015. The story involves an ongoing and complex controversy among community members, various UGA faculty members, and the UGA administration. What steps have been and are being taken to promote healing and to honor those likely ancestors of current African American citizens of Athens? What remains to be done?