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Tour the four American cities that shaped Edgar Allan Poe’s career during the 1830s and 1840s: Richmond, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York. Dr. Scott Peeples will examine where Poe lived, why he moved, and how each city’s urban life influenced his writing, particularly The Man of the Crowd and The Murders in the Rue Morgue.

Peeples is professor of English at the College of Charleston and has been writing about Edgar Allan Poe for more than 30 years. His books include The Afterlife of Edgar Allan Poe and The Man of the Crowd: Edgar Allan Poe and the City. His most recent book is How Many Roads: A Life of Bob Dylan.

Please note: this live WebEx presentation will not be recorded.

Professor Kerry Soper explores why Gary Larson’s The Far Side sparked controversy when it upended the comics page in the 1980s, and how its weird humor won over readers and built a devoted fan base.

Soper is a professor in the Department of Comparative Arts and Letters at Brigham Young University. He writes about the history of comedy and satire in comic strips, television, film, and other popular media. His books include Garry Trudeau: Doonesbury and the Aesthetics of Satire; We Go Pogo: Walt Kelly, Politics, and American Satire; and Gary Larson and The Far Side.

Please note: this live WebEx presentation will not be recorded.

Discover how astronauts can grow fresh vegetables without gravity using recycled water in space. Learn about the unique challenges the Utah State University research team solved to make it possible.

Dr. Bruce Bugbee is a professor at Utah State University, founder of Apogee Instruments, and a researcher whose work focuses on space farming. After a decade of research, his research team designed and built an improved plant growth chamber for the International Space Station. Bugbee is well known for his work with NASA on farming in space and is studying food production for a future colony on Mars. He is a recipient of the Governor’s Medal for Science from the State of Utah and a fellow of both the Agronomy and Horticultural Societies. In 2015, he gave an invited TED Talk titled “Turning Water into Food.”

Please note: this live WebEx presentation will not be recorded.