Brownbrokers presents Leavittsburg, Ohio, an original musical by Nate Sloan ’09 - the latest completely student-written musical from the nearly century-old Brownbrokers group. Jane, one of Leavittsburg's favored daughters, escaped Ohio for her New York City Ivy League school. But when she brings her new boyfriend Jake home to visit for the first time, she starts to wonder if she might want to escape back home again. Shows run Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. in Stuart Theatre. See link for ticket information.

http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Theatre_Speech_Dance/performances/leavittsburg.html

Brown University Gilbert and Sullivan presents its fall show, The Gondoliers. This two-act operetta will be fully staged and orchestrated by Brown students. Performances run Friday at 8 p.m Saturday at 2 p.m and 8 p.m, and Sunday at 3 p.m. in Alumnae Hall. Admission is free.
http://www.brown.edu/Students/BUGS/

Medical anthropologist Alexander Rödlach of Creighton University will speak about how HIV/AIDS is a catastrophic health crisis with complex cultural dimensions. Explanations of where it comes from, who gets it, and who dies are tied to political agendas, religious beliefs, and the psychology of devastating grief. Rödlach shows how beliefs about witchcraft surrounding HIV/AIDS are an important element in Zimbabweans’ efforts to understand why someone has fallen ill with AIDS-related conditions, to offer hope for healing, and to appeal for help. The lecture takes place at the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology at Manning Hall on Brown University’s main green at 5:30 p.m., followed by a reception.

http://brown.edu/Facilities/Haffenreffer/

The Brown University Wind Symphony and Jazz Band will perform in the 23rd Annual Eric Adam Brudner ’84 Memorial Concert, under the direction of Matthew McGarrell. The concert features Icelandic saxophone virtuoso, Sigur∂ur Flosason. The music begins at 8 p.m. in the Salomon Center for Teaching, De Ciccio Family Auditorium.

http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Music/events/

The final session of the Levinger Lecture Series will address "Health Care Reform: What are the Politics?" Panelists include Dean of Medicine and Biological Sciences Edward Wing, Rep. Patrick Kennedy, and Vincent Mor, professor and chair of the Department of Community Health. Their discussion will begin at 3 p.m. in Andrews Hall, 211 Bowen St. 

Bruce Riedel '75, senior foreign policy fellow at the The Brookings Institution's Saban Center for Middle East Policy, will discuss "Obama's War: Finding the Right Strategy.” A former CIA officer, Riedel focuses on political transition, terrorism and conflict resolution. He was an adviser to three U.S. presidents on Middle Eastern and South Asian issues. At the request of President Barack Obama, he co-chaired an interagency review of policy toward Afghanistan and Pakistan for the White House that was completed in March 2009. His talk begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Joukowsky Forum, Watson Institute, 111 Thayer St.

http://www.watsoninstitute.org/events_detail.cfm?id=1442

Pulitzer-prize winning novelist Jhumpa Lahiri will open a two-day literary festival at Brown University titled “New Indian Writing: The Rising Generation.” Lahiri will read and discuss her work at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2009, in Salomon Center for Teaching, Room 001. The festival also features readings by authors Rana Dasgupta and Suketu Mehta and a panel discussion titled “New Indian Writing: The Megalopolis and the Writer.” This event is presented by Brown's Program in Literary Arts, the International Writers Project, and the Year of India. See link for full schedule.

http://news.brown.edu/pressreleases/2009/11/lahiri

"Capitalism Hits the Fan" chronicles one economist's growing alarm and insights as he watched, from 2005 onwards, the economic crisis build, burst, and then change the world. Richard Wolff, professor of economics emeritus at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, will discuss his analysis of how bad the crisis will be, how long it will last, its social effects, and the prospects for the U.S. government's efforts to propel an economic recovery. Hosted at Brown by the International Socialist Club, this event begins at 7 p.m. in List Art Center, Room 120.

The Cogut Center for the Humanities and the Malcolm S. Forbes Center for Research in Culture and Media Studies are collaborating to bring together three dozen leading scholars and practitioners in the field of new media to share their thoughts and projects under one roof. The result is a ground-breaking conference, titled "Animating Archives: Making New Media Matter," held in Brown's historic Pembroke Hall. See link for registration details.

http://www.brown.edu/Conference/animating/index.html

The Visual Art Department welcomes one of the art world’s most well known curators, Dan Cameron, to speak about his experiences as Executive Director and Chief Curator of Prospect.1 New Orleans. The international biennial brought together eighty-one artists from thirty-eight countries to present their work in twenty different locations throughout the city, celebrating the rich cultural history, architecture, art and music of New Orleans in an effort to revitalize the city after the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina. His talk begins at 4 p.m. in List Art Center, Room 120.