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The Howard Beers Lecture honors the late sociology professor Howard Beers and is one of several activities supported by the Howard Beers Achievement Fund.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 17, 2005) -- Two distinguished visiting scholars, including a University of Kentucky alumnus, will give lectures hosted by the Department of Sociology April 13 and April 20.

Alessandro Bonanno, professor and chair of the Department of Sociology at Sam Houston State University, will give the Thomas R. Ford Distinguished Alumni Lecture at 2 p.m. April 13 in the President’s Room of the UK Singletary Center for the Arts. Bonanno, a 1985 UK alumnus, will give a lecture titled “The Contradictions of Globalization: Hyper-Mobility of Capital and Democracy.” This event is free and open to the public.

“Since earning his doctorate at the University of Kentucky, Alessandro Bonanno has devoted 20 years to developing a respected body of work that speaks to important issues in the economy, the food production, and the future of democracy in the context of globalization,” said James Hougland, professor and acting chair of the UK Department of Sociology. “His lecture will provide important insights regarding the increasingly complex relationship between the state and transnational corporations.”

Established in 1977, University of Kentucky Sociology Department Thomas R. Ford Distinguished Alumni Award is given to doctorial alumni who have distinguished themselves in a sociological career.

The Department of Sociology, in conjunction with the UK College of Agriculture Department of Community and Leadership Development, will also host the Howard Beers Lecture at 2 p.m. April 20 in the President’s Room of the Singletary Center for the Arts. Charles C. Ragin, professor of sociology and political science at the University of Arizona, will give a lecture titled “How to Lure Analytic Social Science Out of the Doldrums.”

The Howard Beers Lecture honors the late sociology professor Howard Beers and is one of several activities supported by the Howard Beers Achievement Fund. First presented in 1996, the lecture series is jointly administered by the Department of Sociology and the College of Agriculture Department of Community and Leadership Development.