KINGSTON, R.I. – September 22, 2008 – A University of Rhode Island climate scientist and a film professor will examine the science and the art of Hollywood movies that feature nightmare narratives as part of URI’s annual fall Honors Colloquium.

Free and open to the public, the discussion will be held Sept. 30 at 7:30 p.m. in Edwards Auditorium on URI’s Kingston Campus.

The 2008 Honors Colloquium, “People and Planet: Global Environmental Change,” explores human-caused global change, its consequences and potential responses through a series of lectures, films, exhibits and a cabaret. Weekly events run through Dec. 9.

Kate Moran and Tom Zorabedian will show clips from The Day the Earth Stood Still, Soylent Green, Water World, and The Day After Tomorrow and discuss their relative merits through their respective lenses.

Moran, associate dean of the URI Graduate School of Oceanography, is a geological oceanographer who co-led the only scientific drilling expedition to the Arctic Ocean to gain insight into how Earth’s climate has changed over millions of years so present and future climate changes can be better understood. She has participated in research expeditions around the world, including Africa and the Indian Ocean.

Zorabedian teaches in the URI Film Media and Communication Studies programs. He has also worked as a film critic for several publications and as an independent film and video producer. His doctoral work at Boston University examined the cultural importance and impact of film.

The next Honors Colloquium event, “Human Transformation of the Americas Before Columbus,” will feature journalist Charles Mann, author of 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, questioning the conventional understanding of the human impact on the Americas before Europeans arrived. The lecture will take place Oct. 7 at 7:30 p.m.

The major sponsors of the 2008 Honors Colloquium are the G. Unger Vetlesen Foundation, the URI Office of the President, the URI Honors Program, the URI Graduate School of Oceanography and the College of Arts and Sciences. Additional support came from the Thomas Silvia and Shannon Chandley Honors Colloquium Endowment, the Mark and Donna Ross Honors Colloquium Humanities Endowment, the deans of the remaining URI colleges, the offices of the URI vice presidents, the EPA Atlantic Ecology Division and Rhode Island Sea Grant.

For further details about the colloquium, including an updated schedule and information on parking, go to www.uri.edu/hc or contact the URI Honors Center at 401-874-2381 or debg@uri.edu.