By DR. DAVID MATHEWS

Southwestern Michigan College recognizes that learning doesn’t just happen in the classroom. Studying together, meeting new friends, trying new activities and being part of an active community of learners are part of the total college life experience.

That is the motivation behind SMC’s Academic Lecture Series. Notable speakers in the series have included independent filmmaker and Northwestern University professor Debra Tolchinsky, who premiered her award-winning film “Fast Talk” at SMC. The documentary followed the Northwestern University’s debate team in its pursuit of its second consecutive championship. The film examined the art of modern debate and why debaters now talk so fast, making their arguments unintelligible to the non-debate audience.

Also, Jeffrey Hall, assistant professor in communication studies at the University of Kansas and a consultant for eHarmony, spoke on non-verbal ways we communicate with each other.
Earlier this summer, Patrick Corbett, a former member of the Michigan Attorney General’s Office and who teaches at Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Lansing, gave a riveting presentation on cybercrimes.

Last week, long-time Michigan political journalist Tim Skubick spoke on the 2012 election. Skubick’s Election 2012 Town Hall Series provided an interactive, informative forum for students.

Next up, on Oct. 18, Brendan Riley will talk on “Why You Should Care about the Living Dead.” Riley, an associate professor of English at Columbia College Chicago, is a zombie scholar who uses examples from zombie films, comics and literature to chart the history and philosophy of the walking dead.

Richard Warner will speak on “The End of the World as We Know It? Mayan Conceptions of Time and Space” on Nov. 8. Warner, an associate professor of history at Wabash College, has made several class research trips to Mayan archaeological sites, where he and his students have studied the connections between Mayan buildings, codices and astronomical knowledge.

Through the Academic Lecture Series, we are providing an educational and cultural experience to students that will expand their knowledge of the world around them … taking them far beyond the classroom. If you would like to learn why zombies have become so popular, or if you would like to learn about the end of the world, a limited number of tickets are available to the general public for these lectures. To check availability and make a reservation, call 782-1280.