Thursday Professional Lectures

Lectures are held at the Georgetown Family Center at 7:30pm on the 2011-2012 calendar dates shown below. The lectures are free and open to the public. On-street parking is available.

The Thursday Professional Lectures focus on the family as a natural system and on knowledge from the study of other natural systems. A distinctive feature of this meeting is the length of time the presenter is given to develop and illustrate ideas and entertain discussion.

For further information, contact the Thursday Lecture Series Coordinator, Keo Miller.

Check back with us during the summer for updates on the schedule for the coming year.

September 29, 2011
What is Resilience?
Louise Rauseo, RN, MS
Faculty, The Bowen Center

Most people recognize resilience when they see it – the ability to “bounce back” from adversity or hardship. Is resilience “hardwired” into a person or is it a relationship process? What factors increase resilience in a person or a family? This presentation will pose some questions about the research on resilience over the last thirty to forty years and suggest new ways of thinking about resilience in a person and in a family in light of Bowen theory.

December 1, 2011
Talking With Trauma: The Experience of Working with Returning Soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center
Edward Beal, MD
Faculty, The Bowen Center

This lecture will familiarize the audience with the soldier's experience, their reaction to trauma and describe what is being done for them medically and emotionally. The lecture will address principles from Bowen theory that help in hearing these stories. It also addresses what family characteristics make the soldier's experience more adaptive or less adaptive.

January 12, 2012
The Structure of Bowen Theory
Randall T. Frost, MDiv
Director of Training and Research, Living Systems

Dr. Bowen defined eight concepts, two main variables, two counterbalancing life forces, numerous subvariables and one key assumption that make up the structure of Bowen theory. This presentation will examine how their parts fit together to make a coherent whole and how developements in the life sciences—such as research on the stress response and epigenetics—fit into the structure of the theory.

February 9, 2012
How Haloarchaea (salt-loving bacteria) Adapt to Changes in Their Salt Composition: Genetic and Ecological Significance
Carol D. Litchfield, PhD
Professor Emeritus, Department of Biology, George Mason University

This presentation will provide an introduction to the halophilic Archaea: what makes them different and where they are found. This will be followed by a brief description of the origins of the two haloarchaea that are the primary subject of this presentation. Each of these microbes, Halorubrum californiense and Haloarcula sp., was tested to determine how they responded to changes in their salt composition/concentration. The up or down regulation of specific proteins/genes will be described.

March 15, 2012
The Relevance of Language Choices Negotiated by Parents and Children for the Survival of an Endangered Language
Gabriela Perez-Baez, PhD
Curator, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institute

San Lucas Quiaviní is a Zapotec community in Oaxaca, Mexico. Since the 1970s San Lucas has seen large scale migration to Los Angeles where about half the community resides. This presentation centers on the factors influencing parental language choices among migrants. With a substantial number of families settling or being raised in Los Angeles, family language planning is of relevance to the survival prospects of San Lucas Quiaviní Zapotec in the diaspora and the home community.

April 12, 2012
Neuroscience and the Bowen theory
Daniel V. Papero, PhD, MSW
Faculty, The Bowen Center

In the years since Bowen proposed his theory, research on the structures and functions of the human brain and nervous system, phenotypic plasticity, and the interplay between environment and the expression of genetic material has progressed rapidly. This broad area of research, generally referred to as neuroscience, incorporates the output of many disciplines from neurochemistry to experimental psychology. This talk will present an overview of some aspects of this broad area of research and their relevance to Bowen theory.

May 10, 2012
Anxiety, Addiction, and the Family
Anne S. McKnight, EdD, LCSW
Director, The Bowen Center

Dr. McKnight will discuss addiction as an outcome of an emotional process through which family anxiety is both generated and managed. She will address the reciprocal interactions of the family that lead to the progression of the addiction as well as the anxiety that is unleashed when an addicted member stops using drugs or alcohol. Some ideas of the multigenerational nature of addiction will be explored.

June 14, 2012
A Global Population of Seven Billion and More: How Do They Fare at Older Ages?
Irene Hoskins
President of the International Federation on Aging

The world is undergoing a profound demographic shift: the global population is aging rapidly as birth rates decline and advances in health care contribute to longevity. This presentation will include the main global demographic trends; compare approaches to health and social care in different parts of the world; and review the work of some major organizations working with and for older people.