Expert Alert
May 2006

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The DaVinci Code
May 19, 2006

Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene, they had children together, and their descendants still walk the earth today. That is the premise of Dan Brown’s best-selling novel ‘The DaVinci Code’ and the movie by Ron Howard that opens in theaters everywhere today. University of Minnesota experts who can talk about the DaVinci Code are:

Jeanne Kilde, Institute for Advanced Study, University of Minnesota
Kilde has taught extensively on religion in America, and she has lectured on the DaVinci Code for a number of organizations. She can speak to Dan Brown's commingling of verifiable historical information on the real person, Mary Magdalene, a contemporary and disciple of Jesus, and the popular legends about her that arose in the Medieval period. She can also discuss the ways in which the DaVinci Code taps into popular interests about early Christianity and its relationship to contemporary religious thought and practice, in particular the role of the divine feminine in the book.

Michael Gaudio, Department of Art History, University of Minnesota
Gaudio is an assistant professor in the U's art history department, and he is an expert in the visual culture of early modern Europe and the Americas. Whether it is the Vitruvian Man, the Mona Lisa, the Last Supper, or Madonna of the Rocks, Gaudio can comment on all these DaVinci pieces mentioned in the DaVinci Code.

To interview Kilde or Gaudio, contact Asim Dorovic at (612) 624-0214 or dorovic@umn.edu.

Medicare Part D
May 11, 2006

The sign-up period for Medicare Part D ends on May 15, and policymakers and consumers will begin to assess the implementation of this new prescription drug benefit. What is Medicare's larger financial and political future? What are the upcoming challenges facing Medicare and near-retirees? University of Minnesota experts who can talk about Medicare Part D:

Lawrence Jacobs, professor at the U’s Humphrey Institute for Public Affairs
Jacobs is an expert on health care policy, and he can speak about the history of Medicare and American health policy. Jacobs can also offer analysis on the political implications of the success or failure of Medicare Part D. Lawrence R. Jacobs is the Walter F. and Joan Mondale Chair for Political Studies and director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance at the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. He also is a professor in the University of Minnesota’s Department of Political Science.

To interview Jacobs, contact Asim Dorovic at (612) 624-0214 or dorovic@umn.edu.

Sigmund Freud's 150th Birthday
May 4 , 2006

This Saturday is Sigmund Freud’s 150th birthday. The work of this highly influential psychologist, who was often referred to as the “Father of Psychoanalysis,” has been both a source for reverence as well as controversy in today’s academic circles. University of Minnesota experts who can discuss Freud are:

Auke Tellegen, retired professor of psychology, University of Minnesota
Tellegen’s area of expertise includes personality research and assessment. When it comes to Freud, she can speak to the science and psychology of Freud's time.

Madelon Sprengnether, professor of English at the University of Minnesota
Sprengnether is a professor at the U’s English department and author of “The Spectral Mother: Freud, Feminism, and Psychoanalysis.” Sprengnether’s research looks at Freud and feminist psychoanalytic criticism. She can also talk about Freud's theories and written works.

To interview Tellegen or Sprengnether, contact Asim Dorovic at (612) 624-0214 or dorovic@umn.edu.

'A Day Without immigrants'
May 1 , 2006

Today, millions are expected to boycott jobs, schools and businesses as a way to show the economic power of immigrants. The rally, dubbed “A Day Without Immigrants,” is expected to draw millions more than in previous years because of a proposed congressional bill that would make illegal immigrants felons. University of Minnesota faculty who can comment on the issue of immigration are:

Donna Gabaccia, professor of history and director of the Imigration History Research Center
As the director of the IHRS, Gabaccia’s expertise lies heavily in the area of immigration history and international migration. She can also comment on immigrant life in the United States and how immigrants change mainstream society. Gabaccia can also put U.S. immigration history in global and comparative perspective.

Katherine Fennelly, professor at the U's Humphrey Institute for Public Affairs
Fennelly's areas of expertise include immigration and public policy as well as diversity and cross-cultural relations. Her research and outreach interests also include human rights of immigrants and refugees in the United States.

Erika Lee, associate professor of history at the U
Lee's research and teaching focus on immigration and 20th century U.S. history. She has published widely on the topic of defining the United States as a “nation of immigrants” and a “gate-keeping nation.” She argues that this definition “has never been more true than in the twenty-first century. Immigrants continue to be at the center of changes in American society, politics, economy, and culture. And immigration laws and policies continue to figure prominently in changing ideologies of national identity, citizenship, and race, as well as technologies of national security and border control.”

Louis Mendoza, associate professor and chair of the department of Chicano studies
Mendoza's research interests include Chicano literary and cultural studies and U.S. immigration literature.

To interview any of the experts above, contact Asim Dorovic at (612) 624-0214 or dorovic@umn.edu.