Political Art and the Public Sphere presents "The End of Suburbia" film screening and discussion

WHAT: The Political Art and the Public Sphere (PAPS) series at the University of Illinois Springfield presents a screening of the film The End of Suburbia: Oil Depletion & the Collapse of the American Dream. The film will be followed by a discussion moderated by Stefano Longo, assistant professor of Environmental Studies at UIS.

WHEN: Monday, February 28, 2011 at 6 p.m.

WHERE: Brookens Auditorium on the lower level of Brookens Library at UIS

DETAILS: Since World War II North Americans invested much of their newfound wealth in suburbia. It promised a sense of space, affordability, family life and upward mobility. As the population of suburban sprawl has exploded in the past 50 years, so too has the suburban way of life become embedded in the American consciousness. Suburbia, and all it promises, has become the American Dream. But in the 21st century, serious questions are beginning to emerge about the sustainability of this way of life.

The End of Suburbia explores the American way of life and its prospects as the planet approaches a critical era, as global demand for fossil fuels begins to outstrip supply.

Are today’s suburbs destined to become the slums of tomorrow? What can be done now, individually and collectively, to avoid The End of Suburbia?

Stefano Longo will guest moderate each session in the spring 2011 semester. Longo, who helped to curate the program for the spring 2011 series, earned his Ph.D. in Sociology at the University of Oregon in 2009. His expertise is in the areas of environmental sociology, political economy, and social theory. His research focuses on the global food system, examining the intersection of environmental and social processes in the context of food production, consumption, and distribution.

The PAPS series is a monthly event on the UIS campus featuring a showing or a performance of some kind of “political art,” followed by an hour or two of group discussion. Each of the installments in the spring 2011 series will provide a look at critical perspectives on ecology and environmental crisis.

For more information contact Dr. Richard Gilman-Opalsky, professor of Political Philosophy at rgilm3@uis.edu or 217/206-8328.