Jun 23
Stray Cat Film Center Kansas City, MO
TicketsLee Dugatkin
Evolutionary Biologist and Historian of Science, Professor, University of Louisville
The Secret of NIMH— Mousery: a Celebrated Scientist, a Rodent Dystopia, and the Future of Humanity
Program Description
A groundbreaking scientist and his controversial work, using rodent cities—rodentopias—to identify and examine the potential catastrophes that might befall human overpopulation... and the film his work inspired.
Film Synopsis
To save her ill son, a field mouse must seek the aid of a mysterious colony of rats, with whom she has a deeper link than she ever suspected.
Mrs. Brisby (Elizabeth Hartman), a widowed mouse, must move her children out of their home in a field before the local farmer starts plowing. Unable to leave because her son is ill, Mrs. Brisby seeks the help of nearby rats, who have heightened intelligence after being the subjects of scientific experiments. She receives an unexpected gift from the elder rat, Nicodemus (Derek Jacobi). Soon Mrs. Brisby is caught in a conflict among the rats, jeopardizing her mission to save her family.
About the Speaker
Dr. Dugatkin is an evolutionary biologist and a historian of science in the Department of Biology at the University of Louisville.He has lectured about his research and books at more than 175 venues around the world, including in New Zealand, Australia, Mongolia, Cuba, Russia, Romania, Turkey, The Czech Republic, Croatia, Taiwan, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, and many other countries. He is the author of seventeen books and more than 200 articles, in such journals as Nature, The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and The Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, and also a contributing author to Scientific American, The American Scientist, The New Scientist and The Washington Post. The New York Times Book Review called Dr. Dugatkin's book, How to Tame a Fox and Build a Dog, "Sparkling... A story that is part science, part Russian fairy tale, and part spy thriller… it may serve — particularly now — as a parable of the lessons that can emerge from unfettered science, if we have the courage to let it unfold.” Forbes Magazine describes Dr. Dugatkin's book, Dr. Calhoun's Mousery: The Strange Tale of a Celebrated Scientist, a Rodent Dystopia, and the Future of Humanity as “A compelling biography about a groundbreaking scientist and his controversial work, using rodent cities—rodentopias—to identify and examine the potential catastrophes that might befall human overpopulation. . . . Dugatkin does an excellent job of investigating, documenting and writing about Dr. Calhoun’s life and work. . . . Drawing on previously unpublished archival research and interviews with Calhoun’s family and former colleagues, Dugatkin offers a riveting account of an intriguing scientific figure. Considering Dr. Calhoun’s experiments, he explores the changing nature of scientific research and delves into what the study of animal behavior can teach us about ourselves.” The Wall Street Journal, in their review Dr. Dugatkin's book Power in the Wild: The Subtle and Not-So-Subtle Ways Animals Strive for Control over Others, describes it as “Scrupulously scientific but highly accessible. . . . A stunningly provocative reflection.”