Harrisonburg speaker series to discuss 2024 presidential election, gene editing, more

Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community in Harrisonburg has booked its Shenandoah Valley Lyceum speakers for the fall and spring.

This year’s speaker series includes topics ranging from the upcoming presidential election to the ethics of gene editing.

All events take place at 7 p.m. in the Detwiler Auditorium at VMRC.

Tickets are $8 in advance and $10 at the door. Season tickets for all four events are available for $25, and a lifetime pass can be purchased for $100.

For more information, call (540) 574-3850.

2024-25 lineup

Sept. 6: J. Miles Coleman

Coleman is the associate director of Sabato’s Crystal Ball. At the University of Virginia, Coleman is renowned for his expertise in analyzing campaigns, scrutinizing detailed election returns and providing accurate political forecasts. He’ll share a comprehensive overview of the upcoming 2024 presidential election and Congressional elections. Coleman will also discuss key trends shaping the American electorate.

Oct. 18: Marie Engle and Mary Castello

Engle, a mezzo-soprano and doctoral student at Northwestern University and Castello, a collaborative pianist at Acadia University, will perform two masterworks of the art song repertoire: Robert Schumann’s Dichterliebe (poetry by Heinrich Heine) and Gabriel Faure’s La bonne chanson (poetry by Paul Verlaine). Both song cycles present voice and piano, and word and music as equal partners in the stories they tell.

Nov. 1: Dr. James C. Peterson

Peterson, a Schumann Professor Emeritus of Ethics at Roanoke College and a faculty member at the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, has been a research fellow in molecular and clinical genetics. He authored “Changing Human Nature: Ecology, Ethics, Genes, and God.” Peterson will give a first-hand account of how geneticists across the world have been meeting to discern the best use of gene editing for healing and enhancing humans.

March 21: Dr. Christina Richieri Griffin

Griffin, an assistant professor at the University of Virginia Department of English, will discuss Jane Austen’s life and works — what we know and don’t know — and how Austen became the cultural touchstone she is today.