East Central University Professor of Political Science and Chair of the Department of Political Science and Legal Studies Dr. Christine Pappas will give a talk on the death penalty in Oklahoma entitled “Oklahoma’s Legacy of Tinkering with the Machinery of Death” at 6:30 p.m., Monday, Aug. 29.
A screening of the National Theatre Live production of “Hangmen” will follow at 7:30 p.m. The event is open to the public and will take place in the Estep Multimedia Center of Bill S. Cole University Center on the ECU campus. The talk is free and open to the public. The screening is $5 for ECU students with ID and $10 general admission.
Pappas is a licensed attorney and has served as the president of the Pontotoc County Bar Association. She worked with a team of ECU professors – Dr. Michael Copeland and Mr. Tom Parr – in preparing an interim study on the death penalty for the Oklahoma House of Representatives. She consulted in writing Oklahoma’s law that added nitrogen gas to the list of methods of execution. She appeared on “The Rachel Maddow Show” to speak on the subject of the death penalty in Oklahoma.
Pappas’ areas of specialty include judicial politics, civil rights and liberties and women in politics. She is the author of a number of book chapters and has been published in Social Sciences Quarterly, PS, and The Journal of Political Science Education. She has received two Teaching Excellence Awards from ECU and was named an Oklahoma DaVinci Fellow for innovations in teaching.
The National Theatre Live production “Hangmen” is the winner of the 2016 Olivier Award for Best New Play and Best Set Design. The Sunday Times called it “[g]ripping, funny, and dramatically tense.” In his small pub in the northern English town of Oldham, Harry (David Morrissey – The Walking Dead, State of Play) is something of a local celebrity. But what's the second-best hangman in England to do on the day they've abolished hanging? Come to ECU to see what the Daily Telegraph called, “the best new play of the year.”
ECU SCREENS will present five different Royal National Theater recorded-live stage performances, including Hangmen, throughout the fall semester. The screenings, which range from classic literary masterpieces to popular contemporary works, are all open to the public. Tickets are available at the door for $10 per person or $5 for students (with ID) unless otherwise noted.
Here is a look at the fall season:
*“Frankenstein” – Back by popular demand, “Frankenstein” will screen Thursday, Oct. 27 at 7:30 p.m. This thrilling production features Benedict Cumberbatch (BBC’s Sherlock, The Imitation Game) and Jonny Lee Miller (CBS’s Elementary, Trainspotting). Come at 6:30 to see ECU professors participate in Humanities vs. the Sciences Iron Cage Match. Frankenstein contains mature themes and is not suitable for children.
*“Hamlet” – This encore screening of “Hamlet” will take place Wednesday, Nov. 16 at 2 p.m. Academy Award® nominee Benedict Cumberbatch (BBC’s Sherlock, The Imitation Game) takes on the title role of Shakespeare’s great tragedy. Forced to avenge his father’s death but paralyzed by the task ahead, Hamlet rages against the impossibility of his predicament, threatening both his sanity and the security of the state.
*“The Deep Blue Sea” – Helen McCrory returns to the National Theatre in this devastating masterpiece Tuesday, Nov. 29 at 7:30 p.m. When Hester Collyer is found by her neighbors in the aftermath of a failed suicide attempt, the story of her tempestuous affair with a former RAF pilot and the breakdown of her marriage to a High Court judge begins to emerge. Come at 6:30 to see an informational presentation by Active Minds, a mental health awareness student organization.
*”War Horse” – An international smash hit, capturing the imagination of millions of people around the world, will screen Wednesday, Dec. 21 at 2 p.m. Based on Michael Morpurgo’s novel and adapted for the stage by Nick Stafford, “War Horse” takes audiences on an extraordinary journey from the fields of rural Devon to the trenches of First World War France.
-ECU-