“Rethinking ‘World Literature’: from Goethe’s Idea to Harold Bloom’s The Western Canon” is the next installment of the President’s Lecture Series at UM.

Wladmimir Romuald Krysinski, professor of comparative literature at the University of Montreal, and adjunct research professor of comparative literature at Carleton University in Ottawa, will present the lecture at 8 p.m. Thursday, March 9, in the University Center Ballroom.

Earlier that day, from 3:40 to 5 p.m., Krysinski will give a seminar titled “The Novel: The Survival of the Fittest” in Gallagher Business Building Room 122.

Both events are free and open to the public.

Krysinski, who speaks or reads 11 languages, is one of the foremost international specialists in world and comparative literatures. His teaching fields and expertise cover French, Polish, Russian, Italian and Spanish literature of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, as well as modern and postmodern theater and literary theory.

In the evening lecture, Krysinski will discuss changing conceptions of literature from Goethe’s time to our own.

UM will host the annual International Culture and Food Festival from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, March 12, at the University Center.

The theme for this year’s festival, which is organized by UM’s International Student Association and the Office of Foreign Student and Scholar Services, is “A Day in the Global Village.” Admission to the event is $1 and the public is invited.

The festival begins with a parade of flags and includes a food bazaar, table displays, culture show and Children’s World. The event is intended to showcase cultures from around the world, as well as promote acceptance and appreciation of cultural differences.

About 20 booths in the UC Atrium will feature authentic recipes from countries such as Estonia, China, Mexico, Indonesia, Greece, Finland, Cambodia, Africa and the United States. Dishes are priced from 50 cents to $3, and hungry guests are advised to come early, because the food goes fast.

The culture show will offer nearly two dozen traditional performances throughout the day in the UC Ballroom. Display booths will present literature, maps, art and photographs from the individual countries.

Children’s World will be on the second floor in the UC Commons and will offer events and activities especially designed for kids.

Sarah Halvorson, UM associate professor of geography, has been awarded the 2006 McColl Family Fellowship by the American Geographical Society.

The fellowship, funded by Dr. and Mrs. Robert W. McColl, covers airfare to anywhere in the world to conduct research that results in an article suitable for publication in the AGS magazine FOCUS on Geography.

Halvorson plans to spend three months in Northern Pakistan making field visits to 10 mountain villages to assess the impact of the recent cataclysmic South Asian earthquake.

She will travel overland from Islamabad to villages accessible from Muzaffarabad, the capital of Azad Kashmir, and Gilgit, the regional capital of the Northern Areas, to explore challenges the wide-scale destruction brought to local response and recovery efforts.

Halvorson, who is competent in Urdu, will draw on extensive contacts with local guides and families that she made while doing research in the area from 1994 to 1998.

The UM School of Law will host its 23rd installment of the Blankenbaker Lectures on Professional Responsibility at noon, Tuesday, March 7, in the law building’s Castles Center.

Leif B. “Bart” Erickson, a magistrate judge for Montana’s U.S. District Court, will present “To See Ourselves as Others See Us.” A reception will follow his speech in the Pope Room.

The event is free and open to the public, and Continuing Legal Education credits are available.

A Helena native, Erickson earned his law degree from UM in 1967. He served as district judge in the 11th Judicial District for Montana until his appointment to the federal bench in 1992.

Erickson is a member of the Montana Bar Association, and he volunteers on the School of Law’s Board of Visitors, the Criminal Procedure Commission, the UM Alumni Board and numerous charitable organizations.

The lecture series takes its name from Joseph N. Blankenbaker, a longtime Montana banker.

More than 400 students from 18 Montana high schools will be at UM Friday, March 10, for the 24th annual Foreign Languages and Literatures Days event.

Foreign Languages and Literatures Days is designed to introduce Montana high school students to the UM campus and to the University’s Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures.

While at UM, the students will choose from a wide selection of cultural and academic offerings involving 10 languages: Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Greek, Latin, Persian, Russian, Spanish and Japanese. The event’s presentations include history, music, dance, cinema and art.

A highlight of the event is a luncheon with an international menu where students can meet UM faculty members and administration. The speaker for this year’s luncheon is James McKusick, dean of UM’s Davidson Honors College.

A primary goal of the annual event is to introduce the students to college-level classes. They also will learn about study-abroad career opportunities that are available to students who major or minor in foreign languages at the University.

A prominent musician and a talented actor/singer/playwright will headline the sixth-annual Odyssey of the Stars — A Celebration of Artistic Journeys at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 8, in the University Theatre.

Performing artist Gary Herbig ’69 and actor Dennis Kozeluh ’82 will return to the UM stage during the event, which raises money for UM’s School of Fine Arts scholarship fund. Odyssey of the Stars showcases fine arts alumni who have gone on to successful careers.

Herbig, a Billboard Top-10 jazz artist, is one of the most successful studio musicians in the business today. An accomplished soloist on all woodwind instruments, he has toured and recorded with such superstars as Tower of Power, David Benoit, Elvis Presley, Donna Summer, Herbie Hancock and George Benson. He played the clarinet solo on the theme song for the TV program “Cheers” and the bluesy sax on “Roseanne.”

Kozeluh, a bass-baritone, has performed on musical, operatic and theatrical stages for more than 20 years. Living and performing in Vienna since 1983, he has appeared in more than 60 productions, including “Phantom of the Opera,” “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” “The Rocky Horror Show” and “Mozart.” He has performed lead roles in “Anything Goes,” “Sweeney Todd,” “Evita,” “Jungle Book” and “Footloose.”

For information about sponsoring the Odyssey of the Stars or to purchase tickets, call (406) 243-4971.

After transferring to UM this January, sophomore Stan Pretty Paint missed singing, a traditional practice he’s done all his life.

When he attended Little Big Horn College on the Crow Agency Reservation, there were a variety of different groups available -- but none at UM, until now.

The American Indian singing group he’s established at UM has met three times thus far, Pretty Paint said, and has held practices with Hellgate High School singing groups. Students who wish to practice and perform their cultural songs are welcome to attend, as well as those without any experience.

On Feb. 24, the group performed at the opening ceremonies of the Kyi-Yo basketball tournament.

The group, which has been endorsed by American Indian Student Services and the Office of Student Affairs, meets Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m. in the basement of the Native American Studies Building.

The UM School of Education recently held a reception to present its 2006 Partnership Awards.

The awards recognize individuals and programs in the community that consistently provide mentoring to education students through various field experiences.

The annual event provides individuals and community programs public recognition for their support. The Partnership Award acknowledges the important role each program or individual has in helping to prepare UM students for professional careers.

This year’s award recipients are: the English departments at Big Sky, Hellgate and Sentinel high schools; Mike Rankin, fitness director at the Missoula Courthouse Sports and Fitness Club; and Greg Oliver, a school counselor at Paxson Elementary School.

Also presented was the 2006 Outstanding Educational Leadership Award to Mary Sheehy Moe, dean of Montana State University’s Great Falls College of Technology.

A trip through the stairwell of UM’s School of Education building is a lot more interesting than it used to be.

The stairwell walls of the second and third floors now have colorful quilts hanging on them. A third quilt also will soon be hung in the stairwell.

The quilts were donated by Don Wattam, a School of Education alum and adjunct faculty member. Wattam created the quilts himself exclusively for the school’s stairwells.

Missoula Mayor John Engen will speak at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 9, in UM’s Gallagher Business Building Room 106.

The topic of Engen’s presentation is the importance of interest in local government.

Engen’s goal is to strengthen the relationship between students and Missoula residents and to encourage people to become involved in local community government, student organizers say. The mayor will answer questions from the audience after his presentation.

The event is free and open to the public.

Senior guard Kevin Criswell scored 19 of his game-high 24 points in the second half to lead UM to a 68-46 win over Eastern Washington Feb. 23 in Cheney, Wash.

The Griz were down 26-20 at the half but rallied back to score 48 second-half points on 22-of-34 shooting for the win.

The Griz didn’t fare as well Feb. 25 in Portland, Ore., as the Vikings withstood second-half and overtime scoring surges from Montana for a 93-92 victory.

Montana dropped to 9-4 in Big Sky Conference play and 20-6 overall, but secured a second-place finish in the regular-season standings.

On Monday, Feb. 28, redshirt freshman forward Jordan Hasquet scored a career-high 30 points to lead the hosting Grizzlies to a 96-83 Big Sky Conference victory over the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks.

Despite Montana’s win in what was a battle between the top two conference teams, NAU won the regular-season Big Sky Conference Championship by virtue of its 12-2 win-loss record.

UM has earned a semifinal berth in the league’s post-season tournament Tuesday, March 7, in NAU’s Walkup Skydome in Flagstaff. The Griz play the highest remaining seed at 5 p.m. that day.

The championship game at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday will be shown live on ESPN2.

The Montana women's basketball team jumped out to a quick 16-3 lead Feb. 23 and never trailed in a 79-54 Big Sky Conference victory over Eastern Washington.

Sophomore Dana Conway led five Lady Griz players in double figures with 17 points. Other players scoring double digits were senior Jody McLeod with 15, freshman Mandy Morales with 13, and senior Katie Edwards and freshman Sonya Rogers with 11 each. Morales had her second double-double of the season, dishing out a season-high 10 assists. She also matched a season high with five steals.

UM won its sixth straight game on Feb. 25 with an 89-77 victory over Portland State University at Dahlberg Arena, moving into a tie for first place in the Big Sky Conference. It also was the Lady Griz’s 20th win of the season, which they’ve done 24 times in coach Robin Selvig’s 28 seasons.

The team improved to 20-5 overall, 9-3 in league play. Montana is tied atop the Big Sky standings with Idaho State, both at 9-3 in league play.

UM ends the regular season Saturday night at Weber State.