San Marcos — Junior and senior honors students at San Marcos Academy added some geography terms to their vocabulary recently as Dr. Brock Brown of Texas State University challenged them to think about the “cultural economy” and its sustainability over time.
“Each generation makes the decisions that will affect the future,” Brown said as he posed a key question: will there be enough resources for you, your family, your children and grandchildren and for the global economy-are we sustainable?
Brown went on to outline the various factors that affect the cultural economy, including energy, technology and the environment. He emphasized that young people today must do more than just learn information; they must be willing to step up and observe, identify problems and make creative solutions to the challenges that the future will present.
The inaugural speaker for the San Marcos Academy-Texas State University Distinguished Lecture Series, Brown is an award-winning professor in the university's Geography Department.
Dr. Richard Boehm, the Jesse H. Jones Distinguished Chair in Geographic Education and Director of the Gilbert M. Grosvenor Center for Geographic Education at Texas State University, was instrumental in establishing the lecture series, along with Academy President John Garrison and Principal Bob Bryant.
Four other geography professors are set to participate in the lecture series this spring. The next speaker will be Dr. Fred Day, who will speak about “Population Dynamics of Texas” on Feb. 16.
Additional topics are “Changes in Urban Form” by Dr. Kevin Romig on Feb. 23; “The Geography of the Holocaust” by Dr. Alberto Giordano on March 25; and “Disaster in Texas: The Dust Bowl of the 1930s” by Dr. Denise Blanchard on March 31.
Each of the lectures is scheduled in the school library.
The public is invited to attend the lectures, but because seating space is limited, call 753-8006 to reserve a space or for additional information.
