Profs and Pints Meetup-Metro DC

Profs and Pints Northern Virginia presents: “A Scientific Plunge into Ocean Movies,” a marine biologist’s fact-check of Jaws and other films set in the sea, with Chris Parsons, associate professor in the Centre for Ecology and Conservation at Exeter University and former director of the environmental science program at George Mason University.

[Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/profsandpints/ocean-movies .]

The underwater environment has long been a setting in science-fiction and fantasy movies as well as thrillers like Jaws. But how well do the premises underlying such films hold up when subjected to deep scientific scrutiny?

Join Chris Parsons, a science podcaster and marine-life expert who has given excellent Profs and Pints talks based on his research, for an informative and often-amusing look at how well various ocean movies hold up when we peer beneath their surface at what’s known about water and aquatic life. He’ll look at where they got the science right as well as where they got it very, very wrong, and how they hold up when compared to the actual observations and experiences of those who have worked (and even lived) underwater.

If you have ever contemplated how fast Aquaman actually might be able to swim or wondered how many humpback whales could fit into a Klingon spaceship, this talk is for you.

We’ll go back 150 years to look at Jules Verne’s science-fiction classic Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas as well as the 1954 Disney film based on it. You’ll learn how Verne took care to base much of his novel on fact and proved somewhat prescient in his predictions related to ocean science, but also made assertions that don’t hold water.

From there we’ll dive into movies such as Aquaman, The Abyss, Underwater, Avatar 2, and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, harpooning their scientific fallacies while giving them credit for scientific truth where it’s due. We’ll talk about the actual size of prehistoric Megalodons like the one depicted in The Meg and whether huge sharks possibly could lurk in the Mariana Trench.

Interested in learning about all of the scientific flaws in Jaws, now 50 years old? Chief Brody would say, “We’re going to need a bigger beer.” (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. The talk starts 30 minutes later.)

Image: From a poster advertising the 1907 silent film Under the Seas, a Georges Méliès parody of Jules Verne’s classic novel.

Profs and Pints DC presents: “The Vikings of Legend," with Jill Fitzgerald, associate professor of English at the United States Naval Academy and scholar of medieval literature including Viking myths and sagas.

[Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/profsandpints/dc-vikings .]

Vikings are getting a lot of attention these days thanks to contemporary portrayals of them in popular movies and television shows such as The Northman, Vikings: Valhalla, and The Last Kingdom. But who were the Vikings, really?

Learn surprising things about the medieval world and the Vikings who lived and moved in it with the help of Dr. Jill Fitzgerald, who teaches courses on medieval languages and literature at the U.S. Naval Academy.

To enhance our understanding of Vikings she’ll discuss the stories passed down through medieval Iceland sagas of three famous ones:

While Hollywood portrays Vikings as very social creatures, Grettir Ármundson existed as an infamous outlaw and eventually became exiled to the extreme fringe of the Arctic circle. To top off his tough reputation, he was said to have battled the undead.

Skarpheðinn Njálsson lived a violent and tragic life that coincided with the period that saw the first Viking conversions to Christianity and abandonments of their ancient pagan ways.
Egil Skallagrímsson was famed for being a terrifying berserker who served a powerful English king as protector and warrior. What he probably was best remembered for, however, was not his impressive resume of violence but his incredible poetic talents, which at least once saved his life.

To round out the talk, Professor Fitzgerald will talk about an exciting Viking artifact—produced in Norway during Egil’s lifetime—that found its way to Annapolis in the 1950s and is currently housed at the Naval Academy. The oldest weapon in the Academy’s collections, its past was a mystery until now.

You’ll emerge from this talk with a better understanding of the medieval world, our sources of knowledge concerning Vikings, and how sagas and archaeology occasionally intertwine. (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. The talk starts 30 minutes later.)

Image: Part of a painting of Viking ships on the River Thames by 19th century artist Everhardus Koster.

Profs and Pints Northern Virginia presents: “An Evening with Jack the Ripper,” your chance to become familiar with a mysterious killer, with Luxx Mishou, Victorianist, scholar of Jack the Ripper, and former instructor at the U.S. Naval Academy and area community colleges.

[Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/profsandpints/nv-jack-the-ripper .]

In 1888 England was gripped by an “Autumn of Terror” as a wave of shocking and brutal murders took place in Whitechapel, a district in London’s East End. In crowded streets, busy neighborhoods, and lodgings with thin walls, at least five women were ferociously – yet seemingly silently – attacked, their remains left in public spaces to be found by their neighbors. Bold headlines and gruesome illustrations covered the front pages of English newspapers, some of which received “gifts” and confessional letters from a culprit who was never caught or officially named.

For decades historians and Ripperologists have tried to pinpoint who this mysterious killer could have been. Among the curious is Luxx Mishou, a Victorian era and gender studies scholar, who has spent years scouring historical accounts and nineteenth-century newspapers that traced the movements of England’s most notorious, and mysteriously elusive, serial killer.

Join Dr. Mishou at Sterling’s Crooked Run Fermentation for a trip back in time to discuss the infamous Jack the Ripper case. She’ll talk about what really happened in Whitechapel and what Victorian journalists and newspapers knew, tackling the question of whether the sensational press coverage surrounding the murders helped or actually hindered the search for a perpetrator.

She’ll also discuss what the London public thought of the monster lurking in their midst and why we’re still obsessed with this whodunit over 30 years later.

Finally, we’ll tackle the biggest question of all: Who was Jack the Ripper? Dr. Mishou believes her research has left her ready to point to the killer. (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. The talk starts 30 minutes later.)

Image: A wanted poster published in connection with the Whitechapel murders.

Profs and Pints DC presents: “The Fight Against Voter Suppression,” on past efforts to disenfranchise marginalized populations and ways to combat new threats to fair democracy, with Jatia Wrighten, assistant professor of political science at Virginia Commonwealth University and scholar of Black representation in state legislatures.

[Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/profsandpints/dc-voter-suppression .]

In today’s fast-moving world, understanding how your vote fits into the bigger picture isn’t just smart. It’s also powerful. Learn how voting trends and debates over voting rights are shaping the future of our country with Jatia Wrighten, whose research focuses on Black women, state legislatures, and leadership.

Professor Wrighten will start with an overview of the history of voter suppression, discussing the three primary ways in which African Americans and other marginalized groups have been disenfranchised: poll taxes, literacy tests, and “grandfather clauses” perpetuating past generations’ unequal access to the vote.

Then we’ll look at the present and how voting laws are quickly changing. We’ll focus on citizens, non-citizens, and other demographic groups would be affected by the proposed SAVE (Safeguard American Voter Eligibility) Act requiring those registering to vote to show documentary proof of U.S. citizenship.

From there Dr. Wrighten will discuss who is actually showing up at the polls and why it matters. She’ll examine voting rates among various populations in the 2024 presidential election and how Trump appeared to make inroads among Black and Latino men with his populist appeals.

Drawing from data, history, and her own experience, Dr. Wrighten will discuss a path forward for those seeking to protect their say in local, state and national political affairs. (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. The talk starts 30 minutes later.)

Image: President Lyndon B. Johnson is joined by Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks at the signing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (White House photo / Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum).