Lecture series explores faith and film

Faith isn’t something you necessarily equate with contemporary mainstream film.

But faith and film are the foundation of a lecture series that, beginning Wednesday, will run for three days at Gonzaga and Whitworth universities. And three author/professors are among the featured speakers.

The Faith, Film and Philosophy Lecture Series will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday with guest speaker Doug Geivett, author of “Evil and the Evidence for God,” speaking on “Big Ideas on the Big Screen: How Argument Works in Film.” The event will be held at Whitworth’s Weyerhaeuser Hall.

The remaining events:

•3 p.m. Thursday: Panel discussion on Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” at Whitworth’s Hixson Union Building.

•7:30 p.m. Thursday: Guest speaker Michael Foley, author of “Why Do Catholics Eat Fish on Friday? The Catholic Origin to Just About Everything,” will speak on “Four and a Half Kinds of Catholic Film” at Gonzaga’s Jepson School of Business.

•7:30 p.m. Friday: Guest speaker Carl Platinga, author of “Rhetoric and Representation in Nonfiction Film,” will speak on “Frightened, Disgusted, Exhilarated: The Attractions of the Horror Film” at GU’s Jepson School of Business.

All lectures are free and open to the public. For directions regarding Whitworth, go to www.whitworth.edu or call (509) 777-1000. For directions regarding Gonzaga, go to www.gonzaga.edu or call (509) 328-4220.

Lodge news

Bend, Ore., author Christine Barnes has put out a book that those taking regional vacations might find interesting. “Great Lodges of the National Parks Volume 2” (W.W. West, 192 pages, $35) includes such Northwest spots as Lake Quinalt Lodge and Crescent Lake Lodge, both of which are on the Olympic Peninsula, and Wallowa Lake Lodge in northeastern Oregon.

Publishers Weekly wrote, “Author Christine Barnes (‘Great Lodges of the West’), a consultant and historian for the PBS series to which this book is a companion, offers an engaging history of each lodge and its environs with photos by nature photographer Fred Pflughoft, whose work appears in national magazines and calendars, and indoor and nature photographer David Morris (‘Great Lodges of the West’).”

For more information about the book, go online at www.greatlodges.com.

Unless otherwise noted, all events are free and open to the public.

Book talk

•Let’s Talk About It: Jewish Literature Discussion group (“The Complete Maus: A Survivor’s Tale,” by Art Spiegelman), 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, South Hill Branch, Spokane Public Library, 3324 S. Perry St. Call (509) 444-5385.

•Friends of Cheney Community Library Book Discussion Group (“The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian,” by Sherman Alexie), 7 p.m. Tuesday, Cheney Branch of Spokane County Library, 610 First St., Cheney. Call (509) 893-8280. Note: Marilyn Elliot will serve as discussion leader.

•Mysterious Book Club (novels of Agatha Christie and/or Anne Perry), 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Colfax Branch, Whitman County Library, 102 S. Main St., Colfax. Call (509) 397-4366.

The reader board

•David Knibb (“Grizzly Wars: The Public Fight Over the Great Bear”), reading, 7 p.m. Monday, Mountain Gear, 2002 N. Division St. Call Mountain Gear at (509) 325-9000 or Eastern Washington University Press at (509) 368-6592.

•Barbara Olivo Cagle (“16 x MOM: A Mastery of Motherhood”), reading/seminar, 1:30-2:30 p.m. Tuesday, Harvard Park Retirement, 1616 E. 30th Ave. Call (509) 233-8051.

•Kim Barnes (“A Country Called Home”), reading, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, University of Idaho Law School Courtroom. Call (208) 885-7407.

•Pete Earley (“Crazy: A Father’s Search Through America’s Mental Health Madness”), reading, 7 p.m. Thursday, Panida Theater, Sandpoint. Call (208) 263-9191.