Send listings two weeks in advance to braincity@seattleweekly.com.

European Studies SymposiumThe Chronicles of Narnia, Rome and the Middle East in ancient times, and other topics are scheduled at Seattle Pacific University’s intriguing confab, keynoted by SPU German professor Michael Macdonald. Demaray Hall (Room 150), SPU campus, 3307 Third Ave. W., 206-281-2000, www.spu.edu. Keynote: 3:30 p.m. Wed., Feb. 15. Rome lecture: 7:30-9 p.m. Thurs., Feb. 16.

Richard West The director of the National Museum of the American Indian discusses the challenges and possibilities of Native American culture in the 21st century. UW Kane Hall (Walker-Ames Room), 206-543-9779, www.grad.washington.edu/gomap. Free. Reception: 5 p.m. (RSVP requested). Lecture: 7 p.m. Wed., Feb. 15.

Film Screening The 2005 documentary Being Caribou chronicles the adventures of two married wildlife biologists living among the antlered, shaggy creatures in ANWR. Ballard Re-Store, 1440 N.W. 52nd St., 206-762-1976, www.nweec.org. Free (donations appreciated). 7 p.m. Wed., Feb. 15.

Marriage Equality Forum In anticipation of the Washington Supreme Court’s ruling on a challenge to the same-sex marriage ban, the League of Women Voters hosts a panel featuring local attorneys Lisa Stone and Steve O’Ban, Families Northwest head Jeff Kemp, and Judy Fleissner and Chris Gamache, the couple whose case brought the issue to the high court. First United Methodist Church, 1934 108th Ave. N.E. (Bellevue), 206-329-4848, www.seattle.wa.lwv.org. Free. 7-8:30 p.m. Wed., Feb. 15.

Frederick vom Saal “Plastics” was The Graduate‘s watchword, but are they harmful to our health? The University of Missouri biology professor discusses the current research. Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave., 206-652-4255, www.townhallseattle.org. $15 ($14 advance). 7 p.m. Wed., Feb. 15.

Citizen Education Forum A panel of University of Washington faculty members examines issues of civic involvement, including the role of the citizen in a democratic society. Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave., 206-543-0540, www.uwalum.com. Free. 6:30 p.m. Thurs., Feb. 16.

Beyond Labels The HANDLE Institute hosts a free info night about neurodevelopmental disorders. Casey Family Building, 1300 Dexter Ave. N., 206-204-6000. Free. 7-9 p.m. Thurs., Feb. 16.

Pratap Chatterjee The head of CorpWatch, an anti-globalization nonprofit, and author of Iraq, Inc. talks about the business interests in the Iraq war and shares his observations of the region. Elliott Bay Books, 101 S. Main St., 206-624-6600, www.elliottbaybook.com. Free. 7:30 p.m. Thurs., Feb. 16.

Community Forum State public-health official Maxine Hayes addresses “The Plight of the Older Black Woman” at a forum sponsored by the Mayor’s Council on African American Elders. UW School of Social Work, 4101 15th Ave. N.E., 206-328-6840, www.seattle.gov. Free. 1-4 p.m. Fri., Feb. 17.

Fulfilling the Legacy Hosted by the University of Washington School of Law and sponsored by Amnesty International, this conference on international justice, focused on the legacy of the 1946 Nuremberg trials, features a keynote address by former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State John Shattuck. William Gates Hall, UW campus, www.amnestyusa.org. $25. Keynote lecture: 6 p.m. Fri., Feb. 17. Conference: 9 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Sat., Feb. 18.

Loretta Ross A political commentator for BET and the founding head of the National Center for Human Rights Education, she’ll talk about her vision for “Bridging the Race and Class Divide in the Women’s Movement,” with emphasis on reproductive rights. Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center, 104 17th Ave. S., 206-684-4757, www.nw-womensconference.org. Free. 7 p.m. Fri., Feb. 17.

Seattle 9/11 Visibility Project More than a month of programming begins Friday night with the screening of a 2005 speech by David Ray Griffin, author of The 9/11 Commission Report: Omissions and Distortions, and continues Saturday afternoon with the documentary Loose Change II and other 9/11-related films. (More info at www.seekinglight.net/911vis.) Griffin film: Keystone Church, 5019 Keystone Pl. N., 206-632-6021. Free. 7-9:30 p.m. Fri., Feb. 17. Other films: Capitol Hill Library, 425 Harvard Ave. E., 206-684-4715. Free. 1:30-5:30 p.m. Sat., Feb. 18.

Humor Workshop In a post-Aristocrats age, who can say what’s funny? The University of Washington’s Ernest Becker Foundation hosts a workshop on humor whose attendees are urged to bring favorite jokes and cartoons for “Beckerian analysis.” UW Thomson Hall (Room 317), 206-232-2994, www.ernestbecker.org. $25 suggested ($5 students; lunch is an additional $5). 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Sat., Feb. 18.

Taylor BranchAt Canaan’s Edge is the Pulitzer-winning nonfiction author’s account of Martin Luther King Jr.’s role in the Civil Rights Movement from 1965 to 1968. Downstairs at Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave., 206-325-3554, www.foolproof.org. $10 ($5 Foolproof members). 7:30 p.m. Tues., Feb. 21.

Mardi Gras with Meaning/Beverly Rainbolt A fund-raiser for Art With Heart (a nonprofit that supports kids displaced by Katrina) is followed by New Orleans poet/activist Rainbolt, who’ll discuss her work for the Common Ground Algiers Health Clinic in the city’s 9th Ward. Highline Community College (Building 7), 2400 S. 240th St. (Des Moines), 206-878-3710, www.highline.edu. Free. Mardi Gras: 10-10:50 a.m. Rainbolt: 11-11:50 a.m. Wed., Feb. 22.

Jeffrey Albert The head of the Aquaya Institute, a nonprofit that helps solve water-resource troubles in developing countries, talks about his attempts to apply his work to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 8501 S.E. 40th St. (Mercer Island), 206-232-3270, www.htlcmi.org. Free. 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Wed., Feb. 22. UW Hillel, 4745 17th Ave. N.E., 206-527-1997, www.hilleluw.org. Free. 7 p.m. Wed., Feb. 22.

Trash Fashion Bash The outfits will be made of recyclables at this celebrity-studded gala, a fund-raiser for the environmental resource center International Sustainable Solutions. If you’ve always dreamt of seeing Peter Steinbrueck do his best Austin Powers impression while wearing compost bags, this is the event for you. Seattle Asian Art Museum, 1400 E. Prospect St., 206-654-3100, www.seattleartmuseum.org. $85 ($65 advance). 6-9 p.m. Wed., Feb. 22.

Roger Moris A National Security Council adviser under Johnson and Nixon, the visiting University of Washington professor speaks on “The Politics of Misrule: Washington’s Bipartisan Culture of Complicity” as part of Epiphany Parish’s nonpartisan “Democracy in Crisis” lecture series. 1805 38th Ave., 206-324-2573, www.epiphanyseattle.org. Free. 7-9 p.m. Wed., Feb. 22.