How, Then, Shall We Live?

2007-09-14T10:26:00.001-07:00

BLUES FOR TOMMOROW. SEPTEMBER 26th, 2007.

(poster designed by Kate Sullivan)

The first speaker in this year's "How, Then, Shall We Live?" lecture series will be:

STANLEY CROUCH

"Blues for Tomorrow"

Wednesday, September 26

4:30 pm

Gailor Auditorium

The Faculty Panel to introduce the work of Stanley Crouch will take place on Monday, September 17, at 4:30 in the Bairnwick Women's Center.

Panelists will include Rev. Walter Brownridge (Assoc. Dean, School of Theology), Prof. Gayle McKeen (Political Science), and Prof. Stephen Miller (Music).

A distinctive American voice in cultural criticism, Stanley Crouch has been called "the bull in the china shop of the black intelligentsia." A columnist for the New York Daily News and a former Jazz Times columnist, Crouch is author of several collections of essays--including The Artificial White Man (2004), The All-American Skin Game (essays from 1990-94), and Notes of a Hanging Judge (essays from 1979-89). His novel, Don't the Moon Look Lonesome, ppeared in 2000. Forthcoming books include In Defense of Taboos (2008) and a biography of great jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker. Crouch is at work on a second novel. He also acted as a consultant for Ken Burns on his documentaries on jazz and Jack Johnson. In addition, he has been a recipient of the Whiting Writer's Award as well as the MacArthur Foundation's "Genius"

Award.

Video of Sept 26 Stanley Crouch Lecture

2006-11-10T18:01:00.000-08:00

IS HONOR DEAD TODAY? FEBRUARY 27th, 2007.

(poster designed by Kate Sullivan)

In celebration of the one-hundredth anniversary of the formalization of the Honor Code at Sewanee, the "How, Then, Shall We Live?" lecture-discussion series is sponsoring a talk by author, scholar, and media critic James Bowman. His lecture "Is Honor Dead Today?" will take place on Tuesday, February 27 at 4:30 p.m. in Guerry Auditorium. In addition, he will lead a discussion on Wednesday February 28 at 4:30 p.m. in Convocation Hall. These and all other events in this series are free and open to the public.

Mr. Bowman is a movie critic for The American Spectator, the American editor of The Times Literary Supplement of London, a media critic for The New Criterion, and a resident scholar at the Ethics and Public Policy Center (http://www.eppc.org/). He is the author of Honor: a History (Encounter Books, 2006).

A faculty and staff panel, consisting of Andrea Mansker, History; Jim Peterman, Philosophy; Dale Richardson, English; and David Spaulding, Director of the University Counseling Service will introduce Bowman's ideas and arguments on Tuesday, February 20 at 4:30 p.m. in Gailor 11.

A student panel, consisting of Daniel Hinkle, Philosophy and Psychology C'08; Margaret McCall, English '08 and Chair of the Honor Council; Wilson Finch, History C'07 and President of the Order of Gownsmen; and D'Anthony Allen, English C'07, will examine Bowman's views and their relevance to Sewanee's honor tradition on Tuesday, March 6 at 4:30 p.m. in the Women's Center Living Room.

Information about James Bowman and his writings can be found at the following links:

James Bowmans' web writings on honor: http://www.jamesbowman.net/honor.asp

Information on Honor: a History, which is also available in the University Bookstore:
http://www.encounterbooks.com/books/honor/

Reviews of Honor: a History
http://www.reason.com/news/show/36938.html

http://www.opinionjournal.com/la/?id=110008477

NPR"s "Here on Earth" interview with James Bowman on honor
http://clipcast.wpr.org:8080/ramgen/wpr/hoe/hoe060906k.rm

James Bowman's film reviews and writings on the web:
http://www.jamesbowman.net/

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Video and audio forms of James Bowman's lecture "Is Honor Dead Today?" and his follow up discussion are now available:

A student panel, consisting of Daniel Hinkle, Philosophy and Psychology C'08; Margaret McCall, English '08 and Chair of the Honor Council; Wilson Finch, History C'07 and President of the Order of Gownsmen; and D'Anthony Allen, English C'07, will examine Bowman's views and their relevance to Sewanee's honor tradition on

Tuesday, March 6 at 4:30 p.m. in the Women's Center Living Room.

Video Feb 27 James Bowman Lecture "Is Honor Dead Today?"

Audio Feb 27 James Bowman Lecture "Is Honor Dead Today?"

Video Feb 28 discussion with James Bowman

Audio Feb 28 discussion with James Bowman

2006-11-02T19:34:00.000-08:00

WHY ONLY ATHEISTS CAN TRULY BELIEVE. NOVEMBER 6th, 2006.

(poster designed by Kate Sullivan)

On Monday, November 6 at 4:30 p.m. in Guerry Auditorium, "The How, Then, Shall We Live?" lecture-discussion series of the The University of the South will feature philosopher, psychoanalyst, and cultural critic Slavoj Zizek, who will give a lecture entitled "Why Only Atheists Can Truly Believe." Professor Zizek will also lead a follow-up community-wide discussion on Tuesday, November 7 at 4:30 p.m. in Convocation Hall.

Professor Zizek, who holds the title of Professor at the Institute for Sociology, Ljubljana, Slovenia, has been variously described as an "academic rock star" and "the Elvis of cultural theory." He has published over 50 books (translated into 20 languages) on topics ranging from philosophy and Freudian and Lacanian psychoanalysis, to theology, film, opera, radical politics and 9/11. In addition, he was a candidate for, and nearly won, the Presidency of his native Slovenia in the first democratic elections after the break-up of Yugoslavia in 1990.

The series is made possible by generous support of the Office of the University Chaplain, The School of Theology, the University Lectures Committee and the Lilly Foundation, through its support of the University Program for Theological Reflection on Vocation.

To introduce Sewanee to Zizek, as a person and thinker, the HTSWL? series will show Astra Taylor's 2005 documentary "Zizek" on Monday, October 30 at 7:30 p.m. in Gailor auditorium, with a discussion to follow. Information on the movie can be found at http://www.zizekthemovie.com/

The series discussion of Zizek's thought will end on Tuesday, November 14 at 4:30 p.m. in the Alumni House with a concluding discussion of Zizek's lecture.

All events in this series are free and open to the public.

If you are interested in finding out more about Zizek:

Profiles from the New Yorker and Lingua Franca:
http://www.zizekthemovie.com/biography/

Zizek on the meaning of 9/11(The Desert of the Real)
http://www.lacan.com/desertsymf.htm

Zizek's regular contributions on politics and popular culture from "In
these Times":
http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/about/author/70/

Zizek's writings on the web: http://www.adamkotsko.com/zizeklinks.htm

Books by Zizek are also available at the University Bookstore.

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IN CASE YOU MISSED THE EVENT:

Audio Link to Zizek's Monday lecture

Audio link to Tuesday's discussion with Slavoj Zizek

Video link to Monday Lecture with Slavoj Zizek

Video link to Tuesday's discussion with Slavoj Zizek

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If you have questions, contact Jim Peterman: jpeterma@sewanee.edu

2006-04-11T07:56:00.000-07:00

CONVERSATION ON RELIGION AND THE CURRICULUM SERIES.
FEBRUARY 7th - APRIL 11th, 2006.

Blackboard Link to Sewanee's Online "Conversation on Religion and the Curriculum"

Does the Fact that Sewanee Is an Institution of the Episcopal Church Have Curricular Implications for the College? Convocation Hall, Tuesday, February 7th.
Panelists: David Haskell, Bran Potter, Gayle McKeen, Pradip Malde

Professor Mark Edwards, Lecture: "Religion and the Academy: Personal and Professional Identities Interacting." Convocation Hall, Wednesday, February 15.

Faculty Panel on Professionalism and Religious Conviction. Convocation Hall, Tuesday, February 21st.
Panelists: Jon Evans, Biology, Elizabeth Outka, English, and Richard O'Connor, Anthropology and the Center for Teaching.

The Rev. Dr. Michael Battle. Lecture: "An Anglican Perspective on Global Awareness and Social Responsibility." Convocation Hall, Wednesday, March 8th.

Discussion with Michael Battle and Faculty Panel on Anglicanism, Global Awareness, and Social Responsibility. Convocation Hall, Thursday, March 9th.
Panelists: Chris McDonough, Classics and Humanities, Yasmeen Mohuiddin, Economics, Jim Turrell, School of Theology, and Scott Wilson, Asian Studies and Political Science.

The Final Conversation - A Faculty Panel Discussion Religion and Curriculum: Where Do We Go From Here? Convocation Hall, Tuesday, April 11th.

2005-09-27T13:44:00.000-07:00

NICHOLAS KRISTOF LECTURE. SEPTEMBER 27th, 2005

The Century's First Genocide: Crisis in Darfur

(poster designed by Kate Sullivan)

"The Century's First Genocide: Crisis in Darfur" on Thursday, Sepetember 27th at 4:30 p.m. in Convocation Hall. To view this lecture, click on this link.

Short Biography of Nicholas Kristof

2005-03-01T12:24:00.000-08:00

DAVID CALLAHAN LECTURE. MARCH 1st, 2005

Our Cheating Culture

(poster designed by Kate Sullivan)

"Our Cheating Culture" on Monday, March 1st at 4:30 p.m. in Convocation Hall. To view this lecture, click on this link.

For information on David Callahan and his book, The Cheating Culture, click on this link

2004-11-04T12:04:00.000-08:00

CORNEL WEST LECTURE. NOVEMBER 4th, 2004

Race Matters: The Call To Social Responsibility

To view West's lecture, click on this link. Recommended for on or off campus.

To view West's lecture with a larger picture, but slower initial load time, click on this link. Recommended for campus computers.

To view West's lecture, with a small picture but the fastest load time, click on this link. Recommended for off campus with slow connections.

This video is powered by Quicktime.

For information on the web about Cornel West's writing and projects:

Cornel West Resources on the Web

Cornel West Music Clips

2004-03-08T11:24:00.000-08:00

CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS LECTURE. FEBRUARY 23rd, 2004
THOMAS SULLIVAN LECTURE. MARCH 8th, 2004

Are There Good Reasons To Believe In God?

I. Christopher Hitchens: "The Moral Necessity of Atheism." Convocation Hall February 23 at 4:30 p.m.

To view this lecture, click on the title. This video is powered by Quicktime

Preview of Hitchens' Argument: "The Future of an Illusion," Daedalus, Summer 2003

Christopher Hitchens' writings available on the web

Short Biography

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II. Professor Thomas Sullivan, Aquinas Chair in Philosophy and Theology, University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota: “Is Faith a Vice? A Refutation of Dogmatic Atheism; Some Advice for Agnostic Inquirers." Convocation Hall on March 8 at 4:30 p.m.

To view this lecture, click on the title. This video is powered by Quicktime

2003-11-03T10:29:00.000-08:00

ELIZABETH MARQUARDT LECTURE. NOVEMBER 3rd, 2003

Hooking Up, Hanging Out, and Hoping for Mr. Right: College Women on Mating and Dating Today

See a summary or the complete report of Elizabeth Marquardt's nationwide study of dating patterns in college women:
"Hanging Out, Hooking Up, and Hoping for Mr. Right: College Women on Mating and Dating Today"

See Marquardt's account of the male persective on hooking up

2003-09-16T10:20:00.000-07:00

JERRI ALLYN LECTURE. SEPTEMBER 16th, 2003

Art Never Leaves You Where It Found You: An Introduction

Jerri Allyn's vision of art grew out of a profound sense of the need to make art that addresses social problems and builds community.

How I Came to an Interactive View of Art that Focuses on Addressing Social Problems

I was brought up a Quaker, instilled with a sense of social responsibility and the importance of making a contribution to my community. I was taught to make the world a place that works for everyone.

Along with my Quaker upbringing, I came of age during the social and political upheavals of the 60's and 70's: the civil rights movement, including African-American, Asian, and Latin movements, the peace movement, student movements, woman's movement and the sexual revolution, all of which influenced my thinking. I was introduced to new art forms through feminist artists who broadened the definition of art and questioned whose "voice" is represented. They addressed the questions "What do we want to say as women artists, and to whom do we want to say it?"

Art school had no relationship to the world as I knew it. They taught art history as if it existed in a vacuum with no contextual information about the historical, economic and cultural setting in which art is produced. Studio art classes focused entirely on form and style, which had been the standard teaching technique in studio art for the last fifty years, derived from modernist Bauhaus ideas.

In 1974 change came. Two feminist artists were in residence as professors at the San Francisco Art Institute and they asked us what we wanted to say and to whom did we want to say it? These ideas rocked my world. I had been a good student and worked hard, attending all the recommended art openings where I encountered mostly other artists, teachers from the art institute, and my friends - budding artists. It seemed to me an insulated world.

I had been waitressing my way through art school, and wanted to voice my experiences and the hardships suffered by all working women: how we were treated on the job, how we were stereotyped, the fact that we made thirty-three cents to every dollar a man made (I think we're now up to seventy-four cents), that sexual harassment might have a relationship to the alarming statistics about rape (one out of every three women in the U.S.). To address these issues, I tried new critical strategies and new critical pedagogies based on alternative approaches such as process, interaction, and other conceptual practices. These approaches rejected the traditional production of one-of-a-kind art works sold exclusively to a wealthy, educated elite.

More...

Around this time, museums and galleries began to change, becoming public arenas where diverse audiences could look at, interact with, and interpret art for themselves. This contributed to the building of "alternative" art scenes where artists and cultural organizations could speak to their own communities, bringing a targeted audience together around particular issues.

Here is one example of one of my site- specific, interactive installation works. Titled "American Dining: A Working Woman's Moment," it was sponsored by the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York City. The installation included transformed table-top jukeboxes with a continuous sound collage of humorous stories and music about work, food, money, and stereotypes of women. The flourescent plexi-glass jukeboxes which stood on restaurant tables were accompanied by a set of four artist-designed placemats of different colors, with texts such as “Name That Dame” and “Who are these Famous Food Women?” The installation opened in Gefen's Dairy Restaurant and then moved to five other restaurants in cities across the United States, with cultural sponsors at each site. "American Dining" was based on my real-life experiences waitressing my way through art school, as well as my years with The Waitresses Performance Art collective, of which I was a co-founding member.

The Philosophical and Psychological Bases for this Approach to Art

Twentieth-century developmental education theories pioneered by American Philosopher John Dewey and Swiss philosopher-psychologist Jean Piaget, among others, discovered children are not empty vessels to be filled with knowledge, as traditional pedagogical theory has it, but active builders of knowledge, experimentalists and scientists who are constantly creating and testing their own theories of the world. Progressive education theory now gives young people much greater autonomy to explore the ever-expanding wonders of our universe.

From 1994-98, I did a stint as Director of Education and Public Programs at the Bronx Museum of the Arts, which provided me with a terrific opportunity to study and experiment with educational strategies for introducing contemporary art to new audiences, the community surrounding the Museum, and the NY Metropolitan area to a Museum sometimes thought to be in a maligned borough. Museums have been broadening their outreach to include more than a small percentage of highly educated, cultured elite. By the year 2000, people of color (of various ethnic and economic backgrounds) are close to or comprise more than 50% of urban populations.

These developments are motivated by experiments in new art forms, the interest of museum educators to extend their reach beyond their exhibition galleries, the desire to create a more equitable art world, and efforts to enhance the vitality and economic viability of urban centers in United States. Museum professionals have been discussing these issues for over ten years, often at the annual Association of American Museum conferences, attended yearly by 5000 representatives, including international representation. This organization produced the seminal publication Excellence and Equity: Education and the Public Dimensions of Museums: New Visions: Museums Forging the Future (1992). This publication called for a return to the founding principles of museums in the United States. Some of these principles include:

1. Assuring that the commitment to serve the public is clearly stated in a museum's mission and that education, in the greatest sense, be central to every museum's activity.
2. Reflecting the diversity of our society by establishing and maintaining the broadest possible public dimension for the museum.
3. Enriching our knowledge, understanding, and appreciation of our collections and of the variety of cultures and ideas they represent and evoke.
4. Assuring that the interpretative process manifests a variety of cultural and intellectual perspectives and reflects an appreciation for the diversity of museums' publics.

Examples of this New Style of Interactive Art

TALK BACK! THE COMMUNITY RESPONDS TO THE PERMANENT COLLECTION,
Jerri Allyn with Curator Marysol Nieves & Bank Street College Intern Jessica Harvey, Bronx Museum of the Arts, Education Department in partnership with the Curatorial Department, NY, 1997.

Still unique to Museums, Education and Curatorial Departments designed this exhibit and provided various ways the public could access and engage with prevalent themes raised by artworks in BMA collection. We displayed interpretive responses alongside exhibited artworks. We implemented a design to draw viewers through galleries, including specially designed library tables and an early childhood art desk. A Family Activity Room housed guides with a gallery and at-home activities along with a resource area with literary selections. We facilitated over 25 workshops with community groups that had an ongoing relationship with BMA, from all walks of borough life, aged 7 years to adult. The Education Gallery exhibited graphically designed works and visually provocative responses to the collection by teenagers in Saturday Art and Media School. The closing reception provided an opportunity for the neighborhood to meet and question collection artists.

TOMIE ARIA: Chinese diaspora to the Caribbean and Northeast US. Striking art installation, "Double Happiness," which premiered at The Bronx Museum of the Arts, in partnership with an oral history project at the Museum of the Chinese in the Americas, NY.

This installation explored the Chinese Diaspora to the Americas and Caribbean. The installation took the form of a wedding banquet and was based on a series of oral histories conducted by the artist in various communities throughout the Northeast. "Double Happiness" refers to the Chinese character used in a wedding ceremony to bestow auspicious blessings on the bride and groom, and serves as a metaphor for the bicultural experience of immigrants, a joining and intermingling of families and cultures.

ALYSON POU: Portrait of a neighborhood through understanding changing seasons in a local park, an interactive art project and installation that premiered in The Bronx Museum's Education Gallery, "The Hunter's Moon," NY.

This was a three-month-long evolving installation that followed the transition of the seasons from late summer to autumn and into winter. To capture the essence of place and season, Pou worked with students from a local school to create artworks from natural elements (incorporated in the evolving installation) that created a "portrait" of a Bronx park through the exploration of mythology, history of the site, and the folklore of trees.

JOSELY CARVALHO: Homeless children in US and Brazil
"Cirandas I," 1993; "Segunda Ciranda," 1994
Intar Gallery, NY, USA in conjunction with Museu de Arte Contemporanea de Sao Paulo, Brazil

This project focused on homeless children in the U.S. and Brazil and was developed in collaboration with educators and social Workers. The Brazilian press exposed that their military and police gun down kids on the Street. In response, activist groups taught kids to know their rights and how they can get what they need on their own. In the streets, they have a freedom they would never have at home, yet need to know how to protect themselves, what to do if beat up by police, how they can get schooling, or train in a trade.

The installation consisted of silk-screen on walls, photos, large-screen video projections, hundreds of empty bullets, and coffins. It documented every young person that had been killed by gun violence or abused since birth in Chicago, US (360)- and Rio de Janeiro (469) during 1993. It also presented video taped stories in English and Portuguese, along with statements by young people.

XENOBIA BAILEY: Healing from slavery in the U.S.
"Sistah Paradise Great Walls of Fire Revival Tent" 1993
New Museum of Contemporary Art, NY, 1994
Bronx Museum of the Arts, NY, 1995 in conjunction with Satellite Gallery;

Xenobia Bailey is an African-American craft artist from Seattle, Washington. She redefined her "craft" as Fine Art and began to create installations of crocheted clothes that, worn by Bailey in performance, tell told stories about characters of her invention.

Bailey's ceremonial apron, headpiece and revival tent are all objects that play an important role in the artists tale of Sistah Paradise, a magical African woman who allows herself to be captured and taken into slavery in the United States in order to help free fellow enslaved Africans. By traveling into the deep South and organizing midnight revival meetings, Paradise draws lives together and spirits them back to Africa. Bailey's work developed out of years of experience as a hat-maker, and now her labor-intensive hand-crochet process results in large scale pieces that serve as fanciful reminders of the mystical Sistah Paradise.

2003-04-14T10:43:00.000-07:00

JOHN ROTH LECTURE. APRIL 14th, 2003.

"Ethics After the Holocaust"

Also: A Faculty Panel on "Ethics after the Holocaust." April 8, 4:30 p.m. in the Hearth Room of the Bishop's Common

A Student Panel on "Responses to Roth's 'Ethics after the Holocaust'" April 22, 4:30 p.m. in the Hearth Room of the Bishop's Common

A Brief Profile of John Roth

2003-02-11T10:09:00.000-08:00

JEAN BETHKE ELSHTAIN LECTURE, FEBRUARY 11th, 2003.

"International Justice and the Use of Force," at 4:30 p.m. Convocation Hall.

Also: A Faculty Panel on Elshtain and Just War Theory. February 4 at 4:30 p.m. in the Hearth Room of the Bishop's Common.

A Student Panel on "Responses to Elshtain's 'International Justice and the Use of Force.'" February 18 at 4:30 p.m. in the Hearth Room of the Bishop's Common.

The University of Chicago Divinity School's Web bio of Jean Bethke Elshtain

Common Text: "Just War and Humanitarian Intervention." American University International Law Review, 2001, Vol.17. Issue 1

"Pre-emption, Iraq, and Just War: A Statement of Principles"
November 14, 2002

2003-01-22T09:44:00.000-08:00

ROGER SHATTUCK LECTURE. JANUARY 22nd, 2003.

"Are There Books Everyone Should Read? Forbidden Knowlegde and the Curriculum" January 22, 2003 at 4:30 in Convocation Hall.

This event is co-sponsored by the French Department, the University Lectures Committee and the "How, then, Shall We live?" series.

A review of Professor Shattuck's book, Forbidden Knowledge

Shattuck's essay "When Evil is Cool" (Atlantic Monthly Subcription Required for Viewing)

An interview of Professor Shattuck on his book Forbidden Knowledge by David Gergen from PBS Online Newshour

2002-11-07T09:31:00.000-08:00

PETER FRENCH LECTURE. NOVEMBER 7th, 2002.

"The Virtues of Vengeance"

Information About Peter French

Excerpts from these books and French's radio interviews on vengeance are
available at the following links:

The Virtues of Vengeance

Cowboy Metaphysics

Andrew Knock's interpretation from a Christian viewpoint of the themes of
"Unforgiven."

A radio interview program on revenge, which includes Peter French, among other authors, from Wisconsin Public Radio's show "To The Best of Our Knowledge."

For radio interview program on revenge, which includes Peter French, among
other authors, from NPR's Talk of the Nation, turn your web browser to the
following website:

Real Player, which will play these programs, can be downloaded for free.

Peter French's books, Cowboy Metaphysics and The Virtues of Vengeance, are available at the University Bookstore.

2002-09-20T09:59:00.000-07:00

JUST WAR THEORY LECTURE BY PROFESSOR SANDRA VISSER AND MAJOR TONY PFAFF. SEPTEMBER 20th, 2002.

"Is War with Iraq Morally Justified?"

Some background on the Just War Theory.

University of San Diego Values Institute Forum on Just War and the Balkans.

"Ethics and the War on Terrorism" by Major Tony Pfaff.

2002-04-16T10:24:00.000-07:00

WENDELL BERRY LECTURE. APRIL 16th, 2002.

"Two Minds"

Wendell Berry biography

Some of Wendell Berry's essays and interviews

Berry's essay "Thoughts in the Presence of Fear"

2001-08-11T10:39:00.000-07:00

OTHER PAST EVENTS.

2001:

Jonathan Lear, "Waking Up: Living with the Unconscious"

2000:

Stanley Hauerwas, "Honor in the University"

Allison Jaggar, "Liberal Feminism"

1999:

Michael Battle, "Sewanee and South Africa:
An Appropriation of Truth and Reconciliation"