Winter Meeting: David Theo Goldberg, Networking Knowledge

Please join us:

Dr. David Theo Goldberg, “Networking Knowledge”

Thursday, February 25th, 5:15-7pm

Alice Kaplan Institute For the Humanities Seminar Room, Kresge Centennial Hall, 2-370

Light refreshments served.

David Theo Goldberg, Ph.D., is the Director of the University of California Humanities Research Institute, the University of California system-wide research facility for the human sciences and theoretical research in the arts. He also holds faculty appointments as Professor of Comparative Literature and Criminology, Law and Society at UC Irvine, and is a Fellow of the UCI Critical Theory Institute.

Professor Goldberg’s work ranges over issues of political theory, race and racism, ethics, law and society, critical theory, cultural studies and, increasingly, digital humanities. Together with Cathy Davidson of Duke University, he founded the Humanities, Arts, Science and Technology Advanced Collaboratory (HASTAC) to promote partnerships between the human sciences, arts, social sciences and technology and supercomputing interests for advancing research, teaching and public outreach. Currently, with Mimi Ito he is leading the building of the MacArthur-UCHRI Research Hub in Digital Media and Learning at UC Irvine, an on-site and virtual research facility designed to promote field-building in the area.

He and Davidson recently published The Future of Learning Institutions in a Digital Age, a summary report of the forthcoming book, The Future of Thinking: Learning Institutions in a Digital Age (forthcoming, MIT Press). He has authored numerous books, including The Threat of Race (2008); The Racial State (2002); Racial Subjects: Writing on Race in America (1997); Racist Culture: Philosophy and the Politics of Meaning (1993); and Ethical Theory and Social Issues: Historical Texts and Contemporary Readings (1989/1995). He has also edited or co-edited many volumes, including A Companion to Gender Studies (2005); A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies (2002); Between Law and Culture: Relocating Legal Studies (2002); Relocating Postcolonialism (2002); Race Critical Theories: Text and Context (2001); Multiculturalism: A Critical Reader (1994); Jewish Identity (1993); and Anatomy of Racism (1990).

Earlier in his career, David Theo Goldberg produced independent films and music videos (some of which aired on MTV), and co-directed the award-winning short film on South Africa, The Island.

For more on David Theo Goldberg’s work, visit his website at the University of California – Irvine.

Charles Taylor and Craig Calhoun in Conversation

The Center for Global Culture and Communication presents:

Charles Taylor and Craig Calhoun in Conversation

Charles Taylor

(Philosophy, McGill University)

“Varieties of Secularism”

Craig Calhoun

(Sociology, New York University; President, Social Science Research Council)

“Rethinking Secularism”

Wednesday, February 24, 5-7pm

Annie May Swift Hall Auditorium

Northwestern University

1920 Campus Drive

Charles Taylor is Professor of Philosophy at McGill University, and a recipient of the Kyoto Prize (2008) and the Templeton Prize (2007). He is the author, most recently, of A Secular Age (Harvard University Press, 2007) and Modern Social Imaginaries (Duke University Press, 2004).

Craig Calhoun is Professor of Sociology at New York University, president of the Social Science Research Council, and director of the Institute for Public Knowledge. He is the author, most recently, of Nations Matter: Culture, History, and the Cosmopolitan Dream (Routledge, 2007), and Nationalism (University of Minnesota Press, 1997).

For more information, email Jesse Baldwin-Philippi (j.baldwin.philippi@gmail.com).

The Center for Global Culture and Communication is an interdisciplinary initiative of Northwestern University School of Communication.

X-Post: Interfaith Youth Core’s (IFYC) 6th Conference, 25-27 Oct 09

Leadership for a Religiously Diverse World:

https://secure.lenos.com/lenos/conferencedirect/ifyc2009/home.htm

Michael Bérubé Talk

“The Left At War: Arguing with Ourselves, 2001-03″ – A Case Study in the Role of Public Intellectuals

A Talk and Discussion

Friday, October 16th, 3-5pm

Alice Kaplan Institute for the Humanities Seminar Room, Kresge Centennial Hall,  2-370

Refreshments served

Readings: Introduction and Chapter One from Michael Bérubé, The Left at War (NYU Press, November 2009). For copies, please email Michael Kramer, Research Workshop Convener, mjk@northwestern.edu. Please do not circulate or publish these copies. Dr. Bérubé is generously sharing them with us prior to publication of his book.

More about Michael Bérubé

Michael Bérubé is Paterno Family Professor in Literature and Science, Technology, and Society at Pennsylvania State University, and is the author of several books, including What’s Liberal about the Liberal Arts, Rhetorical Occasions: Essays on Humans and the Humanities, The Employment of English, and Life As We Know It, which was a New York Times notable book and NPR book of the year. He is general editor of NYU Press’s Cultural Front series, has contributed to numerous magazines and newspapers, and writes a popular blog, American Airspace, at michaelberube.com. He is the former director of the Illinois Program for Research in the Humanities at the University of Illinois and the author of the forthcoming The Left at War (NYU Press, November 2009).

This event is cosponsored by:

The Alice Kaplan Institute for the Humanities

The Center for Civic Engagement

The Graduate School

Michael Bérubé Brunch Seminar

“The Utility of the Arts and Humanities” – A Brunch Seminar

Saturday, October 17th, 11am-1pm

Alice Kaplan Institute for the Humanities Seminar Room, Kresge Centennial Hall,  2-370

Readings:

• Stanley Fish, “Conspiracy Theories 101,” New York Times, 23 July 2006, on the 9/11 Truthers and academic freedom
• Michael Bérubé, “Embrace Your Urge,” a response at the time.
• And a very recent, very brief sally in the Times Higher Education Supplement: Michael Bérubé, “From where I sit – Measuring the unmeasurable,” 30 July 2009.

Brunch served.

More about Michael Bérubé

Michael Bérubé is Paterno Family Professor in Literature and Science, Technology, and Society at Pennsylvania State University, and is the author of several books, including What’s Liberal about the Liberal Arts, Rhetorical Occasions: Essays on Humans and the Humanities, The Employment of English, and Life As We Know It, which was a New York Times notable book and NPR book of the year. He is general editor of NYU Press’s Cultural Front series, has contributed to numerous magazines and newspapers, and writes a popular blog, American Airspace, at michaelberube.com. He is the former director of the Illinois Program for Research in the Humanities at the University of Illinois and the author of the forthcoming The Left at War (NYU Press, November 2009).

This events is cosponsored by:

The Alice Kaplan Institute for the Humanities

The Center for Civic Engagement

The Graduate School

Preliminary Meeting

Monday, October 12th, 3-5pm

Alice Kaplan Institute for the Humanities Seminar Room,

Kresge Centennial Hall,  2-370

Faculty and graduate students are invited to a preliminary meeting on Monday, October 12th, to discuss interests and future goals for the research workshop.

We will also look toward Michael Bérubé’s visit and the larger questions of engaged humanities scholarship.

Refreshments served.

Readings:

• Michael Bérubé, “The Utility of the Arts and Humanities,” from Rhetorical Occasions: Essays on Humans and the Humanities (University of North Carolina Press, 2006). For a copy, please email Michael Kramer, Research Workshop Convener, mjk@northwestern.edu.
• Michael Bérubé, American Airspace Blog (type “humanities” in to the search field on the advanced search page to browse blog posts on the humanities, or take a look at http://www.michaelberube.com/index.php/weblog/the_futility_of_the_humanities/; http://www.michaelberube.com/index.php/weblog/more_on_peter_singer_and_jamie_berube/; http://www.michaelberube.com/index.php/principle_of_symmetry_day/)

This event is cosponsored by:

The Alice Kaplan Institute for the Humanities

The Center for Civic Engagement

The Graduate School

Michael Bérubé @ Northwestern

“The Engaged Humanities Scholar as Public Intellectual” Research Workshop

Invites You to Attend A Talk and Seminar with

Michael Bérubé

(1) “The Left At War: Arguing with Ourselves, 2001-03″ – A Case Study in the Role of Public Intellectuals

A Talk and Discussion

Friday, October 16th, 3-5pm

Alice Kaplan Institute for the Humanities Seminar Room, Kresge Centennial Hall,  2-370

Readings: Introduction and Chapter One from Michael Bérubé, The Left at War (NYU Press, November 2009). For copies, please email Michael Kramer, Research Workshop Convener, mjk@northwestern.edu. Please do not circulate or publish these copies. Dr. Bérubé is generously sharing them with us prior to publication of his book.

Refreshments served.

(2) “The Utility of the Arts and Humanities” – A Brunch Seminar

Saturday, October 17th, 11am-1pm

Alice Kaplan Institute for the Humanities Seminar Room, Kresge Centennial Hall,  2-370

Readings:

• Stanley Fish, “Conspiracy Theories 101,” New York Times, 23 July 2006, on the 9/11 Truthers and academic freedom
• Michael Bérubé, “Embrace Your Urge,” a response at the time.
• And a very recent, very brief sally in the Times Higher Education Supplement: Michael Bérubé, “From where I sit – Measuring the unmeasurable,” 30 July 2009.

Brunch served.

More about Michael Bérubé

Michael Bérubé is Paterno Family Professor in Literature and Science, Technology, and Society at Pennsylvania State University, and is the author of several books, including What’s Liberal about the Liberal Arts, Rhetorical Occasions: Essays on Humans and the Humanities, The Employment of English, and Life As We Know It, which was a New York Times notable book and NPR book of the year. He is general editor of NYU Press’s Cultural Front series, has contributed to numerous magazines and newspapers, and writes a popular blog, American Airspace, at michaelberube.com. He is the former director of the Illinois Program for Research in the Humanities at the University of Illinois and the author of the forthcoming The Left at War (NYU Press, November 2009).

These events are cosponsored by:

The Alice Kaplan Institute for the Humanities

The Center for Civic Engagement

The Graduate School

Upcoming “Engaged Humanities Scholar as Public Intellectual” events:

Winter 2010 – Issues in the Digital Humanities with David Theo Goldberg, Robert Hariman, and others

Spring 2010 – Online Roundtable on Arts & Cultural Policy with Bill Ivey, Bill Ferris, and others

About

The Engaged Humanities Scholar as Public Intellectual

A 2009-2010 Research Workshop

Cosponsored by the Alice Kaplan Humanities Institute, the Center for Civic Engagement, & The Graduate School

Northwestern University

Overview

This research workshop investigates debates about the humanities and public intellectuals to explore potential connections between specialized scholarly research and civil society as a whole. We pay close attention to the emerging role of digital technologies in mediating between the humanities and communities both on and beyond campus.

Description

Crucial to scholarship in the humanities is the non-instrumentality of our studies: the pursuit of specialized knowledge for knowledge’s sake. However, the place of this kind of humanities scholarship in the changing university setting has long been a topic of concern. Recently, this concern has grown even more fretful. As a February 2009 New York Times article reported, “in this new era of lengthening unemployment lines and shrinking university endowments, questions about the importance of the humanities in a complex and technologically demanding world have taken on new urgency” (Patricia Cohen, “In Tough Times, the Humanities Must Justify Their Worth,” 24 February 2009).

As this quotation suggests, there is a tendency, particularly in the United States, to pose humanities scholarship in opposition to practical knowledge. This research workshop takes a different tack: by investigating debates about the humanities and the definition of the public intellectual, the workshop explores potential connections between specialized research in the humanities and the larger “practical” world of shared civic life.

Our broadest questions include:

• How might we develop more robust relationships between advanced scholarship and shared public life in a complex, modern, mediated world?
• How might scholars participate in society as public intellectuals beyond the lecture circuit and the presence of a few celebrity talking heads in the media?
• How might scholars utilize new communication technologies to shape and contribute to the emerging field of the “digital humanities”?

Nominated graduate and advanced undergraduate students will participate in the HASTAC (Humanities, Arts, Science, and Technology Advanced Collaboratory) Scholars Program, which will link our research workshop to a consortium of scholars engaged in discovering “alternative modes of learning and research that better address the interconnected, interactive global nature of knowledge today, both in the classroom and beyond” (http://www.hastac.org/about-hastac).

The research workshop itself will consist of a cluster of related events each quarter. Participants can also organize additional events, excursions, and gatherings in connection to their own interests in the research workshop’s themes.

The main events include:

• In the fall, Michael Bérubé will join us to investigate the humanities broadly conceived. Paterno Professor in English Literature and Science, Technology, and Society at Penn State University, author of What’s Liberal About the Liberal Arts, “The Utility of the Arts and Humanities,” and founding director of the Illinois Program for Research in the Humanities at the University of Illinois – Champaign-Urbana, Bérubé will participate in a seminar on the idea of the “engaged humanities.” As a case study, Bérubé will also present material from his book The Left at War (NYU Press, forthcoming November 2009), and we will view a number of Iraq War/War on Terror documentaries to consider the dilemmas of engaged scholarship and the role of the public intellectual during recent times.

• In the winter, we will turn to the new field of the digital humanities. David Theo Goldberg, Director of the Humanities Research Institute at the University of California, co-author of The Future of Learning Institutions in a Digital Age, and co-founder of HASTAC, will join us for a talk and discussion, “Networking Knowledge.”

• In the spring/summer, we will investigate the intersection of the arts, culture, and the public through a digital roundtable on “The University and the Expressive Life.” This roundtable, in blog format, will feature scholars, arts administrators, policy analysts, and artists. We will investigate what Bill Ivey calls “expressive life,” — arts and culture broadly conceived — as it relates to humanities scholarship and institutions of higher learning.

Future Goals

Our hope is that the research workshop will continue to serve in the coming years as a laboratory for theorizing and studying the engaged humanities scholar as public intellectual. So too, the workshop might develop further through future cooperative ventures with the Chicago Cultural Alliance, HASTAC, and other institutions. It could eventually offer a curriculum in engaged humanities scholarship that would allow graduate and undergraduate students to connect their research to broader audiences and communities in rewarding ways. And the research workshop might eventually become a published multimedia website that would allow students and faculty to document, support, and investigate humanities scholarship at the Alice Kaplan Institute, the Center for Civic Engagement, on the Northwestern campus, in the Chicago region, and the digital realm.

Workshop Sponsors

The Alice Kaplan Institute for the Humanities

The Center for Civic Engagement

The Graduate School