September 05, 2008
Lecture launches fall Difficult Dialogues symposium
Lecture launches fall Difficult Dialogues symposium, Reclaiming the common wealth
On Thursday, September 18, Lewis Hyde will deliver "Culture as Commonwealth; Why Art & Ideas Should Be Held In Common," to kick off Clark University's fall Difficult Dialogues symposium "Reclaiming the common wealth." The lecture will be held at 7:30 p.m. in Dana Commons, second floor, corner of Maywood and Florence Streets, Worcester. This event is part of the Clark University President's Lecture Series.
A poet, essayist, translator, and cultural critic, Hyde has a particular interest in the public life of the imagination. In his book, "The Gift" (Vintage 1983), he draws from past and present practice a set of stories, metaphors, images, and terms, and elaborates on them to create useful tools that can be brought to bear in discussions of our common assets, especially those intangibles that constitute our cultural inheritance. Hyde is currently at work on a book about our "cultural commons," that vast store of ideas, inventions and works of art that we have inherited from the past and continue to produce.
A MacArthur Fellow and former director of undergraduate creative writing at Harvard University, Hyde teaches during the fall semesters at Kenyon College, where he is the Richard L. Thomas Professor of Creative Writing. During the rest of the year he lives in Cambridge, Mass., where he is a Fellow at Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet and Society.
"In this election season, in which we can feel bombarded with messages of difference (real or perceived), our dialogue symposium raises the question of the common wealth. What do we all need, value and care about? What lies beneath our differences, whether in politics, gender, class, race or religion? What is not a commodity, but actually belongs to us all and to future generations?" writes Sarah Buie, director of the Difficult Dialogues Project and Clark's Higgins School of Humanities.
The Difficult Dialogues Symposium includes the following free public lectures, dialogues, panels and exhibits that run from September 18 through December 12:
Panel discussion
"Election 2008: The Presidential Candidates and Climate Change"
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Dana Commons, 2nd floor, corner of Maywood and Florence Streets
7:30 p.m. (televised debate begins at 9 p.m.)
The health of the natural world is the most pervasive aspect of our common wealth; one of the most important issues our next President will confront is climate change. This event, which will take place on the evening of the second scheduled presidential debate between Senators John McCain and Barack Obama, will examine what the candidates are saying – and what they are not saying – about this critical issue. A panel of Clark faculty will engage the audience in dialogue about the politics of climate change. Then we will watch the debate together on a big-screen television. Refreshments will be served. This event is co-sponsored by the Mosakowski Institute.
Lecture
"Unlearning Consumerism: Toward a Mindful Society"
Tuesday October 14, 2008
Dana Commons, 2nd floor, corner of Maywood and Florence Streets
7:30 p.m.
Making consumer choices has become a complex realm of ethical deliberation, stumping even the most informed and virtuous consumer. Drawing on an inner dialogic process informed by Buddhist values, Stephanie Kaza will lead us in an exploration of how a "green practice path" can support increased personal awareness and social sustainability.
Stephanie Kaza is Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of Vermont, with a concentration in the environmental humanities. As co-chair of the UVM Environmental Council, Professor Kaza has been actively engaged in campus sustainability initiatives to reduce waste, conserve energy, and promote environmental values. Her latest book is an edited collection on Buddhism and consumerism entitled "Hooked! Buddhist Writings on Greed, Desire, and the Urge to Consume." This event is co-sponsored by the Klein Professorship.
Roundtable dialogues
A Brighter Future: Opening our Hearts to our Neighbors
Monday, November 17, 2008
Tilton Hall, Higgins University Center, 950 Main Street, Worcester
5:30-8 p.m.
Throughout Worcester's history, waves of immigrants have come here in search of opportunity. Together, the recently arrived and the born-and-raised, we make up this community. Community members must learn each other's stories if we are to know each other, trust each other, and help each other. In our race to solve the world's problems, have we overlooked the ancient wisdom of neighborliness? The program will commemorate the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by returning to a universal foundation of healthy communities: hearing the stories of our neighbors.
Worcester city residents, including public officials, community leaders, newcomers, and members of the Clark community are all invited to take part in facilitated roundtable dialogues. Dinner will be provided. To register, please contact Higgins School Program Coordinator, Lisa Gillingham at (508) 793-7479 or lgillingham@clarku.edu.
Cosponsored by the City of Worcester Human Rights Commission, and the City Manager's Community Coalition on Bias and Hate.
Workshop
Way of Council workshop
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Dana Commons, 2nd floor, corner of Maywood and Florence Streets
3-6 p.m.
Council is an ancient form and modern practice whose roots are within the natural world, spanning diverse cultures and religions. Here we listen to the whole circle: the people, and the place, earth, water, fire, air – the life spirit in all. This practice elicits an experience of true community, recognizing that each voice needs to be heard, that every person has a gift, a story to share, a piece of the whole. How do we remember all our relations, embrace difference and find our own voice, while opening to others? It seems more than ever an essential time in our educational institutions, our nation and world to awaken this deep relational heart/mind.
Bonnie Mennell and Paul Levasseur are trainers with the Ojai Foundation's Center for Council Training and have brought the Council model to educational institutions and non-profit organizations worldwide.
This workshop is limited to 20 participants; please call Lisa Gillingham at
508-793-7479 to register. Co-sponsored by the Office of the Dean of the College.
Gallery Exhibition
Thursday, October 9 – Friday, December 5
"Americans Who Tell the Truth"
Dana Commons, second floor, corner of Maywood and Florence Streets
Artist Robert Shetterly has, over the last six years, developed a powerful series
of portraits of Americans, both historic and living, who have distinguished themselves
by speaking out with honesty and courage in service of tolerance, justice, compassion,
and the common wealth. The exhibition includes ten of the portraits, which now number
nearly 130.
Exhibition Opening & Gallery Talk, Thursday, Oct. 9, Dana Commons, 7:30 p.m.
Rob Shetterly will speak about the process of social change as he has come to understand it through his work on portraits of Americans who have and are making a difference in service of the common wealth. He will also address the issue of mountain top removal in West Virginia and Kentucky; he has come to know several of the central activists on the issue including Erik Reeve, whose portrait is in the exhibition. Refreshments will follow
Exhibition opening
"Main South Speaks: Voices, Images, Graffiti Art"
Friday, December 12, 2008
Dana Commons, 2nd floor, corner Maywood and Florence Streets
6-9 pm
This exhibit represents a collaboration between local Main South high school students and Clark students enrolled in the Difficult Dialogues First-year Seminar 'Communication and Culture in Main South.' Together, they are examining borders and boundaries (art vs. vandalism; town vs. gown) and challenging the status quo. Their work – across a variety of mediums and modes of expression – reflects an ongoing dialogue about voice, representation, and power. Find out more at: MainSouthSpeaks.com.
Through these Difficult Dialogues programs the Clark and Worcester community have the opportunity to appreciate, learn and practice the skills of dialogue. All of these events are free and open to the public. For more information about any of these events, call 508-793-7479. For information about Clark's Difficult Dialogues programs, visit www.clarku.edu/difficultdialogues.
Launched with a grant from the Ford Foundation and cosponsored by the Higgins School of Humanities, The International Development, Community and Environment Department and the Graduate School of Management, the Difficult Dialogues program works to encourage a culture of dialogue at Clark by: building skills of dialogue among faculty, staff and students; by creating opportunities for the community to engage in dialogue around significant issues common to us all; and by integrating dialogue into academic courses and student life initiatives throughout the university.