The yearlong webinar series will feature prominent speakers and utilize the humanities to understand and contextualize the events of 2020.
Many of the issues we’ve faced regarding racism, public health, and individual liberty versus societal welfare touch upon key concepts in the humanities. If we can interpret and discuss these issues... we can hopefully move beyond opinions and reactions into deeper understanding.
— Nels Pearson, PhD, director of the Humanities Institute
Beginning September 23, 2020, and continuing through the spring 2021 semester, the Humanities Institute in the College of Arts and Sciences will host a yearlong series of online lectures and conversations highlighting the ways in which the humanities can help interpret and contextualize the critical public health, racialized violence, and social responsibility issues that have come to define an unprecedented 2020.
“This year has been a devastating one filled with outspoken controversy,” said Nels Pearson, PhD, director of the Humanities Institute. “Many of the issues we’ve faced regarding racism, public health, and individual liberty versus societal welfare touch upon key concepts in the humanities. If we can interpret and discuss these issues in the contexts of moral and political philosophy, bioethics, social constructions of race, the purpose of universities, and the historical contexts of the present, we can hopefully move beyond opinions and reactions into deeper understanding.”
Each of the series’ online events are free and open to the public through the Regina A. Quick Center for Performing Arts’ “Quick Sessions” platform and will feature prominent national and international figures in the arts, humanities, and social sciences, as well as ¶¶Òô»ÆƬapp faculty. Links to all events will be available at fairfied.edu or on the day of the lecture.
Fall 2020 Events
Wednesday, Sept. 23 | 5 p.m.
Kathleen Fitzpatrick, PhD, Director of Digital Humanities, Michigan State University
The author of Generous Thinking, argues that universities can help overcome distrust of academic specialization by moving from isolated and competitive models to those that encourage collaboration, community, and public dialogue. She will talk with Dr. Pearson about why these approaches are all the more crucial given current events.
Monday, Oct. 5 | 5 p.m.
Lauren Alleyne, MFA, Poet and associate professor of English, James Madison University
The award-winning author of the poetry collections Difficult Fruit (2014) and Honeyfish (2019) will read from recent work that speaks to issues of race, state violence, and protest, and engage audiences in discussions of how poetry allows us to see more deeply into the human dimensions of these issues.
Monday, Oct. 26 | 5 p.m.
Yolanda Wilson, PhD, Fellow, National Humanities Center and Encore Public Voices
Dr. Wilson, a former visiting scholar in the Department of Bioethics at the National Institutes of Health, will talk on intersections of race ethics and medicine in light of the pandemic.
Tuesday, Nov. 17 | 5 p.m.
Gniesha Dinwiddie, PhD, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Dr. Dinwiddie will host a moderated question and answer session on race, class, and the pandemic. She will discuss research approaches for studying the effects of Covid-19 and how mixed-methods research focused on race and class provide a more holistic picture of the pandemic.
For more event information, visit .
