“May you live in interesting times,” says the proverbial Chinese curse. For higher education in particular, these are indeed interesting times, as public universities grapple with furloughs, fee hikes and other difficult strategies to address the current economic meltdown. But times of crisis can also provoke innovative thinking and reassessment – and this is what humanities scholars do best. In the 2009-10 Public Intellectuals Forum, three leaders in the field will offer their perspectives on “Beyond the Crisis: The Future of the University.”
The series kicks off this fall with two talks in downtown Davis, at the historic City Hall, now Bistro 33. On October 22, Andrew Delbanco, director of the American Studies program at Columbia University, will bring a historical-literary perspective to questions of how universities pay for what they do and how to get the biggest bang for the buck. On November 12, Leo Chavez, professor of anthropology at UC Irvine, will draw upon his own research on the “Latino threat” to consider both the challenge and the necessity of bridging the gap between practical politics and socially relevant scholarship, especially in hard times. These two talks will be discussion-focused; advance readings will be posted at http://publicforum.ucdavis.edu/
On April 27, at the Mondavi Center’s Studio Theater, Don Randel, president of the Mellon Foundation, the nation’s leading funder of humanities research, will discuss “The Values of the University,” moving beyond a utilitarian model of value to explore the core humanistic principles for which higher education can and should stand.
An ongoing speaker series presented by the UC Davis Humanities Institute and the Center for History, Society, and Culture, the Public Intellectuals Forum seeks to bring compelling, challenging ideas out of the university and into the community. In choosing speakers we look for dynamic and socially engaged scholars whose intellectual work addresses the issues of the day and speaks to broad, diverse audiences. And in holding some of the events in downtown Davis, rather than on the university campus, we hope to spark conversations, encourage public engagement and build bridges between the academy and the public.
The Public Intellectuals Forum is free and open to all. Talks begin at 5:30 pm and are followed by a reception at 7 pm.
For more information about the Public Intellectuals Forum and this year’s speakers and schedule, go to: http://publicforum.ucdavis.edu/
