PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — From Islamophobia and immigration policy to science denial, free speech and identity politics, many of the most hotly contested topics in the public discourse will serve as the basis for Brown University’s “Reaffirming University Values” lecture series this spring.
And that’s by design.
Sponsored by the Offices of the President and Provost at Brown, the series launched last fall with the intent to examine, from various vantage points, the constructive and engaging ways in which a campus community can discuss conflicting values and controversial issues.
“Universities like Brown must continually reinforce our values through the research we conduct, the scholarship we support, the policies we advance, the diverse and inclusive community we cultivate, and the programming we encourage,” said Brown Provost Richard M. Locke. “This series offers an example — a forum to inform and engage public discourse through research on salient issues. During this time of increased political polarization, this type of intellectual dialogue is more important than ever.”
Kicking off this semester’s lineup of events, University of Chicago law professor Geoffrey Stone — a constitutional law expert and noted First Amendment scholar — will deliver a lecture titled “Free Speech on Campus” on Friday, Feb. 3. The 3 p.m. event takes place in the Joukowsky Forum at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs. Less than a week later, Martha C. Nussbaum, a law and ethics professor at University of Chicago, who will speak about “Free Speech and Civil Disobedience” on Monday, Feb. 6, at 4 p.m. at the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society’s Carmichael Auditorium.
Later in February, Brown Professor of Biology Kenneth Miller will present on “Science Denial: from Anti-Vaxers and Climate ‘Skeptics’ to the Ark Park — Why it Continues and Why it Matters” on Thursday, Feb. 16.
And on Wednesday, Feb. 22, a panel of experts will explore one of today’s most pressing issues in a discussion titled “What is the History, and Possible Futures, of Immigration, Deportation and Refugee Policy?” Moderated by Robert Self, chair of Brown’s history department, the panel will include Adam Goodman, a history Latin American studies scholar at the University of Illinois at Chicago; María Cristina García, a professor of American studies at Cornell University; and Mae Ngai, professor of history and Asian American studies at Columbia University.
Later in the spring, on Monday, April 17, Nancy Khalek, associate professor of religious studies at Brown, will discuss “Islam, Islamophobia and Teaching 'Difficult Subjects' in the Age of Trumpism.” Mark Lilla — a humanities professor at Columbia University — will wrap up the spring series with a presentation titled “Identity is Not Politics” on Wednesday, April. 26.
Complete information on dates, times and locations for all of the events is available on Reaffirming University Values website.
Launched in September 2016 after discussions with faculty members in disciplines ranging from philosophy and political science to religious studies, American studies and economics, the series and its lectures, panels and workshops have drawn on the use of dialogue to frame campus conversations, build community and encourage effective speaking and listening.
To date, speakers have included Jelani Cobb, professor of journalism at Columbia University and a staff writer for the New Yorker; Robert C. Post, professor of law at Yale University; and Marshall Ganz, a senior lecturer in public policy at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.