Campus Theme: Bridging Chasms
I have made a ceaseless effort not to ridicule, not to bewail, not to scorn human actions, but to understand them.
Baruch Spinoza, 1632-1677
Conflict has always pockmarked our social, political, and cultural landscape. How can we generate productive dialogue to help us navigate complex and polarizing issues, and when should talk give way to action? We must build bridges to empower, inspire and connect with one another, but when is bridge-burning necessary to secure a more just future? The important thinkers, activists and artists on this year’s Creative Intelligence series will help the Transylvania community think through such questions.
Greg Partain, Director of the Creative Intelligence Program
If you have questions or would like more information, please contact professor Greg Partain at gpartain@transy.edu or the Creative Intelligence program at creativeintel@transy.edu.
Creative Intelligence Events
The following Creative Intelligence events are confirmed as of Sept. 7. Additional speakers will be added as they are confirmed. Specific details regarding attendance at the events, whether they are in person or virtual, or any specific health protocols, will be included as it becomes available.
September 17: Natasha DeJarnett
Academic Convocation
Natasha DeJarnett delivers this year’s Academic Convocation keynote talk titled “Code Red: Climate Changes Health and Equity.” She is an assistant professor in the University of Louisville’s Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute and a professorial lecturer in environmental and occupational health at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health. Read more from this list highlighting her academic writings.
- Public lecture — Friday, Sept. 17, 4:30 p.m., Haggin Auditorium
- Visitors to campus are asked to follow Healthy at Transy guidelines, which currently require masking indoors regardless of vaccination status.
October 13: Robert Gipe
2021 Judy Gaines Young Book Award Winner
Robert Gipe will present excerpts from his Canard County trilogy — illustrated novels set in a fictional Eastern Kentucky county beset by the opioid epidemic, environmental degradation, tensions associated with the coal economy, systemic poverty and a general history of malign treatment. He will also speak about his work as co-producer of Higher Ground in Harlan, a community arts organization that addresses social divisions through artistic collaboration, theatrical presentation and sharing of oral histories.
- Reading and book signing — Wednesday, Oct. 13, 5 p.m. in Carrick Theater
- Class visits — Oct. 13-14 in the Campus Center.
Presented in collaboration with the English program
October 28: Panel Discussion with Artists and Professor Emily Goodman
The artists in this Morlan Gallery exhibition (Oct. 25-Dec. 3) find common threads through feminist frameworks: their works and practices, both individual and collaborative, prioritize communication, collaboration, and care although each may manifest in wildly different ways.
John us for a Panel Discussion with artists and Emily Goodman: Online via zoom Thursday, Oct. 28, 6-7 p.m.
A Morlan Gallery and Creative Intelligence Event – Register / View on Zoom.
November 13: Marvin Lynn
Marvin Lynn, co-editor of “The Handbook of Critical Race Theory in Education” and professor of education at Portland State University in Oregon, will conduct an in-person workshop for faculty that draws on multicultural education and critical race research in higher education to examine liberatory pedagogical frameworks.
- Campus Center (Location TBD) 12:30-4:30.
- Pre-register for the workshop (required for participation)
- Recommended readings
Presented in collaboration with the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and the DEI Committee.
November 17: Amory Lovins
Amory Lovins has been creatively and effectively working on energy issues since the 1960s. In 1982 he co-founded the Rocky Mountain Institute to accelerate bridging the transition to clean energy.
- Register for Zoom lecture followed by Q&A, 7 p.m.
Presented in collaboration with Zoe Strecker’s Bingham-Young Professorship project, “Crucial Terrain,” and President Brien Lewis
February 16: David Wallace-Wells
David Wallace-Wells, author of “The Uninhabitable Earth,” will give a public lecture at 7 p.m. in Carrick Theater. “It’s worse, much worse, than you think.” So begins “The Uninhabitable Earth.” Wallace-Wells will help the Transylvania community make the unprecedented leap of imagination he believes is necessary to reckon with life in a world seriously altered by climate change.
Presented in collaboration with professor Zoé Strecker’s Bingham-Young Professorship project, “Crucial Terrain,” and the Hazelrigg-Humanities Endowment
February 23: Nisha Anand
Nisha Anand, an Indian-American activist, justice reform advocate and Dream Corps CEO, will address “Choosing Common Ground in a Divided Time” as part of our Creative Intelligence series. She will share her story of working with her ideological opposite to make history and save lives.
- Talk and Q&A — Join us online, via Zoom– Wednesday, February 23, 7:00 p.m
- Anand will meet with student organizations in the Campus Center-Thursday, February 24.
March 10: Hannah L. Drake
Author, poet, spoken word artist, and social justice leader, Louisville native Hannah L. Drake will speak and share examples of her penetrating poetry. In her newly released book, Dear White Women, It’s Not You. It’s me. I’m breaking up with you!, Drake offers commentary on Race, White Feminism, Allyship, and Intersectionality. “Even when she whispers, people listen. She has the uncanny ability to speak in a language that anyone, no matter their background, income, or race can comprehend. She speaks the language of humanity” (Robin G).
- Times reserved for informal interaction (Pioneer Room C/D)
3:00-4:15 All students, faculty, staff
4:30-5:15 Reserved for members of BSA
5:30-6:15 All students, faculty, staff–bring your meal in - Public reading and book signing — Thursday, March 10, 7 p.m., Carrick Theater
March 23: Joy Harjo
Kenan Lecture
United States Poet Laureate Joy Harjo will give Transylvania’s 2022 William R. Kenan Jr. Lecture. The first Native American U.S. poet laureate, Harjo is an internationally known, award-winning poet, writer and performer of the Mvskoke Nation. The winner of numerous writing awards, she is the author of a memoir and nine books of poetry, including the acclaimed “An American Sunrise.” She earned an MFA at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and has taught at universities across the country and performed music and poetry internationally.
- Public lecture — Wednesday, March 23, 7:30 p.m., Haggin Auditorium
April 6: Transylvania Faculty Panel, “Enduring Knots: Reflections on ‘Bridging Chasms’”
Moderator Leslie Ribovich (religion) will be joined by professors Melissa Fortner (psychology), Priya Ananth (Spanish), Gary Deaton (WRC), and Peter Fosl (Philosophy) to discuss challenges and strategies related to “bridging chasms,” especially as regards power dynamics and identities. Panelists will highlight various “knots” — pedagogical, scholarly or community-based tensions, questions, and crises encountered in their teaching, scholarship and community life.
- Panel Discussion — Wednesday, April 6, 7 p.m., Carrick Theater (this event will not be live streamed).