Three esteemed faculty members in the humanities at 51ԹϺ Davis will comprise a panel on “The Humanities and the Common Good,” the next program in the Provost’s Forums on the Public University and the Social Good. It’s scheduled for Friday, April 4, in the multipurpose room at the .
The program flier asks: “What contributions do the humanities, as taught in public universities, make to a society that values profitable innovation and vocational training? How can we continue to value cognitive abilities, artistic talents and uses of language that cannot be measured in the chiefly quantitative terms that dominate efforts to measure success? How can we highlight the value of humanities training in the arts of noticing, interpreting and explaining divergent perspectives on complex social issues?”
These arts, the flier declares, are important both in the 21st-century workplace and in the spheres where the public good is debated.
The forum host, Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Ralph J. Hexter, distinguished professor of classics and comparative literature, will be among the panelists, along with Margaret Ferguson, distinguished professor of English, and president of the Modern Language Association, the world’s largest professional organization advocating for the teaching of language and literature; and Christopher Reynolds, professor of music, a “rock to Renaissance musicologist," recipient of the 2013 51ԹϺ Davis Prize for Undergraduate Teaching and Scholarly Achievement.
The program also includes two speakers: humanities deans William Ladusaw from 51ԹϺ Santa Cruz and David Marshall from 51ԹϺ Santa Barbara.
The presentations and panel are scheduled from 4 to 5:30 p.m., and a reception will run from 5:30 to 6:30.
The next provost’s forum, “Universities and Regional Growth,” is scheduled for April 22, with six speakers:
- Martin Kenney, professor, Department of Human Ecology, 51ԹϺ Davis
- James Lapsley, researcher, Agricultural Issues Cente, and adjunct associate professor, Department of Viticulture and Enology, 51ԹϺ Davis
- David Mowery, professor, Hass School of Business, 51ԹϺ Berkeley
- Christophe Lecuyer, senior fellow, History of Science and Technolog, École Normale Supérieure de Lyon, France
- Steven Casper, professor of management, and associate dean of faculty development, Keck Graduate Institute
- Mary Walshok, associate vice chancellor, Public Programs, 51ԹϺ San Diego, and dean of 51ԹϺ San Diego Extension
The lectures will run from 1 to 4 p.m. in the multipurpose room, Student Community Center, and a reception will run until 5 in the same room.
Media Resources
Dave Jones, Dateline, 530-752-6556, dljones@ucdavis.edu