UNE Center for Global Humanities announces Spring 2017 lecture series

UNE Center for Global Humanities

How can design thinking help us improve our educational, political, economic and health systems? Is atheism a modern phenomenon, or have humans been registering their disbelief in the existence of a higher power for millennia? What can the French moralists teach our troubled world about the benefits of moderation in our discourse and politics? How can the simple act of sharing food bridge age-old differences between cultures? 

The University of New England Center for Global Humanities promises to shed light on these and other fascinating questions through its Spring 2017 lecture series. The lectures begin at 6 p.m. at the WCHP Lecture Hall in Parker Pavilion on the UNE Portland Campus. Each lecture is preceded by a free, public reception that begins at 5 p.m. at the UNE Art Gallery.    

Spring 2017 Center for Global Humanities Lecture Series

-  January 30, 2017: “Food and Identity in Judaism, Christianity and Islam”

   David M. Freidenreich, Associate Professor and Director of Jewish Studies at Colby College

-  February 27, 2017: “The Radicalism of Moderation”

   Robert Zaretsky, Professor in the Honors College at the University of Houston

-  March 27, 2017: “Designing Our Way to a Better World”

   Thomas Fisher, Professor of Architecture at the University of Minnesota  

-  April 24, 2017: “How to Be an Atheist – The Ancient Greek Way”          

Tim Whitmarsh, Professor of Greek Culture at the University of Cambridge, UK. Since its founding in 2009 by UNE cultural studies scholar Anouar Majid, the Center for Global Humanities has brought to UNE’s Portland Campus leading thinkers from around the globe to share their expertise with students and a diverse audience of community members. Past speakers have included international luminaries like Noam Chomsky, Neal Barnard and Bill McKibben.

The Center for Global Humanities annual lecture series introduces attendees to exploration of some of the most pressing issues facing humanity today. In addition to serving members of the Portland community, the lectures are streamed live online so that students at UNE’s campus in Tangier, Morocco, and people around the world can view them. The lectures are also archived on UNE’s website. For more information, visit http://www.une.edu/cgh