Fairfield University's M.A. in Liberal Studies program to sponsor panel discussion series "Life, Work, Art, Death"

Fairfield University's M.A. in Liberal Studies program to sponsor panel discussion series "Life, Work, Art, Death"

Image: Fairfield University Fairfield University's M.A. in Liberal Studies Program announces "Life, Work, Art, Death," a series of interdisciplinary panel discussions beginning this month. The public is welcome to attend these free events, covering four activities in which all individuals are (or will be) involved.

"They are also four activities that a lot of people spend a lot of time thinking about," said Steven Bayne, Ph.D., associate professor of philosophy and director of the program. "Many individual disciplines study these activities, but why think they can they be understood by any one discipline in isolation from the others? In this panel discussion series we will bring the disciplines together to examine these four vital activities."

The first discussion, "Life," is scheduled for Wednesday, October 30 at 7:30 p.m. in the Aloysius P. Kelley, S.J. Center on campus. The panelists will be Sara Brill, Ph.D., associate professor of philosophy; David Crawford, Ph.D., associate professor of sociology and anthropology; and Olivia Harriott, Ph.D., associate professor of biology. They will begin with presentations of biological, anthropological and philosophical perspectives on the nature of life and then open it up to a discussion.

The second discussion, "Work," is scheduled for Thursday, November 21, 2013 at 7 p.m. at Fairfield University Bookstore, 1499 Post Road, Fairfield. The panelists will be Cecelia Bucki, Ph.D., associate professor of history; Don Gibson, Ph.D, dean of the Charles F. Dolan School of Business; and Gita Rajan, Ph.D., professor of English.

The panel discussions resume during the spring semester with "Art," which will be scheduled for a date in February 2014. The panelists will be Ryan Drake, Ph.D., associate professor of philosophy; Martha LoMonaco, Ph.D., professor of visual and performing arts and co-director of the American Studies Program; and Shawn Rafalski, Ph.D., associate professor of mathematics.

The fourth panel discussion, "Death," will be scheduled for March or April of 2014. The panelists will be Dennis Keenan, Ph.D., professor of philosophy; John Thiel, Ph.D., professor of religious studies; and Brian Walker, Ph.D., associate professor of biology.

For more information on these events and the M.A. in Liberal Studies, visit www.fairfield.edu/mls .

Posted On: 10-11-2013 11:10 AM

Volume: 46 Number: 71