Forum 2019, Can We Talk? Dialogue and Debate in the Contemporary Academy, opened up lines of communication across the University. Faculty, staff, administration, and graduate students came together to investigate subjects of concern for everyone at the University, including studying controversial texts; the corporate aspects of university life; and negotiating the different perspectives afforded by different roles and statuses.
Below, we’ve collected photos, videos, and audio recordings from Forum 2019 in order to document the conversations among people from across the University. We hope that by making the day’s discussions widely available these conversations can continue and deepen.
We want to thank everyone who came out to Forum 2019; the thought-provoking questions and comments provided by the audience are what allowed a rich and dynamic dialogue to occur, and without our audience the forum would not have been such a generative and enlightening experience for all of us.
In addition, we want to thank our sponsors, the Boston University Office of the Provost and Boston University College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, for allowing us to make the success of Forum 2019 possible. We also want to thank WBUR CitySpace and their staff for hosting us.
Follow-up Events
We are currently forming both undergraduate and graduate working groups to explore some of the problems that were highlighted at the Forum and to devise productive strategies for redressing them. Our hope is that these student working groups will take concrete steps to further the potential of the university as a collectively realized institution. We will post more information about these follow-up events here as information becomes available.
Panel Videos
INTRODUCTION
Introducer: Susan Mizruchi, William Arrowsmith Professor in the Humanities, Director of the Center for the Humanities, and Professor of English, Boston University
PANEL 1 | LANGUAGE MATTERS: DISCUSSING DIFFICULT TEXTS
Moderator: Gregory Williams, Associate Professor, Department of History of Art & Architecture
Panelists: Kimberly Arkin, Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology Emily Gowen, PhD Candidate, Department of English StephenProthero, C. Allyn and Elizabeth V. Russell Professor of Religion Takeo Rivera, Assistant Professor, Department of English Crystal Williams, Associate Provost for Diversity and Inclusion
Moderator: Nazli Kibria, Associate Dean/Social Sciences, Professor, Department of Sociology
Panelists: Kimber Chewning, PhD Candidate, Department of History of Art & Architecture Jean Morrison, University Provost and Chief Academic Officer Peter Schwartz, Associate Professor, Department of World Languages & Literatures Cady Steinberg, Administrator, Department of History JonathanZatlin, Associate Professor, Department of History
Moderator: Jeffrey W. Rubin, Associate Professor, Department of History
Panelists: Charles Chang, Assistant Professor, Department of Linguistics Nancy Geourntas, Executive Assistant to the Dean, College of Arts & Sciences Daniel Kleinman, Associate Provost for Graduate Affairs Jessica Lambert, PhD Candidate, Department of Anthropology Marisa Milanese, Master Lecturer, Writing Program
ROUNDTABLE | FURTHER REFLECTIONS: LOOKING AHEAD TOGETHER
Moderator: Maurice Lee, Professor, Department of English
Panelists: Julie Levy, PhD Candidate, Department of Classical Studies DavidLyons, Professor Emeritus, Department of Philosophy and School of Law William Moore, Director, American & New England Studies Program Adela Pineda, Professor of Spanish, Department of Romance Studies Carrie Preston, Arvind and Nandlal Kilachand Professor and Director, Kilachand Honors College
CLOSING REMARKS
Speaker: Susan Mizruchi, William Arrowsmith Professor in the Humanities, Director of the Center for the Humanities, and Professor of English, Boston University
Audio Recordings
Photo Gallery
English PhD candidate and panelist Emily Gowen
Kilachand Honors College director Carrie Preston speaking at the Round Table
Panelists assembled for Panel 2
Panelists assembled for Panel 1
Audience member and BUCH fellow Joseph Saravo asking a question at Panel 2
Assistant Professor of Linguistics and Panelist Charles Chang speaking at Panel 3
Attendees speaking to each other during afternoon break
BUCH Director Susan Mizruchi closing out Forum 2019 with her remarks
Audience listening to the second panel
Professor Emeritus David Lyons speaking on the Round Table
Associate Provost for Diversity & Inclusion and panelist Crystal Williams
Panelists assembled for Panel 3
Audience at Panel 1
BUCH Director Susan Mizruchi pictured with panelists Cady Steinberg and Nancy Geourntas
Writing Program Master Lecturer Marisa Milanese speaking on Panel 3
Panel 3 Moderator and Professor of History Jeffrey Rubin
Erwin Chemerinsky & Howard Gillman. Preface; Chapter One: The New Censorship; Chapter Two: Why Is Free Speech Important?; Chapter Six: What’s at Stake?. Free Speech on Campus. New Haven; Yale University Press, 2018.
