“Humility In Politics” Event Kicks Off UConn’s Public Discourse Research Project

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Humility and vulnerability are no longer values that are rewarded in the political arena, and it’s up to individuals, and their relationships, to begin a sea change that could “trickle up” into political leadership.

That was the message Tuesday evening as prominent political figures, journalists, educators, academics and nonprofit leaders came together for a public forum, titled “Humility in Politics,” in Washington, D.C.

Panelists and moderators from the Humility in Politics forum at the Folger Shakespeare Theater was held on Tuesday, September 20, 2016 in Washington, DC Photos by GH Studios. © Garrett Hubbard 2016

The event, sponsored by UConn’s Humanities Institute and a $5.75 million investment in UConn by the John Templeton Foundation, kicked off a three-year research initiative, aptly named The Humility and Conviction in Public Life project.

The project aims to investigate how intellectual humility – through being aware of our own innate biases and responses to new evidence – can overcome current political divisiveness.

“This is an unprecedented attempt to apply humanities and social science research to solve problems in the political sphere,” said Michael Lynch, professor of philosophy and director of the Humanities Institute, in his opening remarks.

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Thursday, September 22, 2016, 2016 Presidential Race – featuring UConn President Susan Herbst and distinguished faculty, our Director Michael Lynch will be one of the panelists

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Thursday, September 22, 2016

5:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Hartford Public Library
500 Main Street
Hartford, CT

It’s finally upon us!  The Presidential election we’ve been digesting and debating for over a year is ready to commence and there’s still so much to talk about.  Please join UConn President Susan Herbst, along with faculty panelists Paul Herrnson, Micki McElya, and Michael P. Lynch for a discussion and question and answer session about the upcoming election. (For information on our panelists, please click more info next to their names in the left column)

The event will begin at 5 p.m. with refreshments and networking. At 5:30 p.m.the formal program will open.

To RSVP online for this event, please click “New Registration” in the top left-hand corner of the page.  All are welcome! We look forward to seeing you there.

This event is a collaboration of the Metro-Hartford Alliance and the University of Connecticut.

Questions? Please contact University Events & Conference Services at rsvp@uconn.edu or by calling (860) 486-1038.

https://www.eiseverywhere.com/ehome/index.php?eventid=197703&

Humanities Institute/Folger Library “Transcribathon”, September 14th, 10 am – 4 pm

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We invite you to take part in the Humanities Institute-Folger Library “Transcribathon,” to be held

Wednesday,  September 14th, 10 am – 4 pm in the Great Hall of the Alumni Center.

You’ve seen the First Folio, now try and read handwriting from Shakespeare’s time!

The Transcribathon is an event connected with the Folger Shakespeare Library’s Early Modern Manuscripts Online project, which is an effort to transcribe and digitize hand written documents from the Age of Shakespeare. [http://folgerpedia.folger.edu/Early_Modern_Manuscripts_Online_(EMMO)] Staff from the Folger will be on site to lead the event. Participants will transcribe and encode manuscripts, individually or in small groups. There will be food (lunch and pizza at the end of the day), fun, entertaining manuscripts, transcription sprints, prizes, and an easy-to-use online transcription platform called Dromio. UConn will be working on the seventeenth-century diary of the fascinating Rev. John Ward, who in addition to his church duties was a learned humanist and active in medical and scientific circles. Learn to read the original documents of the English Renaissance, and be a part of history by getting your name on the completed edition. Please join us, and encourage your students (classes welcome) and colleagues. The more the merrier!

For more information, contact: Brendan Kane at brendan.kane@uconn.edu.

Blog: UConn Early Modern Studies Working Group

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We are pleased to announce the launch of the UConn Early Modern Studies Working Group, a program designed to foster community and collaboration among scholars and students of the early modern period. The Working Group will feature lectures and works-in-progress talks by UConn scholars and outside guest speakers, as well as other events related to early modern studies. The series is funded by the Humanities Institute in an effort to build upon the momentum created by UConn’s recent association with the Folger Shakespeare Library.

It is our hope that this program will have broad interdisciplinary appeal to anyone interested in the early modern period, including undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty. We will update this blog with news on upcoming events.

Sincerely,
Hilary Bogert-Winkler, Ph.D. candidate, History
George Moore, Ph.D. candidate, English

UCHI director Michael Lynch, The “neuromedia” future, in meaningoflife.tv. Michael imagines a world where Google is built into our brains.

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Check out the ‘Brain Bytes: DHMS Weekly Blog’ by Anke Finger on the new Digital Humanities and Media Studies website

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The Humanities Institute’s new area of Digital Humanities and Media Studies (DHMS), under the directorship of Anke Finger (LCL), seeks to engage the UConn community in debates, explorations, and exchange on all aspects related to the Digital Humanities and Media Studies.

http://dhmediastudies.uconn.edu/

Director of the Humanities Institute Michael Lynch, explores the dangerous insecurity of American Exceptionalism.

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The Danger of ‘American Exceptionalism’

The siren call of American exceptionalism ends up encouraging only demagoguery.

By Michael P. Lynch | Contributor

Aug. 14, 2016, at 7:00 a.m.

Over the last month, there has been a steady drumbeat of talk about America’s “greatness” – whether it was making it great again (Donald Trump) or already being the greatest country on Earth (the Obamas and Hillary Clinton). Yet what does it really mean to say America is “great” – now or in the future? Not surprisingly, it depends whom you ask: their politics, their views on the health of the economy and so on. But differences on the meaning of “greatness” go deeper as well and often concern a single idea that is of increasing national importance: American Exceptionalism. read more

Moving the Conversation Forward (Workshop on Intellectual Humility in Secondary Education)

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Moving the Conversation Forward

August 3, 2016 – Kenneth Best – UConn Communications, UConn Today

Middle and high school teachers are on campus this week learning how to use genocide and human rights education to address complex historical and current issues.

The program – The Upstander Academy: Intellectual Humility in Public Discourse Summer Institute – was developed by the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center and the Upstander Project, with assistance from secondary educators in Connecticut.

The week-long session is part of the Humanities Institute’s Public Discourse Project, a research and engagement program examining the role that intellectual humility can play in meaningful public dialogue, and the initial activity sponsored by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation for research on balancing humility and conviction in public life.

The Upstander Academy at UConn is associated with the national Upstander Project, which aims to overcome indifference to social injustice by using learning resources, including documentary films, to motivate individuals to move from being “bystanders” to becoming “upstanders” – people who take action in defense of those who are targeted for harm.

Glenn Mitoma, director of the Dodd Research Center and assistant professor in the Neag School of Education, says the week-long institute focusing on human rights and genocide will be followed by future summer sessions on philosophy and on American Studies. He notes that early secondary education – middle school – is when geography and world history become part of the public school curriculum, providing the opportunity to introduce conflict resolution issues to students. read more

Moving the Conversation Forward

See the Folio at the UConn’s campus art museum, the William Benton Museum of Art, from September 1-25, 2016.

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September 1-25, 2016

The First Folio exhibit, which is free and open to the public, can be found at the William Benton Museum of Art from September 1-25, 2016. Located at 245 Glenbrook Road in Storrs, the Benton’s hours are as follows:

Tuesday – Friday, 10 AM – 4:30 PM
Saturday and Sunday, 1 – 4:30 PM

For a Full Schedule of Events click here

The Humanities Institute is pleased to announce the appointment of Alexis L. Boylan as New Associate Director

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Alexis L. Boylan, Associate Professor, (Art & Art History and Women’s, Gender, & Sexuality Studies).

Professor Boylan’s research focus is on American art from the colonial to the contemporary periods, with particular emphasis on race and gender. She is succeeding Brendan Kane, Associate Professor (History) who is completing his term as Associate Director.