The 2008 DePauw Colloquium on Liberal Education

“The Liberal Arts in a Time of Climate Crisis”

February 4, 2008

 

 

 

“Reason,” wrote Winston Churchill, “often produces prudence when boldness is called for.”
In the face of climate-change threats to human well being and fundamental freedoms,
how might the liberal arts move us from a comfortable prudence to an imaginative boldness
that draws out the best in us?

Schedule of Events

Monday, February 4, 2008
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Dinner * and Evening Presentation by Dr. Michael Maniates
5:30 * to 8:00 p.m. – The Janet Prindle Institute for Ethics, Room 162/Auditorium
Boldness, Prudence, and Freedom:  Tough Choices for the Liberal Arts in a Warming World
RSVP for dinner to Lyn Gram

Dr. Michael Maniates is a Full Professor of Political Science and Environmental Science at Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania.  In addition to teaching classes on the politics of Third World “development,” the domestic and international politics of environmental governance, energy futures, and the dynamics of social change, Maniates studies and writes about global patterns of consumption, overconsumption, and consumerism; low consumption/high prosperity paths to development; underexplored routes of citizen involvement in contemporary environmental struggles; and joyful learning and teaching in the liberal arts.  He holds a B.S. (Phi Beta Kappa) in Conservation and Resource Studies, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Energy and Resources, all from the University of California at Berkeley.  He was a Fulbright scholar to India, a recipient of the Sprout Award for the best book in International Environmental Politics (with Tom Princen and Ken Conca) for Confronting Consumption (MIT Press 2002), and Academic Dean of the Spring 2007 ‘round-the-world sailing of Semester at Sea.  In 2000, Allegheny College surprised him with the Thoburn Teaching Award for Innovation and Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching.  His best known publications include “Environmental Studies: The Sky is Not Falling,” published in BioScience; “Individualization: Plant a Tree, Ride A Bike, Save the World” and “In Search of Consumptive Resistance: The Voluntary Simplicity Movement” in Confronting Consumption (MIT Press 2002), which he also co-edited; and “Of Knowledge and Power” in his edited volume Encountering Global Environmental Politics (Rowman & Littlefield 2003).  His current work focuses on climate change, citizen action, and sacrifice.  He’s made his home in Meadville, Pennsylvania since 1993 with his wife Kathy Greely (who directs the Commonwealth Community Energy Project) and his two daughters Sarah (17) and Hannah (13).

 It is recommended that you carpool to The Prindle Institute for Ethics.

* After Monday's faculty meeting, please join use for a light meal (Light vegetarian fare -- tasty,
and with a small carbon footprint to boot!) to begin around 5:30 p.m. or whenever the faculty
meeting lets out, whichever is later.  After 45 minutes or so of conversing and eating, we
will adjourn to the auditorium for our guest speaker's presentation.


Tuesday, February 5, 2008
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Individual and Classroom Sessions with Dr. Michael Maniates
9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Contact Rich Cameron to schedule.


All faculty members, staff and students are welcome.

For more information about the DePauw Colloquium on Liberal Education, please contact
the Colloquium coordinator:

Dr. Richard ‘Rich’ Cameron
Assistant Professor of Philosophy
Office Phone: (765)658-4452
rcameron@depauw.edu

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