The Art of Being Free - Humanities Symposium

"Debate Camp" & "Game On": A Viewing & Discussion of Two Episodes of The West Wing
September 7, 2008
2 pm
Leu Center for the Visual Arts 114
Dr. Bonnie Smith and University Media Writer April Hefner (M.A. '07) will lead a discussion of two episodes of The West Wing that focus on preparing for a presidential debate. We'll view "Debate Camp" and "Game On" (originally aired in October 2002) and discuss the importance of language in political discourse, especially the "10-word answer" and the problematic prevalance of bumper sticker politics.

Please Argue With Me! A Summons to the Humanities Symposium
Dr. Bonnie Smith
September 8, 2008
10 a.m.
Massey Boardroom
Dr. Bonnie Smith will deliver the first address of the Humanities Symposium. What is an argument? Why are we here to think and talk together about debate, dissent and dialogue? And why are these concepts important not only in this political season but in the university, in our relationships and in our community?

One of the Greatest Debates in Western History: The Controversy of Valladolid
Dr. Natalia Pelaz
September 8, 2008
2 p.m.
Massey Boardroom
In 1550, two of the most relevant wise men of their time, De las Casas and Sepulveda, met at Valladolid (Spain) to debate about a topic that affected, and affects, millions of people. The result of that debate could change their lives forever (or not).

"The Criticism of Honest Opponents" and Our Heritage of Dissent
Dr. David Curtis
September 8, 2008
5 p.m.
Belmont University Amphitheatre (rain location Massey Boardroom)
In The Souls of Black Folk, W.E.B. DuBois asserted that "[h]onest and earnest criticism from those whose interests are most nearly touched, - criticism of writers by readers, of government by those governed, of leaders by those led, - this is the soul of democracy and the safeguard of modern society." Yet many political and corporate structures in contemporary U.S. culture discourage or prevent outright these beneficial types of criticism. Citing a number of especially literary examples, Curtis will discuss how, despite these obstacles, U.S. writers have historically pursued dissent, and how the responsibility to revive and preserve this heritage is incumbent upon all who would consider themselves citizens.

Debate, Dissent, Dialogue and Indirection: A Viewing of Amazing Grace
Dr. Maggie Monteverde and Michael Jackson
September 8, 2008
6:30 p.m.
Massey Boardroom
Following a viewing of the film Amazing Grace, we will discuss the life of William Wilberforce and his fight to end the slave trade, as well as ways in which his real life differs from his reel life. In the process we will also touch on dissent in the English political scene at the end of the 18th century and, hopefully, shed some light on how debate and indirection worked in Parliament at this time.

Willie Stark, the Voices of the People, and the Voices of Powerful
Professor Sue Trout
September 9, 2008
11 a.m.
Bunch Library Art Gallery
Professor Sue Trout will discuss Robert Penn Warren's masterpiece, All the King's Men, especially how Willie Stark uses the "language of the people" and the "language of power."

Panel on Dissent and Debate in Nashville
September 9, 2008
4:30 p.m.
Leu Center for the Visual Arts 114
Local politicians and activists Larry Woods, Bob Tuke (candidate for U.S. Senate), Representative Beth Harwell, Eric Stansell (candidate for State House District 52) and WRVU talk show host Freddie O'Connell discuss how we debate, dissent and dialogue with one another on a variety of local issues.
Reception 6-7 p.m. in the Leu Center for the Visual Arts Lobby.

Extra Terrestrial: The Outsized Influence of Talk Radio in America's Political Discussion - Freddie O'Connell
September 9, 2008
7 p.m.
Leu Center for the Visual Arts (LCVA) Room 114
Freddie O'Connell, WRVU talk show host, will discuss the phenomenon of talk radio, which has dramatically influenced the way American debates have been framed in recent years.

Dissent in the Nixon Era
Dr. Jeff Coker and Dr. Peter Kuryla
September 10, 2008
4:30 p.m.
Bunch Library Art Gallery
Belmont historians Dr. Jeff Coker and Dr. Peter Kuryla will discuss dissent in the Nixon era, paying special attention to the student and black power movements.

Reinventing Richard Nixon: Debating Cultural Values and National Identity
Dr. Daniel Frick
September 10, 2008
7 p.m.
Bunch Library Art Gallery
Conflicting stories about and images of Richard Nixon have haunted U.S. popular culture for nearly half a century. But what motivates this national obsession with reinventing Richard Nixon in literature, film, cartoons, music and other media? More than just dispuitng the former president's significance in history, these competing representations of Nixon battle one another in promoting certain cultural values and in defining a particular vision of national identity - what the country was, what it is and what it should be. In other words, when we disagree about Nixon, we are debating about the meaning of America.

Telling National Stories: A Novel Way to Debate Argentina
Dr. Paulo Boero
September 11, 2008
2 p.m.
Frist Lecture Hall
As Argentina suffered and later emerged from the nightmare of its last military dictatorship, artists sought both to undermine the regime's monologic discourse of national identity and to promote more profound, humane conversations about Argentine identity and reality. In this context, the historical and fictional storyteller emerges as a transformative force whose power resides in his/her ability to help civil society re-imagine itself through dialogues.

Jihad in Islam: The Creation of a Mujahid Identity in the Past and Present
Dr. Masood Raja
September 11, 2008
4:30 p.m.
Frist Lecture Hall
Dr. Masood Raja will consider the historical, cultural and contemporary context of jihad and its complex relationship to Muslim politics, male subjectivity and global paradigms of power. Raja, a Belmont graduate, holds a Ph.D. from Florida State University and teaches in the English department at Kent State University. He specializes in Postcolonial Literature and Theory with an emphasis on South Asia and the Islamic world.

"Interesting Point": Pulp Fiction, Postmodern Philosophy and the Fine Art of Disagreement - Dr. Michael Berube
September 11, 2008
7 p.m.
Frist Lecture Hall
Dr. Michael Berube will ask how people can find ways to agree to disagree - and will suggest why people should agree to form societies in which such disagreement is possible. Berube is the Paterno Family Professor in Literature at Pennsylvania State University. He is is the author of six books and a widely published essayist in academic and popular publications.

Debate, Dissent & Dialogue Symposium Panel
September 12, 2008
10 a.m.
Frist Lecture Hall
Featured speakers Dr. Masood Raja, Dr. Daniel Frick and Dr. Michael Berube will continue the discussion in a panel on the Humanities Symposium's themes. Dr. Bonnie Smith and Dr. David Curtis will moderate.

Philologoi and Philosophy Honor Students
September 12, 2008
2 p.m.
Frist Lecture Hall
Dr. Mark Anderson will lead Philosophy students and anyone else who wishes to participate in a conversation about issues raised by the symposium.

"We Will Not Walk in Fear of One Another": Good Night, and Good Luck and Dissent in the Media
September 14, 2008
2 p.m.
Leu Center for the Visual Arts 114
We will screen Good Night, and Good Luck and Dr. Rich Tiner will lead us in discussion about dissent and the media. Nominated for six Oscars, Good Night, and Good Luck is a 2005 film about journalist Edward R. Murrow's showdown with Wisconsin Senator Joe McCarthy. The film stars George Clooney (who also directs), David Straithairn and Robert Downey, Jr., and the film's tagline is "We will not walk in fear of one another."

Please Argue Some More! A Wrap-Up of Debate, Dissent and Dialogue
September 15, 2008
10 a.m.
Massey Room 100
Dr. Maggie Monteverde will lead faculty panelists and students in a conversation about what we've learned from our symposium and where we might go from here.