Lunch Chat (4/4): African American Philosophy

Professor Yancy

For the next Philosophy Lunch Chat, we're delighted to welcome Dr. George Yancy, Professor of Philosophy at Duquesne University, a specialist on critical philosophy of race, critical whiteness studies, and philosophy of the Black experience.

We'll have an informal discussion with Professor Yancy introducing the main themes and ideas of African American Philosophy. What is it? What issues or topics does it address? Why did this field of philosophy emerge? Why does it matter?

We hope you'll join us in the East Reading Room of the Library the Taylor Lounge (115 Taylor Hall — campus map) at noon on Thursday, April 4th, for pizza and an interesting discussion.

Bucknell Philosophy Colloquium: "The Social Sciences and Philosophy: Allies, Rivals or Enemies?" (3/22)

THE NEXT TALK IN THE BUCKNELL PHILOSOPHY COLLOQUIUM SERIES:

William Lewis (Skidmore College)
"The Social Sciences and Philosophy: Allies, Rivals or Enemies?"

Friday, March 22 at 4:30 pm
Willard Smith Library (Vaughn Lit 125)

Bill Lewis is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Chair of Philosophy and Religion at Skidmore College. He is the author of Louis Althusser and the Traditions of French Marxism (Lexington Books, 2006). His scholarship focuses on the relationships between political activity, self- and group-understanding, and scientific knowledge. In this talk, he will examine different possible models for conceiving the relation between philosophy and the social sciences.


This lecture is sponsored by the Philosophy department and is free and open to the public. Please join us!

At The Threshold: Interdisciplinary Panel on Art, Perception, Engineering and Time

Maria Balcells of the Philosophy department will be joining Samek Director/Chief Curator Richard Rinehart and Maurice Aburdene of Electrical Engineering for an interdisciplinary panel discussion at the Samek Art Gallery (LC, 3rd floor) this Wednesday, March 20th from 6-7 pm. 

The panel will discuss the Samek's current exhibition by electrical engineer and new media art pioneer Jim Campbell, and the exhibit's relationship to art, engineering, and perceptions of imagery and time. Professor Balcells will speak on the notions of our consciousness and how Campbell's use of electric engineering "fools" our minds, so to speak, on how we perceive an image. Professor Aburdene will discuss and show demos of the processes behind electronics. Finally, Rick Rinehart will give an overview of the new media genre and how this form of art crosses disciplines.

Please join us for what will be an interesting and insightful evening. Feel free to invite any other potentially interested folks as well! A reception will follow in the gallery.  

For more information, see: "At the Threshold": Interdisciplinary Panel

(Note: the original date for this event was 2/13/13, but it has been rescheduled for 3/20/13).

"The Island President" at the Campus Theatre

Next up in the Green Screens film series, "The Island President": Tuesday, March 5th at 7:30 PM in the Campus Theatre, with a post-screening discussion.

ON FEBRUARY 7, 2012, MOHAMED NASHEED RESIGNED THE PRESIDENCY UNDER THE THREAT OF VIOLENCE IN A COUP D'ETAT PERPETRATED BY SECURITY FORCES LOYAL TO THE FORMER DICTATOR. THIS FILM IS THE STORY OF HIS FIRST YEAR IN OFFICE. 

Jon Shenk’s The Island President is the story of President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives, a man confronting a problem greater than any other world leader has ever faced—the literal survival of his country and everyone in it. After bringing democracy to the Maldives after thirty years of despotic rule, Nasheed is now faced with an even greater challenge: as one of the most low-lying countries in the world, a rise of three feet in sea level would submerge the 1200 islands of the Maldives enough to make them uninhabitable.

The Island President captures Nasheed’s first year of office, culminating in his trip to the Copenhagen Climate Summit in 2009, where the film provides a rare glimpse of the political horse-trading that goes on at such a top-level global assembly. Nasheed is unusually candid about revealing his strategies—leveraging the Maldives’ underdog position as a tiny country, harnessing the power of media, and overcoming deadlocks through an appeal to unity with other developing nations. When hope fades for a written accord to be signed, Nasheed makes a stirring speech which salvages an agreement. Despite the modest size of his country, Mohamed Nasheed has become one of the leading international voices for urgent action on climate change (Synopsis from the film's website).