Speakeasies
Here are some more details about the Speakeasy series of informal student-faculty conversations and debates (as I mentioned in my last newsletter) in the Faculty of Arts, beginning next week. These are co-organized by me (Michael Ullyot) and Kalista Sherbaniuk, one of the four Students’ Union Arts Representatives.
Why take popular culture seriously?
Is popular culture mere entertainment, or should we take it seriously? Scholars like Simon Frith argue that popular music is an imprint of the social forces that create it. It helps us understand our society, and even Shakespeare was popular in his day. But does Suzanne Collins belong on our bookshelves next to William Blake? Should our playlists shuffle between Mozart and Macklemore? Do Hollywood movies help us understand the world, or just escape from it?
When + Where: Monday, 9 February 2015, 5pm, Faculty of Arts Lounge (SS104)
Speakers: Dawn Johnston (Communication & Culture), Angie Chiang (Communication & Culture), Darin Flynn (Linguistics, Languages and Cultures)
How and why should I live a creative life?
We spend far more time consuming culture than creating it. We have a fear of failure, and that makes us too timid to explore ideas and ask the questions that lead to wisdom.
The solution? We should live a more creative life, thinking and acting in ways that make new possibilities for our lives and our world. Creativity opens our minds to the world, and shapes the world to our minds.
When + Where: Wednesday, 18 March 2015, 5pm, Faculty of Arts Lounge (SS104)
Speaker: Allan Bell (School of Creative and Performing Arts), Ian Williams (2014/15 Writer in Residence), and Patrick Finn (Drama)
Here’s the poster for the series: Speakeasies_abstract_revised2
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