Over the next 18 months, 12 humanities experts will come to UF to discuss the current state of liberal arts and sciences at U.S. universities.
The series, called "Rehumanizing the University: New Perspectives on the Liberal Arts," began Monday with Cary Nelson, president of the American Association of University Professors.
The UF Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere is coordinating the series.
On Monday evening at the Smathers Library 1A, Nelson talked to a room of about 90 people about how student and faculty can come together to better UF.
The purpose of the 12-part series is to create a forum with many voices where everyone can tackle the intellectual life in universities and see how those relationships can affect their communities, said Bonnie Effros, director of UF Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere.
The next speaker is Leslie Harris, who will speak about her personal experiences with Hurricane Katrina and her role as a historian of urban America. The lecture will take place at the Millhopper Branch Library from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 9.
Cary Nelson, a professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, speaks Monday night in Smathers Library about corporate-sponsored academic research. His advice--to collect and unionize--is founded "because students and faculty don't assert their solidarity," something he's seen happen when colleges take money in exchange for corporate grants.
