Vanderbilt University and Nashville Public Library present
a series of lunchtime talks with a philosophical flavor
Conversations with David Wood
Centennial Professor of Philosophy, Vanderbilt University
April 4, 2007
The Public and its Emotional Problems
Lynn Clarke,
Assistant Professor, Communication
Studies
How should we understand "the public" in a pluralistic constitutional democratic
state? What emotional problems is such a public likely to face, and are we
prepared, as members of the public, to address them?
Video Archive
March 7, 2007
The Edge of Beauty
Michael Rose,
Associate Professor of Composition, Blair
School of Music
What are the limits of beauty? How have artists in various eras set themselves
radically against conventional notions of what is beautiful in order to call
aesthetic norms into question and effectively redefine them? Is there value
(ethical, spiritual, cultural) in cultivating a critical approach towards the
objects of our aesthetic inquiry, living mindfully and passionately at the
edge of beauty?
Video Archive
February 7, 2007
Montgomery Bell, Freed Slaves and the Liberian Experiment
Richard Blackett,
Andrew Jackson Professor of History
This lecture will examine Montgomery Bell's decision to free his slaves and
send them to Liberia in the mid 1850s. Why did he choose to free his slaves
at that particular time? Was Bell an abolitionist--or even a supporter of Liberia?
How did his slaves react? How did Bell's decision compare to that of another
slave holder, one Mr. Kennedy of Columbia, Tennessee, who did the same?
Video Archive
