Thinking Out
of the Lunchbox
Spring 2007
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