University Studies: A Humanities Center Reading Group
This reading group serves as an extension of the University Studies: Envisioning the Institution Research Seminar headed by Professors Lisi Schoenbach and Amy Elias during the 2018-2019 academic year. The seminar covered an extensive list of readings, including hosting campus visits by Christopher Newfield, author of The Great Mistake: How We Wrecked Public Universities and How We Can Fix Them (2016) and John Marx and Mark Cooper, co-authors of Media U: How the Need to Win Audiences Has Shaped Higher Education (2018) to consider a variety of factors, including historical, cultural, and economic, that impact how universities function today.
The University Studies Reading Group will meet two to three times a semester to discuss articles and books. The one-hour discussions begin at 11:30 a.m. and take place at the UT Humanities Center. The discussions are open to the university and general public. To sign up for communications about the group, email humanitiesctr@utk.edu.
Upcoming Discussions
October 23
11:30 a.m.
Topic: Academic Freedom
Discussion will focus on academic freedom using Knowledge, Power, and Academic Freedom by Joan Wallach Scott, (Columbia University Press, 2019).
November 20
11:30 a.m.
Discussion will focus on considering public humanities as part of UT’s land-grant mission using the following articles:
- Devoney Looser, “The Hows and Whys of Public Humanities,” MLA, Spring 2019.
- Jordan Windholz, “Going Public: Rethinking Engagement and Access through Local Partnerships,” MLA, Spring 2019.
- Danielle Spratt and Bridget Draxler, Pride and Presentism: On the Necessity of the Public Humanities for Literary Historians. MLA, Spring 2019.
Questions? Contact Beauvais Lyons.