USD Magazine Fall 2016

I n n o v a t i v e n e w c e n t e r a t U S D o f f e r s u p m a n y e x c i t i n g e v e n t s t h r o u g h o u t t h e f a l l [ m u l t i f a c e t e d ] EXPLORING HUMANITIES

it,” she says. “Our ambitious goal is to register every eligible USD student and turn them all out to vote. We know that’s probably a stretch, but why not aim high?” As a university focused on ed- ucating the next generation of global Changemakers, the USD Votes Campaign contributes to this global citizenship perspec- tive by encouraging student in- volvement in these most basic rights — the chance to exercise freedom of thought and actively engage in social change. As an essential part of encouraging a global Change- making focus, Dominguez sees this program as a crucial part of the USD education. For her, social change is directly tied to voting, with active citizens working to help change laws and policies. “In democracies, peaceful change happens at the ballot box,” she says. “Global citizen- ship begins in your local community, in your state and in your nation. The rest of the world looks to the United States for leadership; in order to lead the nation and the world in the direction of social justice, young people have to get involved, get informed and vote. At USD, we want our students to make change in the world, and being an active, voting citizen is an integral part of that effort.” Of course, for all citizens, education is crucial. Toward that end, Dominguez and fellow political science and international relations faculty colleagues Cory Gooding and Tim McCarty have created a compelling, approachable weekly podcast, A Few Reasonable Words, meant to help “soothe the frayed nerves of the American public with the comforting balm of politi- cal science.”

Public Policy. Monday, Nov. 14 at 6 p.m. Warren Auditorium, Mother Rosalie Hill Hall.

Opening Celebration The College of Arts and Sciences is proud to host a celebration in honor of the University of San Diego’s new Humanities Center. The center is dedicated to the exploration of the human condi- tion and the limitless ways in which human beings under- stand and interact with our world. The space will serve as an epicenter of collaborative re- search, public humanities, inter- disciplinary curriculum and digi- tal humanities. Thursday, Oct. 13 at 5:30 p.m. Humanities Center, Serra Hall, Room 200. Illume Speaker Series The College of Arts and Sciences is the liberal arts heart of the university. Our students and fac- ulty exemplify the power, vitality and value of a liberal arts and sciences education every day. To champion the tradition and future of the artes liberales, the Humanities Center Illume Speak- er Series featuring our own re- nowned faculty scholars, invited thought-leaders and prominent public figures to advance the liberal arts on our campus and inspire lifelong learning in our surrounding communities.

Reclaiming National Politics Just days before the presidential election, the Bishop of San Diego, the Most Reverend Robert W. McElroy, will address the troubling U.S. political climate, contrasting it with the uplifting vision of politics that Pope Francis presented to Congress. An Illume special guest, Bishop McElroy will emphasize the importance of civic virtue, ar- guing that we must reclaim our national politics for the protection of the dignity of the human per- son and the advancement of the common good. Sponsored by the Humanities Center and Fran- ces G. Harpst Center for Catholic Thought and Culture. Tuesday, Nov. 1 at 5 p.m. Warren Auditori- um, Mother Rosalie Hill Hall. Academic Freedom in an Age of Conformity Author Joanna Williams, PhD, is a senior lecturer in higher edu- cation at the University of Kent (United Kingdom) and author of Consuming Higher Education: Why Learning Can’t Be Bought . In her Illume lecture, she will discuss themes from her recently published and highly acclaimed book, Academic Freedom in an Age of Conformity . Noting that academic freedom in higher ed- ucation is increasingly being threatened by a range of politi- cal and intellectual trends such as feminism, critical theory and identity politics, Williams argues that a challenge to the culture of censorship and conformity is needed for critique to be possi- ble and for the intellectual proj- ect of evaluating knowledge to be meaningful. Sponsored by the Humanities Center and Cen- ter for Ethics, Economics and

Lisa Nunn, PhD As part of the college lecture series, Lisa Nunn, PhD (pictured above), will be discussing her research on the sociology of education, organizations and cultural sociology. Her work also engages the fields of gender, sexuality and identity. Her latest book, Defining Student Success: The Role of School and Culture (2014), investigates how both schools and students refine and adapt cultural ideas about academic success, and how this process perpetuates existing social inequality. Her current research focuses on first-year college students’ dilemmas as they make the transition from high school to college. Nunn has published articles on racial tension in classrooms, experien- tial learning and community engagement. Monday, Dec. 5 at 6 p.m. Humanities Center, Serra Hall, Room 200. To learn more about any of these events, go to www.sandiego.edu/ humanities-center.

Listen at www.sandiego.edu/ reasonable-words.

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FALL 2016