Talking about one’s self too often tends to be frowned upon, except in the Humanities Institute.
“Concepts of the Self,” the institute’s spring theme, featured 10 public events at Scripps College, including talks, workshops, two conferences, and faculty seminars. The various events focused on how we can observe this concept in theory, fiction, religion, politics, film, other media, and its “natural habitat” within ourselves. The semester kicked off with a series of back-to-back lectures. Among these, Stanford professor Ann O’Day Maples spoke on the history and future of selfies; prominent feminist psychoanalyst Nancy Chodorow discussed the connections between psychoanalysis and the self; and Scripps’ own Michael Spezio, an associate professor of psychology, offered a seminar on how the self relates to the concepts of benevolent and beneficent action in psychology.
Derek Parfit, arguably one of the most influential living philosophers, also traveled to the campus from Oxford University to discuss his ideas of the self during the institute’s conference on Humans and Selves.
For a full listing of events, click here.
The institute’s unique ongoing explorations of one topic are of particular advantage to its Junior Fellows. Students apply to the program each semester to address the theme from a range of perspectives. Fellows attend each of the institute’s weekly public events and meet with each event speaker in seminar the following day. This spring’s students, for instance, had the opportunity to speak with world-renowned philosophers and explore the non-self during a field trip and meditation workshop at the Mt. Baldy Zen Center.
“It was a joy to explore perspectives on the self with the fellows,” says Yuval Avnur, associate professor of philosophy and director of the Humanities Institute. “We had good times and plenty of unique opportunities to explore this topic from a variety of perspectives.
“The March 6-7 conference was especially successful in the sense that the community was exposed to important topics about the self that we otherwise wouldn’t encounter. The speakers gave perspectives from other cultures, fields, and traditions not discussed in your typical philosophy class. It definitely introduced a degree of diversity into our curriculum.”
Fall 2015 will introduce a new director and theme. Hao Huang, Scripps College professor and Bessie and Cecil Frankel Endowed Chair in Music, will lead the institute in examining “Dangerous Conversations: Raced/Gendered/Classed Violence in the U.S.”
“We want to closely engage with specific issues in post-Ferguson America,” says Huang. “The point is to try to figure out how to move forward together with this knowledge.
“A Humanities Institute seminar can be transformative,” Huang continues. “It’s not about fulfilling requirements for a major; it’s not simply about data or skill acquisition; it’s about finding out how a life of the mind can affect how we choose to engage in life with others.”
Visit the Humanities Institute website for videos, podcasts, and event information reaching back to its founding in 1986, and follow the institute on Facebook and Twitter for updates.