April 8, 2013 - 5:21am
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, April 8, 2013
Nanaimo, B.C - Big names in history including Plato, Dante, Shakespeare, Nietzsche and Heisenberg will come to life this week during Vancouver Island University's 22nd annual Liberal Studies spring conference April 9, 10 and 11.
Close to 50 Liberal Studies students from Nanaimo, Cowichan, Powell River and Courtenay/Comox will discuss the lives and works of these great philosophers, playwrights and authors, as well as other topics including the Bible and Renaissance Art, during a series of presentations at VIU's Nanaimo campus.
Members of the public are welcome to attend any or all presentations.
“Our annual spring conference is an entertaining, informative and educational event where students present their senior projects and other papers,” says Liberal Studies professor Maureen Okun. “We host this conference year after year because at its heart, Liberal Studies is about conversations face-to face and collective engagements with important and gripping works and ideas. Students in Liberal Studies participate in such conversations every week, usually during small seminar discussion groups.
“The spring conference provides an opportunity to extend the conversation to all Liberal Studies students, to the VIU community as a whole, and to the wider community beyond the university,” says Okun. “The conference also allows us to showcase the excellent work of our students.”
Students taking Liberal Studies courses at VIU's Powell River and Cowichan campuses will participate in the spring conference via video conference.
The three-day conference also features keynote speaker Jordan Peterson, psychology professor at the University of Toronto, television lecturer and author of Maps of Meaning: the Architecture of Belief. Dr. Peterson will deliver a public lecture entitled “How the Stories We Inhabit Determine the Destiny of the World” on Wednesday, April 10 from 1 to 2:30 pm, building 356, room 109.
“Peterson’s research is eclectic,” says Okun. “It ranges from the Bible to Eastern religion to science and psychology, and so he seems perfect for a liberal studies talk.”
All student presentations take place in Building 355 at the Nanaimo campus. A complete schedule will be posted at www.viu.ca/liberalstudies/events.
According to Okun, VIU's Liberal Studies program draws its rich content from influential works in the humanities, arts and sciences. Through seminar discussions in small classes, professors and students examine how western culture has developed out of a diverse legacy, from Ancient Hebraic and Greek traditions to the 21st century.
Small class sizes allow for open, inclusive discussion where students develop strong relationships with each other and their instructors. Students develop crucial skills in communication, teamwork, self-reliance, critical analysis and creative expression, skills that required for today's workforce, adds Okun. Graduates find employment in a variety of careers including law, public service, architecture, business, art, education and the media - anywhere that a broad education is recognized as an important asset.
Courses are team taught by professors from both institutions with a wide range of academic backgrounds. Elective courses in Liberal Studies may appeal to those currently studying specific disciplines because Liberal Studies courses often increase students' general cultural awareness and skill set.
Liberal Studies students in the Courtenay/Comox region can take courses in their own community through a partnership between North Island College (NIC) and VIU. Courses are offered at NIC's Comox campus.
"It's a great arrangement," says Liberal Studies instructor Dr. David Livingstone. "Basically we bring the BA degree to them rather than asking them to commute each week to Nanaimo. It is always a lively group of students."
For information on Liberal Studies courses offered at NIC's Comox Valley campus, at VIU Nanaimo or VIU Cowichan, contact Okun at 250-753-3245 (local 2174) or visit www.viu.ca/liberalstudies.
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ABOUT VIU: Vancouver Island University is Canada's west coast university. Known as a centre of excellence for teaching, learning and applied research, VIU offers a diverse range of certificate, diploma and undergraduate and master degree programs to more than 18,000 students on campuses in Nanaimo, Powell River and Cowichan, and at the Parksville-Qualicum Centre. For more information visit www.viu.ca
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