Peace with Nature

September 30, 2019

University Honors Program faculty showcase will examine various forms of ‘survival’

by Jason Franchuk

CARBONDALE, Ill. — Many forms of survival will be discussed when Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s University Honors Program gathers at Morris Library from 3-5 p.m. on Tuesday for its inaugural faculty showcase and student awards presentation. 

From a bomb-blasted Hiroshima Gingko tree that now shares seeds around the world as a symbol of peace studies, to a student-generated course on sustainability that has gathered campus experts in dialogue, the panel discussion in John C. Guyon Auditorium will provide insights vital to the future of SIU, humanity and the planet.  

The event will highlight the University Honors Program’s dedication to interdisciplinary modes of inquiry as faculty and students explore contemporary issues around the bigger questions of survival.  

‘Survival’ explored through collaborative events 

Beginning this fall, the Honors Program invited faculty to propose courses clustered around the theme of “Survival;” this theme is echoed in the upcoming Honors Lecture Series events and collaborative events across the campus and in the community.  

The faculty and their courses included on the panel are: 

  • Satoshi Toyosaki, Communication Studies, “Surviving the Atomic Age: Engaging Science Through Humanity.”
  • Dave Johnson, Languages Cultures and International Trade, “Can SIUC Survive?”
  • Cade Bursell, Cinema and Photography, “Forests and Humans: Inter-Dependencies, Imaginings, and Changemaking.”
  • Laurel Fredrickson, School of Art and Design, “Survival and the Arts: Diaspora, Migration and Displacements.”
  • Pinckney Benedict, English, “Survival Stories: Making the Literature of Survival.”  

SIU students Jacob Coddington and Carly Kasicki will present “Survival in a Changing World.” 

The momentum of the "survival" theme continues into these following Honors events later in the month. 

Przybilla to present ‘Making the World Work for Everyone’ 

The honors program will build upon the “Survival” focus with the 2019 Nancy and Michael Glassman Lecture Series at 6:30 p.m., Oct. 9, in Guyon Auditorium. 

Kurt Przybilla, inventor and senior adviser of the Buckminster Fuller Institute, will present “Making the World Work for Everyone” in salute to Fuller’s “World Game” search for peace and sustainability. 

Filmmaker Patwardhan to screen ‘Reason/Vivek’ 

The upcoming Charles D. Tenney Distinguished Lecture on Oct. 21 will feature internationally renowned documentary filmmaker Anand Patwardhan. He will screen and discuss his most recent work, “Reason/Vivek,” which reflects on the necessity of reason in our survival as a species.