Virtual Liberal Arts Colloquium examines pandemics and their consequences

Nov. 3, 2020 |

The Harding University College of Arts and Humanities is teaming up with the Colleges of Sciences , Bible and Ministry , Business and Administration , Education and Nursing to host a virtual Liberal Arts Colloquium series. For three evenings, Nov. 9 at 6 p.m. and Nov. 10 and 12 at 7 p.m., University faculty will discuss the interaction with and responses of their field to the current pandemic. The event will be available via HU16 and streaming at streaming.harding.edu .

“We are bringing together experts from economics, sports, biology, chemistry, art, literature, psychology, history, public policy, and theology to address the questions and problems that face us and any society confronting pandemic or epidemic disease,” said Julie Harris, professor of history and director of the Liberal Arts Colloquium. “Our goal is to assist our students and the wider community in contextualizing and coping with the events and issues surrounding COVID-19.”

On Nov. 9 Steve Moore, David Adams, Greg Laing and David Donley will present a view of the past, present and future in pandemics. The second evening, Nov. 10, Susn Kehl, Lori Klein, Rich Brown, Stephen Warren and Greg Harris will discuss managing the wider pandemic. The final evening, Nov. 12, Klay Bartee, Russell Keck, Steve Choate and Mac Sandlin will highlight the pandemic, the arts and mental health.

Nov. 9: The Past, Present & Future in Pandemics

• Steve Moore: Looking Back, Looking Forward
• David Adams: The Route to Curing Disease is Filled with Wrong Turns and Dead Ends
• Greg Laing: Ashes, Ashes, We All Fall Down: The Black Death in Medieval History
• David Donley: Stopping the Spread of Disease: Interventions that Save Lives

Nov. 10: Managing the Wider Pandemic

• Susan Kehl Interview: Life on the Front Lines: Interview with Audrianna Copeland
• Lori Klein: The Eternal Question Meets the Novel Virus: Federalism and Covid
• Rich Brown: Business at a Time When the Main Certainty is Uncertainty
• Stephen Warren: Learning in Isolation
• Greg Harris: We Just Want to Play: Athletics and the Pandemic

Nov. 12: Pandemics, the Arts & Mental Health

• Klay Bartee: The Certainty of Uncertainty: Vaccinating the Virus of Control
• Russell Keck: Literature & the Black Death
• Steve Choate: Pandemic and the Arts
• Mac Sandlin: Hard Times Flush the Chumps: The Problem of Suffering & the Virtues Needed to Navigate a Pandemic

The Colloquium on Liberal Arts began five years ago and is an interdisciplinary program drawing on the expertise of University faculty to provide perspectives on, connections among, and investigations into the events, ideas and issues that define and shape humanity.