The Humanities Center has launched a new colloquium series to highlight faculty research and works-in-progress. Introduced by Georges Van Den Abbeele, founding dean of the College of Social Sciences and Humanities, the weekly series encourages inspirational discussions with Northeastern’s leading scholars and marks a revitalization of the center.
“I initiated the colloquium series to give our faculty the opportunity to share their exciting work with a diverse group of students, faculty and staff from across the University,” said Van Den Abbeele. “Northeastern is home to leading scholars in a variety of fields. Though we enjoy and learn much from visiting academics, there is a wealth of knowledge to be shared amongst our own faculty.”
Van Den Abbeele noted the series is just one of several new Humanities Center initiatives.
“I’d like to refocus the center’s mission and infuse more excitement into the humanities,” Van Den Abbeele said, adding that he intends to bring some of the most prestigious and recognizable names in the humanities to Northeastern as guest lecturers and visiting scholars.
The series also incorporates the Humanities Center’s goal to bring together the humanities and social sciences to consider issues from an interdisciplinary perspective.
The works-in-progress series debuted on Sept. 12 with a discussion led by William Fowler, Distinguished Professor of History. Fowler entertained his audience with surprising and even comical stories from his time spent conducting research for his 12th book, “American Crisis: George Washington and the Dangerous Two Years After Yorktown, 1781–1783.” During his talk, Fowler underscored the importance of and his appreciation for the digitization of documents and robust resources available online.
“As a historian, it is very important for me to visit the sites I write about to get a sense of space, to smell the smells and stand in the places where these events took place,” Fowler said. “I’m also extremely grateful for the many librarians and archivists that pointed me to sources that I might have never found on my own.”
The colloquium series takes place every Monday at noon in 162 Meserve Hall. Today, Joan Fitzgerald, director of the Law and Public Policy program, will continue the series with a talk entitled, “Grand Visions vs. Low-Hanging Fruit: How Cities Respond to Climate Change.”
The entire schedule can be found here.
– by Greg St. Martin
