The annual Argument and Inquiry Seminar convocation, targeted directly to the students and faculty engaged in A&I seminars, features a speaker who addresses the nature of liberal arts and/or a liberal arts approach to learning.
All A&I faculty are encouraged to prime their students for the convocation address by assigning one of the articles about liberal arts education that is found on the A&I website, or some other piece that you believe will stimulate their reflection on these themes. This will be educationally valuable in its own right and will also ensure that the convo doesn’t come across as a “stand-alone” event disconnected from your course.
Convocations
Visit the links below for more information and video recordings of the convocations:
2023 A & I Convocation: Friday, September 28 – View the recorded seminar.
Susan Jaret McKinstry, Helen F. Lewis Professor of English
2022 A&I Convocation: Friday, Sept 27 – View the recorded seminar.
Cathy Yandell, W. I. and Hulda F. Daniell Professor of French and Francophone Studies
2021 A&I Convocation : Friday, September 24 – View the recorded seminar.
Neil Lutsky, William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Psychology
2020 A & I Convocation: Friday, October 23rd – View the recorded seminar.
Ruth Wilson Gilmore, Professor of Earth & Environmental Sciences and Director of the Center for Place, Culture, and Politics at the City University of New York Graduate Center.
“Meanwhile: Making Abolition Geography.”
2019 A & I Convocation: Friday, September 27th
Mary Savina ’72, Charles L. Denison Professor of Geology
“Argument, Inquiry, and Cereal Boxes”
2018 A & I Convocation: Friday, September 21st
Fred Hagstrom, Rae Schupack Nathan Professor of Art
“Deepening the Habit of Learning, Fostering Curiosity and Imagination for a Lifetime”
2017 A & I Convocation: Friday, September 22nd.
Elizabeth McKinsey, Maxine H. and Winston R. Wallin Professor of American Studies and English
“A Case for Liberal Arts Education: Language, Wonder, and Care”
2016 A&I Convocation: Friday, September 23rd
Professor of Asian Studies and Religion Roger Jackson
“As Is/As If: The Anxious First-Year’s Guide to Argument and Inquiry”
2015 A&I Convocation: Friday, September 25th
History Professor Clifford Clark
“My Freshman Year and Yours: Politics, Technological Change, and the Future of the Liberal Arts”
2014 A&I Convocation: Friday, September 26th
Economics Professor Stephen Strand
“Either Appear As You Are, Or Be As You Appear”