R.H. Johnson Lecture Hall

How is beauty portrayed in the movies we watch? In the ads we are exposed to? Popular culture, or the dominant culture, has played a key role in defining the standards of beauty in America and across the globe. We celebrate blondness, fairness, blue-eyes, and slender figures (in women). What advantages and privileges are associated... Read More

Environmental sustainability, access to voting, public education—these are all civic issues affecting communities. What is a community? How can you participate in one? Join us for a lively discussion about what it means to be a part of a community and how you can engage with issues that matter to you. Together we will learn... Read More

There has been a lot of attention on pronouns in the news headlines recently—from state bills aimed at regulating pronouns in the classroom to social media platforms offering pronoun options. So, what is a pronoun? How are pronouns related to gender identity, such as cisgender, transgender, nonbinary? What are gender identities? Is there a difference... Read More

In today’s digital world, anyone can publish their writing. Anyone can make a movie. The democratization of knowledge or content creation has given a voice to untold stories. But there is a flipside. Who, or what, gets to create knowledge? Can AI systems create knowledge? When Chat GPT writes a student’s paper, is that original... Read More