Can the Center Hold?
Week 4 | M, Tu, W, Th, F | Smith Library Classroom | Ages 14+
Our society may be losing its center. This course explores such a loss during the Reformation, and looks at dysfunctional centers, such as in Germany during the 1930s. It considers the need for justice to maintain a viable center (jeopardized by gaps between rich and poor), and the need for knowledge (jeopardized by fake news and AI). Tensions exist within our center between free speech and sexual harassment, as well as between religious freedom and discrimination against the LGBTQ community. Topics are addressed through presentation and discussion.
Peter Wenz
B.A., Binghamton Univ.; Ph.D., Univ. of Wisconsin. 35 years teaching at universities, including Univ. of Illinois, Oxford Univ. (England), and Canterbury Univ. (New Zealand). Eight books published by such presses as Oxford Univ. Press, MIT Press, and McGraw-Hill. Has lectured in England, Scotland, Ireland, France, Germany, China, Australia and New Zealand, and is one of the people who simultaneously coined the term “environmental justice.”
