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This semester we raise the question of common wealth – what it is that we
all need and value, beneath our real and perceived differences. What, in both
the natural and social realms, belongs to all of us in a common trust, and needs
to be cared for and passed on to future generations?
Please join us, as we seek out the spirit of common wealth in a series of public
events, beginning with a keynote address by Lewis Hyde, author of the classic
book on gift economy and creativity called The Gift, who is deep into a major
work on the cultural commons. Environmental humanist Stephanie Kaza will
engage us in a conversation about “unlearning consumerism”, and painter
Robert Shetterly will share his insights into what makes social change for the
common good possible in his series Americans Who Tell the Truth. We will
seek
out the spirit of common wealth in these and other events, and we hope you
will join us.
Download the complete Higgins School calendar, including all events in
the Difficult Dialogues Symposium here.
 Culture as Commonwealth: Why Art and Ideas Should be held in Common
In his upcoming book, Lewis Hyde offers a modern and American model of our cultural commons, that vast store of unowned ideas, inventions, and works of art we have inherited from the past. At present this legacy suffers from a kind of public invisibility, a lack of political, economic, and juridical standing. The free market is surrounded by full and well-elaborated speech, but the commons is not. It is therefore hard for us to reckon the value of our common assets, and hard to know how best to protect them, keep them lively, and continue to engender them. It is hard to be good stewards of a wealth so few can see or seem to care about.
As he did in his classic book on creativity – The Gift – Hyde draws from past and present practice a set of stories, metaphors, images, and terms, and elaborates them to create useful tools that can be brought to bear in discussions of our common assets, especially those intangibles that constitute our cultural inheritance; he will share some of these tonight.
Lewis Hyde is a MacArthur Fellow and former director of undergraduate creative writing at Harvard University. He teaches during the fall semesters at Kenyon College, where he is the Richard L. Thomas Professor of Creative Writing. During the rest of the year he lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he is a Fellow at Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society.
Thursday, September 18 @ 7:30
Dana Commons, second floor
LEARN MORE
VIEW a video of Lewis Hyde's talk
 Election 2008: The Presidential Candidates and Climate Change
The health of the natural world is the most pervasive aspect of our common wealth; one of the most important issues our next President will confront is climate change. This event, which will take place on the evening of the second scheduled presidential debate between Senators John McCain and Barack Obama, will examine what the candidates are saying – and what they are not saying – about this critical issue.
Jim Gomes, Director of the Mosakowski Institute will moderate a panel discussion among Clark faculty – Fern Johnson, Sarah Buie, Robert Boatright, Mark Miller – and will engage the audience in dialogue about the politics of climate change. We will then watch the debate together on a big-screen television. Refreshments will be served. Cosponsored by the Mosakowski Institute.
Tuesday, October 7 @ 7:30 (televised debate begins at 9:00)
Dana Commons, second floor
LEARN MORE
VIEW a video of the panel discussion
 Americans Who Tell the Truth: exhibition opening & artist talk
I began painting this series of portraits by finding great Americans who spoke the truth and combining their images with their words. We learn from these Americans that the greatness of our country frequently depends not on the letter of the law, but the insistence of a single person that we adhere to the spirit of the law. The courage of these individuals needs to remain a part of a great tradition, a united effort in respect for the truth and the common wealth. These people form the well from which we must draw our future.
Artist Robert Shetterly has, over the last six years, developed a powerful series of portraits of Americans, both historic and living, who have distinguished themselves by speaking out with honesty and courage in service of tolerance, justice, compassion, and the common wealth. Ten of these portraits are on display through December 5th.
Opening: Thursday, October 9 @ 7:30
On View: through December 5th, 2008
Dana Commons, second floor
Gallery Hours: Tuesday-Friday 9:00 to 3:00
 Unlearning Consumerism: Toward a Mindful Society
Making consumer choices has become a complex realm of ethical deliberation, stumping even the most informed and virtuous consumer. Drawing on an inner dialogic process informed by Buddhist values, Stephanie Kaza, Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of Vermont (with a concentration in the environmental humanities) and author of Hooked! Buddhist Writings on Greed, Desire, and the Urge to Consume, will lead us in an exploration of how a “green practice path” can support increased personal awareness and social sustainability.
Stephanie Kaza is co-chair of the UVM Environmental Council, Professor Kaza has been actively engaged in campus sustainability initiatives to reduce waste, conserve energy, and promote environmental values.
Tuesday, October 14 @ 7:30
Dana Commons, second floor
 What's Behind Your Vote?
Five days to go...What's at stake? Does your vote count?
Join us in a shared conversation about this year's election...with snacks!
Thursday, October 30 @ 7:00
Dana Commons, second floor
Election Watch 2008
Please join us as we watch the polls roll in on the big-screen. No spin, no speeches – just C-SPAN coverage, comfortable chairs and quiet conversation. Refreshments provided.
Tuesday, November 4, 8:30pm-?
Dana Commons, second floor
 Awakening the Dreamer Symposium
What kind of future are we creating? And will it work for everyone? The Awakening the Dreamer, Changing the Dream Symposium is a profound inquiry into a bold vision: to bring forth an environmentally sustainable, spiritually fulfilling and socially just human presence on Earth. You will gain fresh insight about our world, meet like-minded people, find hope and inspiration and leave clear how you can help create a new future. If you are ready to explore what this vision means for you, we invite you to attend. Cosponsored by Difficult Dialogues, Clark Sustainability Initiative, The Unitarian Universalist Campus Fellowship, and the Department of Global Environmental Studies.
TO REGISTER AwakeningTheDreamer.org
Wednesday, November 12 @ 7:00
Dana Commons, second floor
A Brighter Future: Opening our Hearts to our Neighbors
Throughout Worcester’s history, waves of immigrants have come here in search of opportunity. Together, the recently arrived and the born-and-raised, we make up this community. Community members must learn each other’s stories if we are to know each other, trust each other, and help each other. The program will commemorate the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by returning to a universal foundation of healthy communities: hearing the stories of our neighbors.
Worcester city residents – including public officials, community leaders, newcomers, and members of the Clark community – are all invited to take part in facilitated roundtable dialogues. Dinner will be provided. The event will also feature a presentation of the Eleanor Hawley Award to Senator Edward M. Augustus Jr.
This event is cosponsored by the City of Worcester Human Rights Commission, the City Manager's Community Coalition on Bias and Hate and the College of the Holy Cross.
TO REGISTER, please contact Higgins School Program Coordinator, Lisa Gillingham at 508.793.7479 or lgillingham@clarku.edu
Monday, November 17, 5:30-8:00
Tilton Hall, Higgins University Center
UPDATE: The Way of Council Workshop, originally scheduled for November 20th, has been postoned until next semester. Please check our website in January for further deatils.
Way of Council Workshop
Council is an ancient form and modern practice whose roots are within the natural world, spanning diverse cultures and religions. Here we listen to the whole circle: the people, and the place, earth, water, fire, air — the life spirit in all. This practice elicits an experience of true community, recognizing that each voice needs to be heard, that every person has a gift, a story to share, a piece of the whole. How do we remember all our relations, embrace difference and find our own voice, while opening to others? It seems more than ever an essential time in our educational institutions, our nation and world to awaken this deep relational heart/mind.
This workshop is limited to 20 participants.
TO REGISTER, please contact Higgins School Program Coordinator, Lisa Gillingham at 508.793.7479 or lgillingham@clarku.edu
Thursday, November 20, 3:00-6:00
Dana Commons, second floor
Main South Speaks: Voices, Images, Graffiti Art
This exhibit represents a collaboration between local Main South high school students and Clark students enrolled in the Difficult Dialogues First-year Seminar ‘Communication and Culture in Main South,’ taught by Professor Sarah Michaels. Together, they are examining borders and boundaries (art vs. vandalism; town vs. gown) and challenging the status quo. Their work – across a variety of mediums and modes of expression – reflects an ongoing dialogue about voice, representation, and power. Find out more at: MainSouthSpeaks.com.
Friday, December 12 – 6 to 9pm
Dana Commons, second floor
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Diana Chapman Walsh |
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