Important Alliance Recognized

Important Alliance Recognized

The next Scientia colloquium, by Judith Brown, dean of the School of Humanities, will explore the past and present role of the humanities at Rice and other American universities.

The humanities at Rice can be a model for humanities elsewhere in the nation, Brown said in the abstract of her Scientia lecture, titled "The Role of the Humanities: Rice as a Case Study." The lecture will be held at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 15, in the Kyle Morrow Room of Fondren Library. The event is free and open to the public.

"The history of Rice University mirrors the ambivalence of American society toward the humanities," Brown said. "The founding charter established Rice for ‘the advancement of literature, science, art, philosophy and letters.’ Yet in its early years, the university concentrated on science and engineering. This colloquium will explore the past and present role of the humanities at Rice within the larger context of the humanities in American universities. In recent decades, the School of Humanities at Rice has emerged as a powerful intellectual force that is engaged in important research, often in fruitful dialog with disciplines in other schools as well as institutions outside the university."

The topic for the 1999-2000 Scientia lecture series is "Rethinking the University." For more information about Scientia visit the Web site, http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~scientia/ .