10th Annual Humanities Symposium – Reconnections” Feb. 1-4, 2021

To mark the occasion of its 10th Humanities Symposium, several outstanding speakers from past events will return in 2021. “Over the past year, we have all been exploring new ways of connecting with one another and we look forward to the symposium as a great opportunity to reconnect and explore the theme of reconnections. This time around, our guests will be in conversation with teachers from the Humanities Department,” says Lisa Jorgensen, principal organizer of the 2021 Humanities Symposium.

Events begin with four speakers on Monday, February 1. At 8:30 am, Lili Petrovic will interview retired professor of Philosophy at Cambridge University, Simon Blackburn, well known for trying to make philosophy accessible to a wider public. They will discuss the erosion of public trust.

Next, Simon Critchley, from the New School for Social Research in New York City, will talk with Jeff Sims about issues in philosophy, politics, religion, and science, exemplified by Critchley’s writings in the New York Times.

In the afternoon, Nirmala Bains will talk with award-winning Mi’kmaw poet Rebecca Thomas about her experience as the poet Laureate of Halifax, as well as topics including power and systemic racism.

Later in the day, Lalai Manjikian will interview award-winning writer Rawi Hage about his writing process, writing about war, as well as the impact of war and subsequent immigration.

On February 2, Brian Aboud will interview Charmaine Nelson, from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design and the Institute for the Study of Canadian Slavery. They will discuss the trans-Atlantic slave trade, slavery in Montreal and Quebec, and the relevance and importance of the slave period to our understanding of present-day struggles against racism.

On Wednesday, February 3, Sevak Manjikian will interview Heba Mostafa from the University of Toronto about interesting facts regarding architectural sites and features that appeared in early Islamic history.

The final speaker of the week on Thursday, February 4, will be, McGill University Law Professor, Payam Akhavan who delivered the 2017 CBC Massey Lectures, In Search of a Better World: A Human Rights Odyssey. Sheila Das and Payam Akhavan will discuss how we may hope to diminish the radical evil of genocide and human atrocities by understanding the dynamics of hate, the role of law, and by deepening the connection that we share with all of humanity to spur real engagement to build a better world.