USMC Student Research Colloquium 2022

Please join us March 26, 2022 for the USMC Student Research Colloquium 2022, titled “Knowledge, Belief, Wisdom: What’s Universal About the University?”

The modern Western university system has its origins in the Middle Ages, where theology reigned as “Queen of the Sciences,” guiding the other disciplines but also allowing each discipline to find its place within a larger, shared vision. It is difficult to locate any such shared vision⁠—religious or otherwise⁠—within the contemporary university, which encourages intense levels of specialization and is increasingly oriented towards preparing students for particular careers. There is little communication across disciplines, especially between sciences and the humanities, and it can feel like there’s no longer anything “universal” about the university.

To understand how the knowledge we gain about individual subjects fits together, we must be capable⁠—in the words of Jon Henry Newman⁠—of “viewing many things at once as one whole…of understanding their respective values, and determining their mutual dependence.” But this view necessarily requires us to think about value, purpose, and meaning⁠—in short, to think about what we believe. This conference invites students from the St. Mike’s community, both undergraduate and graduate, to reflect on what it might mean to believe in the university⁠—and its universality⁠—today.

The event is free and open to the public; no advanced registration is required.

March 26, 2022
1-5pm
Basilian Common Room
(3rd Floor of Brennan Hall)