Harrison Symposium to cover diverse topics

Ex Maxwell

At the Richard A. Harrison Symposium this Saturday, several Lawrentians will be giving talks on a wide range of interesting topics. This event gives students the opportunity to present their ideas to the campus, with certain faculty members moderating the sessions. Faculty members nominate students who have excelled at researching and analyzing particular subjects to speak at the symposium. One such student, Sean Smith, was recommended by his advisor, Prof. Dan Taylor, to present the results of his research on classical medical education. Smith did his research last summer through the William A. Shuttle grant. He says he was thrilled to be able to do research on this topic because it combined his two main areas of interest: biology and classics. Combining the two was particularly exciting for Smith because, as Smith stated, it is “something I don’t get to do very often.”

Since the write-up of his research is over seventy pages long, Smith will be giving only a summary of his work. Smith will examine the curricula and methodology that Greek and Roman doctors used to train their students. Smith’s talk will cover roughly 1,200 years, from 1,000 B.C. to 200 A.D., and he will focus on discussing in what ways the Roman doctors integrated Greek medical practices into their own. He will conclude with analogies between medicine practiced in antiquity and contemporary medical practice. His talk begins the panel in Wriston Auditorium, which is at 9 a.m.

Unlike previous years, this year’s symposium has a few themes running through the panels. The panel on which Smith belongs focuses on topics dealing with the classical and medieval periods, for instance. According to Dean Gerald Seaman, past years’ symposiums had a “somewhat eclectic” collection of topics. Seaman noted that the presence of themes was coincidental, as the symposium is open to any topic in the humanities or social sciences.

Seaman also stated that the administration renamed the symposium to “honor the legacy of the former dean,” Richard A. Harrison, who was highly committed to undergraduate research. In fact, Harrison began the symposium in 1996, four years after he took office as Dean of the Faculty. Following Harrison’s tragic death in 1997, the administration decided to name the symposium after him. The administration also chose to offer a grant for summer research in Harrison’s name. Amy Stalp, last year’s winner of the grant, will be delivering a talk this Saturday.

The symposium begins at 9 a.m. and runs until 12:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Symposium Schedule:

Session 1, Panel A will be held in Wriston Auditorium. Prof. Orr will moderate.

9:15 – 9:45 Sean Smith – “Classical Medical Education”

9:45 – 10:15 Eli Corin – “Medieval Eurocentrism in the Legend of Proster John”

10:15 – 10:45 Annie Krieg – “Sisters on the Edge: Enclosure and Marginalization in the Nuns’ Gallery of Medieval German Cistercian Convents”

Session 1, Panel B will be held in Main Hall 104. Prof. Yang will moderate.

9:15 – 9:45 Sandra Gresl – “Learning to Serve the Community: Bilingual Educator Training for Bolivian Guarani”

9:45 – 10:15 Bonnie Tilland – “Voices behind the Screen: Morality in Saikaku’s Five Women Who Loved Love”

10:15 – 10:45 Lara Waters – “Social and Psychological Reasons behind the Growing Cultural Trend of Body Modification”

Session 2, Panel A will be held in Main Hall 202. Prof. Kern will moderate.

11:00 – 11:30 Paula Zadigran – “Keith Moxey: Theory in His Practice”

11:30 – 12:00 Curtis Dye – “Post-structuralism in Historical Film: A study of Robert A. Rosenstone’s Theories”

12:00-12:30 Thomas Shriner – “Traces of Dominick La Capra: An Analysis of his Dialogical Texts”

Session 2, Panel B will be held in Wriston Auditorium. Prof. Kautsky will moderate.

11:00-11:30 Andrew Karre – “Italian Opera in London: Reactions in 18th Century Literature”

11:30-12:00 Jennifer McConaghy – “Amistad in Chicago: A Comprehensive Examination of the Premeiere Production by Lyric Opera of Chicago”

11:30 – 12:00 Amy Stalp* – “‘L’enfant et les sortileges’ and ‘Le Belvdere’: The Fantasy Worlds of Maurice Ravel”

*recipient of the Richard A. Harrison Research Award for 1999-2000.