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An Ethical Proposition for UM

Posted on: March 16th, 2015 by erabadie

Alumni donate to strengthen curriculum in ethical reasoning

March 16, 2015

UM alumni Frances and Hume Bryant (right) and Bruce and Mary Betsy Bellande (left) of Oxford, Miss. enjoy a ten day cycling trip through the Provence region of France in 2014 while sporting their UM jerseys.

Hume Bryant and his wife, Frances, have established the Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Hume Bryant Lectureship in Ethics Endowment through a recent pledge and gift of real estate. The new endowment will offer faculty support to enable additional ethics courses across disciplines, allowing more UM students to ponder ethical queries through academic instruction and carry strengthened reasoning skills into their post-academic life.

“Ethics courses help students learn to think and decipher all the grey areas between what we call ‘right and wrong,’” said Bryant. “If you don’t learn how to think critically, you probably shouldn’t be in a position to make important decisions. For instance, it came out recently that corporate managers knew about an automobile malfunction that killed people but were afraid to say anything. How does that happen? I think people sometimes make decisions without considering the ethical consequences.”

Chancellor Dan Jones (left) and Interim Dean of the College of Liberal Arts Richard Forgette (right) thank Frances and Hume Bryant for their gift creating an endowment to support the teaching of ethics at the University of Mississippi.

Bryant, a 1964 engineering graduate, enjoyed his years at UM from youth through graduation. The son of a university professor and administrator, his childhood home was where Lamar Hall now stands, and he attended University High School, housed in what is now the music building. As an undergraduate he participated in the band playing the flute and piccolo.

The band is still my favorite part of the game day experience,” he said.

He met his first wife, Barbara Kalif, at UM. After graduation, Bryant was assigned to the Strategic Air Command in New England where he ended his active duty tour as a captain. After earning a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard University, he embarked on a 25-year career with Southern Pacific railroad that moved the couple to San Francisco, where they raised two children, William and Michelle.

Barbara Bryant passed away while they were living in California. After moving to Chicago and Fort Worth, Hume Bryant retired to Oxford in 2000.

I loved the cities I lived in, but grew tired of the commotion,” he said. “I was very fortunate to come home to a place like Oxford.”

But as a young man, Bryant was eager to expand his horizons.

“We have a very complicated history,” Bryant said of the university and Oxford. “Growing up, there was often talk among my family about issues that were not necessarily popular, but were very important. I know now that these discussions were really about ethics.”

Bryant’s family played a major role in UM’s history. His mother, Willie Hume, was the niece of Alfred Hume, the first chancellor to possess an earned doctorate. Hume served UM for nearly 60 years as a professor and chair of the Department of Mathematics, dean of the College of Liberal Arts, two-term chancellor and three appointments as acting chancellor. He is credited for preventing Gov. Theodore Bilbo from moving the university to Jackson.

His father, W. Alton Bryant, was chair of the Department of English, provost and later vice chancellor. He is noted for encouraging fellow administrators during the tumultuous period of integration to “be concerned about how rules were implemented and the effects of carrying them out as much as their literal meaning.”

Bryant also noted another key influence, the Rev. Duncan Gray, Jr. While rector from 1957 to 1965 at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Oxford, Gray became a motivating figure during James Meredith’s admission. Gray was among a minority of outspoken Mississippians regarding the ethical dilemma of integration. During a Sunday morning sermon the day of the 1962 riot, Gray told his congregation, “No university in the world would defend this position rationally, and no Christian church would defend it morally.”

That evening, Gray moved throughout the angry mob, removing bricks from hands and encouraging people to go home before he was overtaken by a mob and beaten.

“I was in Carrier Hall as the riot started, then went to the Sigma Nu house,” Bryant remembered. “Some fraternity brothers and I tried to misdirect potential trouble makers coming to the campus. Thinking back over that time, I realize that while I still did not necessarily associate ‘ethics’ with the incident, I did know that Reverend Gray followed his beliefs at great risk to his person – and did what was right – regardless of the consequences. I was so impressed with his actions that the following spring, I went through confirmation classes with Reverend Gray and joined St. Peter’s.”

Today, Bryant serves Oxford by volunteering on the Oxford Tree Board. His tenure has helped acquire almost $200,000 in Mississippi Forestry Commission grants for the community. He enjoys gardening, nature, biking and lives near the downtown square in walking distance to his favorite places, including the UM campus and St. Peter’s Episcopal Church.

He is not alone on his walks and bike rides, however. Through mutual friends, Bryant met Frances Byars King and the two were married in 2013. Frances Bryant attended UM from 1976 to 1980 studying marketing. She has spent her career in sales and works for AirMedCare, the largest independent air medical network in the nation.

“We are two polar opposites,” said Frances Bryant. “I’m very spontaneous, while Hume is the consummate planner. But that works very well for us. I was so proud when he wanted to establish this lectureship. It’s a good fit, and captures an essence of him that I care for deeply.”

Steven Skultety, chair and associate professor of the Department of Philosophy and Religion, was pleased to hear UM alumni established the lectureship to highlight the importance of ethics in a liberal arts education.

“Many people believe ethics can teach us nothing because they assume values are subjective, unscientific and up to each person,” said Skultety. “It is incredibly important that our university helps students understand that constructing a persuasive ethical argument demands as much logical reasoning and unbiased attention as conducting a scientific experiment or creating a mathematical proof. After all, when they enter the work world, our graduates will inevitably face decisions and dilemmas that will call upon their critical skills and familiarity with ethical principles.”

UM offers environmental, biomedical, and general survey ethics courses to undergraduates and legal ethics within the School of Law. However, as yearly offerings average only one section per year, availability is limited.

Skultety believes the Bryant Endowment will help address that need.

“With guidance from the College of Liberal Arts and the Office of the Provost, we plan on using this gift to create a position for a full-time ethicist,” said Skultety. “Not only will this position lead to more classes being offered but also will promote greater coordination among faculty teaching ethics in some capacity. A full-time ethicist will increase visibility for ethics on our campus, and he or she will serve as the point-person for anyone studying ethics in a scholarly way. The prospect is very exciting.”

On a larger scale, this gift represents foundational beliefs about the importance of a liberal arts education that were shared by Hume Bryant’s predecessors.

“On behalf of our university community, we thank Hume and Frances Bryant for their generous support,” said Morris Stocks, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs. “This gift will strengthen our liberal arts faculty and help provide meaningful opportunities for our students to develop critical thinking skills and find moral purpose as they endeavor in their academic and career pursuits. The Bryant family has a long legacy of leadership at the University of Mississippi, and we are truly grateful for their commitment.”

Frances Bryant has a daughter, Cade King Clurman, living in Annapolis, Md. and a son, Trey King, in Inverness, Miss. The Oxford couple enjoys visits with their five grandchildren, planning their new home and traveling abroad with Mary Betsy Bellande, Hume Bryant’s sister, and her husband Bruce.

Individuals and organizations can make gifts to the Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Hume Bryant Lectureship in Ethics Endowment by mailing a check with the fund noted in the memo line to the University of Mississippi Foundation, 406 University Avenue, Oxford, Miss., 38655; visiting http://www.umfoundation.com/makeagift; or contacting Denson Hollis, senior development officer for the College of Liberal Arts, at 662-915-5092 or dhollis@olemiss.edu.

Katie Morrison

Bruce Levingston: An Undivided Artist

Posted on: February 18th, 2015 by erabadie

Populi Magazine Interview with UM Chancellor’s Artist in Residence Bruce Levingston

February 3, 2015 | By Eleanor Anthony | ecanthon@go.olemiss.edu

Bruce Levingston

Recently, I had the opportunity to talk with Mr. Bruce Levingston, world-renowned pianist and native Mississippian who has contributed a great deal to the University of Mississippi with both his time and talent. He was kind enough to answer a few questions with regards to his life and work, his new role at the Honors College and Department of Music, as well as his performance and presentation at the Spring Honors Convocation on February 10th, 2015, and an Honors Conversations Course he is teaching in Spring 2015.

Two excerpts from the interview by Eleanor Anthony, a mathematics and philosophy major and an editor of Populi Magazine follow. Click here to read the full interview.

Can you tell me a bit about your start as a musician and what ultimately brought you to Ole Miss?

I grew up in a nearby town called Cleveland, located in the Mississippi Delta. I started playing when I was four, and then my mother gave me my first piano lessons. Eventually I went on to study with some fantastic teachers around the world; my career now is as a concert pianist, and I have lived most of my adult life in New York City. A few years ago, the Chancellor and other friends connected to Ole Miss reached out and asked me if I would come here to see the campus. I had not been to Oxford since I was a boy, and I was quite surprised by how much development had occurred and how much the university had grown. After a few visits and performances, the Chancellor asked me to come here as his adviser of the arts, and that led to my meeting Dean Douglass Sullivan-González; after we came to know one another, DSG asked me if I would become a fellow in the Honors College, and so I did that for a year, and enjoyed working with him very much, and that led to my being offered a Chair in the Honors College in the humanities that was recently established thanks to a generous gift by Ruff Fant, whose father taught here many years. I am officially titled the Chancellor’s SMB Honors College Artist in Residence and am also the Artist in Residence for the Department of Music. So this gives me the opportunity to work with some of the great musicians here on campus as well as some of the great students at the Honors College. And sometimes they are one and the same! So, that’s a lot of fun.

I know you are very active in terms of collaborating with other artists—could you tell me about some of the recent collaborations on which you’ve worked?

So one of the most important and thrilling things I’ve been able to do since I’ve been on campus is to work with some of the great artists that are here in different areas. I’ve already had a chance to work with some of the superb musicians in the music department, and we are going to collaborate further on a performance that I will be giving on March 27th at the Ford Center where the amazing singer Nancy Maria Balach will come on to the program with one of her superb students and perform with me as well as Jos Milton, the wonderful tenor, and Robert Riggs, chair of the music department and a terrific violinist. I had a chance also to work with the great percussionist Ricky Burkhead on Thacker Mountain Radio which was a marvelous collaboration. But I also think of the arts not divided into writing or music or painting but as just one thing. We really are a part of the same family. So when I first came, I had the opportunity to meet Beth Ann Fennelly, the acclaimed poet, and her husband, Tom Franklin, a brilliant novelist. We immediately set out to collaborate on some works about words and music. I even wrote a piece that was based on their novel called The Tilted World. And we gave a performance in New York City together; they will also come on the program with me in March and read, and I will play some things inspired by their words. I have also had the chance to work with the Southern Foodway Association and to collaborate with great artists like Kevin Young, the Pen Faulkner Award-winner, and Justin Hopkins, a superb opera singer from Philadelphia, on a wonderful project based on the words of Booker Wright, an important figure from the Civil Rights era from Greenwood, Mississippi. We recently performed that, and I think it was a very special collaboration. We will perform it next year in New York City at Carnegie Hall. To be able to engage with other artists really makes life fulfilling because it helps one feel a part of the whole artistic community.

Read more here.

Law School’s Affiliated Faculty Program Brings Innovative Approach to Scholarship, Teaching

Posted on: October 24th, 2014 by erabadie

October 22, 2014

The University of Mississippi School of Law recently approved its first four affiliated faculty as part of the law school’s new affiliated faculty program: John Green from the Department of Sociology and Anthropology; Steven Skultety from the Department of Philosophy and Religion; and John Winkle from the Department of Political Science, and Robert Mongue from the Department of Legal Studies.

“The Law School’s new Affiliated Faculty Program is meant to promote creative collaborations in teaching, research and service between law faculty and other UM faculty,” said Jack Nowlin, associate dean for faculty development and professor at the law school. “There is so much scholars from different fields can learn from working with each other. Our work only gets better when we collaborate across disciplines.”

The law school hopes this program will increase collaborative activities such interdisciplinary participation in the law school’s academic workshop program, joint sponsorship of speaking events, joint research projects and team-teaching.

UM faculty recognized as law school affiliates will appear on the law school’s faculty page with that title and will also receive special invitations to attend law school speaking events and participate in workshop programs.

Each of the law school’s four new affiliated faculty members is an outstanding UM faculty scholar with a solid history of interdisciplinary collaborations with the law school.

Professor John Green is an associate professor of sociology and director of the Center for Population Studies. His interests include community development, health and health care, limited resource and minority farmers, and the social dimensions of disaster. He has worked with the law school’s transactional clinic and engaged in joint research projects with Professor Desiree Hensley.

“I am elated to be an affiliated faculty member with the School of Law,” Green said. “As a research center director and faculty member in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, I am working on a wide range of applied programs in community development, agrifood systems and health. This association with the School of Law has expanded the reach of my work and my professional connections.”

Steven Skultety is an associate professor of philosophy and chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religion. Professor Skultety’s interests lie in ancient philosophy, especially the work of Aristotle, and in republican and democratic theory. Skultety’s collaborations with the law school include co-sponsoring speaking events and regularly participating in the law school’s faculty writing groups.

“Philosophy and law both rest on an ability to make clear and persuasive arguments,” Skultety said. “Whenever I work with my colleagues in the Law School, I’m struck by how much we have in common. Anyone who attends one of our co-sponsored events – like our annual Constitution Day talk or the Jack Dunbar lecture in philosophy and law – will also see the similarities. As an affiliated faculty member, I’m looking forward to continuing my own collaboration with law professors, and I’m also excited to search for new ways the Law School and the Department of Philosophy and Religion can work together.”

John Winkle is professor emeritus with the Department of Political Science. Over his 40 year career, he has taught courses on constitutional law, judicial politics the American legal process, and many other topics. He has published numerous articles on wide range of subjects such as lobbying by federal judges before Congress, state-federal judicial councils and the political role played by the administrative office of the U.S. courts. Winkle’s long history of collaborations with law faculty include team-teaching, participating in joint speaking events and circulating drafts to law faculty for comment.

“I am delighted to be a law school faculty affiliate and look forward to continued work with my colleagues in the law school,” said Winkle. “Some of my fondest associations over the years have been with active and retired law school faculty whom I am pleased to call my friends.”

Robert Mongue, associate professor of legal studies, has had over 30 years’ experience practicing law in addition to his academic accomplishments. He specializes in paralegal education and is the author of the “Empowered Paralegal” book series. His collaborations with the law school include giving guest lectures, organizing interdisciplinary speaking events and working on projects to better integrate graduate and undergraduate legal education.

“I look forward to the opportunity to strengthen the bond between the law school and the Legal Studies Department, especially the Paralegal Studies Program,” Mongue said. “While my previous communications have focused on those of our students who intend to apply for admission to law school, I think that it would be just as helpful to both paralegal students preparing for careers as paralegals and law students preparing for careers as attorneys to engage each other during their education for purposes of improving their working relationships when that education is complete.”

UM faculty interested in collaborative opportunities with the law school should contact Associate Dean Jack Nowlin. UM faculty may apply for affiliated faculty status by sending Dean Richard Gershon a curriculum vitae along with materials highlighting recent collaborative activities with law faculty. A copy of the law school policy is available here: Affiliated Faculty Policy.

Learn more about these affiliated faculty members on the faculty directory page.

SEC Announces 2014-15 Academic Leadership Development Program Fellows

Posted on: October 13th, 2014 by erabadie

OCTOBER 9, 2014 | BY UM COMMUNICATIONS STAFF

Forty-eight faculty members and administrators from Southeastern Conference universities have been selected as 2014-15 SEC Academic Leadership Development Program fellows.

The SEC Academic Leadership Development Program is a professional development program that seeks to identify, prepare and advance academic leaders for roles within SEC institutions and beyond. It has two components: a university-level development program designed by each institution for its own participants, and two three-day, SEC-wide workshops held on specified campuses for all program participants.

This year’s workshops will be Oct. 13-15 at the University of Missouri in Columbia, and Feb. 18-20, 2015, at Texas A&M University in College Station.

The SEC ALDP is managed locally by a liaison, who is designated by provosts to serve as the primary point of contact on each campus. Liaisons lead their fellows through the yearlong SEC ALDP and organize university development opportunities.

“The SEC ALDP, through formal workshops and on-campus activities, aims to provide future academic leaders the opportunity to learn and develop the skills needed to meet the challenges of academic leadership,” said Peter Ryan, the program liaison at Mississippi State University and chair of the SEC ALDP.

Since its inception in 2008, SEC ALDP has graduated more than 230 faculty and academic administrators, and program alumni have become deans and provosts at universities around the SEC and country, including Laurence Alexander from the University of Florida’s 2012-13 cohort who is chancellor at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.

The SEC Academic Leadership Development Program is part of SECU, the conference’s academic initiative. SECU serves as the primary mechanism through which the collaborative academic endeavors and achievements of SEC universities are promoted and advanced.

The 2014-15 SEC Academic Leadership Development Program fellows are:

Lisa Lindquist Dorr, University of Alabama, associate dean of social sciences, College of Arts & Sciences
Diane Johnson, University of Alabama, senior associate dean, Culverhouse College of Commerce
Alice March, University of Alabama, associate dean for graduate programs, College of Nursing
Joseph Phelps, University of Alabama, department chair, Communication & Information Sciences
Micah Hale, University of Arkansas, associate department head, Civil Engineering
Bart Hammig, University of Arkansas, department chair, Health, Human Performance & Recreation
Cynthia Sagers, University of Arkansas, associate vice provost for research, Biological Sciences
Kathryn Sloan, University of Arkansas, department chair, History
DeWayne Searcy, Auburn University, director, School of Accountancy
Bret Smith, Auburn University, interim associate dean for academic affairs,
College of Architecture, Design & Construction
Ana Franco-Watkins, Auburn University, undergraduate program director, Department of Psychology
Mark Law, University of Florida, director, Honors Program
Robert Ries, University of Florida, director, M.E. Rinker, Sr. School of Building Construction
Melissa Harshman, University of Georgia, director, First Year Odyssey Program
Stephen Miller, University of Georgia, director, Bioimaging Research Center
Judith Wasserman, University of Georgia, director, Advanced Visualization Initiative
Kimberly Ward Anderson, University of Kentucky, associate dean for administration & academic
affairs, College of Engineering
Karen Badger, University of Kentucky, associate dean of academic & student affairs, College of Social Work
Kathryn Cardarelli, University of Kentucky, associate dean for academic & student affairs, College of Public Health
Andrew Hippisley, University of Kentucky, director, Linguistics Program
Jacqueline Bach, LSU, Elena & Albert LeBlanc Professor, English Education & Curriculum Theory
Troy Blanchard, LSU, associate dean, College of Humanities & Social Sciences
Joan King, LSU, undergraduate curriculum coordinator, School of Nutrition & Food Sciences
Meghan Sanders, LSU, associate dean for sponsored research & programs, Manship School of Mass Communications
Virginia Rougon Chavis, chair of the University of Mississippi Department of Art
Amy Wells Dolan, University of Mississippi, associate dean, School of Education
Steven Skultety, chair of the University of Mississippi Department of Philosophy & Religion
Donna West-Strum, University of Mississippi, department chair, Pharmacy Administration
David Dampier, Mississippi State University, director, Distributed Analytics & Security Institute
Mark Lawrence, Mississippi State University, associate dean, College of Veterinary Medicine
Rebecca Long, Mississippi State University, interim associate dean, Graduate School, College of Business
David Morse, Mississippi State University, interim department head, Educational Psychology
Heidi Appel, University of Missouri, senior associate director, Honors College
Bryan Garton, University of Missouri, associate dean, College of Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources
Christopher Hardin, University of Missouri, department chair, Nutrition & Exercise Physiology
Matthew Martens, University of Missouri, interim division executive director, College of Education
Christy Friend, University of South Carolina, director, Center for Teaching Excellence
Augie Grant, University of South Carolina, J. Rion McKissick Professor of Journalism
Robert Ployhart, University of South Carolina, Bank of America Professor of Business Administration
Sara Wilcox, University of South Carolina, director, Prevention Research Center
William Dunne, University of Tennessee, associate dean for research, College of Engineering
Bruce MacLennan, University of Tennessee, Faculty Senate president
Brent Mallinckrodt, University of Tennessee, associate dean for graduate studies, College of Arts & Sciences
Lane Morris, University of Tennessee, associate dean for undergraduate programs & student affairs, College of Business Administration
Richard Kreider, Texas A&M University, department head, Health & Kinesiology
Kirsten Pullen, Texas A&M University, director of graduate studies, Performance Studies
David Threadgill, Texas A&M University, director, Whole Systems Genomics Initiative
Douglas Woods, Texas A&M University, department head, Department of Psychology

Fellowship Gives Students Taste of Doctors’ Real-World Ethical Dilemmas

Posted on: September 25th, 2014 by erabadie

Dr. Didlake

Emma Willoughby

Undergraduate humanities students make the rounds at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, observing patients and physicians while getting an up-close look at emerging ethical issues in modern medicine.

“The idea is to develop a population of humanities scholars who have a meaningful exposure to the modern biomedical enterprise and who will help us better understand health care in a broad sociocultural context,” said Dr. Ralph Didlake (BS zoology ’75), director of the UMMC Center for Bioethics and Medical Humanities, associate vice chancellor for academic affairs, and chief academic officer.

Launched in 2010, the five week Student Fellowship in Bioethics is a collaboration between UMMC and the UM Department of Philosophy and Religion.

The immersion experience program designed for juniors or seniors in the College of Liberal Arts introduces the fellows to the real-world ethical issues and challenges that face medical professionals, said Steven Skultety, professor and chair of philosophy.

“Much like students in medical school, our biomedical ethics fellows are assigned to ward teams, where they observe patients as they experience their illnesses, the environment in which their care is given, as well as the physicians, nurses and other staff as they provide that care,” Skultety said.

Besides interacting with medical and nursing students, the fellows attend selected classes and meetings of review boards, participate in tutorials and small group discussions, and write an essay that analyzes an ethical, cultural, or social issue encountered during the experience.

With rapid medical discoveries and technological advancements, bioethical issues are becoming more prominent in society. “One only has to hear one newscast to be convinced that ethics training is needed in many areas of our society, and this is clearly part of what we want to achieve with the fellowship,” said Didlake. “Beyond that, we want to fully understand how social and cultural issues impact health and health care.”

Emma Willoughby, (BA sociology and liberal studies with concentrations in anthropology, biology, and psychology ’14) currently at the London School of Economics for a master’s in international health policy, was a recent bioethics fellow.

“I’m very passionate about social disparities in health-care delivery methods and access,” Willoughby said.

Last June she conducted research for her thesis on trust relationships between patients and staff at a community health center in the Mississippi Delta. “I was learning about trust relationships between patients and providers,” Willoughby said. “At this health center, strong community bonds created a welcoming, nurturing atmosphere. In Jackson, at UMMC, things were very different—the medical system was much larger, more impersonal, and disparities between patients and providers were starkly clear to me. Contextualizing what I had experienced at the Delta clinic in the bigger picture of health care proved to be critically important for my thesis research and analysis.

“As we know, health care is linked to many facets of society and therefore requires the input from many different kinds of people, including philosophers and ethicists, economists, psychologists, social workers, policymakers and lawyers, managers, those in marketing, and countless others. But it’s important that these folks are all on the same page about what influences and shapes our health care delivery—socially, politically, and economically—if we really want to improve the health care system we’ve created.

“While the typical biomedical framework likes to say that medicine is equal and fair and just because it’s ‘science,’ this just isn’t true. We can’t extract our social relationships from health care, because it’s inevitably social as well.”

“Our intent is to grow a population of humanities scholars who can apply the skills of their disciplines to a better understanding of the challenges we meet in health care,” said Didlake. “Emma absolutely exemplifies what this fellowship is about.”

Consciousness Conference Brings World-Class Experts to Campus

Posted on: August 14th, 2014 by erabadie

The University of Mississippi Conscious Thought and Thought About Consciousness Conference brought world-class philosophers and cognitive scientists to campus April 27-30, 2014.

Leaders in several fields, including philosophy and neuroscience, converged to promote cutting-edge work in hopes of creating better understanding of human and animal consciousness, its relation to the brain and how humans think about sentient beings, among other topics, said Donovan Wishon, assistant professor of philosophy.

Paul Skokowski, CSLI, Stanford University/University of California, Berkeley. Photo: Nathan Latil

“What’s particularly remarkable about this event is that it brought together scholars with vastly different views about consciousness, thought and the methods we should use to come to grips with the mind, its workings and its relation to physical reality,” Wishon said. “What’s more, the conference was intended to educate the students and the general public about how philosophy, and the humanities in general, can work side-by-side with the sciences to answer fundamental questions about who we are and what our place is in the world.”

Conference organizers brought scientists of the highest distinction across the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia.

David Chalmers, New York University/Australian National University | Photo by Nathan Latil/Communications

“It’s a wonderful collection,” said Kenneth J. Sufka, professor of psychology and pharmacology and research professor at UM. “Never has there been anything like this in the state of Mississippi that brings an all-star cast of philosophers and scientists working on this problem of consciousness.”

Bryan Harper, philosophy graduate student, was impressed with the speakers’ discussion on consciousness. “Some of the most brilliant minds in philosophy and neuroscience came to illuminate, wonder and debate about the subject here at Ole Miss,” he said.

The UM departments of philosophy and religion, and psychology, and the university’s College of Liberal Arts, the Office of the Provost, University Lecture Series and Office of Research and Sponsored Programs sponsored the conference with the Mississippi Humanities Council, Mississippi Philosophical Association and Mississippi State University Department of Philosophy and Religion.

Read the abstracts and other details about the conference.

All events were free and open to the public.

The Continuum Companion to Metaphysics

Posted on: May 21st, 2014 by erabadie

Editors: Neil A. Manson, associate professor of philosophy, and Robert W. Barnard

The Continuum Companion to Metaphysics offers the definitive guide to a key area of contemporary philosophy. The book covers all the fundamental questions asked in metaphysics—areas that have continued to attract interest historically as well as topics that have emerged more recently as active areas of research.

Eleven specially commissioned essays from an international team of experts discuss research problems and methods in metaphysics, reveal where important work continues to be done in the area and, most valuably, indicate exciting new directions the field is taking. The Companion explores issues pertaining to modality, universals and abstract objects, naturalism and physicalism, mind, material constitution, endurantism and perdurantism, personal identity, personal identity, free will, and God. Featuring a series of indispensable research tools, including an A to Z index of key terms and concepts, a detailed list of research resources and a fully annotated bibliography, this is the essential reference tool for anyone working in contemporary metaphysics. – See more at: http://www.bloomsbury.com/us/the-continuum-companion-to-metaphysics-9780826440617/#sthash.eBwsybel.dpuf

Consciousness Conference Begins Sunday

Posted on: April 25th, 2014 by erabadie

by Maggie McDaniel
Courtesy of The Daily Mississippian
April 25, 2014

Donovan Wishon

The “Conscious Thought and Thought About Consciousness” conference will be held at the E.F. Yerby Conference Center on April 27-30.

The conference, hosted by the University of Mississippi Department of Philosophy and Religion, Department of Psychology, College of Liberal Arts and University Lecture Series, will introduce the university and community to work being done in consciousness studies, according to Donovan E. Wishon, assistant professor of philosophy and creator of the conference.

Wishon remarked that this is one of the most exciting areas of interdisciplinary research.

“What’s particularly remarkable about this event is that it will draw together scholars with vastly different views about consciousness, thought and the methods we should use to come to grips with the mind, its workings and its relation to physical reality,” Wishon said.

The conference participants will include leading philosophers and cognitive scientists who hope to better the public understanding of human and animal consciousness. Many of these scientists are of the highest distinction across the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia.

Kenneth J. Sufka

The conference will include Kenneth J. Sufka, professor of psychology and pharmacology and research professor at UM. Sufka will be debating the question of whether some animals possess the same kind of complex states of consciousness seen in humans. According to Sufka, this question is debated among science and philosophy circles.

The conference will begin with a presentation, followed by a commentator who will address aspects of the talk, which will finish up with a Q&A period.

Sufka expressed that Wishon made a tremendous effort to bring “heavy hitters” to campus.

“It’s going to be a wonderful collection,” Sufka said. “Never has there been anything like this in the state of Mississippi that brings an all-star cast of philosophers and scientists working on this problem of consciousness.”

Bryan Harper, philosophy graduate student, will be attending the conference and is looking forward to the speakers’ discussion on consciousness.

“Some of the most brilliant minds in philosophy and neuroscience are coming to illuminate, wonder and debate about the subject here at Ole Miss,” Harper said.

Wishon came upon the idea of of the consciousness conference after working on a separate conference in the fall of last year. As a Ph.D student at Stanford University, he served as the graduate student coordinator for the Stanford Humanities Center Gaballe Workshop on Interdisciplinary Approaches to Consciousness. From serving as a coordinator, Wishon knew many philosophers and cognitive scientists working in consciousness studies, which happens to be one of the areas of his own research.

Once Wishon got some to agree to attend the conference, he then developed a line-up of leaders with diverse views on the nature of consciousness and the best techniques of studying it. Finally, he targeted the cutting-edge work on the topic being done by neuroscientists and philosophers in the region.

Wishon hopes the conference will teach the students more about consciousness.

“The conference is intended to educate the students at The University of Mississippi and the general public of Mississippi about how philosophy, and the humanities in general, can work side-by-side with the sciences to answer fundamental questions about who we are and what our place is in the world,” Wishon said.

Consciousness Conference Bringing World-Class Experts to Campus

Posted on: April 16th, 2014 by erabadie

The University of Mississippi hosts the “Conscious Thought and Thought About Consciousness” conference April 27-30, bringing world-class philosophers and cognitive scientists to campus.

The event is scheduled for the E.F. Yerby Conference Center, and all events are free and open to the public.

Leaders in several fields, including philosophy and neuroscience, will converge on campus to promote cutting-edge work in hopes of creating better understanding of human and animal consciousness, its relation to the brain and how humans think about sentient beings, among other topics, said Donovan Wishon, UM assistant professor of philosophy.

“What’s particularly remarkable about this event is that it will bring together scholars with vastly different views about consciousness, thought and the methods we should use to come to grips with the mind, its workings and its relation to physical reality,” Wishon said. “What’s more, the conference is intended to educate the students and the general public about how philosophy, and the humanities in general, can work side-by-side with the sciences to answer fundamental questions about who we are and what our place is in the world.”

The event is sponsored by the UM departments of philosophy and religion, and psychology, and the university’s College of Liberal Arts, the Office of the Provost, University Lecture Series and Office of Research and Sponsored Programs. It’s also co-sponsored by the Mississippi Humanities Council, the Mississippi Philosophical Association and the Mississippi State University Department of Philosophy and Religion.

For more information, click this link to a website devoted to the event. For assistance related to a disability issue, contact the UM Department of Philosophy and Religion at 662-915-7020.

VIDEO: Students’ Vercelli Book Restoration

Posted on: October 18th, 2013 by erabadie

Eleanor Anthony

When Eleanor Anthony visited Vercelli, Italy, last spring, she was smitten with damaged 10th century manuscripts that she and others from the University of Mississippi were there to help recover. Little did she know that six months later, she would be presenting a plan to make those documents legible at an international conference in London.

Anthony, a junior mathematics and philosophy major from Jackson, was the only undergraduate student presenter at the DigiPal Symposium in mid-September at King’s College London. The conference, hosted by the King’s College Department of Digital Humanities, attracted notable paleographers and scholars from around the globe.

“After Stewart Brookes and Peter Stokes, the conference organizers, notified me that I was accepted to speak at the symposium, I was thrilled,” said Anthony, who spoke for 20 minutes about a correlation and probabilistic-based approach to transcription methods of damaged manuscripts. “I knew it would be a fantastic opportunity to meet scholars working in the field of digital humanities and see their research.”

As part of the Lazarus Project, a UM program specializing in the multispectral imaging of cultural heritage pieces, Anthony visited the Museo del Tesoro del Duomo in Italy. It was there she first laid eyes on the Vercelli Book and discovered what has become one of her life’s passions.

“I have always found data and narrative to be fascinating,” Anthony said. “As humans, we participate in a conversation that extends through time and encompasses all human endeavor. It’s amazing to interact with manuscripts that record the contributions of previous generations.”

While studying the Vercelli Book and conducting spectral imaging on the book’s text, the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College student learned the importance of finding ways to successfully transcribe old data and manuscripts. Upon her return home, Anthony submitted a written summary of her own proposal for how transcription methods can be improved to the DigiPal Symposium. Her abstract was accepted.

“This 10th century Anglo-Saxon manuscript suffered physical damage due to the application of a chemical reagent during early transcription efforts, and as a result, large swathes of the text are completely illegible,” Anthony said. “After processing the spectral images, we are left with data that can be used in correlation-based approaches for text identification, and it is these methods, combined with contextual analysis, that should lead to a better understanding of the text.”

Eleanor Anthony and other Lazarus Project participants discuss the Vercelli Book
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Her presentation touched on the history of the Vercelli Book and the Archimedes Palimpsest, as well as the basic mathematics behind the system she hopes to extend and implement while addressing the current problems within the data being researched now by the Lazarus Project. Anthony’s work is being hailed as “groundbreaking” by her mentor and sponsors.

“It is incredibly rare for an undergraduate paper to be selected for an international conference. It speaks to the uniqueness and quality of Eleanor’s research,” said Gregory Heyworth, UM associate professor of English and director of the Lazarus Project. “The character-recognition techniques that she is developing for damaged manuscripts are cutting-edge work, something that is appropriate for Ph.D. candidates or professors.

“Add to that the fact that the manuscript she is working to recover, the Vercelli Book from the 10th century, is the oldest example of Anglo-Saxon literature in existence, and scholars are bound to take notice.”

Douglass Sullivan-González, dean of the Barksdale Honors College, agrees.

“Eleanor’s success represents what can happen when a high-performing student takes advantages of the doors of opportunity here at Ole Miss,” he said. “Eleanor’s intellectual curiosity, her philosophical drive combined with unparalleled support from Professor Heyworth, the SMB Honors College, Liberal Arts and the Provost Office produced an extraordinary moment for an undergraduate: presenting and defending a research topic at a graduate-level conference in the U.K. We are very proud of Eleanor’s stellar accomplishment.”

Vercelli Book

Anthony’s London presentation impressed those in attendance, but she was equally impressed by those she heard there.

“A particular highlight of the trip was speaking with Donald Scragg, a well-known authority on the Vercelli Book,” she said. “He has devoted most of his academic career to studying this manuscript, and I was excited to discuss my research with him. I found him to be enthusiastic about the project, especially in the sense that I will be recovering missing information that is not capable of being visually analyzed.”

She was also delighted to meet Brookes and Stokes and hear about their work on DigiPal, a digital resource and database of paleography and manuscripts.

“They seem to be doing really exciting work at the Digital Humanities Department at King’s College London,” Anthony said.

Listening to and interacting with both traditional paleographers and computer scientists discussing their research methods and text analysis proved very useful in Anthony’s own research.

“I learned much from the speakers on a wide variety of topics,” she said. “I was also happy to receive positive responses from the audience after giving my talk, with several useful recommendations for improvements I might consider. It is my intention to apply to present at conferences in the future as my research progresses.”

Anthony’s presentation will serve as the primary research leading to the design and implementation for her capstone project and honors college thesis entitled, “Archimedes’ Palimpsest to the Vercelli Book: Dual Correlation and Probabilistic Network Approaches to Paleography in Damaged Manuscripts.” Her ultimate goal is to create a computer program that will offer a transcription method for damaged text in manuscripts using word-level correlation approaches and sentence-level contextual analysis.

“On the whole, I think the experience will prove to be invaluable to be as I move forward with the project and in my study of digital humanities,” she said. “I am so appreciative of the opportunity to attend and present.”

The Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College, the College of Liberal Arts, the English department and the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs sponsored Anthony’s travel to London.