Liberal Studies Project

The Liberal Studies Project expands and enriches the intellectual life of the University of Louisville and the wider community through interdisciplinary initiatives such as lectures, workshops, exhibitions, symposia, and the Distinguished Visiting Scholars program.

For more information about proposals and funding, please, contact
Dr. Andreas Elpidorou at (502) 852-2248 or
Dr. Janna Tajibaeva at janna@louisville.edu (502) 852-2247

Translation and the Global Humanities past symposium Oct 2014

Past Events:

Spring 2015

How Mexican Food Conquered America – Even in Kentucky

The Liberal Studies Project co-sponsored a presentation by Gustavo Arellano on February 9, 2015. Arellano is the author of several books including Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America, published in 2013 by Scribner. He is also the editor of the OC Weekly, an alternative newspaper in Orange County, California and a lecturer in Chicano and Chicana Studies at California State University, Fullerton.

2015 French Film Festival

The Liberal Studies Project co-sponsored French Film Festival, February 5 - March 6, 2015 at UofL’s Flyod Theater. The Festival featured the following movies Girlhood [Bande de filles], Ernest & Celestine, The French Minister [Quai d’Orsay], The Lovely Month of May [Le Joli Mai].

International Association for the Study of Popular Music Studies Annual Conference

The Liberal Studies Project was a lead sponsor of this conference that took place on February 19-21, 2015 in Louisville titled “Notes on Deconstructing Popular Music (Studies): Global Media and Critical Interventions.” IASPM gathered scholars from around the world and across academic disciplines to examine the many ways musical expression shapes our identities, communities and lives.

Islamic Modernities: Time and Space

The Liberal Studies Project co-sponsored Middles East and Islamic Studies (MEIS) conference on April 16-17, 2015 at the University of Louisville. The event featured several prominent scholars of Islam, including Professor Asma Afsarudin, who have all been important contributors to an ongoing debate about Islam and Modernity.

Digital Media Academy 2015

The Liberal Studies Project was a main sponsor of the second Digital Media Academy (DMA), a two-week day camp for rising sixth-grade girls from Lincoln Elementary and Cochran Elementary schools. The camp was held at the University of Louisville from June 15 – 26, 2015. In this digital production camp titled “Design Your Community,” girls learned to produce several types of digital projects: movies, podcasts, and image manipulation.

Spring 2014

1964: American Progress, Possibilities, and Problems

Pan African Studies Department

The Liberal Studies Project sponsored Martin Luther King Justice Lecture on January 23, 2014. Dr. Matthew Whitaker from Arizona State University and the author of recent book Peace Be Still: Modern Black America from World War II to Barack Obama, was the speaker.

Peace Building and Conflict Resolution

Psychology Department

The Liberal Studies sponsored the campus visit of Dr. Goran Šimić, from Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, who is an expert in the field of criminal law and transitional justice. He gave series of presentations at U of L’s Law School, the Departments of Psychology, Political Science, Justice Administration, and Peace Studies Program on February 3-6, 2014.

Inventing the Future: Digital Technologies, Entrepreneurship, & the Rise of Silicon Valley

The Liberal Studies Project

The Liberal Studies Project sponsored the campus visit (February 11 and 12, 2014) of Rich Miller, a Silicon Valley veteran who helped to create both Email and The Cloud. Mr. Miller gave several class lectures at the Department of Communication and School of Business, as well as presented a public lecture.

A.C.E.S. (Academic Cultural Engagement Social Justice)

Pan African Studies Department

The Liberal Studies Project sponsored A.C.E.S. - one day Symposium, February 14, 2014, that concentrated on the legacy of Brown v. Board of Education (Topeka, KS) - the landmark decision that struck down “Separate, but Equal” in 1954. The keynote speaker was Dr. Anne-Marie Nunez, University of Texas.

History and Homosexuality in the Middles East: A Panel Discussion

History Department.

The Liberal Studies Project co-sponsored Louis Gottschalk Lecture, February 27, 2014, on same-sex relationship in the Middle East and its significance for politics and social attitudes in the region. The presenters were Samar Habib (University of London), Joseph Massad, (Columbia University), and Everett Rowson (New York University).

Physics of Complex Materials Symposium

Physics Department

The Liberal Studies Project sponsored one day symposium on in April 18th to honor Professor Shi-Yu Wu’s 45 year career and will cover topics that will interest researchers in Physics, Chemistry, Mathematicians working in the area of nanotechnology and clean energy. The guest speakers include scientists and engineers from Harvard, MIT, Case-Western Reserve University, Ames Laboratory (Iowa), National Renewable Energy Lab at Golden, Colorado, and Central Florida.

 

(Un)expected Animals in (Un)expected Places in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Period

U of L’s Medieval and Renaissance Research Group

The Liberal Studies Project co-sponsored the U of L’s Medieval and Renaissance Research Group (MedRen) two-day symposium, May 6-7, 2014. This event, the 3rd International Meeting of the Medieval Animals Data-Network, brought a roster of scholars from as far away as Hungary, France, and Mexico. The meeting provided an opportunity to explore the relationship between humans and animals in the pre- and early-modern periods from a wide range of disciplinary perspectives.

Digital Media Academy

English Department

The Liberal Studies Project sponsored two week-long summer workshop on digital storytelling for nineteen female students from U of L’s Signature Partnership schools (Lincoln Elementary and J.B. Atkinson Schools) led by Dr. Mary P. Sheridan. The students learned to compose with digital media, to become informed on a particular topic, to critically evaluate and read “expert” texts, June 16 - 27, 2014.

Fall 2014

Argentine writer Ana María Shua

Latin American and Latino Studies Program

Liberal Studies Project together with Latin American and Latino Studies Program supported the campus visit of the Argentine writer Ana María Shua, October 13-15, 2014. The events ranged from class presentations, meeting with faculty, public lecture, and reading of her novels at tea event at the University Club.

Translation in Humanities Symposium

Humanities Department

Liberal Studies Project was a lead sponsor of 2-day symposium on “Translation in Humanities,” October 16-17, 2014. The panels ranged from Medieval Latin translations of the Qur’an to postcolonial literature. The proceeding of the symposium will be published in New Centennial Review in 2015.