The University of Lynchburg Senior Symposium will tackle topics such as recognizing fake news, vaccination controversies, and the schism between digital worlds and reality in the Spring 2019 semester.
The symposium will include nine public lectures on the theme of “Information and Misinformation: Media, Morality, Manipulation.” The series kicks off at noon Monday, January 28, in Hall Campus Center’s Memorial Ballroom with a discussion of fake news led by Jenny Horton, director of Knight-Capron Library, and two library staff members, Abby Lowery and Haley Lott.
Other speakers come from the faculty at the University of Lynchburg and other schools. On March 4, the Rev. Robert W. Lee IV, an indirect descendant of Confederate General Robert E. Lee and an outspoken advocate for civil rights, will discuss “Memorialization and Reparation.”
Each lecture is free and open to the public. The full schedule is available at https://www.lynchburg.edu/academics/senior-symposium/schedule-spring-2019/
“In an era of fake news and widespread loneliness amid cyber-connectedness, what better theme to explore than ‘Information and Misinformation’?” said Senior Symposium Director Dr. Nina Salmon. “Themes like this aim to partner contemporary and culturally relevant topics with classical understandings. Students bring their own expertise and experience into the discussion as they explore ideas from both modern day and historical perspectives.”
Senior Symposium is a capstone course that draws upon students’ experience in Lynchburg’s general education program as well as their understandings within their majors. “It anticipates their engagement with the world as lifelong learners who will actively cultivate a healthy life of the mind,” Dr. Salmon said.
Seniors are reading Aldous Huxley’s dystopian novel “Brave New World” in conjunction with the discussions. In addition to the Monday lectures, they discuss the themes, Huxley’s novel, and other readings in Wednesday classes.
A group of residents from Westminster Canterbury in Lynchburg also attend the weekly lectures and participate in discussion groups in their community.