2016-2017

A Community Conversation About Libraries: Moving From Present to Future

Location: Kelvin Smith Library, Case Western Reserve University, 11055 Euclid Avenue

This event is a “Soul of Cleveland” dialog.

As demographics, technology, and forms of information dissemination constantly change, libraries of all types must continually adapt to new user behaviors and expectations, and do so within limited resources.  Cleveland is extraordinarily blessed; we have heavily used and nationally recognized public and academic libraries. 

2017 Joseph and Violet Magyar Lecture in Hungarian Studies: Television and the Politics of Nostalgia in Hungary and Eastern Europe

In her lecture, Aniko Imre, Professor and Chair of the Division of Cinema and Media Studies at the University of Southern California, provides an overview of how television functioned in Hungary and, more broadly, in the Soviet-controlled region as a medium at the cross-section of the public and domestic spheres, between top-down attempts at political control and bottom-up demands for entertainment and consumption. It highlights some of the program types that were most favored by politicians, media producers and audiences, respectively; and zooms in on the continued popularity of some of these programs in the postsocialist era. She will demonstrate that television gives us a unique perspective on the enduring nostalgia for the everyday life of socialism.

Faculty Work-in-Progress: The Modernization of Knowledge

In his talk, Chris Haufe, Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy, compares the individual and community-level practices that have contributed to the growth of scientific knowledge with those that were historically important to the growth of Islamic law and legal theory. This comparison is composed of two independent lines of inquiry. The first looks at the major features that played a role in the historical development of each knowledge tradition. The second line of inquiry compares structural features of knowledge practices across the two traditions.

God and the Big Bang: Discovering Harmony between Science and Spirituality

Mysticism and science: What do they have in common? How can one enlighten the other? By drawing on modern cosmology and ancient Kabbalah, Matt shows how science and religion can together enrich our spiritual awareness and help us recover a sense of wonder and find our place in the universe. Drawing on the insights of physics and Jewish mysticism, Professor Daniel Matt from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkley, California,  uncovers the sense of wonder and oneness that connects us with the universe and God. He describes in understandable terms the parallels between modern cosmology and ancient Kabbalah. He shows how science and religion together can enrich our spiritual understanding