News and Events
CLASS well represented in Honors College’s “The Great Conversation”
Dr. Khator and other CLASS luminaires among conversationalists at Honors College’s 2011 fundraiser
President Khator
Provost Antel
Dean Roberts, CLASS
Dean Monroe, The Honors College
Each year, nearly 300 people come together over a meal to support The Honors College’s award-winning fundraising event, The Great Conversation. Proceeds from The Great Conversation provide Honors College scholarships and special support to Honors faculty and programs.
The Great Conversation draws its name from, and embodies the overarching goals of, The Honors College: to foster thoughtfulness about and care for the world by engaging people in disciplined conversation about things that matter. Event topics are drawn from many areas of life from arts and literature, history, religion, and public policy, to aspects of the city of Houston, just to name a few.
This year, the evening’s lineup of scintillating conversations on April 6 will be led by some of CLASS’ star academics, as well as the university’s top administrators whose academic appointments are in CLASS - President Khator, Provost John Antel, CLASS Dean John Roberts and Honors College Dean William Monroe.
Here’s a list of the CLASS-affiliated conversationalists:
Are We There Yet?- Renu Khator, Political Science, Chancellor and President
The Crisis in Public Higher Education: Where Do We Go From Here- John Antel, Economics, Provost and Senior Vice President
How We Converse: Norms of Civility in Public Discourse
- John Roberts, English and Dean, Liberal Arts and Social Sciences
“Mouse Over Thumbnail”: Language in a Computer Age- Richard Armstrong, Modern and Classical Languages and Coordinator, The Human Situation, Honors College
Psychotic, Insane, and Other (In)convenient Labels
- Julia Babcock, Psychology
America’s Elites and the Tea Party Movement
- Susan Collins, Political Science and Director, Phronesis Program in Politics and Ethics
Good Times or Bad? The 1960s in America
- Lawrence Curry, Professor Emeritus, History
Lord of the Isles: Sacred Waters from Orkney to Islay
- Andrew Davis, Director, Graduate Studies, Moores School of Music and John Harvey, Artist-in-Residence, Center for Creative Work
Art and Activism: How Creative People Can Save the World
- Karen Farber, Director, Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts
The Clash Over Religious Icons
- Cynthia Freeland, Philosophy and Department Chair
Dollars and Sense: The Market Value of Motherhood
- Elizabeth Gregory, English and Director, Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies Program
Obama, Palin, and Donald Trump? What It Takes to Be President in the 21st Century
- Christine LeVeaux-Haley, Political Science and Assistant Dean, Academic Programs, Honors College
Since When is a Myth Untrue? Mythos and Logos in a Postmodern Age
- Pittman McGehee, Psychology and Director, Institute for the Advancement of Psychology and Spirituality
Wikileaks, Oil Spills, and the Illusion of Mastery
- William Monroe, English and Dean, The Honors College
Intellectuals: Who Needs Them?
- Iain Morrisson, Philosophy
Do We Still Have True Grit? Honor, Revenge, and Justice in the 21st Century
- Tamler Sommers, Philosophy
Wills and Kate: A Modern Day Fairytale
- Helen Valier, History
History Are the French Lazy? (And Why Do We Care?)
- Robert Zaretsky, French History