By Amanda Tashjian '13
The Siena College Symposium on Living Philosophers Public Lecture Series culminated with the return of Professor Kwame Anthony Appiah, Ph.D. of Princeton University.
This year’s symposium, taught by Professor of Philosophy Jennifer McErlean, Ph.D. and Assistant Professor of Philosophy Joshua Alexander, Ph.D. focused on Appiah's work. He has made significant contributions to people's understanding of the nature of language, racial identity, political and moral relationships and philosophical methodology.
Professor Appiah first visited Siena in September, when he presented a lecture titled “World Citizenship” and lead a seminar with Symposium students.
During this visit, Professor Appiah discussed the role of honor in moral revolutions in his lecture, “The Life of Honor.” Utilizing three well-known moral revolutions - foot binding in China, dueling in Great Britain and the Atlantic Slave Trade - Appiah demonstrated the importance of honor in the renunciation of the practices. He argued that honor is a pivotal tool because it provides individuals with the right to be respected. “We humans respond to respect and contempt…because we can’t help it,” Appiah said. He effectively demonstrated that, while honor is neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition in moral revolutions, when used in the right manner and context, its influence can be immense.
As a component of the Symposium, students spend the academic year working on research papers about topics related to Professor Appiah’s work. The day after his lecture, Symposium students were provided with the unique experience of presenting their research papers to Professor Appiah, who responded with comments and engaged in a brief discussion with each of them. The papers addressed a variety of questions related to Appiah’s work and covered a broad spectrum of contemporary issues, including cultural imperialism, individuality, identity politics, multicultural education, gender identity, torture and global sex trafficking.
The experience waswell received by the Symposium students. “Presenting our research questions personally to Appiah…was a truly unique experience," said Mara Afzali '14. "This is not a typical experience that undergraduate students have access to.”
Professor McErlean said seeing the students shine during their presentations was a rewarding experience. "The collaborative and dialogical nature of thinking and writing was evident, as was the students' knowledge of the full breadth of Appiah's work," McErlean said. "Personally, I enjoyed reveling in the reflected glory of all the students' hard work.”
The students also had positive remarks about Professor Appiah himself. “Appiah's willingness to discuss our projects in such depth showed me that he certainly lives up to the cosmopolitan conversation he prescribes in his own work," said Joey O'Rourke '12.
Reflecting on the year, Professor Appiah’s visit and the panel discussion, Alexander said, “The panel discussion is special among the other public events associated with the Symposium. (It provided) our students with the chance to share their work with Professor Appiah and with the Siena community. The result was a conversation in the best tradition of Hellenic Symposia – a wonderful, energetic exchange of philosophical ideas spanning a wide range to topics. I’ve never been so proud of a group of students.”
Photo Credit: MIke Valiquette '14 and Fanny Soderback, Ph.D.
